Sweet Baby Rae

I'm the aunt of a brand new baby niece. Rae Lynn made her entrance into the world this evening at 7:50 P.M. She weighs 5 lbs. 1 oz. and is 17 inches long. She's expected to have a stay in the NICU because of her prematurity, but she was breathing and crying at birth and is doing very well.

Funny story -- I've been friends with my friend Marcie and her husband Tobey since we were all teenagers, and Tobey is now a physician. He's been working on some matters of career advancement lately, so he's been calling a lot to visit with James. As a result, it was not unusual for him to call today. It was unusual for him to want to talk to me instead of James, and I first thought of Marcie, hoping she was okay.

The call, though, had nothing to do with Marcie. Tobey called to tell me he was working in the hospital today and had just been sent up to check on an OB patient whose doctor wasn't yet at the hospital. That patient happened to be Amanda. Not only that, but he'd seen Amanda in the clinic four or five times over the course of her pregnancy. Because Amanda kept her maiden name and frequently came to her OB appointments alone, he'd not made the connection that she was "the other Amanda," my sister-in-law.

He said he came into the room today, head down, looking at her chart. He greeted her while still reading, and as he spoke, he heard my mom say, "Tobey?" When he looked up, he saw her and my brother and it all came together. He said Amanda looked familiar to him every time he saw her, but he thought she was just a familiar sort of person. What a hilarious connection!

photo credit: flagplace.com