Saturday, January 05, 2008

A New Addition to the Family!


Baby Girl Piersma
Born January 4, 2008 at 6:50pm
8 pounds, 9 ounces
21 inches long
Dark Hair, Blue Eyes

Sorry for the delay in the announcement...as you can imagine, things got a little busy here after she arrived. For those interested in more details about the rest of the labor & birth, read on...

Yesterday on the pitocin drip, I went from 4 to 7 centimeters during the course of about 8 hours. It was pretty manageable -- I was laughing through most of it (Brett is a pretty funny guy). At 3pm, our wonderful nurse Jennifer went off duty and we got another fantastic nurse named Heather. She is originally from South Africa and has worked as a midwife for many years. I truly felt like the two of them were an answer to my prayers! At about 4:45pm, the doctor arrived to break my water and things got a bit more intense after that, but thankfully they moved swiftly. Within an hour and a half, I was fully dilated and wanting to push. I was able to do a few pushes even before the doctor got here just to get things moving. The doc arrived back quickly and by 6:50pm, we were holding another sweet little girl in our arms! Ella was right -- she has a sister!

The next few hours flew by. We got to hold her immediately and kept her for about 2 hours before they took her for the routine exams, etc. I was finally able to eat again and get situated. The postpartum rooms are all full here so we're staying in the labor room until later today when one of the other rooms opens up. We'll stay overnight again tonight and head home sometime tomorrow. Ella should be here shortly to meet her sister for the first time, so I'm going to sign off. We'll try to post more pictures later in the day. Thank you for all your prayers!

PS - Baby Girl Piersma does NOT have a name yet. Feel free to post suggestions in the comments section!

18 comments:

FishMama said...

She is beautiful, just like her mama! Yeah! So happy for you guys! Can't wait to hear her name.

Anonymous said...

Yeah!! Too cute!! We are so excited for you guys!! See those kiddos do have a sixth sense.

Anonymous said...

Yay!!!! We are so happy for you guys!

As far as names go, I've been partial to Angela (haha).

These are the names I came up with:

Hannah, Nora, Ivy, Ashlin, Aurora, Kendall, and Lynette. Dave suggested Jaqueline.

Can't wait to see you guys!
So much love!!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!!!!!

Wow, she is a cutie, just like her bib sister Ella. What a special day for you all. Enjoy, rest, and have fun together. What a little miracle she is!

Okay, naming hats are on, we will let you know what we come up with.

Love,
Schaleskys

FishMama said...

How about...

Darcy Dawn Jamie Jessica Rachel Piersma?

It's a little long, but man, won't she be spoiled??

FishMama said...

Hey don't forget to change the name of your blog....

Life with Ella and Baby NoName

Dawn and Brian said...

Congratulations!! She is precious! We're so excited for you guys and can't wait to meet the newest member of the Piersma family.

What does Ella think of her little sis? Janel - How are you feeling/doing?

Thanks for sharing your exciting news!!

Love,
Dawn & Brian

Peter Mathios said...

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!
How about Emily? Ella and Emily has a bit of a ring... Anyway, I am glad things went well and both mother and daughter are healthy (and father too). Can't wait to hear the stories.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! What a sweetheart! We're so happy for you that the delivery went smoothly and was shorter than Ella's!
I think you liked Caidman for a boy. What about Cayman for a girl? - like the Islands. I've always liked it.
Lots of love to you all!

Naomi,
Jeff, Josh and Levi

Anonymous said...

Baby No Name is absolutely beautiful. I can see how she would be hard to name as she is too precious for words. I like Auntie Jessica's suggestion, however it does not fit with the 5 syllable name.

First name suggestions... Laura, Katin, Jeanna, Anna, Ember, Kyla and Leah (pronounced Lee-ah). Middle name suggestions... Lea, Ann, Joan, Jane, Bret, Claire, June, Rose, Liz, Kate. Whatever the two of you pick will be perfect. You created her and you will find the right name for her. I LOVE you guys.

Anonymous said...

First name Elena it is both Dutch and Italian. Appropriate for geneological reasons and possible place of conception. Adean, Adan, Adene, Jaclin Lea also suggestions. Jamie wanted to add Audrey, Edda, Edith, Ester all of Dutch origin. It was great to see you at the hospital and share in the excitement!

Anonymous said...

Hey guys! Sorry we both turned into Rainman when it came to holding little "Hey you." No kids yet, so we're super cautious!

I'm liking Lucy.

Brett, hope you got some food.

Anonymous said...

I miss you already. Please bring the baby to Charlotte as soon as you can.
I know Jacqueline wasn't on the list this morning, but if it was, I would have put a star by that one too. :) (You could nickname her Linny.)
Love you all.
Aimee

mon_key_hansen said...

We are so excited for you two! Can't wait to meet the little wonder. OOh...call her Wonder! Joking.

jvold said...

Congratulations from the Eastvold's in Minnesota. She's really a cute! Lydia sounds good with Ella (Ella and "Lydi") Hope you get to go home on time and everything goes well for you. I enjoy seeing pictures of your families.

Mullins said...

Congratulations!

As Ella is so partial, what about Elmo? Ella and Elmo also has an alliterative appeal....

Sorry we couldn't come see you in person. Too many kids with too many winter germs!

Sandie, Chris, Alice, Abigail & Harry

Erika said...

Congratulations!!! Janel, I am so glad that this labor progressed so much better than last time. I can't wait to see your new little one. What a blessing! Take care, accept lots of help, and I'll talk to you soon. Erika

FishMama said...

Out of the mouths of babes....when Calvary heard her new name, he said, "But, I thought they were going to name her Cavewoman."