8am
Today looks like spring, which matches my mood! I’m hoping the post-family glow will last (it helps that more fam time is on the way!), since I feel like the homesick part has chilled out a bit.

Dave and I stayed up too late after the marathon kangaroo session, so this morning was a little painful. Tess felt the same way. Apparently, her tummy is not loving the protein shake part of her breast milk diet. She has bowel loops (air in there – uncomfortable, and everything shows when you’re that tiny) and a swollen belly. Nothing serious – she’s so little, gas bubbles can build up that are as voluminous as dinner (hence last night’s volcano impersonation), but it’s hard to see her squirm. Bummer! The nurse and nurse practitioner said she’s fine, so per our usual stance, we don’t panic until they do.

11am
Dave and I decided to work from the house today. We checked out a new cafe (looked promising, was ok), cleaned our room and got laundry going. The little additions to our routine make us feel very organized. Now he’s off to the hospital for rounds, cares and kangaroo, and I’m going to earn a living. 🙂 Who said its Saturday?

Tess Ingela Oplinger
Before I get started though, a little name clarification is in order. We just heard that my parents thought we named Tess after a video game for the last 3 weeks! While that’s a valid option for some of our friends, it has nothing to do with our kiddo.

I’m obsessed with names, and have lists from when I was 12. Dave – not so much. So I’d read him names, and he’d say yes or no. This seemed infuriating until I realized we had a few full names picked out that we both liked. Go figure – worked like a charm. 🙂

Tess comes from the name family Theresa/Therese, but my first name is a derivative and so is my mom’s. With a last name like Oplinger, we thought short was probably our best bet! It means “to reap/harvest”, although I think my friend Sarah’s description is better than anything I could say, so here’s her take:

My middle name is Therese, and I’m pretty sure Tess is a derivative…anyway, I knew Therese meant “to harvest/to reap” which was already ridiculously appropriate for this little one…bringing you are Spencer and Kat together, making this happen…but then I looked up the meaning to Tess….and found this …..”People with this name have a deep inner desire for travel and adventure, and want to set their own pace in life without being governed by tradition” I mean seriously!! Could it describe her any better??? Or her parents (meaning you!)

I think the last bit applies to the birth parents too, to be honest!

I’m a huge fan of names that work well in any language, and as far as I know Tess fits the bill anywhere. Dave and I also like unusual names, but hesitated to use anything too difficult as a first name since we didn’t want her having to spell it, pronounce it, etc. every day for the rest of her life. Middle names are open season! I met an Ingela at university, one of the most charming people I know. We weren’t particularly close, but the name always stuck with me. When we researched it, we already knew Kat and Spencer we’re taking heroic measures to keep the baby healthy: Kat was on bed rest for weeks, and was ready to do it for 3 months so Tess could grow! Spencer made that possible by taking excellent care of her and staying in touch with us. We always felt informed and part of the process. Well, Ingela means “beautiful daughter of the hero” and comes from Scandinavia. None of us are Scandinavian, but with a beautiful name with a perfect-fit meaning, we just didn’t care. We decided it would be our way of honoring Kat and Spencer, thanking them for letting us be her parents.

So there it is! Dad said Ingela is 23,084th in the US in terms of popularity, and Tess 11,675th – so we’re thinking she’s pretty protected from being confused with someone else. Lol.

5pm
Good thing everyone left! My giant
work project is coming to a close this week. Don’t worry, Oplingers! We’ll make it happen. 🙂 Oh, projects with many authors keep me entertained.

Tess was her sweet self for daddy, and Dave tore me away from my doc long enough for us to go make Utah friends! He met some fun people at a business dinner, and we’re going to park city for a quick dinner so i can meet them, too. I’m kind of happy to be off to meet with people who aren’t nurses or doctors. No offense to any medical professionals!

8:30
Had fun with the new acquaintances, enjoyed a fun dinner with lots of laughs. Now we get to say hi to the bug before I marathon it tonight. I loved seeing the cross-pollination of Oplingers and Kat! How cool is that?! I’m going to keep this going forever! 🙂