Owen and Carter's birth story...in honor of their fourth birthday!

Whaaaaaaaaa!?? ...that is how I feel about my boys being 4 years old! My little valentine babies! I really enjoyed writing out and sharing Clara's birth story. I've never written Owen and Carter's so I decided that I would write it down in honor of their fourth birthday. This might get a little long, it was (obviously) very different from Clara's birth!  I learned a lot from Owen and Carter's birth that really influenced Clara's, but I still loved my birth experience with them.

Ok, so before I get to the birth story I'm going to explain a little about my twin pregnancy... My boys were diamniotic/monochorionic (di/mo) twins. This means that they shared a placenta but within the placenta they had their own separate amniotic sacks (thank you Lord..a shared sack is INCREDIBLY risky. ). When twins share a placenta, they are always identical (fertilized egg split into two zygotes/embryos or whatever, lol, and essentially the same DNA) It is often riskier than when each twin is in his or her own placenta. About 10-15% of di/mo twins develop TTTS, twin to twin transfusion, where blood vessels open in the placenta and one twin essentially gives the other a blood transfusion. This can be very dangerous and fatal to one or both. Other risks are IUGR (inter uterine growth restriction), unequal share of placenta, and other things.

Delivering twins is also riskier than delivering just one baby.  Many twin moms choose an elective c-sec (or have to have one because of baby A's position, among other reasons).  Both of my boys were in PERFECT position (head down) from about 24 weeks on so I decided that I would avoid a c-section if I could.  There are risks with both.  One of the risks with a vaginal birth that my doctor discussed with me was a prolapsed cord for baby B.  This can occur after baby A is born, before baby B's head is engaged.  The cord can enter the birth canal and be pinched, effectively cutting off all oxygen to the baby.  This can be life threatening and can mean an emergency c-section for baby B.  I was praying that I wouldn't have to recover from both a vaginal and c-section delivery!

During my pregnancy, I was aware of these risks but very calm...maybe the hormones?!  Or naive?  Or God's peace?!  :) I was monitored obsessively throughout my pregnancy... Ultrasounds every other week starting about 1/2 way through, appointments every week for the last few months, non-stress tests, fetal EKG, I missed a lot of work.  Everything was picture perfect, everything! At 35 1/2 weeks I had an ultrasound that showed that there was a sudden and significant weight discrepancy between the boys (aka discordant growth).  This can be a sign of TTTS and other conditions.

I remember the evening of that ultrasound, sitting on the couch at my parents house.  I was doing phone parent-teacher conferences because I was way too pregnant to do them in person.  (Only a fellow teacher can understand how exhausting conferences are!)  My contractions were also coming and going as they had been for weeks!  My OB, Dr. Bollin-Richards, called me herself and said "I think it is time for the boys to come out!  How does Valentine's day sound?"

The night before my induction, Brandon and I went on our last date pre-babies.  I made him run in to see if we could get in right away because getting out of the car and walking into the restaurant was quite the effort for me! When I walked in the hostess showed us to our table...then paused and said, "um, maybe we should find a different table." Ha! She was right! It was all crammed in the corner, I never would have fit in there.  We found an empty booth and we pushed the table toward Brandon so I would be able to fit.  We got quite a bit of attention....The restaurant's manager bought Brandon a beer and me a dessert. I remember walking through the restaurant (um, to the bathroom, or course) and just watching all the heads turn to watch me (aka a belly with legs) walk by.

The following morning I think I got up at 4 am.  My induction was scheduled for 6 am.  We walked into the ER together, Brandon carrying a suitcase, back pack, and a birthing ball!  And me carrying nothing...well, just twins. :) By 8am I was hooked up to a million different things: contraction monitor, a heart monitor for each baby, and an IV with pitocin to induce contractions.

Ugh, I was so bored.  I just sat in bed all strapped up waiting for something to start happening!  ALL morning, I stayed at 2cm and my contractions stayed about 2 minutes apart but barely noticeable.  This was not very different from what I had been experiencing for a few weeks already.  The nurse periodically came in and upped my pitocin levels.  Lunchtime came and went...and I wasn't allowed to eat (don't get me started...).  Mid afternoon my contractions were not much different, only slightly stronger.  Just barely uncomfortable.  I was so bored and so hungry!

Finally at around 5pm my doctor decided to try and get things moving a little faster. (Stop reading if female anatomy freaks you out.) She decided to use a foley bulb, a long balloon-like thingy that is inserted past the cervix and inflated to put pressure on the cervix (which helps it to dilate).  The resident doctor inflated it to 4cm saying that it should increase my contractions and fall out once I reached 4cm dilated.  They said it might take about 2 hours or more.

My contractions immediately picked up to the point of being very uncomfortable.  Right away, I couldn't talk through them.  I just stayed in bed and flinched through every contraction...I want to go back and tell myself to stand up and relax! I would have been so much more comfortable! lol.  Brandon tried to encourage me to try some of the techniques we had discussed.  I refused them all, I just didn't want to move.  I was strapped up to so many machines, it was so cumbersome.

About 45 minutes to an hour later (around 6pm), I went to pee...and the foley bulb came out! YAY!  I remember yelling in excitement to Brandon from inside the bathroom.  IMMEDIATELY my contractions became VERY strong. Oh man, I was not prepared.  After a few contractions I said..."ok...I think I want the epidural!"

My memory of the contractions with Owen and Carter's labor is so much different than my memory of the contractions with Clara's.  I don't know if it was because it was an induction vs. natural labor, or if I was just much more prepared for Clara's labor.  I don't remember having a break between contractions at all at this point with Owen and Carter.

After I asked for the epidural, the nurse asked me if I wanted Stadol (a narcotic pain killer used in labor) to take the edge off the pain.  Previously, I had made the decision NOT to have Stadol.  Because I was in a lot of pain and did not have the support I needed (Brandon wasn't prepared either) I said OK.  I'm perfectly at peace with every part of their labor and delivery except this part.  I REALLY regret it.  It did NOT remove the pain and was not worth and "edge" it took off.  I felt drunk and woozy and like I was not as present as I wanted to be for the remainder of my labor and delivery.  I hated it.  It can also cause the following effects in babies:

Central nervous system depression
Respiratory depression
Impaired early breastfeeding
Altered neurological behavior
Decreased ability to regulate body temperature

My boys experienced at least two of these symptoms and were highly susceptible to the others even WITHOUT the use of Stadol being that they were born 4 weeks early.  I don't know if the Stadol played a roll in this, but I am angry that I was not fully informed...and that it is used so routinely in labor!

Laboring while under the effect of Stadol was just cloudy.  I remember the pain and everything else around me was a blur.  I was floppy and lethargic.  The anesthesiologist came in after a while, sometime around 7 or 7:30.  I remember being sat up by the nurses and them undressing me for the epidural.  I felt like a rag doll.  The contractions were incredibly painful and all-consuming.  I have no memory of any pain from the epidural being placed, only from the contractions.

After a few minutes, the epidural started to take effect.  Ahhh....it was so nice!  The Stadol was also starting to wear off a little, though I still felt tipsy.  I was exhausted and settled in to take a nap.  Not 30 seconds after I had closed my eyes, I felt a warm gush between my legs.  "Um, I'm pretty sure my water just broke!"

The resident doctor was called in and checked my cervix.  7 cm!  What?! I couldn't believe it!  It wasn't even 8pm yet.  At 6 I had only been 4 cm!  I was also starting to tremble and shake at this point, which at the time I had not known was a sign of transition.

Suddenly, Owen's heart rate dropped dramatically.  The doctor was suddenly concerned, and I felt a jolt of panic through my heart.  The doctor checked my cervix immediately and with a shocked expression said, "You're 10 centimeters!" (this was literally less than 2 minutes after he had said 7cm.)

I remember turning my head to look at Brandon, totally ecstatic!  Owen's heart rate returned to normal shortly after, the resident explaining that sudden dilation can cause a baby's heart rate to drop.

The next little while was full of preparations. My doctor was called (she was at home!) and the room began to fill with nurses and doctors. I had so many people in the room! It definitely felt weird and awkward...with all these strangers milling about while I was being put in the stirrups. I was so tired and still felt odd from the stadol.

At around 8:45 my doctor came running (literally) in! She was out of breath and had a huge grin on her face! She told me that she had rushed to the hospital and run up the stairs! She had not expected me to progress so quickly.

I began pushing just shortly after she arrived (no way could I have waited without that epi). I. Was. So. Tired. I could feel each contraction tightening and would push through them then lay back and rest. I remember Brandon and my nurse were on my left, a med school student at my right, my doctor and a resident (his first vaginal twin birth :) down below, a nurse for each baby by the infant beds and a NICU nurse for each baby in case it was necessary. So many people!! I remember the med school student introducing herself to my nurse and thinking "this is so weird! I'm having twins right now and these people are just having another day on the job." I also remember thinking "who are those people?!" About the nicu nurses as I was pushing. Maybe would have been nice to have been introduced!

After pushing for almost an hour, Owen Alexander was born at 9:45pm! Right away, he was placed on my stomach.  My immediate reaction was shock and fear.  He looked impossibly tiny!  I had never seen such a small baby. I gasped and said, "He's so tiny!"  He was so cute!   He didn't have much fat on him so he had lots of wrinkles. I was kind of in shock and touched him gently.  I couldn't believe my baby A was here!  He was on my belly for a few minutes until it was time to deliver Carter.

The doctor instructed to me to push through a contraction, and suddenly Carter's water broke.  My doctor's tone and facial expression became suddenly serious.  The resident doctor tried to help with cleaning up my water, but my doctor snapped at him, telling him to leave it.  Brandon and I became very nervous and my doctor informed us that Carter's cord had prolapsed, that she had pushed it back in, but that he had to come out NOW so she would be using the vacuum extractor.  I pushed continuously during and between the contractions for only 2-3 minutes, when finally Carter came out!  Brandon and I were both praying out loud   We looked down and Carter was completely purple and floppy as a rag doll.  He looked lifeless.  I stared and stared and stared at him.  Apparently I couldn't hear anything going on, which I suppose is a good thing, because Brandon later told me that my doctor said urgently, "Get him to the NICU!"  (My doctor still remembers this birth well, and talks about what a scare he gave us all!)

After maybe 20-30 seconds, Carter took a deep breath and let out a wail.  Oh we were all so relieved! By 1 minute old, he received an APGAR of 7 and was perfectly fine.  He was so adorable!  At a pound bigger than Owen, he looked SO much different!  They looked nothing alike.  Hard to believe if you see them today!

A little while after the placenta had been delivered, the nurse was checking my belly to make sure all was well, when I began to hemorrhage. My doctor was called and I got a little nervous when I heard the nurse, upon being told that my doctor was busy, say, "No, she needs to come right now!"  The bleeding stopped pretty quickly, but shortly after I became very nauseous and incredibly shaky.  It was such an uncomfortable feeling!  (I was so thankful that I didn't experience any of that with Clara's birth.) I was quite anemic for a while, and pretty pale!

I didn't nurse my boys for about an hour and a half, due to feeling so hazy, losing blood, becoming nauseous and vomiting, and shaking very uncomfortably.  I remember nursing them, but I felt very numb and utterly exhausted.  I remember holding both my tiny babes, one in each arm, as they wheeled me to my recovery room.  A couple we passed said, "aww! twins!" Thinking back, I grieve the fact that I did not have that time right after birth to hold my brand new babies skin-to-skin on my chest, to just hold them and talk to them and nurse them.  My time in the hospital was uncertain and overwhelming.  It was not how I had imagined and looking back it was a much more difficult recovery, physically and emotionally, than what I think is normal.

Ultimately, Owen and Carter were (and are) so healthy, especially for being born at 36 weeks.  They weighed 4lbs 13oz and 5lbs 12oz, respectively.  They spent no time in the NICU at all and were home with us 48 hours after they were born.  They were so tiny and sooo sleepy all the time.  The first few weeks with them were incredibly challenging.  (I think having 2 preemies is about 5 times harder than having 1 full-term!)  It took us about 1 1/2 hours to feed them both, then we had a little over an hour before we had to start the whole process over again.  And in that hour we were washing pump parts, changing diapers, changing spit-up clothes, and hopefully feeding ourselves as well!  Since the boys were early, they were not able to just nurse and get what they needed, so they were nursing and taking bottles of breastmilk.  Brandon and I got 3-4 broken hours of sleep a night!  (Maybe I should do another post Brandon's nighttime antics during those weeks: sleep talking, sleep walking, and sleep diaper changing.) After a long 6 weeks, we finally started settling in with the boys!  They became wonderful nursers and I was thankfully able to breastfeed them for 19 months. :)

I can't believe our big four year olds used to be those tiny little buddies!  It has been the most amazing experience to be their mommy.  I'm so blessed and I thank God for them every single day!

Owen, left  Carter, right

Owen, Left  Carter, Right

Carter, left  Owen, Right

Clara's Birth

Even before I was pregnant with Clara I knew that I wanted to have an intervention-free, natural labor with my next child.  I had an induction and epidural with the boys and had a relatively good experience, but I wanted it to be different with the next baby.  A lot of people cannot relate to the desire to have a medication-free labor and birth... I wanted to do it for a lot of reasons (maybe another post), but ultimately I have always just had the desire to experience it all.  I didn't do it to impress anyone, and I don't think it is wrong to get an epi or other medications.  Underneath it all, and in addition to many other motivating reasons, I just wanted to.  So I read a ton (loved Ina May's Guide to Childbirth) and hired a doula (Kelly O'brien Pahman of St. Brigid's Holistic Labor Care). I knew that if I focused on the scary things that can happen, I would be scared during labor.  I chose to focus on positive stories to give me confidence. 

Brandon and I talked about Clara's birth quite a bit while I was pregnant with her.  It was so suspenseful wondering how it was all going to go!  I said many times while I was pregnant that I "just had a feeling" that my labor would begin in the late evening.  I just thought it would.  Don't exactly know why but that was Clara's most active time.  I also talked about how funny it would be if she was born 4 days before her due date...My 3 brothers and I were all born 4 days before our due dates.  

So there Brandon and I were, enjoying a quiet evening 5 days before my due date.  Around 9 or 10 pm I realized that I was having a few more braxton-hicks contractions than normal.  "Hhmmm...tomorrow is 4 days before my due date...maaaaaybeee..." So I opened my contraction timer app (yup, there is an app for everything...and no, a regular timer is nowhere near as awesome.) and started timing.  They were coming about every 6 minutes, seemed promising but I didn't get my hopes up.  I didn't even tell Brandon I was timing contractions for about an hour.

I didn't sleep much that night.  My contractions stayed consistently 6 minutes (ish) apart and were graaaaadually getting a little stronger. After a while I decided enough was enough and that I needed some sleep...especially if this was the real thing! So, what do ya know, my contractions slowed down as I relaxed and I was able to sleep for a few hours. I woke up to stronger contractions, which was exciting, but they were still 6 minutes apart.  They were still manageable and hardly painful but strong enough to wake me.  After a few hours I got frustrated again and decided I needed to try and get a few more hours of sleep...my contractions slowed down and I slept for a few more hours.  At around 4 am I was woken again and I decided to pack my bag and wash my hair. :)  I woke up Brandon and said, "Guess what! I'm in labor!" Brandon: "What?! really?!" Me: "Yes, I'm pretty sure.  You're not going into work." 

All morning, my contractions stayed 6 minutes apart, on average.  They would frequently stretch out and be 10-15 min apart, but every time they came back they were stronger.  We took a walk, did stuff around the house, Brandon played with the boys, I ate a big lunch.... By early afternoon I was getting annoyed with the fact that they were NOT getting closer together!  Sigh...maybe this was going to take a long time.  They were, however, getting stronger.  At this point, I could no longer talk or walk through my contractions and I was starting to ask Brandon to push on my lower back during them.  I leaned over the counter and swayed through each one, concentrating on relaxing every muscle in my body.  Despite their intensity, I was energetic and excited.  I felt completely normal between contractions.  

Somewhere around 1pm I was getting irritated at the slow pace and asked Kelly, my doula, to come over for a little while.  I also decided that maybe I would be able to relax a bit if my mom picked up the boys so I gave her a call.  I read a lot about the mind-body connection during labor and whole-heartedly believed that being uncomfortable or feeling stressed could affect my labor.  I had a hunch that having my boys out of the house would leave me feeling more relaxed and that my labor would then pick up.

I could not have been more right.  5 minutes after my mom left with my boys (around 3 pm) while bending over during a contractions, I felt a twitch in my belly accompanied by an audible popping noise.  And I mean not just audible to me...Brandon and Kelly both looked confused and asked, "What was that?" "Was that the fridge?!"  Confused for a split second I said, "What was....??" Then with comprehension I gasped and stood up straight.  Confirming my suspicion, my water rushed out!  YAYAYAYAYAY!  I was so excited! I was literally jumping for joy.  

Within a few minutes it was pretty clear that I had entered active labor.  I had moved quickly from the first emotional stage of labor (excitement) to the second emotional stage (seriousness).  Contractions were immediately stronger and more intense.  Brandon got into high gear and decided the dishes needed to be done.  LOL.  Kelly put counterpressure on my lower back (I had very painful back labor) and suggested that I say "aaaaahhhhhhhhh" during my contractions.  Every single tip she had helped immensely.  

Within 20 minutes of my water breaking, my contractions were very close together.  I was starting to feel like I was hardly getting a break between them.  I had become very serious and focused.  Labor was all I was doing and I could not be distracted from it.  Brandon asked if it was time to go to the hospital and when neither Kelly nor I answered, he knew that was a yes! He scrambled to gather all the things we needed and packed the car (maybe we should have done that earlier?).  

Then I realized something.  I had to sit in the car in order to get to the hospital.  This sounded nearly impossible to me...contractions were SO MUCH MORE PAINFUL when sitting down.  I labored in bed with the boys, but got the epi when it started getting intense.  At this point with Clara, I could not imagine being confined to a bed!  I decided to climb in the back seat and kneel, facing backwards.  This was much more bearable than sitting, but the ctx were already incredibly overwhelming!  

My contractions slowed in the car (which Kelly had warned me could happen) but in the 7 minutes it takes to get to the hospital from our house I had 3!  When we got to the ER, I realized we had another "problem."  I had to go in alone while Kelly and Brandon parked their cars! I refused the wheel chair offered to me (again, no way was I sitting down) and stood nicely behind the "please wait here until called" sign.

That didn't end up happening.  As another contractions was building, I needed that counter to lean against!  As I got to the counter, the nurse asked me my name...I just barely answered.  "Spelling?" He said. I replied, "Nope!!!  aaaaaaaahhhhhh..."  I was completely aware that every single person was staring at me.  Like 15 people.  But I didn't care at all...I was in full, rip-roaring labor!  And, in spite of the incredibly intense pain, I was so excited.  I remember one of the nurses looking at me with an expression of pity on her face.  Even in the middle of the pain, I was thinking "Don't pity me!  I'm about to meet my baby!"

I went through one or two more contractions before Kelly and Brandon came running in...they were gone for 5 minutes and I had at least 3 contractions in that time.  And this was only 45 minutes after my water had broken! This was going SO FAST.  I couldn't really think beyond the moment...at the time I wasn't really aware of how little time had passed!  I could tell Clara would be out very soon.  It took a few minutes for an L&D nurse to arrive and I remember one of the ER nurses saying to another, "Uh..is L&D coming soon?  They better hurry up!"

On the way up, I had 2 more contractions, vocalizing through both of them as i leaned against the wall.  Another pregnant mommy was being wheeled up with me...She didn't make a peep.  I must have been freaking her out!!! While the contractions were close and VERY painful, it was much different than the pain that occurs when something is wrong in your body. I wasn't afraid, I didn't pull away from the pain, I wasn't panicking, I wasn't wanting sympathy, and I never even THOUGHT of the epidural.  

In the hallway just outside of L&D, I stopped for another ctx.  It. was. so. intense.  During this one something changed.  I started to cry and started to feel overwhelmed.  Kelly told me later that she thinks this was the beginning of transition, the final stage of labor before pushing starts.  I was definitely entering into the final emotional stage of labor: self-doubt.  Feeling like I CANNOT DO THIS!!!!  

When we got into the triage room I could barely follow any directions.  The nursed checked me and told me that my cervix was at 5cm and still posterior.  WHAT?!? Seriously!?  I felt like that was nothing!  In hindsight I know that it was INCREDIBLY FAST progress for 50 minutes of active labor.  Right after she checked me, I scrambled off the bed to stand up and lean over it.  I felt so discouraged and started saying "I feel like I can't do this!" but believing that my attitude can effect labor I said "But I can! I can do it because it is going to go fast!" Literally seconds after I said this my arms began to shake.  I was SO EXCITED by this because I knew that shaking can occur during transition.  And that transition is the last part before pushing.

These contractions were as intense as they get.  Halfway through each contraction my voice would start shaking and I felt totally, completely, fully consumed.  Without help, encouragement, support, and education it may have been terrifying.  I was battling fear, but not terrified.  I was overwhelmed, but excited.

Shortly after I began shaking, Kelly suggested a new position... leaning against Brandon while she put counter pressure on my back.  I will never forget the feeling of wrapping my arms around his neck and resting my head on his chest.  It was the most relaxing and welcoming feeling I have ever experienced.  I think I even cried from the relief.  It was kind of like crawling into your warm bed when you are exhausted, cold, and beat from a draining day.  As sappy as it may sound, it just felt like home.

Over the next 30 minutes labor was more intense than I could ever have imagined. I remember feeling very overwhelmed at the speed of it all.  I was having a hard time catching up mentally.  A few minutes after we got to the delivery room I was at the end of my rope. I felt like getting through this was going to be impossible!  Mentally, emotionally, and physically, I was completely consumed by labor.  I knew everything that I was feeling, but I was not really able to form complete, organized thoughts in my mind (kind of difficult to describe).  Everything in me was letting go as I allowed my body to take control and perform this amazing task. 

At this point I began to pray out loud between each contraction.  I said "God give me strength. God give me strength." over and over.  How could I find the strength in my body to do it?!  The labor process was in complete control.  My body knew exactly what it was doing and there was no stopping it.  I rembered that Kelly had told me that at the end you feel like your body is going to split in two...but it won't!  And that it feels like the contractions are stronger than your body, but in fact your body is making them so you ARE stronger! These thoughts really helped!

At around 4:15 or so (25 minutes after I had last been checked) I felt a very mild "pushy" feeling and somehow voiced this.  The nurse checked me (oh it was so hard to get on that bed...I was barely on it). 7cm. 7cm7cm7cm.

I scrambled off the bed. "God give me strength, give me strength, give me strength."  I remember leaning against the bed and holding onto Kelly's arm while Brandon squeezed my hips together...I had suddenly requested that over back counter pressure. I cannot even believe that my body could make such intense and strong contractions. 

I remember reading in Ina May's book how she had experienced women saying something (i.e. I just want to dilate!) and it would happen.  I think it would be a BIT of a stretch to say that something like that would work without fail, but at the point that I was at in my labor I was just about ready to try anything.  So I said, "I just want this baby out of me!!!"  

No more than two contractions later I was shouting, "I'm pushing!" and scrambling up onto the bed.  (I was kind of surprised that I did that...I didn't think I was going to want to lay on my back for the pushing phase!)  Ok, everyone talks about the "urge" to push.  For me, it wasn't an urge...it just pushing.  There is absolutely no stopping it.  I wasn't holding my breath and engaging my abs, but everything else in my body was pushing down.

The nurses start scrambling and I remember hearing them saying, "She's complete! Where is the doctor!? I called her 15 minutes ago! This baby is coming now!" To my knowledge, she did not check me to confirm I was complete. I think she just saw Clara's head! This didn't alarm me, in fact I really didn't care at that point who caught my baby! I was trying my best not to help the pushing along but it was happening. It is SO INCREDIBLE how intense, urgent, powerful that feeling is.  There is no describing it or understanding it unless you have experienced it!

Just after the resident doctor rushed in and began introducing herself, the doctor from my practice came in!  Dr. Hoekstra encouraged me through a few pushes...and by a few, I mean like...four. This phase was SUCH a relief from the contractions.  The pressure was SO powerful.  After 3 pushes or so I felt the ring of fire...which, for me, was nowhere near the most painful part! For some women, it is.  But when I felt it I was SO RELIEVED because I knew I was almost done!

Dr. Hoekstra asked if I wanted to feel her head and I said, "NO I JUST WANT HER OUT!"  One more contraction came and I followed the "urge" to push one more time...and Clara was out!!  It was the most amazing feeling...  She immediately came up to my chest and let out a few squawks.  Her head was nuzzled right against my neck.  I brought my hands up to her.  The room was so quiet...I felt...so good.  Brandon was wiping away tears.  Clara was SO beautiful.  Warm, pink, and much chubbier than I had expected!  Her cord was so cool...I hadn't had the chance to see Owen's or Carter's.  Translucent and twisty with dark veins running through the center.  Her little nose was kind of turned up and exactly like how it had looked in her ultrasound.  Her ears were like mine with funny little bumps on the top.  I remember I said, "we did it Clara!!!"  I just held her in my hands and felt SO good, so relieved, so thankful, so thankful, so thankful.  We waited a few minutes to clamp the cord (which Kelly did, Brandon is squeamish :) and everything was just perfect.  The nurses were wonderful...they did her initial assessment on my chest and just gave us our precious time.  

After I had delivered the placenta (not much pain at all) I nursed Clara.  She was just the picture of perfection.  She latched on like she had been doing it for months!  After my challenges nursing our boys, it was so amazing to hear her swallowing colostrum.  I felt so energetic and was absorbing every second as I looked down at my SWEET girl.  She even gave me a big burp when she was done!  I just cuddled her...until I realized that she had pooped on me.  (It hadn't occured to me at all to put a diaper on her.) So about an hour after she was born I reluctantly let her go get cleaned up.  7lbs, 11oz, 20in!

At some point in that time it occurred to me to ask what her birth time was...she was born at 4:35pm!  Only 1 hour and 40 minutes after my water had broken in my kitchen and 45 minutes after I had gotten up to the L&D floor!!!!  I couldn't believe it...and neither could Kelly!  She said she had never seen progress that fast. :)  

I'm so thankful for how perfectly healthy Clara was and is.  And so thankful to Kelly and Brandon for being such amazing support during labor.  Clara is such a picture of perfect health!  It has been so fun getting to know her and to watch her big brothers interact with her.  Even though the pain of labor was so overwhelming, the memory of it makes me want to do it again!  We'll see. :)