born July 11, 2007 at 5:06am, weighing 8lbs, 1 oz

After we had moved to our new house on July 3rd, and after Isobel's 5th birthday on July 7th had past, we settled in to just waiting for Violet's arrival.  The Braxton-Hicks contractions that had been getting stronger in the last couple of weeks started getting closer together the night before, and I was unsure whether it was labour or not.  But when the real thing started at about 11pm on the 10th, there was no question that I had to get to the hospital.  I was admitted

After months of being closely monitored to make sure my gestational diabetes didn't cause complications or an obese baby, Violet arrived absolutely perfect in every way.  Within minutes she was latched on and eating, and both of us were taken off the diabetes protocol within the first day.  And since then her appetite has been huge, she barely lost any weight, and gained a pound in a week.  

Bella came to meet her sister about 3 hours after she was born, and has been in love with her ever since.  She doesn't want to stop touching and holding her, which is so sweet, but also very annoying at times.  The word used most around our house these days is "gentle!!!", since Isobel is enthusiastic in her affections. There doesn't seem to be any resentment at the amount of attention the baby requires, but there has been a bit of acting out, especially after a long day at camp.  But overall all the changes our family has gone through in the last month or so haven't caused her much stress.  What a relief after some of the horror stories I heard!

We were lucky to have our 17 year old niece, Rosy, here with us for the move and the birth, and probably wouldn't have survived with our sanity without her.  And my Mum and then my sister were out for a couple of weeks, which was wonderful.  They took Bella to the park across the street 3 times a day, held Violet when I had to change a spit up covered shirt, and made delicious dinners to give tired Iain a break.  And Violet has helped us out by being a quiet, sleepy baby, with only one night feed, and the occasional 6 hour stretch.   If she wasn't such a gross baby, pooping nonstop, she would be perfect!