welcoming Moriah

(as emailed on July 13th)

Dear Family and Friends,

This morning at 8:48 we welcomed Moriah Pearl Winchell into the world and into our family (Moriah, Hebrew for 'chosen by God' and an important mountain in Jewish history, symbolizing God's provision when needed most; Pearl, after my late paternal grandmother). We're happy to report that she is adorable--a long, skinny baby at 20 inches and 6 pounds, 15 ounces. She's got a bit of my strawberry blond hair, and we fell immediately in love with her.

We were very surprised to learn soon after her birth that Moriah is also a baby with Down's Syndrome. We so appreciate your support and prayers during these next days of adjustment to this news; as I write this, Moriah has been moved to a special care nursery for low oxygen levels and is undergoing tests to determine the cause--the doctors suspect a heart defect. Please continue to pray for a healthy baby for Team Winchell!

We'd love to hear from you; as you can imagine, I'm quite tired after the C-birth this morning, but would welcome emails and posts to Facebook especially.

Thanks for your friendship and love. We love you.

Peace,
Melissa for Team Winchell"