•3:54 PM
Great news! We brought Anne home from the hospital yesterday, a week after she was born. She's breathing, eating, sleeping, and doing all else newborns are supposed to do; she's a delight.
I went into pre-term labor on May 7th (a little less than six weeks early), but my midwives admitted me to the hospital, and we were able to hold off delivery (via C-section--Anne was obstinately transverse) until May 13th, which means she was born at 35 weeks instead of the usual 38-40 weeks. Though she had some extra time inside, Anne was born with slightly premature lungs and had to be whisked away to the NICU almost immediately (though she first scored a 9/9 on her Apgar, thank you very much).
While on breathing assistance (C-PAP), Anne perforated a lung and had to be transferred to a much larger hospital for careful monitoring. Her lung healed quickly and well, and after a few days she was able to breathe room air without any help. She graduated yesterday, and we brought her home with much pomp and circumstance.
Life is now a perpetual three-hour cycle of feeding, changing pants, napping, and snuggling, leaving little time for anything extracurricular; as a result, I'll be taking a very extensive maternity leave from most things internet-related. Streamlining is the key to a peaceful life, I've found. And life, though busy, is very, very good right now.
But I couldn't leave all my contestants hanging without letting you know the results of the Luisa Trivia Quiz. Here are the correct answers, followed by the announcement of this year's winner.
1) Misspelling 'the' as 'teh' is a bit of Internet slang I like to throw around in order to feel hip and with-it. 'Teh' means 'THE' in all caps, with connotations of ultimate status. For example, "Coldplay is teh kewl" means "Coldplay is the coolest" in regular slang.
2) The correct answer is d) RFK, Jr. I love Jack Ryan and Jack Bauer, but, um, they're not real. I adore Alice Waters, but am glad she chooses to focus on what she does best: preaching the gospel of eating locally, seasonally, and well. Al Gore is my personal hero, but he's already been elected President. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., with his near-mythic pedigree, and who heads up the environmental watchdog group Riverkeeper, is my current dream candidate.
3) The best TV show of all time is Firefly.
4) Four of my six brothers have the middle name 'Michael.' The fifth has it for a first name.
5) Scott Card would probably have a conniption if he ever read this, but I think he peaked early with his second novel, Treason, published way back in 1978. It's tightly and imaginatively plotted, with none of the philosophizing in which he tends to indulge. It's a fabulous read; I highly recommend it.
6) Anyone who made reference to Simon & Garfunkel's 1967 hit "Mrs. Robinson" (or to Paul Simon or Art Garfunkel) scored a point.
7) The name of our band was Tetra Ruby, and we rocked it, baby, covering songs by everyone from The Cocteau Twins to Erasure to Nancy Sinatra. I'll give anyone who mentioned 'Tetra' a half point.
8) Styrofoam is evil, but functional. PowerPoint is pure evil with no redemptive features whatsoever. If someone made a PowerPoint presentation that featured clowns and lifelike baby dolls, I would take it as a certain sign of the impending Apocalypse.
9) "I am the son and the heir."
10) Morrissey is making reference to a line from George Eliot's Middlemarch, "To be born the son of a Middlemarch manufacturer, and inevitable heir to nothing in particular."
11) The correct answer is d) "Don't Fear the Reaper." I never get tired of watching this sketch; Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken slay me.
12) "Manuela Run," from Toto's first album, is by far my favorite Toto song. It was never a hit, never even a B-side. But it's pure pop greatness.
13) Part of Rattle and Hum (a) was filmed at a concert at ASU in 1987; I was there. It was great, but U2 was way better when I saw them on their War tour at the Cow Palace circa 1983.
14) The real question is: why does anyone use straight needles? Circulars work great for knitting in the round OR knitting back and forth. When you use circulars, the weight of the work stays in your lap, instead of hanging off the end of the needle, as with straights. You can also use two circulars whenever double-pointed needles are called for. And you don't have to use your forearms as much, so knitting in tight quarters--on the subway or the bus, or on the couch surrounded by your kids--is much easier. Getting off my obscure soapbox now.
15) The correct answer is b); Daniel's middle name is 'Jude.'
16) I know where to find Noggin and The Weather Channel. The rest of cableland? It is a puzzlement, but I'm never in charge of the clicker, anyway. Newsflash: as of this week, I now know which channel is Sports NY.
17) Robert Redford is a beautiful man. I love Keanu despite his many shortcomings as an actor. Dennis Quaid is hotter than July as the dad who makes it to The Show in The Rookie. Denzel makes me cry each and every time I watch the Titans in action. But it is 'Marky' Mark Wahlberg (e) as the indomitable Vince Papale who rocks my sports fantasy world--yes, even with those plaid pants he wears at the beginning of the movie. Maybe I'll pop in Invincible later tonight....
18) The correct answer is c) Thomas Wolfe's Look Homeward, Angel; all the rest allude to John Bunyan's classic in some way. Read Pilgrim's Progress! It's fantastic, and it's a cornerstone of Western cultural literacy. Once you read it, you'll see references to it everywhere.
19) The correct answer is c) an Old Timer with Cheese (medium rare, if I can get them to agree to that), with nothing on it but mayonnaise and mustard, and a Chocolate Shake. Ketchup comes on the side, and I dip the burger in it as I go. Now my mouth is watering.
20) Sally in When Harry Met Sally has very specific requirements when it comes to menu choices. And why shouldn't she? If you are going to pay someone else to prepare food for you, shouldn't you be able to get it exactly the way you want it? Well? I rest my case.
Scoring:
1 point: Mary-Laure, Millie, Dawn, SidneyMin, and Adriana
3 points: Poodlegoose
4.5 points: Melissa and Radioactive Jam (1 extra point given to RaJ for high entertainment value of answers)
5 points: Brillig (gets extra credit for submitting her comment a second time after Blogger ate the first one)
6 points: Pezmama, Artemis, and Goofball
7 points: Charrette
9.5 points: Ronnie (emailed his fabulous answers)
10 points: Annette and Jenna
And the winner, at 11.5 points, is Anjmae, who also emailed her answers. Anj, I'll give you your prize when you get here! Thanks to all who played; reading your responses helped keep my spirits up during my nine-day hospital stay.
I don't know when I'll be back, but I'll be in touch. Love to you all!
Hurray
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43 comments:
She's GORGEOUS! (Do I spy a tint of red hair there? I'm a bit partial to that, as you know.)
I did much better this time on your quiz than last year--apparently I know you better! (But you threw in a few things just to mess with us--I KNEW you hated green peppers. That's why I picked that meal. Sneaky, sneaky.)
Congrats on the little one!
Congratulations! She's a cutie. Glad you're both home and healthy.
What a beautiful girl. I am so glad everything turned out okay in the end and you were able to have some entertainment and uplifting in the hospital with the comments. At least I got one point which I believe is better than last time. Have a good rest and when you do get a few moments, check back on this weeks T of T recipe; I think it is something you would like (German Lasagna).
She is so beautiful!
Someone we both know and love told me that Anne was probably going to be her name and we were both very excited. My name is Kathryn Anne, so while I know some don't approve of my parents choice in spelling Kathryn, we all agree on the spelling of the Anne part!!
Anne is beautiful. your answers are fascinating. Now go lose yourself in those beautiful baby eyes...
What a pretty baby! Congratulations :) I'm so happy you are both home and healthy. Have a fantastic time with your new little one.
Oh, my! She's so lovely :) Congratulations and best wishes and I'm glad she came out like she was supposed to!
And yay for three points. That's awesome :)
Oh Luisa! She is beyond beautiful! I can't begrudge you time away from "teh internets" to bond with your darling girl. Love the name you chose as well!
Fingers crossed, by the way. I'm five days late!
She is absolutely lovely. Enjoy your time with her! I'll miss you while your gone though. Take care and best wishes to oyu and your family!
Such a beautiful baby! (And a beautiful name.) Congratulations!
Your absence left a noticeable void in blogland -- I was secretly starting to worry something had gone vastly wrong -- so I'm glad to know you're both home and healthy.
Good choice to remain unplugged for awhile. (Though we'll miss you.) Give your little Anne a nuzzle to the neck from me.
--And I'm STUNNED I guessed seven right! :)
Congratulations. She's beautiful :) Lovely addition to your already lovely family. Seems to be the season for bigger families and new babies and all that, so I "let" you go on your hiatus willingly. Don't be away too long, ya hear? You shall make Anne-groupies out of us all yet.
She's a gorgeous, adorable sweetie. Congratulations to all, and I know you'll fully enjoy your break.
:-D
congratulations, luisa. we have a little something for anne. it'll be winging its way to you this weekend.
hahahahahaha. I love that Charrette scored more than I did, and she's been reading your blog for approximately two weeks. Whoops! See, I read, I just don't pay any attention. hahahahaha.
And that little Anne of yours is so beyond gorgeous. Of COURSE you're going to take a break from teh internets, if for no other reason than to just sit around and STARE at her all day!
And I really dig the name Anne. It just shows so much class, sophistication, personality, beauty, refined intelligence, and, most of all, humility...
She is gorgeous! Glad to hear you are home safe and sound -
Will miss you!
LOVE the pictures, Luisa! I'm so glad you're all back and doing well. Rest, rest, rest... ;-)
Oh, I'm so relieved! I've kept checking back hoping that nothing dreadful happened since it was a bit on the early side. Glad to hear that everything's worked out. And she's lovely! Anne is the name of so many strong, quiet and complicated women in literature--a fine choice.
Congratulations to all.
That's such good news. Congratulations. An absolute gorgeous baby, and I'm not just saying that.
"Life is now a perpetual three-hour cycle of feeding, changing pants, napping, and snuggling, leaving little time for anything extracurricular; as a result,"
Oh yes, that is quite true. And to think my wife and I may actually go through that a second time on purpose!
I was getting WOOOOOOOrried!
Dawg, gone. She's a beauty. Just a beauty. Thanks for posting the pics.
(6 points, eh? Not bad for guessing 18 of them.)
!!!
Yay! Baby! She is so pretty. I can't wait to see her (and you, of course!)
oh, and I got that many points?? Hurrah for me! Hurrah for you! Hurrah for Anne!
Wow! A couple of weeks ago I thought how I hadn't gone to your blog and was feeling like I really needed to. I forgot to--busy with work stuff. Then last night I thought -- I bet she's having that baby. I've got to check on Novembrance (yes, I know you're Luisa, however, I always think of you as Novembrance). So to finally go to your blog and see precious Anne is incredible. CONGRATULATIONS!
Luisa, I can't imagine what you've been through but I'm SO glad your little beauty is okay! She's is so cute I teared up a little looking at the pics (man, I've been crying at the drop of a hat lately, maybe I'm preggers...)
Anyway, I loved the quize but didn't even try to answer it as you are much too clever for me.
Anne is a very pretty name for a very cute baby. 35 weeks...I think I was born 4 weeks early, so she has a good example :p.
I'm glad she has healed quickly from the first breathing problems. That must have been quite stressful for you , Anne and your family. Take your time to enjoy your precious little girl!! Congratulations.
Congratulations, Luisa! She's beautiful!
My first baby was born at 35 weeks, too. He was under 4 pounds, but now he's taller than I am. How did that happen??
She is beautiful AND she was born on my Birthday!!!! That is so cool! Congratulations Luisa! I loved reading all your answers and getting to know you better!
Oh, she's so pretty! I'm glad everything turned out well and that the little darling is home.
Oh, Luisa, she is so darling. I am SICK that I can't come out there right now. I want to hold that little thing in the worst way. And laugh with you, of course. Well, soon. I almost won this contest, darn it. Can't Angie be disqualified since she's blood? (sorry, Ang. You know I love you, but you also remember how competitive I am.)
Yeah! I'm so happy for you Luisa and so glad she came home safely. My 4th was 8 weeks early, in the NICU for four looooong weeks and when your littlest ones are having a rough start it's a scary thing--thank goodness for technology and it sounds like she was top of her class as far as 35 weekers go. Big congrats.
What a beauty!
I just can't believe you aren't blogging with all the free time of yours now! :) Hope you all are doing well!
You were due a week after me and managed to have your baby two weeks before I had mine!
We had a girl too (two weeks old now). Our first one after five boys. We are enjoying having a newborn around again.
Your daughter looks sweet. Congratulations!
I just wanted to say that I hope everything is going well with the new little one, and I can't wait to see how much she's grown already :)
Missing you...
(Yes, I know where you are. Yes, I admire you for giving up blogging for now. Yes I'm busy too-- but in a VERY different way! But I still miss you. Is that a crime?)
Congratulations to you and your family! Your new daughter is beautiful!
SURELY you're ready to update us now, right? All healed? Everyone healthy? Everyone sleeping through the night? Surely...
:-)
what are christian and I, chopped liver? We got some o those questions right.
Hey Luisa...how are you? How's little Anne?
Hey, you, with the cute baby. Wake up over there. :)
Sorry to be chiming in so late, but at last I made it!
Fabulous baby, Luisa, and I echo everything Brillig said about the name. We Annes with a Green Gables 'e' must stick together :-)
So glad all is well. Sounds like you had quite a dicey time for a while. Now you can enjoy your babe, family, and summer.
I have some bling for you when you get back. Hope the family and baby are well!
Hello.This is first time for me to visit your site.
I have three children (6year-old boy,4year-old boy,2year-old girl)
What a cute baby! Having baby is most wonderful thing in life.
I'm happy if you link to my
site.It is written in Japanese(some of the words are English) but show pictures.
baratch family
Hello.This is first time for me to visit your site.
I have three children (6year-old boy,4year-old boy,2year-old girl)
What a cute baby! Having baby is most wonderful thing in life.
I'm happy if you link to my
site.It is written in Japanese(some of the words are English) but show pictures.
baratch family
So, I'm 7 months late on this comment. No biggie, right?
My baby was born 5 weeks early, too. It makes me nervous for the next one.
And my husband and I just started watching Firefly on DVD last week. Loving it!