Welcome Hannah Marie Brewer!

While many people in the ATL were heading (or getting ready to head) into work, Tammy and I were checking in at Northside Hospital in Sandy Springs. We were expecting a baby girl before lunch time.




Hannah enjoys her last few hours in Tammy's belly.


It's funny how nervous I used to get before each baby. While I was still a little on edge that nothing crazy happen during THE EXTRACTION, the rest of it felt routine. We strolled into the hospital together as if we were just there for a regular check-up. Then, we cracked jokes and killed time in a small room until Tammy's uncle showed up to give her epidural.

Tammy carries babies low and sideways and, as a result, usually receives a lot of comments from random strangers about how it looks like she's about to pop--or that she must have a really big baby. This time around even Tammy was starting to think she might have a larger than normal baby, and she was right. Enter Hannah Marie Brewer!




Hello, Hannah Marie!


The pretty little girl is also a chunky little girl. Since Tammy was getting a C-section, she had a blue screen up between herself and the rest of the room. As she told it to me: "I felt her pull out and then heard everyone say, 'Whoa!'"

We all said, "Whoa," because Hannah was 9 pounds and an ounce at 20 inches in length. Her cheeks were so chubby that aunts and grandmas were lining up throughout the hospital to pinch them (poor girl!).

Hannah's two oldest brothers (Ben and Jonah) are up in Ohio until mid-July, but they were able to check out pictures of their little sister on Facebook. Her other two Georgia brothers (Reese and Will) were able to visit the same day.

Reese and Will with baby sister. So careful.

Reese waited outside the nursery until Hannah was transported to our room. He said, "I'm not leaving until she does."

Will seemed to toggle between excitement and unease with Baby Hannah--until she made it back to the room and he saw how excited Reese was. Will is a little Reese shadow, so if Hannah's good for his brother, then she's good for him.




Two excited brothers!


Tammy's recovery has been great, and she's tough enough that she walked the floor three times on Friday. By August, she'll probably be doing crunches and kickboxing, because she rocks like that.

Tomorrow, we hit the pediatrician's office. He'll likely tell us she's a normal boring baby and to cut her fingernails. Tammy and I love our pediatrician (Dr. William Moneit). When we were considering moving last year, we both actually talked about how we would miss having him as a pediatrician.

Anyway, I'm getting off track.

Hannah Marie Brewer has officially joined our family, and she's been an absolute joy. She sleeps well, seems very laid back like her brother Will was, and is very, very cute! What a wonderful way to experience Father's Day weekend!

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Want to make babies happy? Here are some real baby pleasers:

• Baby Einstein Gift Pack Volume 1. Tammy calls these DVDs "baby crack," because babies just watch the animals, puppets and toys and/or listen to the music.
• Veggie Tales: It's a Meaningful Life. I love the Veggie Tales movies, and this one is a "veggie" take on my favorite movie: It's a Wonderful Life! Good music and great lessons.
• Fisher-Price Brilliant Basics Rock-a-Stack. Anything that involves stacking is a winner with the young ones. I'm pretty sure Hannah will stack 'em just as well as her older brothers.
• A plush baby rattle. Something snuggly and that makes noise is a baby pleaser if I've ever heard one.