Baby Maby Goes Home

I found John in the hospital bed with Brittany when I showed up this afternoon. They were cuddled up with a sleeping baby watching The Maltese Falcon.

They let me take a turn holding her for a while. Everyone wants to hold the baby!

The hospital food is not very good, so John and I picked up sandwiches at Pot Belly Sandwich Shop and took them back to eat while Brittany ate her hospital food.

After dinner we dressed up Mabel in her going home outfit with the purple striped leggings. What a sweetie!

Then we packed her in her car seat. It is so big for her now!

The nurse wheeled them down to the lobby and we had John bring the car around.

When we got to Brittany and John's home we found the cat in the cradle! The cats were a little confused about the baby, but steered clear for the most part.

We passed the baby around a little more before I came home to Grandma's house. This is John's "Have you ever seen anything so cute?" look. Little Mabel has stolen our hearts!

Meet Mabel

Brittany and John settled on the name Mabel for our cute little granddaughter. Mabel Iris Nuttall. She weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz. at birth and measured 20.5 inches. We look forward to getting to know her better!

It's a Girl!

We're so happy to welcome a new baby girl to the family! That's what feels right to me!

Brittany was amazed that this cute little bundle of joy was inside her for 9 months!

Papa John is a natural with her! We're still waiting for him and Brittany to settle on one of three names,

This was a long ordeal, but the smiles show how happy everything ended.

And, what a blessing it was for me to be at the birth. It was very emotional, and we shed a lot of tears, of sympathy and frustration, as well as joy. But I'm one happy granny!

Getting Ready for Baby!

Yesterday was supposed to be the big day. Brittany and John reported to the hospital at 6:30 a.m., and at 8:30 she was put on pitocin to start her labor.

John entertained us with his baby dance.

He also kept Brittany in ice chips, with a new flavor each time.

Marti, John's mother, and I took a lunch break and came back with gifts. I got a pink balloon, and Marti a blue one. We thought we'd cover our bases, since we don't know the sex of the child yet.

Things really didn't progress much, so at 3:30 Dr. Rees broke her water. After that, things started to pick up a little.

 After 12 hours in the hospital, the nurses and doctor went home and fresh ones came in. We were hopeful that the baby would come on Dr. Woolsey's shift.

Brittany was determined to feel some pain before she called in the anesthesiologist. By 8 p.m. she was more than ready for her epidural, which brought some sweet relief.

We tried to get some sleep between 10 and 2, but it wasn't really quality sleep.

At 2:30 a.m., Brittany was ready to start pushing. This turned out to be a longer ordeal than we expected. After several hours, she was given the choice of a forceps delivery or Cesarean. She chose the former, and was able to deliver the baby without further difficulties.

At 5:25 a.m., Baby Nuttall entered the world, just barely in time before the second shift change. The baby came out caterwalling lustily, sweet music to our ears! Stay tuned to find out what the baby is!

Oh, Baby!

I flew out to Utah today to be with Brittany and John for the birth of their first child, and our first grandchild! We stopped in at Brittany's work. She said she's feeling a little hippo-ish, and is looking forward to lightening the load!

We stopped in at Oracle to see John's beatiful new office. He started on Monday. A new job and a new baby all in one week!

We met grandma for dinner at the Pizza Factory. I love the squash noodles and the spiral bread sticks there!

As if that wasn't enough, we stopped at Rita's for ice cream--a taste of Baltimore! I think hanging around with a pregnant woman isn't good for my diet.

But, the good news is, that Brittany is going to be induced tomorrow, and will no longer be pregnant! Stay tuned to find out if we're having a boy or girl grandchild!

Paddling at Turkey Point

Ed and I took advantage of his Father's day Groupon yesterday--just in time before the season was over. He received two hours for two people on two boards at Turkey Point, about 45 minutes east of our home.

We felt like pros, having mastered the art at my brother David's house last summer in North Carolina.

We had even mastered the art of sitting down on the board and getting up again without falling in the water. That would have been okay, too, as the water was very warm.

Thanks, Amanda, Crystal and Brittany, for thinking of Dad and including me in the fun!

Ravens Preseason Game

Ed scored some Ravens tickets yesterday afternoon at work. It was short notice, but it was a good opportunity for us to go to a game, even though it was just a preseason game. It was a beautiful night and fun to be outside.

We hadn't been to a football game in a while. I didn't realize they had so many male cheerleaders. I also found out the Ravens are one of only two NFL teams with an official marching band. How cool is that?

Note to future game attendees: If you go, don't take a fanny pack! It is on the list of items you can't take into the stadium. I had made the mistake of thinking a fanny pack would be more convenient that a purse (which IS legal). This caused us some degree of difficulties! Next time we'll know better!

PS: The Ravens beat the New Orleans Saints 30-27.