Miss Clara Helen

I've been wanting to write down Clara's birth story for weeks. I blocked out of my memory how demanding newborns are and on top of that this little thing doesn't like to be put down and would prefer to eat all day long.

38 Weeks & 5 Days

I had been hoping to have Clara on (or even before!) my birthday, September 13. But that day came and went. If she was going to be like her brother, then she'd come on the 18th, 5 days early. On Tuesday the 18th I had an appointment with one of the midwives. Three weeks previous she had checked me and said I was dilated 2 cm and 80% effaced. The next appointment I was 2 cm and 90% effaced. The next week I was 3 cm and 90% effaced. That Tuesday the 18th I was 5 cm and 90% effaced. Ugh this girl was killing me. All this progress with no baby to show for it! The midwife massaged my cervix (a.k.a. stripped my membranes) in hopes it would get things going.

Later that afternoon I was having contractions regularly enough that I started timing them. They were around 5-10 minutes apart. Later that night they started slowing down a bit, but then around 10 pm they picked up and were consistently 5 minutes apart. To the hospital we went!

Our friend Pam from church came over and spent the night with Henry. We love Pam!! She's kind of like our Charlotte Grandma. She's so sweet with Henry and he loves her and the fact that they've kept a lot of the toys her three boys played with.

Backtracking a bit... I wanted to try an unmedicated birth. David and I borrowed a book from a friend and read it together. The author suggested walking as a way to deal with pain in the early stages of labor. Dave was all for walking to the hospital (we only live 3 blocks away). I didn't want to commit (obviously), but when it came down to it, walking sounded great. And it did help with the pain. I may have been a little nervous (what if my water broke?), but my contractions weren't super strong and they were holding steady at 5 minutes apart.

When we arrived at the hospital we settled in and the midwife checked me. I was at 6.5cm. She went ahead, with my permission, and broke my water. This was just after midnight. That's when things really got started! Whoa. My contractions got stronger and painful really fast. I lasted only a few contractions sitting in that bed. It felt much better to stand holding onto the rail on the bed with one hand, David's hand with the other, David putting pressure on my back, and water running down my legs. Okay so the water running down my legs part wasn't great, but frankly I didn't care. All inhibitions are thrown out the window in an L&D unit, at least for me.

I wanted to try laboring in the tub, so the nurse got the bath started. It felt good to get in the bath. During contractions I braced myself against the side of the tub and David would put pressure on my back. They were getting much stronger and getting closer and closer together and man did they hurt! Like the body wrenching kind of hurt. And I'm pretty sure everyone on the labor and delivery unit could tell. I was very vocal. None of this breathing through contractions, going to my "special place" stuff. How in the world are you able to do anything else besides brace yourself and scream it off?

Soon the contractions were right on top of each other. I wasn't getting a break. That was my breaking point. I told David I didn't want to do this, that I could't do it any more. I wanted to cry but didn't have the energy to produce tears. All energy was focused on containing the pain. David reassured me that I was doing great, blah blah blah. All things he was obligated to say. In his mind he was thinking, "Get this woman some meds! I can't take this!"

The next contraction came and I knew I wanted to push this baby out. They quickly got me out of the tub. The midwife checked me and said, "Let's have a baby". She told me to start pushing whenever I wanted. The nurses were still scrambling to get things ready.

Holy cow they are right when they describe crowning as "the ring of fire". It hurt. Again, I was pretty vocal. I looked over at David at one point and he had tears in his eyes. He really is a softy and I love it.

It took me a couple of pushes to get it right and then only a few more until our baby girl came out kicking and screaming!

8 lbs 4 oz

Henry was excited to meet his baby sister. But not as excited as he was about his new Lightning McQueen blanket I gave him at the hospital. That kid kills me.

David teases me that our mail man is Asian. 

Dad and Clara both needed a nap.

Going home outfit.

I was very glad that Clara came quickly. She arrived 45 minutes after they broke my water! I'm sure I wasn't as prepared as I should have been for un-medicated childbirth. Although, I'm not sure you can really prepare for something like that. If you asked me right afterwards if I would do that again I'd say heck no. It was unreal. But my recovery was so much different than with Henry. In a good way. So I'm considering doing it again with the next one.

We are delighted with Clara. Besides eating every two hours (or less) and being mad at the world when she's awake, we adore her! I really shouldn't complain because she lets me sleep at night. Generally she only wakes up once to eat. The other night she slept for 6 hours!

Welcome to the family Clara Helen!