...GIRL!

We welcomed seven pound Rachel Claire Canavese into our family on Wednesday, April 22 at 2:50 pm. Our little acrobat, who spent much of her last trimester in a breech position, was born by emergency c-section 10 days before her due date when she decided to lay transverse (horizontal) after the doctor's attempts to turn her. 

We named the baby after the biblical Rachel (a physically strong and beautiful shepherdess, one of the early matriarchs, and mother to Joseph and Benjamin). The middle name Claire is in connection with Saints Clare and Francis of Assisi and their love of the natural world because of Rachel’s Earth Day birth date.

Ann and about 90% of family, friends, and random strangers thought Ann was carrying a boy.  Paul, again, knew Ann was carrying a girl.

We will probably share more of Rachel's birth story later, but for now we are focused on getting to know her better!

Yes, as you can see here, Ann is very pregnant. The baby's estimated due date is May 2.

This pregnancy has been quite a ride, including a lot more first trimester "all-day-sickness" than with Madeleine, and a little one that decided to go breech on us for a few weeks recently. At the moment, she/he is head down, and we're hoping it will stay that way.

Once again we're among the 7% of Americans who choose not to find out the gender ahead of time, and when people ask, "What are you having?" Paul takes devilish delight in responding, "Well, we know it's a baby."

Madeleine is pretty excited, and we're planning for her to be present either for the birth itself or in the first few moments afterward if the baby is born at home as we're hoping.