21st Century Birth Announcement - Amelia Jane Welsh

All,
A dinner party was cut short Friday night when Stephanie asked me to stop drinking wine and start timing contractions. About 30 minutes later, after timing contractions separated by anywhere from 4 to 10 minutes, we were on the phone with the doctor. Upon learning that this was our third baby, not our first, the doctor advised that we come directly to the hospital.

This addressed my greatest fear about having a baby in China – the speed with which third babies are reputed to arrive and the prospect of delivering in part or in whole in a taxi or minivan. We checked into the hospital at 10:30pm and proceeded to wait for the baby to arrive. Stephanie was having productive contractions moving toward delivery, but at a much slower pace than one might expect with a third baby. Finally at ~4:00am they administered oxytocin to ‘move things along’.

And at 6:18am, Amelia joined the family! After getting settled in to some extent, I went and picked up Olivia and Genevieve to bring them to the hospital and see Mom and meet their new little sister. Everyone got along famously!

We expect to be in the hospital here in Shanghai until Monday morning.

Here are the pertinent details about Amelia upon her arrival:

Name: Amelia Jane Welsh
Date: March 14, 2009
Time: 6:18am
Weight: 8 lbs, 10.5 oz (3.935 Kg)
Length: 20 inches (51cm)

We have attached a couple of pictures and will post more when we get a chance.

Hope this finds you all well.

Joe, Stephanie, Olivia, Genevieve and Amelia