Addition

Also blog-worthy, my niece/nephew brood grew again.  And I got to be there right afterward!


About 9 days before my sister-in-law was due, my brother mentioned their contingency plan if she went into labor early.  She was due on a Thursday, and her mother was coming to town the Monday before.  And if it happened before that, they were just going to bring their son to the hospital with them, since they just moved to Oregon in December and don't have babysitters yet. 


Plan was born.  My brother and I talked on Tuesday.  He cleared it with his wife, since I was far from certain she'd want company being 9.9 months pregnant and it was short notice, and it was their last weekend as a family of 3.  And then I had to run the plan by my husband -- I've been traveling a fair amount for work and lately he's been really adverse to me going anywhere for fun alone if it means extra days apart (well, it's actually mutual, since I've vetoed a couple things he was considering).  My husband said he was on call all weekend anyway, and it would be nice, so I should go.  So on Thursday morning, I bought a plane ticket for Friday morning.  Packed Thursday night and went to bed.


And then my phone beeped.  Her water broke.  A full week early.  Ugh. 


So as I sat on the runway in Dallas Friday morning, Friday the 13th no less, my newest niece made her entrance into the world. 


I got to the hospital that afternoon, certainly the freshest/newest baby I've held in ages, maybe ever. 


So I got to hang with my sweet nephew Fri night and then Saturday my brother and his wife came home from the hospital with baby Ava. 


I held her as much as I could before I had to leave. 

In her first 72-ish hours, she seemed to have a very sweet disposition.  She slept a lot.  But I remember when her older brother was a baby, and it seemed like if he was awake, he was screaming. Especially if he needed a diaper change. Not her.  Very rarely cried, except when she was being changed.  We think she didn't like the cold. 

When I was holding her on my last day there, I had her wrapped in a blanket.  I held her for about an hour.  At one point, she fussed, but it was for less than 3 seconds.  When it was time to go, I finally handed her back to her mom, and the blanket slipped off and there was $hit EVERYWHERE.  Like everywhere.  All over her pants, the bottom of her sweater, the inside of the blanket.  Like she had had a colossal diaper blowout under the blanket.  But she didn't care, just totally easygoing.