for such a time as this: Welcome Baby M-3!

It's a BOY!!! Welcome to baby Mitchell Alexander - born Thursday, March 25th at 8:30am via c-section and weighing in at 8 lbs 8oz. He is perfect - and did I mention a BOY?

Everything went very smoothly - again a surreal experience knowing that when we arrived at the hospital at 6:45am that within a few short hours we would be parents yet again. This was a much better experience then with the other two - I lost a lot of blood with Matt and then with Marlee I remember being so cold - and shaking a lot. This time other then feeling a little nauseous right after getting the spinal (which is normal), I was alert and involved the whole time. Drew and the doctor talked real estate, I looked around at what was happening (I could see some of the action in the ceiling). The anesthesiologist chatted with me and answered my questions. He was very informative!

When everything was said and done Drew went with the baby and I went into recovery. The hospital was short on beds so I had to wait there until around 10:30 before I was taken to a ward bed for a few hours. At that point we had a few family visitors and those friends with pastoral privileges. Later in the day we were moved to a semi-private room until a private room came available.

To say that Marlee and Matthew are smitten would be an understatement. Matt seems to have a perm grin and both can't stop touching his hands. It's so sweet. They were both able to hold him rather quickly and stay for a good amount of time during our stay. They were both anxious to pass on gifts and new clothing from their aunt for him.

At that point we were still not completely sure on the name for him. Both of us (although we hadn't voiced it) had had a feeling I was carrying a girl. I guess not. We had narrowed it down to a few names for boys and finally decided on Mitchell Alexander. Not for any particular reason other then it was an M name and we liked it.

A little history...

The boy's name Mitchell \m(i)-tche-ll, mit-chell\ is pronounced MITCH-el. It is of Middle English origin. Variant of Michael, via the Norman French Michel. Surname used in the Middle Ages, and transferred as a given name in the 19th century. Band leader Mitch Miller.
Mitchell has 4 variant forms: Mitch, Mitchel, Mitchill and Mytch. It means Who is Like God.

Baby names that sound like Mitchell are Michele and Micheal.
Mitchell is a very common first name for men (#222 out of 1220) and also a very common last name for both men and women (#41 out of 88799). (1990 U.S. Census)

The boy's name Alexander \a-lexa-nder, alex(an)-der\ is pronounced al-ek-ZAN-der. It is of Greek origin, and its meaning is "man's defender, warrior". From the Latin form of the Greek name Alexandros. The name was probably coined originally as a title of the goddess Hera, consort of Zeus. Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) conquered and ruled the greater part of the known world before his death at the age of 33. History describes him as a man of high physical courage, impulsive energy, and fervid imagination. It was a royal name in Scotland. Alec and Zander are modern offshoots. Sandy is a Scottish pet form; Alessandro is an Italian form; Alexandre and Alixandre are French. See also Lexer. English poet Alexander Pope; American statesman Alexander Hamilton; actors Sir Alec Guinness, Alec Baldwin; American Secretary of State Alexander Haig; Soviet writer and dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn; writer Alexandre Dumas.

Marlee was a little unsure of the name we picked. She has a classmate who's name is Mitchell who she is actually really good friends with and who lately has wanted to "kiss" her. She's not too impressed with that and was concerned that he would think she liked him and chose his name for the baby. We had to reassure her that she didn't pick the name but she could tell him that WE did. It actually worked out well because the next day he was sick anyway and she was able to get used to the name before telling him.

Grandparents and other family were able to finally see him around 10:30 when I was able to get over to the other wing. The security and visiting regulations have been beefed up significantly since we were last there to visit friends with a new baby in July. We had brought the kids to see her in the family visiting room. Now only 2 significant others are allowed from 7am-11pm, grandparents are allowed from 7am-8pm and siblings during this time for limited amounts of time. Other friends and family are limited to 4-8pm. A friend tried to come earlier and was denied - even after trying to pose as the flower delivery person for me. Did I mention that they have security cameras too? I think in retrospect the new rules are good - really just looking out for the interest of the patients. Now if they could just work on how often the nurses interrupt you...