Getting to know you...a Q&A

Q: Presley? You named your daughter after the late, great Elvis?

A: Let's get the big one out of the way first....Yes and No. Yes, I am from Memphis and do actually really like Elvis, but NO, we did not name her Presley as a tribute to Elvis in any way. Mostly it was the name Ryan and I felt most suited her. I think it is ironic that we ended up naming her Presley, but it is not intended to be anything more than a name we both love. Heck, after the almost marriage ending task of naming Hunter I was relieved that we could actually agree on a name period.

On a funny, quite apropos, side note, "Blue Hawaii" was on while I was in labor so of course we had to watch it.

Q: What about Anne? Where did that come from?

A: Well, two places actually. We asked Madison what she wanted to name the baby (I was simply curious). She said she wanted to name her either Anne Shirley or Shirley Temple (can you tell what movies she had been watching recently????). I immediately vetoed Shirley, for obvious reasons, but told her we would think about the name Anne. As Ryan and I discussed it we felt it worked well together and as an added bonus Anne was one of my Grandmother's middle names and we thought it would be a nice tribute to her. We like to give our children middle names that have some family, or special, meaning.

Q: Is Presley a good baby?

A: Oh, yes. So far she is great. Her first 24 hours were a little rough, but she is an angel now. Her first day she was not too happy of a camper. She didn't like to be messed with and cried any time the nurses moved her, took her vitals, etc. She was fine being held but as soon as she was juggled or moved she would scream. That was fun.....

She is much better now. She still doesn't love all the fussing, but she handles it much better now. She is slowly getting used to her siblings and their constant desire to touch her, poke her or hold her. She still screams at every diaper change though, can't say I blame her much.

Q: What about eating? Is she a good eater?

A: This girl is a champion eater. From the moment she was born she wanted to eat and hasn't stopped yet. This is my first baby that would eat during the first 24 hours of life. She wakes up every 2 1/2 hours, I've never had that before! It is such a relief not having to worry about making sure my child is getting enough to eat and hoping that a schedule will be introduced at some point. This girl takes after me, she loves to eat and will eat for 1/2 an hour at a time....another first. My first two barely ate for 5-10 min a few times a day at this point.

Q: Who does she look more like?

A: Well, she is definitely a mix of both of the my children. She has Madison's lips and Hunter's chubby cheeks. She came out tan and with dark brown, almost black, hair, which both of my other two did as well. I can see blonde under the dark brown and she has light eyebrows and almost no eyelashes (she gets that from me, sorry kid). I'm excited to see how she grows up, just not yet, I love the newborn stage.

Q: How is daddy doing?

A: He is doing great. He is a little tired of changing dirty diapers, but hey, I get tired of changing them as well! He is slowly getting to bond with her, he has to fight Madison and Hunter for her. He is just so happy to finally have the baby here and no longer have to hear me complain about being pregnant.

Q: How is mommy doing?

A: I am great. I have been on a euphoric high from no longer being pregnant, I'm in heaven. I feel great and have so much more energy now. I'm not too sore, just sleeping a ton.

Q: How is Madison doing?

A: She loves, loves, loves being a big sister. She wants to hold the baby all day long, sadly Presley doesn't love it. Madison wiggles just a little bit too much for her. She is so proud of her and loves to introduce herself as the "Big Sister."

Q: How is Hunter doing?

A: Hunter is cracking me up with Presley. He runs over all the time and points to her with the biggest smile and says "Baby!" He pokes her and looks at her and just does not know what to make of her. He's pretty mellow with her right now, I'm just hoping it stays that way.