ramona astrid xyerra-taber was born last night at 11:37pm va emergency cesarean after a trial of labor foiled by severe pre-eclampsia. she is 17.75 inches long & weighs four pounds, eleven ounces. she was pink & angry & hollering. she is now in the NICU at overland park medical center getting CPAP therapy & intravenous nutrition (including colostrum). she was born at 32 weeks, 6 days. i am in recovery, trying to heal from the surgery & toxemia. more later!
Ciara Xyerra wrote zines for the better part of two decades. She has a brilliant & adorable preschooler named Ramona & sews as much as she possibly can. She lives in Lawrence, Kansas with her boyfriend. She enjoys catching up on "The New Yorker", meatball subs, keeping it cranky, intersectional post-third wave feminism, dinosaurs, & monsters. If you have nothing nice to say, she recommends that you come sit here by her, so you can say not-nice things together.
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34 thoughts on “BABYwatch terror alert: meet ramona!”
Eeeeee!!! I’ve been neurotically checking in here to see – Congrats!! She’s gorgeous and feisty looking!! I hope your recovery is going well & that she is getting fat and happy with yer colostrum…. Happy new mamahood!!
xo
thanks! my recovery went quite well & i’m almost all the way back to normal. still the occasional twinge in the incision area, but that’s par for the course. ramona is doing great as well–back home & over seven pounds now! she’s about the size of the average full-term newborn, which is great, because there’s still two weeks to go until my would-have-been due date. she would have been a bruiser had she gone to term!
thanks! i actually don’t know how much “astrid” suits ramona. i’m glad we didn’t use it as a first name. but we’ll see if she grows into a bit when she gets older.
thanks! in retrospect, she was on a ventilator & getting surfactant treatments at first, so “healthy” in this respect is kind of a contextual thing. she was not healthy at all compared to your average full-term infant. but in the context of the NICU, she was doing great! & now that she’s home, she’s healthy as a horse. we were very lucky.
Wow! I’ve been reading your pregnancy updates from the beginning. I just had my baby 5 weeks ago at 35 weeks and she was in the nicu for nine days. I wish the best for you, your partner, and ramona. It’s really hard and you’re not alone.
Wow! I’ve been following your blog since the beginning. I just had my baby 5 weeks ago at 35 weeks. While we were very fortunate, the nine days she was in the nicu were very hard. Im wishing you, your partner , and ramona strength and happiness.
thanks! yeah, i think any amount of time in the NICU is going to be difficult. ramona was finally freed after 24 days. i can’t even imagine being one of those parents whose baby has to stay in the NICU for months. unfathomable.
Seams Legit 
Eeeeee!!! I’ve been neurotically checking in here to see – Congrats!! She’s gorgeous and feisty looking!! I hope your recovery is going well & that she is getting fat and happy with yer colostrum…. Happy new mamahood!!
xo
thanks! my recovery went quite well & i’m almost all the way back to normal. still the occasional twinge in the incision area, but that’s par for the course. ramona is doing great as well–back home & over seven pounds now! she’s about the size of the average full-term newborn, which is great, because there’s still two weeks to go until my would-have-been due date. she would have been a bruiser had she gone to term!
P.S. – Also – brilliant names! Well played!
thanks! i’m embarrassed by how long it took me to think of the name ramona, but once it occurred to me, i was like, “oh yeah, that’s the one.”
Yay, baby!!!! All the best to you all.
thanks!
Congratulations! So glad she came out screaming!
me too! thanks!
Oh, wow! Congratulations, what a cutie!
thanks!
Congratulations! I love those names. Hope your recovery goes well.
thanks! i am all recovered & hopefully will be cleared to go back to swimming next week. ramona is also doing great!
congratulations!!
thanks!
Such great news, congrats to you and Jared!
thanks!
Congratulations!
thanks!
She’s beautiful!!! Congratulations. So happy it all worked out and y’all are a family. Get home soon, Ramona!
she’s home now! thanks! i hope you’re doing great too!
Beautiful baby!
Excellent naming choices, Astrid is our top name for a girl.
thanks! i actually don’t know how much “astrid” suits ramona. i’m glad we didn’t use it as a first name. but we’ll see if she grows into a bit when she gets older.
She is gorgeous! Well done. And what a brilliant picture. I hope you both recover well and quickly.
thanks! we are both doing great now!
congratulations and welcome to little ramona! so pleased that she arrived healthy. x
thanks! in retrospect, she was on a ventilator & getting surfactant treatments at first, so “healthy” in this respect is kind of a contextual thing. she was not healthy at all compared to your average full-term infant. but in the context of the NICU, she was doing great! & now that she’s home, she’s healthy as a horse. we were very lucky.
Congratulations! Wishing you both a speedy recovery and return home.
thanks!
Wow! I’ve been reading your pregnancy updates from the beginning. I just had my baby 5 weeks ago at 35 weeks and she was in the nicu for nine days. I wish the best for you, your partner, and ramona. It’s really hard and you’re not alone.
thanks!
Wow! I’ve been following your blog since the beginning. I just had my baby 5 weeks ago at 35 weeks. While we were very fortunate, the nine days she was in the nicu were very hard. Im wishing you, your partner , and ramona strength and happiness.
thanks! yeah, i think any amount of time in the NICU is going to be difficult. ramona was finally freed after 24 days. i can’t even imagine being one of those parents whose baby has to stay in the NICU for months. unfathomable.
Congratulations! Such a relief to hear that Ramona has been born! Love the name & best of luck to you all!
thanks!