Niece #3! And, I hate cars!

Abigail Barbara was born at 11:54pm Thursday night. She weighed in at five pounds, seven ounces, and was 18 inches long. All around, not a bad size for a 34-weeker, huh? Yeah, I think they were a little off on the due date there.

Anyway, according to Little Brother, whom I spoke with on the phone Friday night, she is breathing totally on her own, but has issues with digestion and body temperature control, both of which are par for the course with premies. They are currently giving her some kind of magic goo they give premies, for nutrition, and SIL is pumping her breastmilk and storing it.

Little Brother called my mother at 12:30am Friday morning to tell her- apparently, at that point, they were still trying to get the placenta out of SIL! Apparently they had to press down on her stomach or something to encourage it along. There you have one reason I am glad I had a c-section, although some women I know who have had vaginal births tell me that part is no big deal.

SIL was due to come home yesterday afternoon, which, coincidentally, is the same day they were planning on moving into a new apartment, closer to where Little Brother works. I haven't spoken with either of them since Friday, so I don't know how that all went. Abby is probably going to be able to come home in a few weeks, very likely by Thanksgiving.

As for when I'll meet my new niece...well, that's up in the air. The head gasket on my car is dying, and I am car-shopping. I couldn't have gone to visit today, anyway, since Frank and I still have the remnants of whatever killer cootie we had the past few weeks, so next Sunday was the next available date I could go see her, anyway. I don't feel comfortable driving my car down the Parkway, especially since the mechanic told me not to drive it any more than neccessary. I'm just really pissed about the whole situation- we can't get a fucking break with ANYTHING. And, yes, for those who are counting, the head gasket was the exact same thing that went wrong with the Neon I drove before this car, thankyewverymuch.

Of course, the way dynamics in my family run, I (and my husband, by extension) will look like a giant schmuck because EVERYONE will have gone to see Abby LONG before I have any hope of getting there to see her.