Welcome, Mary Tucker Devereaux!

We are pleased to announce the birth of "baby girl Devereaux" or "Stella's Little Sissy" AKA Mary Tucker Devereaux!

Yes, she is almost 3 weeks old and I haven't posted a single thing about her birth but hey, give me a break...I've got two girls under two years old (wow, that's scary to say out loud).

 Our new family of four!

She was born at 10:12 am on Thursday, January 5, 2012 weighing a light 7lbs 12oz (lighter than predicted via ultrasound!) and measuring 19 1/4 inches long. She came out with light brown hair and a few short hours after delivery we could see that she, too, would have blue eyes like her sister. Everything went fine during our scheduled c-section (besides the slight uncomfortable spinal insertion) and I am recovering very well.

Mary Tucker was named after my grandmother, Mary Ann, Matt's great-great grandfather, Grover Tucker, and my dear friend from high school, Tucker. Mary Tucker was perfectly healthy, even though we had a rough start learning to nurse. She lost about a pound in the first week and we had to supplement with a bottle of pumped breast milk for a few days,so she could plump back up, and as of last Thursday, she weighed 7lbs 10.5oz, so she is 2 ounces shy of her birth weight, thank goodness!

She has just melted into life at the Devereauxs and her sister Stella is in love with her, though these days Stella is much more interested in "Dora" and "Fresh Beat Band" than looking at her sissy. But when she holds her sissy, it's the sweetest thing!

Mary Tucker is sleeping well now, but I know from experience this is the honeymoon phase and at about 4-6 weeks old, she'll start acting like a newborn who does more crying than sleeping:) We are enjoying her sleeping patterns now, though. 

Her cousin, Ann Frances Moffett (my sister's baby) was born 4 days later and of course, as I predicted, a GIRL! I knew we'd be having girls together, and now my mother has 5 granddaughters!

Ann Frances and Aunt Ro Ro

Cousins Ann Frances and Mary Tucker, 5 days old and 9 days old

Sisters 

We are both doing well with our new bundles of joy and getting settled into life with two babes! Updates to come!

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Spending the New Year at Home

Since I'm as big as a house and not in the "partying" mood (except if that partying were to bring baby sissy any earlier) we spent a few hours of NYE day at "Zoo Year's Eve" at Audubon Zoo with MC, Dave and Millie, plus MC and Dave's college buds with their son, Reed. We had a blast and I am ashamed to admit it was Stella's first trip to the Audubon Zoo! She LOVED it.

 Stella and Daddy watching the entertainment at the zoo

 Stella ringing in the New Year with her hat (yes, that's a Saints smocked dress:)

 Carousel time! Dad chose the animal Stella would ride, of course...

Mommy and Stella got to ride together, too:)

After a fun day, we spent the evening at home watching movies and trying to keep our eyes open until midnight and NYD at home eating and watching the Saints. I have to say the impending arrival of Baby Girl Devereaux trumps New Year's right now, because I can think of NOTHING else besides our new baby and how her delivery will go.

She is scheduled to arrive on Thursday, January 5 at 10am...only 3 days,  21 hours, and 40 minutes left! We are having another c-section (scheduled) as we did with Stella because frankly I have giant freak babies. The first c-section was highly suggested because 1) I had gestational diabetes and 2) Stella's head circumference was measuring in the 97th% and from the looks of the last ultrasound, she would not fit through my pelvis, get stuck after hours of labor and I'd end up having an emergency c-section anyway. I must admit, after hearing so many positive experiences of women having a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) and loving it, I thought, hey, that might be an option for me. For one, the recovery time is SO much quicker in a VBAC - you aren't recovering from abdominal surgery for 4-6 weeks, you'll be able to enjoy time with the new baby and the big sibling. However, there are risks in having a VBAC - so much so that some doctors refuse to perform them. My doctor chooses to perform them, but when I asked if I could entertain the idea with this one, she kindly but firmly reminded me of this baby's head size compared to Stella's...she is the same size OR bigger than Stella. Also in consideration was the fact that my sister is also pregnant and due 2 days after me. As it stands, we both have our c-sections scheduled 4 days apart so our family can spend time at both hospitals and homes with both babies. With a VBAC I cannot be induced so there would be no scheduling involved. We would be at the whim of the baby's schedule, which would have been fine had my family not been planning on 2 new babies instead of one. All in all, I weighed my options and decided another c-section was the best option for me because I had such a great delivery with the first one.

Surgery still scares me, I'll admit. I'm still nervous about the operation, even though I know I have a very skilled set of surgeons working on me...I just pray that the delivery goes well and she comes out healthy and safe. Then comes the fun part...seeing what she looks like! We've been going over all the questions we have...will she be huge? Will she have blonde hair like Stella? Will she have fair skin, blue eyes, and a big, round head like Stella? Since Stella is our only baby, we only have her to compare Sissy to, even though I know they'll be different and have their own personalities. Another question is WHAT WILL WE NAME HER???? We are stumped here...we have options but we cannot decide, and won't decide until she is born...but what if none of the names we have fit her little face/personality? I'm a little more anxious about her name than Matt is...he just thinks it will come to us once we see her, and I hope he is right!

...so as we enjoy this New Year's Day, or try to...we are reflecting on the joys we were given this past year through being Stella's parents and all the blessings we are lucky to receive in 2012. We know bringing Stella's new sister into the mix will change Stella's world for the better, even though it may be hard at times, we pray for the guidance to be the best parents we can to both of our little girls! God is good!