Days 3 to 5 ...

A few new pictures...

Announcing the birth of...

Family and friends,

We're happy to announce the birth of....

VIENNA ROSE BEAUPRE

Little Vienna was born January 3rd, at 12:50 PM, weighing in at 3 pounds, 11 ounces, and measuring 16 3/4 inches long. It was decided on Wednesday that she had to be delivered 4 weeks early due to "intrauterine growth restriction", meaning that she had not been getting enough nutrients from the placenta and had not been growing for the past 4-5 weeks. As a result, she is quite small for her age (less than the 3rd percentile). However, as might be expected from a Beaupre baby, her brain is outpacing the rest of her body growth, indicating the early development of a woman of uncommon intelligence, wit, and grace. (You heard it here first). She has big eyes, wavy, sandy blonde hair, and a dimpled chin (like her Opa).

One of the side effects of being born so early and so small is that she is struggling to keep down food. So little Vienna has had an IV since birth to provide some basic nutrients. Then, today, she had to have a feeding tube inserted, a tactic for which she expressed some displeaure. This is not unusual for a baby her size, and as she gets used to keeping food in her belly, she will grow and be able to deal with more traditional feedings. Vienna has been poked and prodded, incubated and monitored... but she is a gamer. She has a glint in her eye that suggests she is ready to take on all comers. "What else ya got?" she seems to be saying. All things considered, Vienna is doing EXTREMELY well, with good lung development, good skin color, etc. They anticipate that Vienna will stay in the NICU for 3 weeks, give or take, and that she will be in wonderful health as she grows.

Anya has also been feeling quite a bit better, and has been up and moving around today. The pain comes and goes, but she is doing very well. She and I will be at Riverside Methodist Hospital here in Columbus until probably Monday. As a side note, Peter's quick survey of other babies in the NICU suggests that little Vienna is easily the cutest girl there. Peter promises to more accurately quantify this as data becomes availble, but early analysis suggests that there is some empirical justification for calling her the cutest girl in the world.*

Attached is a link with some of the first pictures:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=wk1y5pv.1jjijosf&x=0&y=zgg6i2

We'll send out more details and pictures when we can!

With love, Peter, Anya, and Vienna Rose Beaupre

* Note: Forward-looking statements such as these are the sole opinion of the parents of Vienna Rose Beaupre, and not meant to be construed as fightin' words.

The Night Before

Thought you might enjoy some last photos of the pregnancy... "the night before" shots, taken tonight in our nursery, which of course, isn't completely done, but it's as ready as can be!!

She's coming tomorrow!

At my Dr appt today, we learned that our baby girl is strong, but hasn't grown a bit in the last 4 weeks, which indicates a problem with the placenta and the Dr said she MUST be delivered immediately. So... TOMORROW, January 3rd, we'll be at the hospital having a c-section to bring this tiny and hungry troublemaker into the world. She'll be arriving 4 weeks early, and we're expecting her to be about 4 lbs. Hopefully she'll be able to breathe on her own and eat like a champ.

We're feeling a bit overwhelmed since this news was quite unexpected... but we're excited to meet her and just can't believe it's happening so quickly! We will send out an email at the end of the day to let everyone know how we're doing...
Thanks for all the good vibes....