Elizabeth Audrey Brown

Elizabeth Audrey Brown was born on December 20, 2014. She arrived early at 35 weeks gestation and weighed 5 lbs. 10 oz. Because of her preterm birth, her first seven days were spent in the Intensive Care Nursery at UCSF. Once she was able to regulate her own body temperature, (re)gain weight, and meet other benchmarks, she was discharged on December 27, 2014, and our family began to settle in to our "new normal".

Maisy has been a gentle, loving, sweet big sister. She is (almost) always ready to greet her little sister when she wakes up, help her with a bottle, entertain her during a diaper change, play on the floor, or sing a little song for Elizabeth. It is amazing to see and makes my heart swell.

When Elizabeth was born we were nearly decided on her name. We knew Audrey would be her middle name in honor of Dave's late mother; a special connection she shares with her older cousin Catherine (Catie) and sister Margaret (Maisy). We were almost sure her first name would be Elizabeth. We liked "classic" names, my middle name had been Elisabeth, etc. But in our dazed state following my surprise, long, exhausting labor and our baby's hospitalization, we had some difficulty being decisive. Elizabeth won in the end! It's a beautiful name and we're so happy about it. 

In the 16 weeks following her birth we've talked about nicknames and tried several. This process was different than with Maisy; from the beginning we knew Margaret would be Maisy. Elizabeth? Elizabeth could be Elizabeth, Beth, Betsy, Liz, Lizzie, Ellie, Libby, Betty, Birdie, Liza, Eliza, even Poppy (unrelated, but still...). Which was our daughter? The three of us -- Dave, Maisy and I -- have all found ourselves happily calling her Lizzie. And so Lizzie she is. 

Here finally are some photos from the so-called "fourth trimester" - the first three months of Lizzie's life.