It's a girl!

Mandy needs a break from writing (and also needs some much needed rest), so I have graciously agreed to write the birth story for our little one like I did with Alyssa (a little less dramatic than last time). First off, allow me to introduce to you Lauren Faith Menke, born Friday June 11, 2010 at 12:22 pm. She was 8lb 7oz and 19 inches long. Not as big as Alyssa, but still a very good size. Lauren and Mandy are doing great. Mandy and I arrived at the hospital at 10am, filled out some paperwork, got changed and headed to surgery at noon. There was one glich around 10:30am - Mandy decided she wanted to change the first name if we had a girl. It was our second choice when we had Alyssa and was close to being our first choice this time, but we liked a different name too. In the end, we changed it and I think we made the right decision - such a nice name isn't it? Back to the birth, Mandy did great throughout the surgery. The doctor told me to get ready because the baby was coming - I stood up and watched as they took out Lauren. Once I saw her, I told Mandy we had another girl and we couldn't be happier for a healthy baby. I cut the cord and went back with Lauren to the recovery room as they stitched Mandy back up. Mandy joined us about a 1/2 hour later and she was able to hold Lauren for the first time. After Mandy stabilized we went up to our regular room where we would be staying. Mandy's parents were waiting for us and as you can imagine they very excited to see their new granddaughter after a long flight in from PA that morning. Later in the day, my parents came to visit and brought Lauren's big sister - Alyssa. We've been prepping Alyssa for a new baby and now she got to meet her. She did great - giving her hugs and being very gentle with her. She even wanted to hold her, which we let her for about 5 seconds. Alyssa always seemed concerned whenever Lauren cried. Autie Stacy also came to visit. After the long day it was only Mandy, Lauren and me left to spend the night. Mandy thought Lauren wet her diaper so I said I would change it. Much to my surprise she had dirtied her diaper and it went up her whole back - lucky me! After I cleaned her up we were ready to go to sleep for the night. Lauren seemed to be hungry most of the night so the nurses in the nursery kept bringing her back to our room to eat. However, whenever Mandy started feeding her she fell asleep. So we eventually decided to keep her in the room and between the nurses coming in to check on Mandy and Lauren squirming, Mandy didn't get much sleep. I guess I didn't have any trouble sleeping since Mandy told me I was snoring. Now before all you mothers get upset, I did get up throughout the night and help out, I just didn't do as much as Mom did. It is now Saturday and we are expecting some more visitors. We can't wait for everyone to meet Lauren! We'll keep you posted on any new developments - or funny stories!

Take care,
Aaron, Mandy, Alyssa and Lauren