Sweet Baby Clare's Birth Story

We were blessed to welcome Clare Elise into our family on October 20th.  This is the story of her birth.

Sweet Baby Clare

I went to my 37 week appointment on a Wednesday and my doctor told me that I was dilated to between a 3 and 4.  He said he would be surprised if I made it to my next appointment a week later so my mom decided to go ahead and fly in that Friday so that she would be here to stay with Grayson while we were at the hospital.  I was happy to get one final trip in to the city, especially since I had been informed that there was a Wing Stop near the Target that I normally stop at.  G and I went to Wing Stop, Target, Carter's, the airport, and Qdoba.  It was a nice trip and it was so awesome to get my mom here!  After we got back to Enid, the waiting game began for Baby Girl.  My doctor had told me that he was going to be out of town for the weekend so I should wait until Monday to have my baby.  While I wanted him to be the one to deliver our girl, I also desperately wanted to be finished being pregnant so I was only giving Baby Girl until Monday to arrive before I would have gotten impatient.
Sunday morning J had to leave for work at 5 am which was about the same time that I started having contractions.  They started out about ten minutes apart and then got closer together so that by 7 they were about five minutes apart.  I got up and decided to get ready for the day and finish packing the last minute things that weren't in my suitcase already.  At about 8 I texted J to tell him he should head home so that we could head to the hospital.

Ready to head to the hospital.

When we got to the hospital they monitored my contractions for twenty minutes (they were 3-4 minutes apart with good intensity) and then the nurse checked to see how far dilated I was.  I was only dilated to a 4 which the nurse explained meant that they couldn't check me in yet because the new standard policy for hospitals is that they won't admit anyone who isn't 39 weeks unless they show a change in dilation.  That meant that I would have to dilate to a 5 before I could be admitted.  They had me walk around the halls for an hour and then we repeated the monitoring and checking process at which point my contractions were only 2-3 minutes apart but I was still a 4 so they sent me home.  I was pretty upset to be sent home since the same thing had happened with G but I picked up an exercise ball to bounce on and I was able to spend the day watching football with the little man and my mom.  J went back to work since he is in the middle of turnaround and thus doesn't get days off even on the weekend.

G helping me bounce on the exercise ball :)

Around 7:30 that night my contractions started getting a lot more painful so I sent J another message saying that we needed to head to the hospital.  He came home, we loaded the car again and we went back to the hospital.  This time my contractions were painful enough that I had to stop and couldn't talk through them so I told J that if I got turned away again he should be prepared for tears.  Fortunately, when the nurse checked me that time she said I was a 6 so I was able to be admitted at 9 pm.  I had been having contractions since 5 am so I was relieved to finally have made a little progress.  They got me settled in to my room and started an IV (it took four tries and I am still bruised two weeks later).  J was exhausted so he went to sleep and at about midnight I got my epidural and joined him for several hours of sleep.  At 6:30 the night nurse came in to check me before change of shift and she thought I was an 8 but she wasn't sure so she got a second nurse who said I was still a 4.  I was a little upset to hear that as I had been having contractions for over 24 hours at that point but I had my epidural so I just figured we would be hanging out at the hospital all day.
My doctor came in to check on me at 7:30 and he said I was dilated to a 6 not a 4.  He went ahead and broke my water and then about half an hour later they started me on a small dose of Pitocin to intensify my contractions which had slowed down when I got my epidural.  At about 8:45 the nurse came in and checked me to see if the Pitocin was working and she was very surprised to find that not only was I fully dilated and effaced but Baby Girl had dropped low enough that it was time to push.  She called the doctor and about twenty minutes later the whole team was in my room ready for me to push.  I pushed for about ten minutes and my sweet baby girl came in to the world!  She was covered in goop and they plopped her on a blanket on my chest.  I cannot describe how happy, blessed, and overcome with love I felt in that moment.  When I had G, he came out with the cord wrapped around his neck twice so they took him away quickly and I only got to hold him for one minute in his first two hours of life.  It was so amazing this time to just be able to hold my sweet girl and be able to see that she was doing well!

About two minutes after she was born!

 They took her to clean her and weigh her (still in the room so she never had to leave me) and they cleaned her up a bit and brought her back to me.  We were able to spend two hours together with our baby girl before they took her to the nursery and I loved every minute of it!  There was such a huge difference in the birth experience between my two kids and I am so glad that this one was much more relaxing!  This time I had my own doctor instead of a guy that I met about ten minutes before pushing and then we didn't have to deal with any of the stress that came after G was born with his breathing issues.

Clare Elise was born at 9;15 am on October 20th weighing 7 pounds 9.5 ounces and she was 20 inches long.  She is very long and skinny with chubby little cheeks and the longest fingers and feet.  She is perfect in every way and we love her so very much!

Later that afternoon my mom brought G to the hospital so that he could meet his new sister.  I wasn't too sure of how he would react to her.  I thought he might just ignore her completely but he was actually adorable with her!  He was smiling at her and pointing to her and then when we let him get closer he gave her a hug and a kiss and it was pretty much the cutest thing I have ever seen :)

G's first time seeing Clare

So sweet!

Such a good brother!

Our new family of four!

This melts me :)

Clare with her grandma and big brother :)

Since both Clare and I were doing really well, they let us leave the hospital the next day so we were able to go home and get settled.

Ready to go home

So sweet in her daddy's arms!

Leaving the hospital!

 We are feeling so incredibly blessed to be a family of four and have two very healthy, happy kids!  Welcome to the world sweet Clare Elise, we love you so very much!

37 Weeks

Well I have now officially made it to the point where I am considered early term which means that Baby Girl should be safe to come though technically they now don't consider you "full term" until 39 weeks.  I had G at 38 weeks exactly so I'm hoping to only have a week or so left being pregnant!  Of course babies will definitely come in their own timing no matter what their siblings did so I could have another 2+ weeks left.

I had a doctor's appointment today and when he checked for progress he said I am now dilated between a 3-4 where last week I was at a 2 so he said he wouldn't be surprised if I go in to labor sometime in the next week!  I was excited to hear that I'm progressing though at this point with my mom flying in on Friday I am kind of hoping that Baby Girl will stay put until she gets here! Of course you won't hear me complaining if she shows up before then either :)

G giving his sister a kiss :)

37 Week Update:

How far along: 37 Weeks

Gender: Girl

Baby is the size of a:watermelon and it definitely feels like it!

Maternity clothes: Definitely!  I had a few days where I literally wore yoga pants all day this week since less and less is fitting me right now.  I also just enjoyed having pj days because we had some rainy cloudy days this last week.

Stretch marks: The same two little ones on my side from last week.  I have been using tons of shea butter and coconut oil to try to keep them away.

Belly button in or out: In but extremely stretched out.

Sleep: I seem to be waking up 2-3 times a night to go to the bathroom and G had a few nights where he woke up and was just wide awake for an hour or two so to be honest it wasn't a very good sleep week.  

Best moment this week: I had my birthday last Thursday and some very sweet friends sent me flowers and brought me cupcakes.  I'm so grateful to have made such nice friends and they particularly made my day since J had to work such long hours!

Worst moment this week: I had contractions for about 3 hours the other night that seemed like they were real labor so it was a bit disappointing when they stopped, especially since they kept me up for a good chunk of the night.

Miss anything: A margarita would be lovely.

Movement: She moves all the time.  She really seems to like my rib cage right now which I'm not loving.

Cravings: There isn't enough chocolate or fried food in the world to satisfy all of my cravings!

Symptoms: Back pain, tailbone pain, hip pain and some swelling in my hands and feet.  I'm just generally uncomfortable and I feel like a turtle stuck on its shell every time I try to get up.

Labor Signs: I'm dilated between a 3-4 and 60% effaced.  I have been having lots of stronger Braxton Hicks contractions and a few other symptoms that I'm not going to share with the internet :)

Looking forward to: My mom getting here on Friday!!!  And meeting our Baby Girl so soon!

36 Weeks

36 Weeks

Today was my 36 week doctor appointment (though I'm closer to 37 weeks at this point) and the first one at which he checked to see if I'm dilating.  I am currently dilated to a 2 and everything is looking good.  Baby Girl is measuring right on schedule and is head down so we should be all set when I go in to labor.  I'm very eager to get her here but my biggest hope is that she will wait until the timing is right for her to arrive safe and healthy!

This last week J and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary.  We didn't do anything to celebrate our anniversary this year but I just have to say that I feel like the most blessed woman in the world to have married a man who is truly my best friend and partner in life.  He is an amazing dad to Grayson and I can't wait to see him wrapped around Baby Girl's little finger.  After six years of marriage I can honestly say that I love him so much more than the day we got married.  I can't wait to see what the future holds for us and our growing family!

My best friend from Phoenix came to visit this last week and it was perfect timing since J started his 40 days straight project at work.  It was so much fun to see her and have her spend time with G and me!  It also meant a trip to the city to pick her up at the airport which was exactly what I needed.  It had been about a month since I had been to Target and I was going through with withdrawls!  I also took the opportunity to get G's hair cut since there was a place that specialized in working with kids.  I figured that would be my best bet to get a decent hair cut for him but to be honest it got butchered.  It's uneven all over and his hair is thick but extremely fine so you can see every flaw.  I'm just hoping it will grow out enough before Baby Girl's newborn pictures to get a nice first family photo.

Jessie did our maternity pictures when I was pregnant with G and I loved them so I asked her if she would be willing to take pictures this time while she was out here too.  She isn't actually a photographer but I think she has a great eye for lighting and I was not disappointed at all!  I am so grateful that she was able to capture some really good pictures of G and me at a park here in Enid and then the next night she was able to get some with J in them as well.  J was gone for most of the weekend because he started the work project that he has been planning for since he started his new job so we had to sneak in a ten minute session with him in our backyard after work.  We got very lucky with a beautiful sky and Jessie was able to get some great pictures!

36 Week Update:

How far along: 36 Weeks

Gender: Girl

Baby is the size of a: head of romaine lettuce- about 6 lbs

Maternity clothes: Definitely!  This bump can only be covered by maternity shirts or stretchy dresses.  Yoga pants are pretty much my favorite clothing item right now.

Stretch marks: I have two small ones on my side that appeared during my last week of pregnancy with G that have returned this week.  They went away after I had him so I'm hoping the same will happen this time.

Belly button in or out: In but extremely stretched out.

Sleep: G had two bad nights but he was mostly pretty good.  I'm definitely waking up to go to the bathroom more and sometimes I have a hard time getting back to sleep.  I'm not too tired during the day yet but I have definitely slowed down.

Best moment this week: Celebrating six years of marriage!  Also having Jessie come visit!  And hearing that everything is looking great with Baby Girl!  It was a good week :)

Worst moment this week: It was a pretty good week but I guess I would go with the night that G slept horribly and ended up in our bed kicking me all night.

Miss anything: I miss all of my favorite restaurants from back home and I have definitely been craving Wing Stop.

Movement: Plenty!  Baby Girl is still very active though she can't move as much as she used to because she is about out of space.  She has started very aggressively shoving her butt into my rib cage and that has been pretty painful.  I think we will both be grateful when she is on the outside and able to stretch out!

Cravings: Wing Stop!  I would kill for their fries and Cajun wings right now!

Symptoms: Back pain, tailbone pain, hip pain and I'm just getting more tired.  I had a little more swilling of my knuckles this week so I decided to take off my size 3 1/2 wedding ring and instead I'm wearing a size 5 band in its place.  I can still wear my wedding ring but it's getting a bit tight to get it off and I would be horrified if it had to be cut off if the swelling got worse so until Baby Girl gets here I'll just wear the other one.

Labor Signs: I'm dilated to a 2.

Looking forward to: Getting Baby Girl here so soon!

35 Weeks

35 Weeks

I am officially one month from my due date!!!  I am so excited to get this baby girl here and while I am hoping she will make her entrance a little early (G came right at 38 weeks), it is a relief to know that I only have a maximum of a  month left.  I am so grateful to be having such a nice healthy pregnancy but I am so ready to stop feeling so uncomfortable all the time.

This last week was nice for us.  We were able to spend a lot of time together as a family and we also made some new friends who we enjoyed spending our weekend with.  It is such a relief to have several people that I feel comfortable calling to watch G when I go in to labor.  I have been a little stressed out about what we were going to do with him until my mom makes it out here (she will book the first flight she can as soon as I go in to labor) but now I have at least three options that I am comfortable with so I am feeling much better about that!  We are trying to soak up all of the family time that we possibly can right now because J starts a project on Friday that will have him working for 40 straight days (minus when I have the baby) and a lot of those days will be very long days.  I'm hoping it won't be quite as bad as it has been described but we are prepared for the worst.

I finally finished the curtain panel for the new nursery so all of my sewing projects for the nursery are officially taken care of!  J and I settled on Baby Girl's name so I ordered a vinyl monogram to go above the crib and it arrived so it is now on the wall.  I also picked up a nice rocking chair at an antique store for $30 and I started the process of refinishing it.  It is actually in really good shape but I want a white rocking chair to match the crib so the wood finish had to be covered.  I still need to do a second coat of paint but it's looking decent so far.  I also refinished an adorable little miniature rocking chair that I found for $10 at the same antique store a while ago.  I still have to pad the seat and cover it with fabric but it looks pretty cute :)  Everything is really starting to come together in the nursery and I feel like I don't have too much more prep work to do before Baby Girl gets here!

New monogram over the crib.

The curtain is finally finished!

35 Week Update:

How far along: 35 Weeks

Gender: Girl

Baby is the size of a: Large Cantaloupe

Maternity clothes: Definitely!  It has still been mostly in the mid to upper 80s here so I'm still mainly wearing comfy dresses.  I need fall weather to get here soon!

Stretch marks: None yet!

Belly button in or out: In but SO weird looking.  G likes to poke it because he thinks it looks funny.

Sleep: We had a few rough nights with G but overall he did pretty well!  Unfortunately I am now waking up more having to use the restroom and once I am awake it is taking me a lot of time to get back to sleep.  I'm not feeling too tired during the day but I'm sure over the next few weeks I will start to get tired if this keeps up.  I guess it is good prep for when Baby Girl arrives.

Best moment this week: Enjoying time with new friends!  Also, hearing Baby Girl's heartbeat at my doctor's appointment.  

Worst moment this week: I had something pop in my lower back and I literally couldn't get up off the floor for a few hours.  Fortunately, it happened during the evening when J was here to take care of G.

Miss anything: I would love a glass of wine.

Movement: I'm not feeling nearly as much tumbling because Baby Girl is running out of space but she is still very active.  I am constantly getting poked and jabbed.  

Cravings: Chocolate!  I bought a really delicious chocolate and peanut butter cup ice cream this last week that is probably not going to help with my weight gain but it sure does taste good!

Symptoms: Back pain, tailbone pain, hip pain at night, a small amount of swelling at night, and just generally feeling less energy to chase G around with.

Labor Signs: Just lots of Braxton Hicks contractions!

Looking forward to: Having my best friend J from Arizona fly in for a visit tomorrow!  I am so excited to have her around G and just to catch up!

34 Weeks

34 Weeks

I am so excited to be getting down to the end of this pregnancy!  Each week that gets checked off makes more and more excited to meet our Sweet Girl!  This last week we were able to spend a lot of time together as a family which was great because starting next weekend J will be doing a 40 day project at work that will keep him there for late nights and weekends.  I'm not sure how G is going to do without his daily daddy time.  He absolutely lights up when J gets home every night and it is so cute!

These two melt my heart!

On the nursery front, this last week I finally got the curtain sewn!  I still have to attach the tabs to hang it by but the panel is now sewn which means that all of my big nursery projects are complete!  I was also able to go to a consignment sale where I got a bassinet to put Baby Girl in when she is hanging out with G and me in the family room.  I really needed to find something to put her in that was high enough that G wouldn't be able to reach in and hurt his sister.  We are working with him on the concept of being gentle but he just doesn't get it quite yet so I'm happy to have a place to set her that he can't get in to.  When I brought it home, G immediately climbed in to the basket on the bottom of the bassinet and has continued to do so every day :)

G's new spot under the bassinet :)

34 Week Update:

How far along: 34 Weeks

Gender: Girl

Baby is the size of a: Pineapple

Maternity clothes: Yes, I'm wearing a combination of maternity clothes and stretchy dresses.

Stretch marks: None yet!

Belly button in or out: In but SO stretched out.

Sleep: Sleep was so much better this week!  I bought a sound machine with a night light for the nursery and G seems to be sleeping much better.  Hopefully sleeping through the night will continue!

Best moment this week: I started nesting a bit and got all of Baby Girls clothes washed and organized by size.  I also got my suitcase mostly packed for just in case and it was fun to do that because it means she will be here so soon!

Worst moment this week: Just the persisting back pain.

Miss anything: Having a waist!  I can't wait to fit in to most of my wardrobe again soon!

Movement: This Little Lady is constantly moving!  My belly is so stretched out that you can really see her moving around now.  

Cravings: Chick- fil- a Lemonade.  I bought a whole gallon of it this week so that I could have it any time I wanted :)

Symptoms: Back pain is still my worst symptom.  I have had just a little bit of swelling mostly at night but it's not bad at all.

Labor Signs: Just lots of Braxton Hicks contractions!

Looking forward to: Having an ultrasound at my doctor's appointment this afternoon to check for position!  It's been a long time since I have been able to see this Little Lady!

33 Weeks

33 Weeks

We are starting to get close to meeting our little girl and I can't wait!  I'm soaking up my last weeks with just G but I'm also anxious to meet this little lady!  I picked up a few more frames and some jars to store Baby Girl's headbands in but I didn't get around to the curtains yet.  My goal this week is to get them sewn so that everything is ready to go.

This is why I can't get anything done!  That sweet little face is too distracting :)

This last week we had J's parents here for a few days.  It was fun to have visitors and G had a great time with his grandparents!  We went to the children's museum here in Enid which is small but was surprisingly fun.  They had a few animatronic dinosaurs that would react when you got close to them.  G was pretty unsure of them at first but he seemed to like them by the end.  G seemed to find his Grandpa M to be particularly hilarious and they spent a lot of time playing together which was very cute :)

G and his grandparents at the children's museum :)

33 Week Update:

How far along: 33 Weeks

Gender: Girl

Baby is the size of a: Honeydew

Maternity clothes: Oh yes.  We finally got some cooler weather this weekend which was great so I was able to wear my maternity jeans which opened up a few more options.

Stretch marks: No none that I have seen, thank goodness!

Belly button in or out: looking very, very strange but it hasn't popped out yet.

Sleep: G seems to really be regressing sleep wise lately.  I'm not sure if it's more teething or if he senses that change is coming but we have had several rough nights this past week.  It's also taking me longer to fall back asleep because it is really hard to get comfortable right now.  I guess this is good prep for when Baby Girl gets here.

Best moment this week: watching G have so much fun at the children's museum :)  Also, I got a manicure and pedicure and the massage chair was awesome for my back!

Worst moment this week: It was a pretty good week so the only complaint I had was about G having such a hard time falling back to sleep when he wakes up in the middle of the night.

Miss anything: Being able to move, sleep and get around without any aches or pain.  This pregnancy has been a lot harder on my body than the last one was but I'm still grateful it's just some aches and pains and nothing worse!

Movement: All the time.  She really likes to move a lot when I am trying to go to sleep. She seems to be very sharply jabbing me pretty frequently.

Cravings: Anything with chocolate or things that are deep fried.

Symptoms: Back and tailbone pain that is pretty strong.  General achiness.  Lots of Braxton Hicks contractions.  I still don't have any heartburn, swelling or leg cramps so I'm still happy.

Looking forward to: Spending a nice weekend with our family of three before Baby Girl gets here!