She's home and she's safe!

Not Violet. From the Amazon page.

I Facetimed with my grandniece yesterday.  It was lovely to see her nestled in my niece's arms, wearing the hat I sent her. 

The little one, whom I will call Violet, had a dramatic entry. Her birth mother developed gestational diabetes and it was decided that for her safety, labor should be induced. 4 weeks early! After nearly 24 hours, Violet still wasn't ready to make an appearance, so a C-section was deemed necessary. The little one was only 4 lbs. 14 oz., so she was kept in the hospital for a few days. Born on Tuesday night, she didn't leave the hospital until Friday. She's furry, with a blanket of fine colorless hair on her back. It's not uncommon for premature babies to have lanugo (<<my new word!) and my niece says she'll be sorry when it falls away.

I was pretty stressed out last week. A friend from high school died. My oldest friend is recovering from a long hospital stay. My girl cat had nine teeth pulled. And first I was worried that the birth mother would change her mind about the adoption, then that she and the baby were in danger. So I was happy to distract myself by shopping for this swaddle sack.

My niece and my late mother were very close. When my niece got married in 2020, it was my mother's wedding dress that my niece tried to emulate, and she wore my mother's diamond pendant as her "something old." So I figured that if she missed my mom on her wedding day, she would be missing my mom now.

Whenever one of those World Wildlife Fund commercials came on, my mom would say wistfully that she worried there would be no elephants left on earth for her (as yet unborn) great grandchildren to see. After her death, I received my mother's mail and I saw the receipt from World Wildlife Fund. My mom was perpetually broke, but she managed to find room in her budget to send a check to WWF.  So to bring my mother into my niece's life as she brought her new baby home, I found a baby burrito printed with whimsical elephants. My niece loved it. Violet is still too small for the sack but the hat fits and it made my niece happy to slip it onto her head. It made me happy to deliver a little joy via Amazon.

Now that my Connie Cat is home, my oldest friend is home, and Violet is home, I can relax and breathe easier.