Sorry for the delay in posting but there have been a few bumps along the road (nothing major) but here are the long awaited pictures and story. This may be overkill but Hey! we are first time parents so we are allowed to beam!!
Mike and I are proud to announce the arrival of Anastassia Irene St. Joseph born on Monday, May 19, 2008 at 7:16 am. Anastassia weighted 8# 5oz, length 20 3/4 in, with good Apgars of 8 and 9. Anastassia was born via scheduled c-section.
Mike was present during the whole procedure and was the first to show Anastassia to her mom in the OR prior to making his phone calls to family and friends.
Anastassia had some minor issues with her breathing and glucose levels so she spent about 6 hours in the NICU (intensive care unit) prior to joining Mike and I in our room. This was our first official family picture.
Mike bonding with Anastassia. (This is still her preferred sleep position)
Getting to know each other!
Jennifer and Anastassia bonding.
I'M A GIRL!!!!
2 days old
Meeting Grandma and Grandpa Neroda.
Meeting Grandma and Grandpa St. Joseph.
Mike bedding down at the Hospital. (For all those other guys who have spent the night on the bench bed in the Northside Maternity Unit, you can appreciate this picture the most!)
Anastassia joining us in our room.
Just a cute picture! She was and still is very alert and "watches" everything
On day 2-3 (Wed) after the c-section, Jennifer developed an ilieus (a type of intestinal blockage) which threw everyone for a loop. Jennifer received an NG tube (a suction tube into the stomach/ GI tract to remove the blockage) and put back to bed. If you know Jennifer very well, she does not "do well" with doing nothing so it was an adjustment for all. Jennifer's mother was a great support during this time to help establish nursing and Mike became very good at setting up nursing, pumping, feeding and changing Anastassia. Due to the blockage, our anticipated discharge date was moved from Thursday, May 22 to Saturday May 24. As anyone knows who has spent time in the hospital, it is not the place to get any rest and with my added issues there were barely 5 min that someone was not coming into the room for me or Anastassia.
We were finally released on Saturday (1 week ago) and were greeted at home by Mike's brother Scott and his family and both sets of grandparent. We were very happy to get home and with all the added help was able to get some well needed rest.
We had our full on photo shoot once we got home and once I get those pics downloaded I will post them. (I put a ban on photos of me while I had the NG tube hanging from my nose - not really something I want to have a photo memory of - the really thing was good enough!)
We have had our first (and second) pediatrician appt (due to some weight loss by Anastassia which has resolved) and had an ultrasound of Anastassia's left hip due to a click which was also found to be nothing. Jennifer is regaining her strength gradually. She was lost of all her baby weight gain plus some due to the GI issue but is gradually coming back. Not a recommended method of weight loss!
Mike's parents are here until June 3 which has been a real help with getting the house organized and helping care for our new addition. They say you can't spoil a new born but Anastassia has not slept any where except in someone's arms (grandma and grandpa) except at night since she came home. It will be interesting to see what happens once the grandparents are gone!
As you can see, we are very excited about our new family and can not wait for everyone to met Anastassia Irene.
Jennifer, Mike and Anastassia
