A few more pictures to supplement the previous entry

Some of these are pretty funny...







Some of pretty tender...



under the watchful eye of Nana - who howls when Brianne cries...

First steps into Grandmotherhood

I've never been one to pick up another woman's baby.

I have loved every one of my children, and have good maternal instincts.
My claws come out when anyone injures my children and the mild mannered person that I am, soon becomes a ferocious tiger whose den the culprit better stay out of.

Bruce took to grandfatherhood like a fish to water.
I had to grow into it, let things settle for a few days.

I understood in my head the concept of being a grandmother but the bottom line remained... I have never been one to pick up another woman's baby and Breanne was someone else's baby. I didn't shrink from picking her up either of course because she is sweet and feels good to hold.


It was not until I was looking at the pictures of Melanie holding her in her arms that it hit me... "My baby has a baby of her own" and that baby, because it is her baby, is my baby too... What a weird feeling...
Maybe a little like what fathers feel after 9 months of pregnancy.

Joe's answer to my question "How do you feel?' when we went to the hospital the day Brianne was born was "Surreal"
Yes, I understand that. Better than ever.

Melanie was sure she would be fine on her own and believing that Joe would be with her all week, we knew she would be in good hands but then she said Joe was going back to work Friday and I began to worry...
About my babies: mother and daughter...


Still she was sure they'd be fine and I thought it was important she felt her way into motherhood just like I was feeling my way into grandmotherhood.
I left the door opened and made sure she knew to call if she changed her mind.
She did.

So I left Peru Friday morning... my cell phone was dead because the week before I had left my cord at the hospital and taken Melanie's instead... mmm... should I see something into that?
Anyway... I knew my way sort of... I got the directions off Mapquest but the came up with 2 different locations so I got nervous and had to stop at the store to pick up a new car charger.
Once that was done, I could be on my way and call Mel when I got closer to getting lost. I actually did much better than I had anticipated.
I have visual memory of things and so milestones are my way of finding my way to places I've been. Not always good because, let's face it, they can tear down buildings and build new ones!

So, I'm here and Melanie is doing fine. And Brianne is doing fine too.
They are getting used to each other and learning to be mother and daughter and I get to learn how to be a grandmother.

Experience... sure I have some with my own kids.
Does that mean Mel will have the same ones? no. She will have her very own.
Like we said... Melanie is the best Mom Brianne could ever have and Brianne is the best child Melanie could ever have. The same goes for Joe of course and it is comforting to see how he dotes over the little one.

The dogs are hilarious...
Sammy does not seem to care one way or another.
Triton on the other hand behaves like a mother-hen.
If Brianne starts to fuss he starts running in every direction until he finds someone to go get her. Reminded us of Nana in Peter Pan...

I am stepping back and helping with silly things like housework, because that's what Melanie needs right now while she is recuperating from her c-section.
But it was fun playing with Brianne while her mom was taking a long soothing shower this morning.
They had a LONG night and so now mother and daughter are asleep.

A lady from church brought dinner yesterday but they will hold on to it.
Grandma (me, still weird...)can cook for them right now.

It is wonderful to be able to feel the warmth, love and happiness these young people feel right now. They have been married almost 7 years and they went through some pretty difficult times due to unforeseen circumstances. They had hoped for a child for a long time and dealt with much opposition because people assumed Melanie was putting her career ahead of having a family. If only people knew... The pain felt through all this was very deep but it seems that this deep pain has been replaced with as deep a joy.

Parenthood is more than feeling deep joy though and so along with these fulfilling feelings they are also finding out how to cope with not so pleasant moments as the three of them are learning to adjust to each other.







What an adventure they are embarking on!
What amazing things await them!
It's going to fun watching it all unfold!
and
It's the beginning of a new adventure for us too...
Thank You, Joe and Mel!
For giving us the opportunity to discover grandparenthood!
May you one day receive the same blessing!

Speechless...

The much awaited event happened this morning... at 8:22am
The doctor suspected Breanne (or is it Brianne, Mel?) would be a big baby and they were not wrong... She weighed 10 lbs 15 oz!
There she is not even 12 hours old and she has already outgrown most of her clothes... definitely the ones the hospital put her in!
The hat they put on her head kept on popping right off her head any time she moved and that made her cry...
When the nurse came in at one point she changed her completely and it must have been more comfortable for her as the undershirt they had on her kept riding back up under her little arms... little arms... nothing little about this baby in spite of what Michael thinks!...
and she is BEAUTIFUL!

The nurse asked Melanie not to feed her and so Joe put his finger in her mouth and that pacified her. By afternoon she had already lost 5oz.
She is very alert for a newborn. That does not surprise me as all my kids were big babies and very alert from day one. I hope she is as good for her parents that her mom was for me.
Congratulations Joe and Mel! and Breanne, too... You picked well... (=

Like Mother, Like Daughter

It looks like Melanie will be spared the pains of child labor. Lucky her!
At first I had a real problem with hearing that the doctors were contemplating a c-section to deliver Brianne. After all, Melanie weighed 9 pounds and 7 ounces when she was born. Her grandfather thought she was such a big baby coming out of such a petite woman that I was, that he nicknamed her Baby Huey.
My sister gave birth to children on both continents and the doctors here seemed so alarmed so soon that I figured the same thing was happening with Mel. Adding to the fact that so few doctors want to deliver babies these days because of suit-happy people who have made the risk of something going wrong more than doctors want to deal with.
The doctor who delivered Melanie was Chinese. He delivered all of my kids except Michael. He used to say: “Baby comes when baby ready” and overall my pregnancies were very easy. Delivering was uneventful too really except for the size of these babes.
All hovered around 9lbs and more except for Jon who was a ¼ oz short of 8lbs and I have decided this was due to the fact that throughout that pregnancy I had been so weight conscious… Before he could be weighed, Jon voided on the nurse… Not a pretty sight…
Anyway, after discussing Melanie’s situation with a couple of people I decided I was probably wrong in thinking she should avoid the c-section if she could and I was reconciled with the prospect. Besides, how lucky could she get?! Having a baby and not feeling pain?! Wow! That should be a treat…
Then earlier this week she called to announce that the last ultrasound showed Brianne at 10.5lbs already and with room to grow more. She was obviously surprised at my change of mind but seemed pleased. After all, everyone’s experience is different and nobody should assume theirs is the only ‘right’ one.
Actually Melanie was calling to ask if I had seen the picture she sent. I went directly into my email box and discovered the file. I am horrible at understanding the images found in ultrasound pictures. This one was amazing.

A perfect little face, with her hand under her chin… I melted completely… Who cares how she gets here? Just get her here!
They scheduled the c-section for June 7th unless Melanie goes into labor before that.
She won’t be in newborn diapers very long… (=
Mel, if you would scan me a picture of you baby, I would be very grateful... I can't find anything since we have rearranged furniture!
In exchange i will translate for you what I wrote about your birth... back so many years ago!