Behold the Cute

I know there's been a lot of bathing pictures lately, but it's not like the girl is tap dancing yet or anything. (Although I think she could, I swear!) And really, who couldn't profit from cute little serene buddha bather shots like this?



That's Kathleen's hand in there, I think Team Gore arm wrestles for baby washing duty because they all want it. I'm not there enough to take part in that fun, so I content myself with baby diaper duty. I win, right?



This awesome little Gore onesie was made by Auntie Amber, and if you could see the adorable glittery cupcake on the front you would pee yourself. (Don't feel awkward about that; Veronica does it all the time. See: baby diaper duty.)



I love this one and this awesome Punk Rock Is Not A Crime t-shirt and can't remember at all who made it (hopefully Amanda will chime in below, in the comment section). How cute, right? We also are loving her Sid Vicious hair at this point, although that combined with the t-shirt makes her look way too boyish at this already asexual phase.



Look at that alert little face! So bright and clever and lovely... her eyes are this amazing color of gun-metal grey right now, we can't wait to see if they'll turn blue (wouldn't that be unbelievable??). I think Amanda is coming up with "blue" rituals, so anyone that wants to send over chants or herbs are welcome.

Drea

Journey to Banana Land

Another fabulous weekend in the life of Veronica Stanley... it was all quiet on the eastern front Saturday, as Team Gore had a day with no visitors (a first!) and got to occupy themselves with Veronica baths, walks (albeit short ones) in the neighborhood and repeated Pee Wee Herman viewings of Amanda's new favorite comedy bit, "Journey to Banana Land".



This is Amber running the front lines of Veronica Bathing Express; they're not kidding, have you ever seen a tinier baby more happy and calm in the water?



Here's a great bonus to bathing the baby - you get to take part in the sweet, sweet nap time.



As you will all remember from the previous action-packed post, Veronica got to take it on the road when she went into the doctor for her Two Weeks of Life check-up.



The official deets: she's now 7 lbs, 7 oz; her head grew 1 5/8" inch although it's still in the bottom 15 percantile (which just means she's wee, she's for sure healthy!); she grew almost 2 inches in length and her hips are good, which we'll have to keep an eye on since breech babies sometimes have hip problems.



Her really early use of her head and neck muscles mean that she will probably learn to roll over early, so sleeping time could be more active than people would like but Team Gore will keep her safe!



That's Dr. Bersh, Veronica's pediatrician that Amanda really loves - he does have a bit of a Doogie Howser look to him, but it's good that he's young and excited, as he's going to be watching over Veronica for almost two more decades!



Veronica's hand is cute and tucked under her little hand here, but we're always amazed just how active and mobile her arms are... when she's sitting in her little pink seat, she looks like she's conducting a symphony. A weird, invisible baby symphony.



This is beautiful! I am so biased when it comes to Amanda's star tattoos because I think they're so lovely and special, but I never realized how perfectly they frame Veronica and are her first active mobile! The little bracelet says "Forever" with a "V" attached and is a gift from Amber... sigh. Sisters!



Love love LOVE this picture... how pretty are our girls??? I looked at this and just thought, "man, I wish I had a picture like that with my mom when I was that tiny." And they do!

Drea

Two Weeks of Life

Veronica is two weeks old today! Crazy to think it's been that long, as they've only been out of the hospital for a couple of days now, but it's true and she's growing and splendid in every way. Here she is with Myra, grinning and beaming.



Although we're all admittedly biased, I must say she's both more mobile and more peaceful than other infants I've encountered. She regularly holds her head up on her own (started doing that at about day 10), and then seldom cries or fusses. I've told Amanda this can only mean that she will be an absolute nightmare as a teenager, but she has a few years to prep for that.



Their house has been a hotbed of activity and visitors, which is great because it helps keep Team Gore entertained and ensures that Veronica is comfortable with her new position as Most Popular Girl. Kathleen has been making the hugest and most amazing group feasts every night, and we like to all crowd around and eat in the living room, with the baby in the middle like a centerpiece.



Of course, this means that Amanda and her breasts are also a regular center of attention, but they're really quite tremendous these days so all is well. She is such a natural, at ease mother that it's really fun to watch... and having her own mom there has made this transition pretty smooth so far. Veronica has slept for about 6 hours at a time, so Amanda is getting to sleep through the night barring a couple of feeding breaks, and then her mom stays in the room with Veronica the rest of the time.

Basically, Veronica is surrounded by love and turns her head when she hears her mama (or auntie or grandma); she knows she's got it pretty good, I think. Keeping everything rather Gore-tastic is our new fun game of using Veronica as the world's funniest prop in photos. She will for sure hate us all when she's older, but the laughter now is so worth it.



For those of you that haven't been over yet to see the set-up, all of the amazing gifts that Amanda received during her showers are on display - this kid has got a pretty sweet arrangement, if I do say so myself. Obviously, she is the highlight, though.



So this final picture is the one (or one of many future pictures, I should say) that Veronica will totally roll her eyes over once she is, in fact, of an age where she is rolling her eyes as a prime form of expression.



"Two weeks of life", incidentally, is the name of the doctor's check-up on this day. I think it's a great term, though, don't you?

Drea

bath update

Although the pictures make it seem as if veronica did not enjoy her bath it really was quite the opposite. From what i am told, most babies hate it for the first couple of weeks but she got into it right away. i am not sure what i have done in my previous lives to allow me to have not only the best behaved dog on the planet but now also the best behaved baby but i am not looking a gift horse in the mouth or whatever other corny proverb my father would have inserted there.
Thanks to everyone for all their help and support during this crazy time. i don't know why i can't do anything small. Go big or go home i always say. i am doing so much better now that i am home. please feel free to call and visit as much as you can. my mom can not stop cooking so there is plenty to eat! This whole experience has officially earned Veronica her punk rock wings. Looking forward to seeing everyone soon.
Veronica's Mama--

First Bath

Veronica's little tummy nubby fell off (if you mix the cutesy names with the gross concept, it kind of balances out to something benign, right?)... this means that a) she's developing as she should and b) she could have her first bath!

So Amanda and Kathleen set up the little tub in the kitchen and got to work.



At about 7 pounds, Veronica is smaller than my cats - but seems to hate the water just as much! However, she is so cute and screamy and nakey and squirmy that you may feel bad thinking it's cute, but it's allowed.



Bathing is a big thing with Team Gore now; the fallout from the Great Staph Infection Brigade of 2007 is that they all need to take Silkwood Showers (name courtesy of Rodney) with this special, harsh anti-bacterial cleanser AND put weird stuff in their noses. Oh, and in Chester's nose!



(I love that last picture, the lighting is so serene and and lovely.) On top of all the vigorous scrubbing that's required (not to mention the constant Purell vigilance for visitors!), Amanda has this horrifying shunt in her arm. Basically, her last day in the hospital they threaded a tube through a whole in her arm, into her veins and across her body to her heart. Umm, GNARLY. It was also meant to only take 30 minutes or so but went on for over an hour, as the specialist nurse threaded it wrong. However, Amanda toughed it out because she wanted to take her baby home... admirable. And, um, did I say gnarly yet??



This screaming one is hilarious and precious... bummer for her, but cute on this side. The good news is, so far Veronica is not much of a screamer OR a cryer. (Is that a word? Or just Jon Cryer's last name?) The most she does is an occasional pterodactyl little squawk sound... but that's just so far.



Look at her, all warm and clean!

Drea

The Journey

Here are some great pictures of Team Gore's last day at the hospital, and their journey home to Silver Lake.



This is Phil (total fox), cuddling our girl... he caused quite a stir with the nurses, I've heard.



Although, as Amanda says she "only went into the hospital to have a baby", and therefore didn't expect all of the other drama, the nursing staff was fantastic and supportive. (Other than the muffin-stealing ones, were they ever found??)



I love this one, and I also love Amanda's outfit... it's like she professionally works with clothes or something.



Amanda and Amber getting Veronica strapped into her car seat is too cute for words... almost as cute as the fact that Veronica is TOO SMALL to fit into all of her amazing clothes yet, and has needed to get a new preemie wardrobe (thanks to Dena for the pants suggestions).



Amanda looks all prepped and excited to embark on a new lifelong career in Motherhood, but what she's actually thinking is, "see you in hell, hospital!".



You can't read it that well here, but this sign says "Welcome Home Veronica" and was lovingly handcrafted by Auntie Amber. Keeping everyBODY in the house happy was important, so Amanda got out first and went in by herself to have some good alone-time with World's Best Dog, Chester, to help him get acclimated to all the changes.



Everyone is home and safe, and Veronica (baby-in-a-basket) is a certified East side hipster.



All that just to get home!

Drea

They're home!!!

Last night, Team Gore rolled back into Willoughby Manor II (aka, Amanda and Amber's house in Silver Lake)... with grandma and baby in tow!



This is fabulous for many reasons, most of which being that it marks such an improvement in Amanda's health. However, they did have to put an IV shunt in her arm (even the name is gross), which was a huge ordeal and is painful (and icky, if I do say) for her. But just for 21 days, and Amanda is punk rock, so she can take it.



Friends should be excited to hear that now there are no restrictive visiting hours! Oh, but since they're friends they will be nice enough to give a shout first - I'm sure sleep will be a mighty treasured thing at Willoughby... here's some great final hospital pics of Shivon and Veronica.



Look at how she's holding Shivon's thumb! It fully kills me, and it's crazy how much V has already developed and formed and become more human-like in the last week+ that she's been alive.



So that's the big news, mama and baby are home, sister and grandma are there... and hopefully Chester the dog is not too overwhelmed with the new addition!



Shots of them in their home environment soon...

Drea