Valley Hospital's first baby of 2004 delights Big Lake family

Avivah HaSana'a Stinson missed Christmas, but her New Year's Day birthday party was one to remember for her family.

Avivah was the first baby born at Valley Hospital in 2004 -- at 10:22 a.m. on New Year's Day -- giving her family a new addition, although raising children isn't a new concept in the Stinson household. John and Rachel -- Mom and Dad to baby Avivah -- have three children, the youngest of which is 13 years old.

"It's an unexpected treat," Rachel Stinson said. "It's something John and I never thought we'd have, but it is a real treat."

Avivah was due on Dec. 20, but she skipped Christmas and held out until New Year's Day, giving her parents something wonderful to celebrate -- their fourth child.

Avivah was seven pounds, 13 ounces and was 20 inches long, but vital statistics don't begin to explain how much a child means to a family, especially the Stinsons. John and Rachel are both in their 40s, and they had three children -- Sunday, 18; Solomon, 14; and Jon, who will turn 13 on Friday. When they found out Rachel was pregnant last year, there was a wide range of emotions.

"It was a combination of elation, and realizing that I'd have kids in the house until I was 60," John Stinson said. "But it's very exciting. We hadn't even dreamed of something like this. Rachel's right -- it's a great treat."

Nine months ago, however, John Stinson said he was more concerned about an environmental contaminant than raising a new child. During the early part of the spring, everybody in the Stinson household was sick with an intestinal bug, he said. While everyone got better, his wife stayed sick. The big difference was her sickness wasn't the flu -- it was morning sickness.

"After a while, I finally thought that it could be morning sickness, so I asked her," John Stinson said. "She put her head on my shoulder and said she didn't know if she should tell me or not, but she thought it probably was [morning sickness]."

A simple test concluded that the Stinsons were indeed going to be parents to a fourth child.

"We never thought we'd have this opportunity again, so it was a surprise," Rachel Stinson said.

Her husband agreed.

"I guess I've always had this identity as a five-person family, and now the identity is being stretched a little," John Stinson said.

Even though she was born on Jan. 1, Avivah didn't have a name until Jan. 4. The couple didn't know it was going to be a girl -- although everyone had a hunch.

"We all just knew it was going to be a girl," Sunday Stinson, the couple's oldest child, said.

They finally settled on Avivah, in honor of John's mother, an Israeli American. Avivah means "spring" in Hebrew. HaSana'a means "of the strong and fortified." It also rhymes with "Hoshana," which means "year."

"We saddled her with a name she is going to have to spell for everybody," John Stinson joked.

While they haven't changed diapers in more than a decade, the Stinsons are extremely proud and happy to be new parents.

"We are a lot more relaxed this time around. We've been through it and we have clear ideas of what to expect. We're not feeling any anxiety," John Stinson said.

While that may be true, having a newborn in the house certainly will change the day-to-day routine of the household.

"It's been more chaotic, but in a lot of ways, it's been more calming," Rachel Stinson said.

The Stinsons have lived in Big Lake for exactly a year now. John works with Kids Are People, Inc., and manages the BreatheFREE Mat-Su tobacco intervention program.

Rachel grew up in Upper Kalskag -- 100 miles up the Kuskokwim River from Bethel -- as the sixth of seven children of independent missionary parents. She was an adult probation officer for eight years.

The Stinsons have traveled extensively, having lived in Fairbanks, Juneau, Russia and Europe.

In the Mat-Su Valley, however, they feel like they have finally found a lasting home.

"I had this image of Valley people being like Yosemite Sam-type people," John said with a chuckle. "But since we moved out here, the people have been fabulous. The help of the community -- from the church up here, the people I work with, the Wasilla and Big Lake chamber of commerces -- all of them, they have been so welcoming."