It's a girl!

Ariela Dulawa Palmer was born by cesarean section at 2:56 pm central time. She weighs 9 lb 4 oz and appears to be in perfect health.

As you may realize, 9 lb 4 oz is big. It is about 4.2 Kilograms. One practical consequence of this is that we will probably not be able to use all the diapers we bought, which are intended for 10 lb and under babies!

Stephanie was a champ during the c-section, in the picture below she is in the middle of surgery, there about about 10 people in the room, and her abdomen is cut open.
Pretty good attitude! Here was the scene just seconds later when I looked over the curtain (I've replaced the more graphic one I had posted earlier).

As Dr. Ismail said at the end of the surgery, "thank god for antibiotics and anesthesia". I had the interesting job, if you can call it a job, of trying to comfort Stephanie, joke with the doctors, and be the first to greet our daughter once she was born. Here is a photo that captures the surprisingly jolly mood of the procedure, Dr Ismail is shaking Stephanie's hand after the procedure is finished.

More to the point, here is a picture of our new daughter.
Mother and baby are recovering well. Here is a photo from the recovery room less than an hour after the surgery ended.
It has been a dramatic few days. Stephanie and I have enjoyed interacting with people via this blog. I'll have more posts in the next few days with new photos of Ariela and information about how you can visit us at the hospital. Stay tuned!