Welcome, Margaret Anne!

We have a girl! Margaret Anne was born happy and healthy at 10:17 a.m. on Sunday March 20, weighing 8.0 pounds and measuring 20-3/4 inches. She has a full head of dark hair like her big sister Mary was born with, but we think her facial features resemble big brother John's.

John is bashfully in love with her. He comes upstairs to visit Mama and Margaret many times per day. He offered to carry Margaret downstairs and teach her how to roll over.

Margaret is pretty chunky for two weeks early: she has a double chin and fat rolls on her back. I think it's safe to say that I have a pattern of going early, now that I can look at three babies, born at 3 weeks, 2 weeks, and 2 weeks early--all good sizes too. Also--I don't know if this is a real pattern or mere coincidence as scientists say--but John and Mary were born one day before full moons and Margaret born one day after a full moon. Very interesting!

By the end of her first day, I finally bothered to get her dressed into a little outfit.

Big sister Mary saying 'good night'

Precious statements the children have made:

John: "Margaret Anne is a good name for a person just born."

John: "Now we know she is a girl because she has soft hair." (You will recall his other idea for how to determine the gender.)

Mary: "The baby is not learning how to talk!" (Mary is very concerned that Margaret is not yet talking, so she has made this statement at least a dozen times.)

Mary quickly shared with the new baby her current most prized possession: her stuffed toy kitty cat. And she has excitedly offered to share all her toys with Margaret!

I'll have better pictures to post phone, as my doula took photos with a regular camera and the above are mostly from our cell phone camera.