Welcome to the planet Ada Lillian

She is finally here! Ada Lillian Hansen was born at 5:30 pm on June 23 after her and mom toughed out a relatively quick, sometimes dramatic, safe and successful labor. She was 7 lb. 4oz., 19 inches, APGAR 9, and absolutely perfect. Details about Ada's experience being vacumned (literally) into the vortex of existence will be in another posting. We know all anyone really would like now is photos!!! So here they are:

Here is the little bundle a few hours into life. She was immediately wide-eyed and alert.

Ada and mom taking a break.

She definitely enjoys being able to stretch.

Snuggling with the porta-nip. It helped a lot during her phototherapy.

Ahh... phototherapy. We paid for a white baby, not an orange baby, so we had to use the lights.

The glowworm and mom having another nap.

Yes, she is that precious.

Cheese!! We finally made it to Obachans and Ojichans

Three Generations.

Sunbathing with dad. It's good for zapping bilirubin.

She has ten fingers too.

Besides being beautiful, she is an good teacher. Here she has gently reminded dad to always remember the burp cloth (he already got the message on having a clean diaper staged)

And here is proof that she is actually alive, not just a happy-doll prop.

Everything has gone very well and we are all healthy and happy to be together. We appreciate all of the support and love from everyone. Check back soon for more.

Did you hear the one about the pregnant lady who went past her due date???...

Yeah.

But, things are still going well. We are mostly comfortable since the weather has cooled off significantly and we had three day of rain - the first substantial anything for three months. And everyday longer that Ada spends in the womb further prepares her to fight off mountain lions or survive on the arctic sea ice. And everyday longer she is a few layers of skin away lets Ma and Pa still be Stacy and Bryan. We did throw her a small "zero" birthday party, cake included!

We are exciting to see her and feel like it won't be much longer. The betting pools around town currently have good odds on the 20th. And her status as a new consumer was further cemented today as we got a new video camera! We will be in Cedar City tomorrow for, hopefully, our final checkup.

The spring wildflower extravaganza continues on. Here are a few photos of the desert temporarily looking like Holland:

Ahh... When the wind isn't howling (50 mph today) spring can be pleasant.

Countdown

We made it back from Kanab without a baby. We have 3 days until the due date, but I'm pretty sure we're going to be later than that. The idea of the due date has always seemed a little arbitrary to us, but it will be a little disappointing to go past it because we are ready to meet her! Anyway, things seem good- she's still moving a lot and she's in the right position to come out. But she can't be THAT comfortable in there with us poking and trying to play with her all the time. And she really can't have too much room left. Here's how far we've come in the last 4 1/2 months:

Getting down to it

We are headed to Kanab tonight for Bryan to go to a work training, while I get to hang out in the hotel and swim in the pool. We are packing like we could be gone for a couple of weeks- since we only have 10 days until the due date. We have an appointment with the nurse-midwife before we come home, so maybe we will have news (or a baby) soon!

Week 37 Update

We've packed a couple of bags for the hospital- just in case. 19 days from the official due date and things are going well. I'm still feeling good, although slightly less so than a couple weeks ago (but really, nothing more to complain about than swelling ankles and getting up a few times a night), and our girl is definitely letting us know she's getting ready to come out. I'm surprised she hasn't kicked her way through yet.
Oh, and the wildflowers in the desert are AMAZING right now.

31 Days

We are now officially one month from the due date!!!

34 Weeks and Still Partying

We had our final baby shower a couple of weeks ago with the Higbee side of the family. It was great- my mom made A LOT of delicious food and instead of playing games, we just chatted with cousins and other relatives we don't see too often. I think it was also memorable in that there were possibly the most kids in that house that I have ever seen. It was exciting thinking that our girl will be playing with them all someday, too. Of course, we were having too much fun to take many pictures, but that's good, right?

We are getting pretty far along in the pregnancy. I'm only a few days away from the point at which my mom had me, so we're trying to be prepared for anything. Chances are, though, it will be a while- I still have 5 1/2 weeks until the due date, but we accept that anything can happen.
She's been moving around a lot and it's still very entertaining for us to watch limbs move around in my abdomen. As excited as I am to finally meet her, I will miss being pregnant. I know that I've been lucky with the pregnancy- not getting sick and not having to deal with any major health problems- but this has been the most exciting and interesting thing that my body and mind have ever been through (and I'm sure labor will be even more "interesting"). It's been amazing learning about what's happening with her development and how my body is changing to accommodate it. It's gone by so fast, but I've been trying not to take it for granted- this is the only time it will be a "first" for us, and I will enjoy it as long as I can!