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Subject: Postcard from Portland
Dear Family and Friends,
Y*A*W*N <wipes sleep from eyes>... is it December already?! What year?
Good morning! It's hard to believe Elisha is now three weeks old. The
past fortnight+ has been a blur of breast-feeding, burping and
diapering.
Two days after sending out last month's "Postcard from Portland", as you
are no doubt already aware, Liz gave birth to Elisha Maxine Herring. All
uncertainty about "is it time to go yet?" was removed when her water
broke around 11:30pm on November 10th. Liz, her Mom and I arrived at
Providence St. Vincent's an hour later and were immediately admitted. I
won't go into the blow-by-blow of the labor and delivery (details are
available on request). Suffice it to say that Liz labored for 16 hours,
of which 12 were active. The final two hours were exceedingly intense.
She worked very hard and was totally exhausted by the time lil' "E" made
her grand entrance at 3:24:45pm on November 11th, 1997. Elisha emerged
as a tightly bound blue-gray blob and unfurled into a pink baby,
announcing her arrival with a brief bawl. Nothing I had heard, seen or
read prepared me for the rush of emotions which overwhelmed me as I bore
witness to this miracle and sealed her independence by cutting her
umbilical cord. Three lives were forever transformed. It is, in more
ways than one, an out-of-body experience.
Dr. Lopez and the entire L&D staff did an exemplary job. We were
fortunate to have such highly skilled professionals helping us and are
grateful for their assistance.
Liz and I brought Elisha home on Thursday the 13th. It's a bit daunting
and more than a little scary to realize that you and your newborn are on
your own! But Elisha quickly coached us... Feed me! Change me! Feed me!
This left little time for fears, or anything else - like sleep or
showers. Fortunately, Liz's Mom was on hand the first two weeks to cook
and do laundry for us. My Mom will be arriving in two days to pick up
where Priscilla left off.
"When a baby comes into your life, you suddenly
understand your parents." --Phyllis Hobe
The Monday following her birth, we received a home visit from one of St.
Vincent's pediatric nurses. We were delighted this service is included
as part of their package. There was so much information presented to us
while we were in the hospital that we couldn't possibly absorb it all.
The nurse patiently answered all of our questions and gave Elisha a
checkup. She had dropped from 7 lbs. 3.2 oz. to 6 lbs. 10 oz. - which is
totally normal and well within the allowable 10% weight loss.
Liz also took advantage of the free consultations provided by the
lactation consultants at St. V's clinic. You'd think breast-feeding
would be as easy as falling off a log - and you'd be wrong! Liz has
learned a great deal. She and Elisha are now a terrific team. At
Elisha's two week pediatric visit with Dr. Schwenninger, she had already
regained the lost weight - tipping the scales at 7 lbs. 10 oz. Both her
weight and height put her in the 50th percentile. She's easily over 8
lbs. by now.
Elisha also proved to be quite a good clotter. The required PKU test
necessitated her being pricked in the heel to draw blood. They had to
stick her twice (poor thing) in order to get enough. She was not
pleased!
By now, Liz and I have pretty much settled into the routine of new
parents. But Elisha assures that nothing is truly ever routine since she
is constantly evolving. It's been remarkable watching our daughter
absorb sights and sounds and slowly start to acquire new skills. We are
mutually transfixed, our gazes locked on each other like a deer frozen
in a car's headlights, whenever we cradle her in our arms.
"A baby's steady gaze reminds us that we have a soul
and the baby has found it." --Phyllis Hobe
She clearly recognizes our faces and voices. In the past couple of days,
she has started to smile - and not always from gas (which has been in
ample supply). Last night she emitted her first real "coo". She's been
skilled at kicking since she was in utero - but has lately mastered the
art of hand-to-hand combat, especially when it comes to changing her.
Diapering usually follows this script:
(1) "Aid" daddy's attempts to undress me by kicking and clutching.
(2) Bring my knees tightly to my chest to "ease" removal of my diaper.
(3) Immediately after my diaper is dispatched, pee on daddy's hand.
(4) While daddy cleans my bottom, kick and caterwaul.
(5) Hold legs straight out and keep arms stiffly at side to "assist"
daddy in putting on a new diaper.
(6) Practice riding a bicycle to "help" daddy guide my legs into a new
outfit. Practice semaphore to "help" daddy put my arms in sleeves.
(7) Spit up as soon as new outfit is in place, making certain to
decorate both it and daddy's shirt.
This we take in stride. No biggie. But in the past week we have
discovered the true scourge of parenting a newborn - and that nemesis is
the dreaded "colicky child." Colic has been described as "when the
baby's crying -- and so is Mom." The causes are not truly understood,
and the "cures" (rocking, cradling and singing, running the vacuum or
dryer, going for a ride in the car, etc.) are neither sure nor lasting.
Last weekend was especially trying, with bouts lasting four hours. We
resorted to a half hour car ride in each case. The past two nights have
been much easier. We'll just have to see what the future holds. The
"Mayo Clinic Complete Book of Pregnancy & Baby's First Year" indicates
colic peaks at the age of six weeks and may not disappear until the
baby's third or fourth month. *sigh* We hear all about the government's
efforts to fund AIDS, cancer and heart research. What we _really_ need
is a cure for colic!
"When your baby won't stop crying, just remember how thrilled you were
when you heard her voice for the first time." --Phyllis Hobe
Due to the timing of Elisha's arrival, our Thanksgiving celebration this
year was very private - just the three of us. In spite of the loss of
Liz's father and grandmother during the past year, we were able to focus
on the many blessings we received - especially Elisha. And with a little
help from Trader Joe's and Thriftway, we sat down to a traditional
dinner of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, green beans and
pecan pie.
Since (too) many of you have been quick to remind me what a lousy job
I've done as a father/photographer, I want you to know that I've sent
out for reprints some of the photos I've taken of Elisha. I expect to
have them back early next week, at which point birth announcements and
photos will be snail-mailed. In the meantime, check out Elisha's home
page...
http://www.herring.org/elisha.html
...for recent news. And be sure to follow the links at the bottom of the
page to her "Picture Portfolio" for online photos. I'll be adding more
as time permits. Many thanks to all who have signed her guest book!
Aside from the fact that the rainfall for November was below average and
this week promises to be sunny, that wraps up this month's PfP. We hope
your December holidays come wrapped in the joys of the season and that
you ring in the New Year with a chorus of cheer.
Until 1998...
we love and miss you all,
Sandy, Liz and Elisha
_________________________________________________________________
Data harvested from http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=pqr
CLIMATIC SUMMARY FOR PORTLAND OREGON
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OREGON
425 AM PST MON DEC 01 1997
...TEMPERATURE...
HIGH YESTERDAY... 49
LOW YESTERDAY... 38
MEAN TEMP........ 44 DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL... 1
NORMAL HIGH FOR TODAY... 48
NORMAL LOW FOR TODAY... 37
RECORD HIGH FOR TODAY... 62 SET IN 1958
RECORD LOW FOR TODAY... 20 SET IN 1985
...DEGREE DAY DATA...
HEATING
YESTERDAY... 21 DEPARTURE... -1
MONTH....... 452 DEPARTURE... -115
SEASON...... 842 DEPARTURE... -216
COOLING
YESTERDAY... 0 DEPARTURE... 0
MONTH....... 0 DEPARTURE... 0
SEASON...... 472 DEPARTURE... 101
...PRECIPITATION...
YESTERDAY............. 0.03
TOTAL FOR THE MONTH... 4.02
NORMAL MONTH TO DATE.. 5.34
TOTAL FOR THE YEAR.... 40.92 TOTAL SINCE OCT 1... 10.43
NORMAL YEAR TO DATE... 30.17 NORMAL FROM OCT 1... 8.01
...WIND DATA IN MPH...
AVERAGE WIND SPEED YESTERDAY... 5.3
FASTEST 2-MIN WIND YESTERDAY... 10 FROM 110 DEGREES
PEAK WIND GUST YESTERDAY....... 13 FROM 140 DEGREES
...ASTRONOMICAL DATA...
SUNRISE TODAY...731 AM PST
SUNSET TODAY...429 PM PST
SUNRISE TOMORROW...732 AM PST
SUNSET TOMORROW...428 PM PST
RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
518 AM PST THU OCT 30 1997
...CALENDAR DAY RAINFALL RECORD...
NEW RAINFALL RECORD FOR THE CALENDAR DAY OCT 29TH...
CALENDAR DAY IS FROM MIDNIGHT TO MIDNIGHT.
PORTLAND AIRPORT **** NEW RECORD 1.14 INCH
OLD RECORD 0.99 INCH IN 1992.
--
Sandy, Liz & Elisha Tigard, Oregon Peck of Pickled Pisces
webfeet@herring.org bigfish@sns-access.com http://www.herring.org/
And that's the news from Portland
where everything is green, rolling stones gather moss,
and the rainfall is always above average.
Most Recent Update: Thursday, 14-Oct-2004 17:16:34 PDT
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