Marian Marguerite Berry

Marian Marguerite Berry was born at 2:15 Saturday afternoon. Jon and I, and later my mother, got to hold her before she was taken away for testing. The cause of death is still not known; however, one section of the cord was malformed, tapering to a much smaller circumferance and then tapering out to a normal size again. The pathologists will investigate that further.

Physically, labor and recovery were easy and uncomplicated. Emotionally is was awful, of course, but I am glad we got to hold her.

We have a sweet picture of her hand. Her tiny but perfect hand was smaller than one section of an adult's finger. She weighed 4.7 ounces and was 7 inches long.

While we waited, Jon and I spent hours playing futoshiki puzzles. (They are like sudoku puzzles, only much cooler. http://www.brainbashers.com/futoshiki.asp) It helped to distract both of us from the stress, and later, me from the pain. The nurses and doctors all commented on our geekiness and took an interest in who was winning the series. At first the score stayed tied, and I led briefly, but the grand total was Jon 19, Gail 16. (We would start the same puzzle simultaneously and see who completed it first.)

I stopped competing once the morphine-like drug kicked in.

The nursing staff and doctors were all very kind. We appreciated their sensitivity and compassion.

I came home this morning (Sunday). I am very tired and sad, and under orders to rest for a few days, but after that I can start ramping up to normal activity level.

I will try to post more details tomorrow, but those are the basics.

I remain grateful for all the kind wishes, concern, and assistance of family and friends.