The First Day for Yona Rae

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About 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, Ari called to say that he was on the road to Jess and Alex’s home because they were on the way to the hospital. Abby, Alex’s assistant had come over to stay with the girls, who had just been put to bed and were unaware that that Mommy and Daddy had left. We had no further information about contractions, water sac, etc. until a bit later. Then, we only knew that Jess had been having contractions and that her water had not broken. About an hour later, when Ari arrived at the hospital, we began receiving periodic text messages and phone call updates. They had broken her water sac, so we knew this was no false alarm, especially since Jess had been dilated 7 centimeters since Wednesday.

Yona Rae arrived at 12:28 a.m. on April 27 and weighed 7 lbs. 11 oz. Jess had a fairly easy labor and delivery and no stitches. The first photo was sent within five minutes of her birth. Ari first sent it to Saul’s phone, and then to my email. I could tell from our phone monitor that Mom was stirring. When I went to her room, she was sitting up on the side of the bed. I told her she had a new great-granddaughter. After some initial groggy confusion, she wished me a mazel tov on my new granddaughter, and I wished her one back. I went to the office and printed two copies of the photo, one for her, which I left on the bed next to her as she slept, and one for Saul to see when he awakened in the morning. We had been hoping that Saul would be able to finish up the semester before Yona’s arrival. As it turned out, he taught his 8:00 a.m. class on Monday morning and made arrangements to skip his afternoon class. Stacey and Adele came over to stay with Mom and we were on the road to Baltimore by 10:30 a.m. on Monday.

The day was a great one for a drive, and although tired, we were both feeling very lucky and relieved that everything had gone so well. Yona was awake and contented when we arrived and she is an absolutely beautiful and alert baby. She looks a lot like her sister, Izzy. After a while, Alex’s parents, who had arrived at the hospital at practically the same moment as we, left to meet the girls after school and take them to dinner. They spent the night at Jess and Alex’s house and drove back the next morning. We had a bite to eat in the hospital’s cafeteria, stopped in to kiss the girls good night, and headed for home, arriving about 10 p.m.

On Sunday morning, my cousin Anne came, bearing incredible New York-style bagels, whitefish salad and lox. We ate breakfast and she stayed with Mom so that I could take some time when Saul went to Chestnut Hill College’s convocation, to shop for everything I needed to prepare the Scholar-in-Residence dinner at MBI-EE for 100 for this weekend. On the way down to Baltimore, I arranged with everyone who is helping out in the kitchen to prepare the dinner on Thursday afternoon and evening instead of Friday morning. Hopefully, we will be able to spend a long weekend with the kids in DC and Baltimore. Stacey will be staying with Mom 24/7 for those days. I am really looking forward to being with the kids this coming weekend.

Adele stayed for Shabbat dinner last Friday and helped me, along with Saul, to get a great meal on the table in the space of two hours. I made challah, black bean soup, the best guacamole I have ever concocted, Russian dressing with Boston lettuce, pomegranate chicken, and brown basmati rice with apricots and pistachios. For dessert, we had fresh blackberries, blueberries, strawberries and bananas dipped in individual bowls of melted chocolate.

We were able to go to services on Saturday morning. After Anne left on Sunday, I made potato salad, kohlrabi coleslaw, and gezer chai (living carrots) to use up a big bag of carrots that remained after Passover. Mom allowed us to wheel her out on the deck on Sunday evening and we had dinner with Beth and Paul in the gazebo. I spent this morning catching up with laundry, making a carrot cake for dessert this coming weekend, and baking two batches of Jumbo Oatmeal Peanut Butter and Raisin cookies, which are Alex’s favorite. Then, I met my friend Roxy at Villa Barolo in Warrington, where we had a leisurely lunch. Roxy treated me for my birthday, which we had not been able to celebrate for a few months. I had an incredible mixed mushroom risotto that was perfectly delicious. Then, I slept for a few hours when Saul arrived from school.

I am tired, but happy that we all have been so wonderfully productive, and reproductive! this week. I am so proud of my terrific family!