Note: This was the original "otto" page. Once she had a name, she got a proper page of her own.
Our second child arrived on March 11, 2003 at 9.10 pm by c-section. Eleanor is 3.585 kilograms, 51 cm long and head 36 cm. She was bright purple when she arrived in the world but has now settled down to a rather charming pink. Melissa is very tired but very happy to have Otto finally OUT.
Here are some now cropped photos of Eleanor and family (22k or less!) Please note the full 500k size versions can be emailed upon request to Eleanor or her duly appointed representatives.
11-Mar-2003
Still Otto
Passed her tests
Mummy's first cuddle
Metric weight
Waiting for mummy
Found mummy
Claudia and Eleanor
12-Mar-2003
Claudia and Eleanor
Who's Mummy is a nerd?
13-Mar-2003
Bath Time
Hats are back?
Eleanor
14-Mar-2003
Hospital beds as exercise equipment
Mummy and Eleanor
15-Mar-2003
Daddy and Eleanor
Claudia and Eleanor
Another baby?
Snakes and Ladders
Room - View A
Room - View B
Eleanor
Our second child, known while in utero as Otto, is due on March 11, 2003
Otto is almost a surprise baby, having been discovered (at 5 weeks pregnant) a week before we'd intended to start trying.
When we told Claudia that she was going to be a big sister, she was adamant that the new baby would be a sister for her. We warned her that it might be a brother, and tried to change the topic by asking what she thought would be a nice name for the baby. "Otto" is the name of the fish in A fish out of water, one of her favourite books, and she thought that would make a good name for a baby sister.
Claudi was always "the baby" or "it" while in utero; we never had a pet name for her. We tried a couple, but they all seemed contrived. So when Fraser casually referred to Otto one day, we realised we already had a name for this baby.
Don't panic; it won't be Otto once it's out :-)
Claudia has expanded on "Otto". She wants the baby's full name to be
Otto Wags Rogerson McHarg
My brother Dave is suggesting that Wags Otto makes for a better acronym of the initials :-)
Lots of things have changed since we had Claudia. One of the really good things is that the routine screening for Downs Syndrome and other chromasomal problems is done *much* earlier. We have been assessed with a 1 in 2200 chance of Otto having Downs - which means we can be pretty confident, and there's no indication that we will need the amniocentesis again (hooray!) For those who are interested, Otto's nuchal fold measured 0.13cm.
- Will baby be a boy or a girl? We asked Dr Jeannie not to tell, but the Gender Determination Interactive Test got it right for Claudia! We'll keep you updated though
- As at September 15, this gives a 70% chance of a girl.
- January 21st, it was down to 57% girl / 43% boy.
- We're going back to the Freemasons Hospital as satisfied customers. Even though they haven't changed their website since we had Claudia!
- The Nursing Mothers' Association has changed its name. It's now the Australian Breastfeeding Association.
- Hee! The Journal of Neonatology has some "pearls". My favourite is A Prospective Study of Postpartum Candy Gift Net Weight: Correlation with Birth Weight.
- Damien recommended this one (and then Jim did a day or so later): The Story about the baby
