Ryan, meet the world. World, meet Ryan!

Finally, at long last (40 weeks, 3 days, 2 hours and 55 mins to be exact), I am overjoyed to be able to introduce our precious little girl - Ryan Joan Thibodeau! She was not rushed to add to the world population and is equally unrushed in life so far. Here is a little description of how the last week has gone for us....

When my due date came and went, as well as the novelty of having a Canada Day baby, I had pretty much resigned myself to the Doc's induction date of July 6th. Sooooo, when I got up from my nap around 9pm (July 2nd) and started feeling 'cramps' I didn't think much of it but, I thought I should keep track anyway. Well, the 'cramps' were about 6 - 8 mins apart. Around 9:30 Jason noticed my timings and we deduced that I was in labour! At 11 pm we called Labour & Delivery at the DECH and the nurse there told us to hang on at home until the contractions were 3 -4 mins apart and lasting for 1 to 1.5 mins. That happened in about a half hour. Shortly after midinght we made it to the hospital and (skip ahead, skip ahead) at 2:55 am we had ourselves the cutest little girl in the world! Less than 6 hours in labour - yeah! And no epidural - yeah! It was most definitely a magical night.

Now, what about her name you might ask.... Jason and I made the decision almost as soon as we found out I was pregnant that we were not going to share our name choices. Primarily because people are not as poker faced as they think they are when hiding their distaste over the name you've chosen, and we really did not want to be influenced by anyone elses opinion. We had both heard Ryan used as a girls name in the past and really liked it. Joan is my mother's name and finally, Thibodeau is Jason's last name and also my mother's maiden name. Put them together and we have Ryan Joan Thibodeau.

The last week at home has been great. As with my pregnancy, I am having a smooth and uneventful recovery. Ryan is taking to nursing very well and seems pleased with her surroundings. Lucy runs to Ryan’s room when she cries at night and seems to be adjusting quite well to not being an only child anymore. Jason and I are learning life lessons at an alarming rate…. Sleep when baby sleeps, don’t leave the diaper of too long, be sure to plan your outings far in advance and to act quickly when you leave, and most importantly - enjoy every minute….

Ryan is already showing signs of genius – she holds her head up on her own (for about 3 seconds) and her facial expressions are countless. We have already started the college fund because there is no telling how many years of school she will skip :o) She also may have some super powers as she seems to hypnotize everyone that comes around her. The consensus thus far is that she is the spitting image of her Daddy and, I must agree that she is a looker! Everyday she is just a little bit different. For example, today her umbilical cord fell off. I cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings but am careful not to wish this time away – so far it is wonderful!