By Scott Swanson
Lebanon Local
Olivia Littlefield spent her New Year’s Day at Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital, hard at work.
For Littlefield, 28, though, the payoff came at 6:24 p.m. with the arrival of a daughter, Elora Lynn Littlefield, who became Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital’s first baby of the year.
Elora joins her mom and dad, Michael Littlefield, also 28, and four siblings, Maudie, 5, Eden, 5, Michael, 3, and Axston, 2, all of whom live in Albany.
Elora was a healthy 6 pounds, 6 ounces and was 18½ inches long.
Elora’s mother is a 2012 Sweet Home High School graduate and her father moved to the Willamette Valley from Pennsylvania. The couple, who have been together for three years, are hoping to eventually raise their family in the country. Littlefield works at the Home Depot in Albany.
Olivia said the New Year’s Day birth wasn’t a total surprise, since she was induced “for medical reasons.”
“They wanted me to come in the night before, before I was going to get infused, but I ended up waiting till morning to get one more night of sleep,” she said, adding that she arrived at SLCH at 8 a.m.
“We were very blessed,” said Michael, also 28.
“Everybody was awesome, the doctor was super-sweet,” Olivia added.
Elora has dark eyes – blue right now, her mother said. “I think they’ll go to either a brown or hazel.”
Plus, her mom added, “she has really long feet.”
“She looks like her brothers and sisters, that’s for sure.”
Olivia said that she was “super-surprised” when nurses gave her a “super sweet” gift basket and then a Samaritan representative brought her another, containing a bear and some cider.
“It was all kinds of nice stuff,” she said. “A couple of books for Elora, lotion, a bunch of different clothes. They had covered the bottom with paper stuff to hide it, and in the very bottom there was a box of diapers that they had broken down and laid flat. I was super thankful. You can never have enough diapers.”
When she talked to a reporter following Elora’s arrival, Olivia said the rest of the kids hadn’t had a chance to meet their new sister yet.
“They’re with Grandma,” she said. “We got to FaceTime with the youngest. I don’t think he quite knew what to do yet.”
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