TWO WEEKS AND GROWING

Little Miss Vanessa had her two week follow up appointment with the pediatrician this week and boy! was he dazzled, (We had met with his partner last week.) Van had dropped to 6 lbs. 14 oz. during her first week of life. Then, six days later, she had bulked up to 7 lbs. 12 oz. "Why, that's more than 2 ounces per day of weight gain!" her pediatrician exclaimed. We, the clueless new parents, just stood there. "You should probably ask me how that compares to normal development," he finally said. "It's incredible. I'm not sure if I've seen it before. And you've done it all on breast milk? Clearly you're producing high octane." No wonder I feel like a Holstein - I am one. And then he said the most validating words a new mother can ever hope to hear, "You're doing your job." We all beamed. He went on to review our situation and said, "She's a miracle baby." Then added, "It's an honor to meet you." He concluded our meeting with the diagnosis, "She's perfect in every way!"

Although it's hard to top this kind of event in our week, we have had a few other incidents of Vanessa Adoration. Grandma Patty announced, "She's a genius!" one day after Van knew when to stop crying. Auntie Susan and Uncle Jimmy came to visit and immediately noted that Nessa has an iron grip and were very impressed with her ability to lift her head and swivel it around like a turtle. Auntie Susan wouldn't put little Nestle down. Uncle Jimmy shot many photos of Nessa on the beach, saying she has the coveted 2-2-2 facial proportions plastic surgeons look for.

Daddio brought VH1 to the varsity weight room at school to introduce her to some of her mentors. See Van being cooed over by an attentive group of impressive collegiate scholar athletes. Many commented on how cuuuuute Nessa is, despite being in the alien newborn stage. We are way too proud to disagree.

Daddio, upon learning that Tiger and Mrs. Woods are expecting a baby, declared Nessa to be their child's team mate on the junior golf tour. You see, he's chosen golf as her scholarship sport and is obsessing on where to find junior clubs for a leftie with pink grips. Mama is simply hoping Nestle will play nice with the other kids on the short bus.