Born on the Fourth of July

Yes, I'm finally going to blog a little. I should really be sleeping, but I thought about all you Jones fans and felt bad that you haven't had enough from us lately. :)

Our lovely little girl was born on July 4, 2009. She weighed 7 pounds and 7 ounces and was about 20 inches long. I had labored throughout the day on Friday the 3rd and finally went to the hospital that evening at about 10 pm. They hooked me up with a sweet epidural which let me rest throughout the night to be ready for the big event the next morning. After an hour or so of pushing, she was born at 9:15 am.


I stared at her as they cleaned her off and the NICU people checked her out. She was so calm and peaceful only squawking when they did mean things like give her shots or bring out really bright lights. Almost immediately, I knew she wasn't an Elizabeth. She looked more like an Anne or something, I thought. Scott and I had picked Elizabeth and Anne as our two favorite girl names, so naturally I thought of Anne. For the first little bit, I struggled to see any of me in her. She looked so much like Scott and her Grandma Jones to me. In subsequent days, I started to see more of the blend. I don't know why, but it seemed really important that she have something of me in her that I could recognize—it was part of how I could claim her. Weird, I know, but true.


They were stitching me up and my mom, my sister, and my husband were all snapping pictures and oogling over her. I was just wiped out, mostly, and amazed that my baby was actually here.

We spent a few nearly sleepless nights in the hospital and I dined on some actually quite tasty hospital food quite comfortably while we stayed. It was like going out to eat minus the hassle and I could eat it all in bed! Scott mentioned that he didn't think she looked like an Elizabeth either, so we were pretty set on naming her Anne until I freaked out and wondered if possibly, she could be Jane instead of Anne. It was pretty stressful for me until one afternoon feeding when she it was very apparent that she was our Anne and that it would be okay to name her Anne. Scott suggested we give her Beth for a middle name, after my mother. At first I thought that three, one-syllable names would be a bit of a bore, but then I realized how beautiful simplicity is and fell in love with the name. Anne Beth Jones. Scott woke me up the morning of the day we were to go back home to make sure I was set on it, for he was about to write it on her birth certificate application thing. I asked him to put it on paper so I could see it in writing. I squinted my eyes open, took an approving glance, and said go for it.

We've had an adventurous week and a half of doctor's visits, lactation consultant visits, generous meals from sweet and thoughtful friends, traumatic nights, sleepy days, and way happy wonderment at the lovely little person that is ours. My mom was able to stay till the 11th and she made such a difference. Many a meal was consumed with me feeding my daughter and my mother feeding me. Our first night after she left Anne was particularly inconsolable and it was a hard night. Scott said the next day, "I think she really did miss your mom." Mom had showered her with love and closeness and comfort that only a grandma can give at all hours of the night. We miss her.



Scott's mom is on her way today, and I'm so excited to have her. She is so fun to be around and wants nothing but to be helpful. She's going to love Anne, too.

I'm still pretty amazed that this little tiny person is mine. I love her so much. I love watching Scott be such a FABULOUS daddy to her. He treats her so sweetly and is such a loving husband to me helping me recover and relax as I try to take care of our gal. He is really good at changing diapers, burping, and doing load after load of laundry. I don't know how anyone could bring a child into the world without such a tender and thoughtful, sacrificing husband. Why would you even want to? I'm really glad his job is flexible enough to allow him to have stayed with us for so many days and to be on call for our little emergencies. Loving Scott makes me love Anne more and loving Anne makes me love Scott more. Love is in the air, for sure. And if you smell carefully, so is the faint aroma of baby diapers.