The Family O' Blevins

Thanksgiving went well for us. We soaked a turkey in brine overnight and it turned out really well. Chloe is doing just dandy. Her hair is looking more and more red. She's also filling out a bit, although she hasn't grown much taller (or longer depending on which way she's oriented). She enjoys scratching herself, escape artist pooping, and staring contests. We now know where we'll be after mid to late January. Ethan accepted the internship in Beijing with International Bridges to Justice. We both felt good about that opportunity. We'll be there for about three months. Int'l Bridges to Justice is a non-profit organization that helps developing countries to establish and improve their criminal justice systems. Check them out at www.ibj.org. It's a really neat opportunity for Ethan to improve his Chinese and get some really good legal experience. We're excited.

This slideshow includes Chloe's brown outfit. Life is wonderful here. Ethan is busy with school, and Katrina is busy with Chloe. We're very happy!

Sadly, the grandmas have gone. It's just the three of us now. It's kind of nice to have just us here, but we deeply miss the help that we've had from Chloe's grandmas. Chloe is remarkably good, so it's not too strenuous. This video was filmed by Ethan's mom. For those of you on facebook, Ethan's put up an album of pictures that you can take a look at, too.

Both moms visited this weekend, and it's been a huge help. Chloe is perfect as can be. She slept 8 hours straight last night! She is conforming to a schedule without a problem.

Chloe found the first clothes that she can't swim laps in. She weighed in at the hospital the other day at 5 pounds 13.9 ounces, so we're happy about that. Ethan is back to his regular schedule of work and school, and Katrina is recovering well from the surgery. Last night we took a walk to the Hogi Yogi one block away, a commendable feat indeed. Katrina's mom Marilyn continues to be a huge blessing to us while she's here. Ethan's mom Martha also visits on the weekend and helps out. Our friends have been angelic. We're so grateful for everyone's help. Right now we're in limbo with some important decisions. Ethan is deciding on an internship. He has an opportunity in Beijing, China, which fits his interests well and would provide a really valuable experience, but it would mean that we would be separated for a few months. So, it's a tough choice. We'll keep you updated. Hope you enjoy the video!

It's been a big week for Chloe. Today she had a few landmarks: her first thorough bath, her first real clothes, and her first birthday!

Chloe's bilirubin levels are low enough that she can get off the blanket. Yay!

Chloe visited the pediatrician today. Her bilirubin level is high enough that she's still on the biliblanket. The pediatrician also got back some chromosome testing for her, and he told us that she has down syndrome. The doctor had already told us that he thought she had it, so we weren't surprised by the news. When we told Tamara, Katrina's sister, she said, "so you have an angel." That's exactly how we feel. We are hopeful that her case is mild, because she lacks a lot of the common characteristics of down syndrome kids, but we love her so much no matter what. Our sole concern is the health issues that might accompany her condition. We're just so happy to have her, excited to be her parents, and honored that Heavenly Father trusts us with this little one.

It was incredible how long it took us to get home. Chloe kept needing to nurse whenever we managed to get close to mobilizing. Also, there was a standard amount of red tape to get through at the hospital. We got home about 9:45. We were a bit paranoid because she was off of her biliblanket for a long time while we got ready. It feels so good to be home. Here's her all decked out for the arrival.

Name selection came down to the wire, when we finally had to decide about 8:30PM tonight before the nurses would let us leave. We narrowed the contenders to iola and Chloe. Most family members and friends really liked Chloe, and we took a long look at her and decided that it was the best fit. Her full name is Chloe Hazel Blevins. Hazel is the name of both of my grandmas, both of which have passed away (my mom's mom died several months ago), and the name of one of Marilyn's aunt.

I learned a new word today. I had no idea what the nurses were talking about when they warned us of the dangers of some guy named Billy Reuben. They put her in an eery glowing crib, and then they gave us a biliblanket that glows green and she has to stay on full time.

The third day baby has come to live in our room! There's some minor concern remaining about the amount of oxygen she's getting, and the lab is coming to check her for jaundice. So, we should be going home from the hospital tomorrow, and we hope she can come with us. She has really wrinkly skin, especially her feet, because she lost a little weight in the womb. We still haven't decided on a name. I went to class and work today. The hospital gave us a really nice steak and shrimp dinner with some bubbly cider. Katrina gave me her shrimp.

After another intense day, Katrina is zonked, so I will continue to narrate the epic tale of an as of yet unnamed baby (referred to as "the Patriot" through the remainder of this post). Possible names for the Patriot are: Daphne, Sable, Iola, or Chloe. Let us know your thoughts... the Patriot is still in the special care unit. We've been in to nurse and visit a few times. We hope that tomorrow they can bring the Patriot in to nurse in our room, but she's sure to be a resident of special care through tomorrow night at the least. We're hoping to leave the hospital Thursday, and the nurse is hopeful that we can take the Patriot home.
Today was a hard day, being separated from the baby and a little unsure of her future. But we're so happy to have her, and she's beautiful and happy. I snuck out to vote about 7:30 tonight, which explains the sticker on her forehead.

After some really intense experiences, we have a healthy baby and a healthy mom. Early Sunday morning Katrina woke up with a lot of bleeding. We took her to the hospital, they monitored the baby for a while, and then they sent us home. That evening she had several big gushes of blood, so we took her to the hospital again, and they decided to induce labor. However, by morning she still hadn't progressed far in labor, and she had another heavy episode of bleeding. So they rushed her in to perform an emergency c-section. I got to go in and see them yank the baby out with a funny plunger kind of thing. Then they whisked her away and I got to go see her while Katrina got taken to recovery. The baby at birth weighed 5 lbs 12 oz. The doctors say that a placental abruption was the likely cause of the bleeding. They said the baby probably would've weighed about 7 pounds, but the placenta was failing to supply sufficient nutrients to the baby, so she was a bit skinnier. However, there are no serious long-term problems that it'll cause. Right now the baby is doing well, and Katrina is resting.