9/21/06 -- My Birthday!!

My name is Eliza Brown Van de Water. My story begins on a beautiful sunny Thursday in Oakland, CA.

Yesterday at 9:48 in the morning and exactly on my due date (I try to keep things punctual), I entered this exciting and BRIGHT world.

I weighed 7 lbs, 14 oz, measured 20.25 inches long with brown hair, bluish eyes and long fingernails and was calm, cute, wide-eyed, and curious. Everyone was congratulating me, including all the friendly nurses at Kaiser hospital. Of course, the entire thing made me a little sleepy.

My parents were teary-eyed with joy and, just a few hours after I arrived, my grandma Debbie showed up at the hospital to help out and welcome me. It was great timing, actually.

The whole experience was so exciting I had to spend much of the night breastfeeding in order to recover for the big one-mile journey home.

I'm home now and look forward to hearing from you and meeting you all someday soon.

Love,
Eliza B.