Aubrey Mae's arrival

Aubrey Mae Wehr
Born 1:08 pm, Central time, Friday, August 13, 2010
8 pounds, 8 ounces, 21 inches long
a little bit of hair the color of Melissa's
dark eyes

What do you do when you get a call on August 12 at mid-day and the whispering voice says, "Mom! Get in the car now!" You scramble to finish the laundry you were doing for the Iowa trip that was supposed to happen on August 20, gather everything you've been thinking you'll take along, load up the car, get on the road, and 8 hours 45 minutes later, pull into Melissa and Mark's driveway at 10 pm Central time.

I last reported on the problems Melissa was having--the extreme low blood sugars she was having a hard time controlling and the low amniotic fluid levels. She had ultrasounds on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday (August 9, 10, and 12). On Thursday, the doctor said rather than be concerned about Melissa struggling to control her blood sugar through the weekend and possibly missing a sign of fetal distress, it was better to move the C-section up from its scheduled August 23 date. The baby was considered full term even though Melissa's due date was August 29. There wasn't enough amniotic fluid to do an amniocentesis to check the baby, so the C-section was scheduled for Friday, August 13, at noon. It actually happened an hour later because of having to wait for the doctor who was delivering a natural birth.

Imagine how big Aubrey might have been had she actually come on her due date! Melissa said she seemed little compared to Will, who was a full pound heavier at birth. But still, Aubrey was a good-sized newborn--and she looked so much like Will did at birth. It remains to be seen if she'll keep that reddish tinge to her hair or become really blonde like Will is. And as for being born on Friday, the 13th, so was Melissa. She always considered 13 her lucky number as do I. She had even said to me earlier in the week that she'd like for the baby to be born on the 13th and then everybody would be fine and healthy.

The name Aubrey was one Melissa and Mark just liked, and the middle name Mae is a contraction of my middle name (Marie) and Mark's mother's middle name (Rae). They had also considered naming the baby Katherine and calling her Kate, but upon seeing her in the delivery room, they both had the same thought: This isn't a Kate, this is Aubrey.

This birth was so different for the grandparents. With Will, we all waited in the waiting area, occasionally someone brought in food, and we worried and paced through the 10 hours of labor and the resulting C-section, then waited a couple of hours to get the news from Mark. With Aubrey, we all gathered in Melissa's room, watched her walk to surgery, sat around drinking coffee and chatting, and were so relaxed when Mark came in and said, "We have our girl!"

Melissa was awake for the C-section and insisted that she go back on her insulin pump right after the delivery. There were a few hours of concern about Aubrey's blood sugar. It was low right from the time of delivery. However, by giving her formula every few hours, it slowly came up and finally got into the normal range. She never did have to go to neonatal intensive care.

Mark stayed at the hospital all three nights that Melissa and Aubrey were there. He came home at 8 each evening to put Will to bed, which was a good idea for Will's comfort because he was visibly concerned and confused about Mommy going into the hospital. I stayed at home with him at night, and he was fine each morning. I loved the way he would run into the kitchen when he got up and hug my legs and yell, "Grammy!" On one morning, however, he got out of bed way too early and came into his parents' bedroom where I was sleeping, though actually I was awake and heard him. I waited to see if he would go back to bed on his own. When he didn't, I opened my eyes. There he stood, holding his Toy Story Woody character in one hand and Buzz Lightyear in the other, all three of them just staring at me. It was hard not to laugh. We spent our days visiting in the hospital where there was a steady stream of visitors as well as all the grandparents.

The day of discharge, Monday, August 16, Aubrey was 7 pounds, 11 ounces. Will waited impatiently for Mommy and Aubrey. We made a welcome sign that we put on the fireplace mantle, we played outside, drew a welcome sign on the driveway with chalk, blew bubbles. Finally, Aubrey was home. Will immediately helped Mark take her into the house. Will is so good with her, giving her gentle kisses often. He loves to hold her--for about 30 seconds. He's always asking her to play with him, so Melissa lays her on the floor on a blanket so Aubrey can "watch."

I drove home on Wednesday, August 25. The next day at her two-week checkup, Aubrey was up to 8 pounds, 11 ounces, and 21 1/2 inches long. I was so busy while in Iowa with cooking and cleaning, doing laundry, playing with Will and getting acquainted with Aubrey, grocery shopping, etc., that when I got home I couldn't remember what my routine was supposed to be. I did take the day before I left to do a little shopping. I went to Czech Village, which still needs to do so much to recover from the floods. So many homes are abandoned, some are being rebuilt, some stores have reopened but many are empty. I had a long conversation with the owner of a gift shop I always go to, and he showed me a slide show of the photos he took of his shop and the area. Such devastation! His was the first store to be able to re-open in December 2009. In the afternoon, I went out to Main Amana in the Amana Colonies. Since I was driving for this Iowa trip, I could bring back some things that I can't get when I fly--namely, two six-packs of Millstream Brewing Company beer and six sample bottles of wine from the Ackerman Winery. I'm anticipating a tasting party at my house with my friends soon.

Now the Wehr household has birthdays to celebrate in June (Mark), July (Melissa), August (Aubrey), and September (Will). And Will even recites those birthday months if you ask him to.

An extra note: My Hearts friend Ruth Ann got engaged last week. A few months ago, she got re-acquainted with a guy she dated a few times in high school. They basically hadn't seen each other in 55 years! Her husband died three years ago a month before Ed; his wife died in January. She is giddy and excited like a teenager in love. I'm so happy for her, a little jealous that she has found such happiness again, and a little sad that I've lost my lunching-out buddy. We had lunch on the Monday before I went to Iowa (actually, on my wedding anniversary, as I said in my August 9 post). At that time, she was still being "courted," but I wasn't really surprised that they became engaged because she obviously really cares for this guy and he for her. Brings to mind the lyrics from an old Air Supply song: In my life when everything was wrong, something finally went right. Now there's two less lonely people in the world tonight.