Nora at 2 weeks old Nora Caroline Shannon was born on May 4th at 545pm. She weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. It's been quite the few months since my last post for our whole family and, while I constantly regret not being able to get here and write down my thoughts, when I look back I understand that we've been running on fumes for months. Rachael and I both just finished our respective undergrad degrees and I spent a month doing 60-hour weeks to try to bank some money to tide us over while Rachel isn't getting a full salary for maternity leave. Rachael had the birth experience she wanted with Nora and I couldn't be happier for her. She delivered at a midwife practice on King Street on Old Town Alexandria in a bedroom, not in a hospital hooked up to all the monitors we dealt with for Joe. She was able to labor on her own and go for a walk with me around town early on and did a lot of her heavy labor standing or on all fours in bed. She del