Tebo Family in Beijing: September 2012

At the Hospital

This is my "Hurry-up and take the picture" smile.

Check-out the clock in the back. It says 8:51 pm.

Olivia was born at 9:30 pm so this is right before

things started really happening.

Olivia Marie Tebo

Happy Mommy and Daddy

Gabriella, Olivia, and Daddy

Chen Ayi

Love her!

My girls!!!

Sweet baby...

Hungry!

Our maternity package includes a candlelight dinner.

The only thing worthwhile is the brownie and wine.

Daddy and his new baby girl

Love her!

Big yawn

Kisses from big sister

Isabelle has no clue what's going on!

Look at Isabelle's face!

I said, "Let's take a picture,"

and she said, "CHEESE!"

Love her!

Happy daddy with his girls

Happy mommy and her girls!

Name: Olivia Marie Tebo

Pronounced: We prefer "Ah-livia," instead of "Oh-livia"

Nicknames: Livvy or Liv

Name Meaning: "Bringer of Peace"

Chinese Name: Wei Miao

Chinese Name Meaning: "Wonderful Wild Rose," which is a combination of names from both of the counseling secretaries I work with (Jennifer and Leanne). They are awesome, smart women, so this is a fun way of remembering them whenever we end-up leaving China.

Born on: Friday, September 21, 2012. This should be easy to remember... Travis is October 21 and Isabelle is January 21.
Time: 9:30 pm
Weight: 8 pounds
Length: 20.5 inches
Chinese Year: Year of the Dragon (like mom)
Astrological Sign: Libra (like dad)

Birth Story: What baby is actually born on their due date? I really had no idea when I woke up on Friday that September 21st was going to be Olivia's birthday. I had a doctor's appointment the day before and he said that not much was going on, which was fine by me. I planned to work until my due date and was hoping to be late so I could get some things done and have some last minute Cara-time. The night before she came (Thursday), I stayed-up late baking a coffee cake for a birthday party Travis had at work and baking some pumpkins muffins for International Day that was also the following day... so I was pretty tired. Anyway, so back to Friday... As I mentioned, it was my last day of work so I spent a lot of my time finishing up loose ends, calling kids down, emailing, cleaning-up my office, etc. Since it was International Day, we had a shortened schedule. There was a parade and Travis picked-up Isabelle so we could all walk in it together and represent North America. I didn't realize I'd have to be standing around so much. It was hot, humid, and polluted out, but we survived. I had grand ideas of us going to all of the International Day games and watching the performances afterwards but I was exhausted so we went grocery shopping and headed home. Stephen and Velora came over for dinner and that's when things started to happen.

*Note to self and other pregnant women* NEVER eat a HUGE Indian dinner before you go into labor.

I started feeling something funny around 5:00 pm or so but ignored it because babies rarely arrive on their due date. Right? But around 6:00 pm is when I knew something was going on and announced it to everyone. We had people coming over to give us foot massages at 7:30 pm, so I thought we'd go to the hospital after that. I really wanted my feet rubbed! I packed my bag and while I was putzing around and getting things organized, I realized that this was getting more serious. No foot massage for me. We need to get going. We called Chen ayi and Stephen and Velora stayed and got their foot massage while they waited for Chen to come and take care of the girls. We got to the hospital at 8:00 pm and I was about 4 cm dilated. The doctor said it was going to happen soon, which was no joke. We put Modern Family on so I had some distraction. I got on the exercise ball and breathed through some contractions. Then I tried walking around, but at one point I wasn't feeling well and laid on my side and got into the breathing zone. My water exploded everywhere and about four pushes later, at 9:30 pm, out came baby Olivia! So basically my labor from start to finish was from 6:00pm-9:30pm, or 3 1/2 hours. It's no joke that the more babies you have the faster the delivery. Travis was yet again an awesome coach... super supportive and a great lower back massager. He should be a doula. Ha!

Story about the Name: I've loved the name Olivia for awhile, ever since I heard Eddie Vedder (lead singer from Pearl Jam) name his daughter that back in 2004. I shoved that name aside because of its rising popularity, but after using-up all my favorite girl names already, I started to seriously re-look at every possible name... I personally don't know anyone named Olivia and I have just one friend who named her daughter that. I do feel a tad unoriginal choosing it and I wish it wasn't on the top ten most popular list, but I don't care... I absolutely love the sound and feeling that the name has, but I also really like the meaning. If you know me well, you know how much I love peace signs (hence the tattoo on my ankle). Not only that, she was born on "World Peace Day," so for me... it just feels meant to be. Luckily, I was able to convince Travis. As for the middle name, it's a family name from both sides. I have a lovely first cousin named, Marie. Travis' mom, sister, and our niece (Emerson) all have that as a middle name too... I like the idea of carrying-on family names, especially ones that have a connection for both sides of the family.