By Rachel Barner, staff writer

November 4 was a special day for English teacher Mrs. Susan Norwood and her husband Zack. On that day at 6:31 p.m. at the Meadville Medical Center, a six pound and two ounce Vanessa Lin Norwood was born.

It has been over a month since baby Norwood was born, and Norwood and her husband are already accustomed to the new routine with a baby. Norwood uses the word ‘routine’ very loosely, since Vanessa’s routine is “eat, sleep, poop, repeat.” She and her husband take shifts of when to take care of the baby, but Norwood usually gets a nap from 8-10 a.m.

“I am surprised at how many hours go to caring for a newborn baby; it disappears quickly!” Norwood said. “It’s a struggle to complete basic housework, and there is no such thing as a ‘quick trip’ anywhere if she’s going.”

“She is fabulous, but I am biased.  Vanessa is quite petite; many people compare her to or call her a peanut. She has been great meeting new people,” said Norwood. “It is mesmerizing, watching her day to day.  She makes hilarious faces, loves stretching or sleeping with her hands in the air, and squirms around in the most amusing ways.”

Norwood and her husband love being parents. “It’s a messy job, but somebody’s gotta do it,” Zack Norwood said about parenting. Norwood has felt all of the mom instincts kick in, and she loves cuddling with Vanessa. She says parenting is all-consuming, but that she would not change it for anything. She has also has a newfound respect for mothers who have more than one child and mothers that go back to work right away.

The Norwood family plans on spending Vanessa’s first holiday with extented family and friends. “We would like to visit with family as much as possible, but we’re most looking forward to some time, just the three of us, to bond and relax while my husband has some time off from work,” Norwood said.

Norwood plans on returning to SHS in April of 2016.