Ending August With the Start of Our New Addition

 We named her Noisette Islay-Leeigh Mitchell. I confess I'm almost embarrassed telling people her name- it seems so large and isnt't what anyone was expecting. But it's so full of meaning for us- plus there are a ton of nicknames so everyone can call her pretty much whatever they want.

Here's the story-
The contractions started Friday night. Clay had gotten home late because he'd been helping out with the UNR swing club registration and the kids were already in bed. They were pretty whopper contractions but I did get a little sleep in between and tried to stay on my right side since that seeemed to slow them down. I woke up around 4:20am and kept resting until 5:30am when I decided I might as well get up, plus I was feeling kind of sick because I was hungry. Pherson woke up with me and we had a bowl of cereal with blueberries together. Cash and Tupp woke up within the hour and Cash had some cereal. I remember feeling so tired I just wasn't ready to take on what I knew was coming. So I put on Little Einsteins, said a fervent prayer to Heavenly Father that someway, somehow I'd get enough rest to be able to handle this. So I went and hopped back in bed for another hour and a half. I didn't really sleep, but when I got up I felt rested and ready for the challenge. I called our dear friends the Fowler's (8;50am) and Clay got the kids ready and loaded to drop them off at the meet-up point at 9:20. When he got home I was just finishing up some little things (taking our the garbage, grabbing last minute stuff, packing snacks) while he put together my labor listening music. I hopped in the shower really quick and did my hair and by then I was more than ready to go knowing I still had about a half hour drive to survive. At this point it's about 10:15am. We load and go- getting stuck behind racecars (it's the Ferrari race weekend) going 25 mph, even in the 45mph zone because they apparently missed that sign. I will say that sitting relieved some of the pain but full contractions on a car ride are amplified at least three fold, if not more. Not sure how fast Clay was driving on that last stretch of freeway but I asked him to drive faster. He parked in the loading zone and I tried to walk as quickly as possible between knowing that I was running out of time because they were coming so fast now that I couldn't gain much distance walking. But we made it! We had called ahead but they didn't call the doctor until we arrived. Too bad, because within ten minutes of arrival, three contractions, three pushes the nurses had her out. At 11:10am, coming in at 6 lb 15oz and 19 inches long we had our little Hazelnut. We have been so grateful for our friends who took care of the kiddos and brought them to visit, for Oma and Honey who watched them on Sunday until we could get home (plus they cleaned my kitchen and dishes and floors) and for all those who have brought us dinner and taken my monkeys in the morning this last week.

As for her name... Nothing has been coming to us over these last months except Noisette. When I was pregnant with Cash I had a dream that we were having a girl and I named her Hazel. But then we found out he was a boy. We had already picked out Tupp's name before we even knew she was going to be a girl.  Noisette means Hazelnut and Clay had originally told me about the name because it was one of the names a family had named their daughter when he was on his mission. So it seemed fortuitous and has a plethora of nickname possibilities for all of us Anglophiles. Hazel, Etta... it's all good. We usually use the middle name to honor family members. Jack, Rose, Eugean. I was originally thinking Lee since we have several Lee's in our family. But to make a long story short, because of Noisette's birthdate falling on the original due date of her sweet angel baby cousin it got me to thinking how we could honor that little one as well. Which got me to thinking about her other angel baby cousin Aila. When I was pregnant with Pherson one of the girl names I was considering was Islay (pronounced eye-luh and is an island in Scotland) when Cammie and JP lost little Aila. So it is that her middle name is Islay-Leeigh in memory of Aila, Russ and the Lindsay's angel baby. I suppose one might think it a sad middle name but I can't help but think she knew and loved these sweet spirits. So that's it in a...nutshell.

 The kiddos are in love with her.  Pherse always asks to pet her (and then he coos "good girl" to her)  or kiss her and when he holds her declares- she heavy!

 Cash says she is the cutest in all the world and wants to hold and kiss her all day long.

 But he has stiff competition from Tupp, who loves picking out clothes for Hazelnut and will sit next to her and sing her own made up lullabies while Little Nut sleeps.

 She likes the sling and we like her new pediatrician (who has us doing10 minute sunbathes for a couple of days). She  is  down to 6 lb 9  oz but that is normal. She has just developed a clogged tear duct or eye infection in her right eye so we're working on that. Oh she has a stork bite birthmark on the back of her head and one of her ears was squished flat but is now starting to normalize.

And how fitting that what little hair she has is nut colored.
While much of me has been looking forward, past the infant stage, I'm drinking in this time deeply- trying to soak it all up as this is my last. I am surprised that I will miss this since this is not the easiest stage for me, but I will miss holding such a tiny piece of heaven. She has made my baby Pherse feel like a grown man in comparison, which makes for a greater feeling of loss and change. My how amazing, complex and wonderful this life is!