Thalia Adelita Bell

A couple of rather low-quality pictures (taken with my iPhone in fairly low light; at some point soon, I'll get my camera cord and post some better ones!).....

The vital stats:

Name: Thalia Adelita Bell (Thalia has a silent 'h' and rhymes with the flower, dahlia)

Born: 5 October 2008, 3:43 a.m.

Weight: 9 lb., 7 oz.

Length: 21 3/4 inches

Head: 14 1/4 inch circumference

The story (short version): Daniela began having contractions on Thursday; by the middle of Thursday night, she was awakening frequently with fairly strong ones (she very kindly let me sleep, unaware of what was happening, and also unaware that this was my last good night's sleep for a loooong time).  She labored at home all day Friday; that night she decided she wanted to call the doula (Rebecca).  Rebecca came and helped with the labor all through the night Friday.  At times it looked like the baby's arrival might well be imminent (little did we know!).  On Saturday at around noon, we decided the time was right to go to the hospital to at least find out where things stood.  We were told that substantial progress had been made, but there was still lots of work to do.  Daniela worked the rest of the day on Saturday, then all through the night, till the birth at just short of 4 a.m.  We were alone in our room by 6:00 or so, and thanks to Thalia being exhausted from her journey, we were all able to get some much-needed sleep.

That's about it for right now-- we have e-mail access in our room, and Eric's cell phone is getting good reception, so feel free to drop us a line!  We're looking forward to introducing Thalia to all of you soon!