Becca's Big Day!

Well gang, the big day had finally arrived. Because Becca was still breech, we had a planned C-section to welcome her into the world. Up before dawn, we arrived at the hospital just behind mom and dad at 5:30 am. (Who knew there WAS a 5 am??) We checked in and the nursing staff promptly began poking me with needles and applying wrist bands so I couldn't escape. Bill and I were dressed for the occasion in our finest hospital attire. Let the games begin!
We were officially escorted to the operating theater where I felt the unusual sensation - or lack thereof - of the "spinal". As a result, I was completely numb from the ribs down (whereas I'm usually numb from the neck up!). The team strapped me down to the table - again so I couldn't escape, and Bill joined the cast of characters and the production began. Our fearless doctor, Dr. Drey (no, I am NOT making that up!) skillfully carved his way into my uterus. I must say, his reaction time is very fast as he almost completely avoided all of my water. We all chatted amicably during the procedure (very surreal!!) Bill was "supposed to be" holding my hand - what, and miss the show?!? No way! He stood peeking over the magic curtain to give me the play-by-play drama unfolding before him. (You know those moments when you hear someone utter words you'll never forget... ) "I see a foot ... there's a butt ... OH MY GOD SHE'S HUGE" I didn't know whether to laugh or cry - and all I thought was *please scream, please scream, please scream* (Yes, you other parents, I fully understand that for the rest of her life I will wish *please stop screaming, please stop screaming ...*)

So out came Rebecca Marlee Pastorius at 8:13am. Weighing in at 8 lb 13.7 oz and measuring 20 3/4 inches. Daddy left me for his new favorite girl and supervised the nurses in their clean-up efforts. A short time later I met my beautiful daughter.
While in recovery, Daddy was allowed to carry Becca from the OR to the nursery. I have never seen him smile so big!!! He was even smiling during his "Daddy initiation" - changing the first dirty diaper!!!!
Here are a few pictures of the star of our show. No autographs, please!




See Becca's web nursery photo at www.msha.com/webnursery and use Sal6177 as your login and 5018 as your passcode. Don't forget to sign the guestbook!

She's Here!

At 8:13 AM on January 27th of 2009, Rebecca Marlee Pastorius was brought kicking and screaming into this big scary world. She weighed in at a whopping 8 lbs. 14 oz and measured 20 3/4 inches long. Here's a photo, more to come later!

The Belly Game - "ROUND TWO"

Hey kids!
Back for more?

Let's play round two:
Can you identify these bellies???

(Sesame Street music playing ... "one of these kids is doing her own thing, two of these kids are kinda the same ... can you guess which kid is doin' her own thing ... now it's time to play our game ... it's time to play our game")



If you guessed that "Melanie" is sporting the exotic tiger stripes ... YOU'RE RIGHT !!
Who need stripy undies when you can have a whole stripy belly?!? (I think it may catch on in Hollywood)

And now ... the BONUS ROUND!
Be sure to put in your vote for the date of "The Big Event"

The Baby's Room

The baby's room, formerly known as Bill's room, was a complete disaster!!!!! We had boxes and bags and gifts and toys and random wall-to-wall chaos. There was no way we could fix this problem with Bill working 11hr/day, 6 days/week and me unable to even tie my own shoe laces!

Help us Sarah and Alicia ... you're our only hope!

(Bravo to anyone who got that reference!) So as I mentioned Sarah and Alicia came down for a visit - or so they thought. Ha! Once trapped in the confines of our apartment they were forced into slave labor. Little did I know that the tables would soon turn!



These two girls honestly worked their butts off!!! I've never seen anything like it in all my days. They're MACHINES!!!! In three short days, they whipped this place into shape! Sarah is well into pregnancy herself, and under the control of some powerful hormones she morphed into Super-Sarah ... able to leap small buildings in a single bound!!! (I remember being Super-Melanie in the second trimester) At one point Alicia and I gave up for the night, but Sarah was still going strong despite our urgings for her to give it up. We were exhausted just watching her! Geesh!

We elicited Bill's help with assembling the crib one day before he went to work. With the four of us chipping in, it was a piece of cake! Well ... okay ... to be honest, I just read the instruction manual, supervised, and photographed but at least I stayed out of their way so they could work. It was snowing at the time - no I mean IN the apartment. The crib was packed in these little styrofoam balls of evil that exploded all over the room and hallway. After several vacuum jobs, I'm still finding these little monsters everywhere!! Sarah did about a thousand loads of laundry to clean EVERYTHING and prepare for Becca's arrival. In the end, we only had one item MIA. Of course everyone believes that the washer/dryer eats the socks, but I now have a new theory ...
(I dunno - so don't even ask.)

All in all, our efforts were successful. Bill and I definitely couldn't have done it alone. We appreciate Alicia and Sarah SO MUCH for all their help and support. There really are no words adequate enough to express my gratitude. They truly are great friends - there for us no matter what! I thank them for their emotional support as well as their physical labor. And a special thanks should really go to Alicia for dealing with us two pregnant yahoos at the same time. She should get some kind of medal for that alone!!!
Thanks girls!

December News

Now I'm a YEAR late!!!

December was a busy month. So I applied for an Assistant Professor position in the Biology & Environmental Science department at West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, WV. I was very excited to be invited for an on-site interview at the college on Dec 3-4. With meetings and lectures and research seminars ahead of me I had a long 2 days! Up until this point, I had neglected to inform them that I was 8 months pregnant. However, a little birdie (ie Sarah) let the news slip down the grapevine that I currently had a temporary medical condition with symptoms including a greatly distended abdomen and a rosy glow. Hahaha! So the people at Wesleyan recognized me right off - particularly the President of the College as she announced during a luncheon (which I crashed!) "I recognize you - you're the one who's 8 months pregnant!" LOL The interview went well and, after some mild negotiations, I have accepted the position they offered. Hooray! Looks like we'll be moving back to WV in a few short months.


The Wesleyan trip would be our last in 2008 - as I was getting close to the "travel restriction" time. So Bill and I were both totally bummed to not be home at Christmas. This is the first Christmas away from family for both of us. Luckily, some angels descended upon us. A few days before Christmas, Cindy and her boyfriend Kevin (yeah girl - I said it - BOYFRIEND!!!) stopped by to stay with us overnight. They were in Asheville, NC (~1hr away) and were nice enough to drive up. It really brightened my holidays. Bill and I had some of his friends over for Christmas Eve dinner. Then the day after Christmas, Sarah and Alicia came to visit (actually "WORK" is more like the truth here). We had a Sal xmas, as Sarah brought down gifs from the family - and then took ours back up north upon her return. Finally, Bill's parents Betty and Clayton stopped by overnight on their way to Myrtle Beach for the annual "honeymoon". With their visit, we had a Pastorius xmas, then sent our gifts for Melissa, Brian, and the girls back with them. The whole thing reminded me of my "birthday hanukkah" celebrations! Haha! With all of our visitors, the holidays didn't seem quite so lonely after all. Thanks everybody for making us feel better! We had a good Christmas.

The Belly Game

Hey everybody!
It's the November edition of The Belly Game!

C'mon - you KNOW you want to play ...



Can you guess who belongs to these bellies???






Okay, I'm the pink stripy one - but you already KNEW that!!! Who are my partners-in-crime??? Give up? Check your answers below!






Thanks for playing!
Stay tuned for the December edition of The Belly Game ... where the choices get harder and the bellies get bigger!

November Happenings

Hello all!
It has been quite some time since we've updated the blog. We are all fine here. I'm still on the stupid diet (boo!) and I have been upgraded to injectible insulin at night (boo! boo!). Bill does a surprisingly good job at giving me injections - too bad he's only done it a few times. I'm not quite so gently with myself and end up bruising. It's not so bad, though - and it's only for a short time. Now I know how the research mice feel!! The baby is getting big. They estimate her at 5lb 8oz which is BIG so far! She moves around well and gets very excited when I eat. (Bet she'd go CRAZY with carbs!)

Okay, so let me go back and hit some highlights from November.

The girls at work had a shower for me. It was so nice to get together for a little party. I was surprised to see Cheryl pull out the Southern Comfort and spike the punch! What kind of party IS this?!? It's okay though, because I'm still on the crazy diet and cannot drink punch with or without alcohol. And since they have a designated driver (ie ME), why not!? This is Jenny, who now shares the lab with me. Her packages are too pretty to open!! Cheryl and Judy made me a beautiful diaper cake with all kinds of useful baby knick-knacks. It, too, is too pretty to disassemble!





Later in November, the girls came down for a visit. We were taking off to Gatlinburg without Bill for a "girl's weekend". I think Bill might have enjoyed his "girl-less weekend" as well. Unfortunately, he had to work. On our girl's weekend, we went to the Aquarium on Saturday and then went to the Dixie Stampede on Sunday. It was a great time! We stayed at a luxurious lodge with a giant tub and fireplace. We were on a mountainside in the Smokies and woke up to a surprise snowfall!!!















Of course we met some fascinating new friends while we were at the lodge. This one was definitely an outdoorsman with a fondness for fish! (And yes, these were absolutely the appropriate pictures to take when other guests are parking their BMW, Lexus, and Mercedes vehicles in the parking lot in front of us. Tehehe!)


In all, I had a super time - as usual with the girls! I was so happy to spend time with the crew. With the exception of Alicia's new-found weight loss plan (ie some kind of stomach flu that began on the trip) I think we all had fun!