As we reflect on the whirlwind that has been for the past month and a half, we have been able to see our Heavenly Father and Savior's hands every step of the way. The first blessing was the healthy, safe birth of Miss Clara Elizabeth.
My 3 previous babies had all come within a few days of hitting week 38. So, while I knew babies come when they will and I couldn't count on this one coming early, I thought I had a pretty good track record. Saturday January 19, at 38 weeks and 2 days, I had my first signs of early labor. I had gone to an ill-fated lunch with my sister in law Brooke. Long story short, we had to end up settling for a quick 15-minute sandwich at a no-name yucky place. Don't get me wrong, no-name places can turn out to be diamonds in the rough...not this one. Brooke and I still want a do-over on that outing. We headed back to their place, where Scott was watching my kids, and got ready to go back in our direction for Gabriel and Lincoln's basketball game. I noticed a little bit of bloody show, which is how my labor with McKay had started. I figured I had the rest of the day of early labor stuff, and then things would kick in that night and we'd have a baby. Since McKay's was so fast, I was pretty cocky this time around. I got a bit of adrenaline and was nervous to drive myself, so Scott drove his car with their kids and Brooke drove my car with me (Coach Cory was waiting at the basketball game). Half of the kids went to the basketball game and the other half came to our house with Brooke and me. I took a shower while Brooke watched the kids. I was having irregular, mild contractions. Nothing big. The Rasmussen's stayed for dinner that night, and then they decided to take our kids to their house for the night...because, remember, this baby was supposed to come fast once active labor kicked in?!
I woke up the next morning...no baby. Weird. So, I guess it wasn't going to be just like McKay's, but we still figured it would go fast when it kicked in. Scott and Brooke still had our kids (such a blessing), so we spent Sunday taking walks, playing games, watching "The District" on BYU TV, sitting on the birth ball...all the while thinking this labor would kick in at any moment! Looking back, I'm really grateful for that quiet day Cory and I spent together. Very grateful. I kept having contractions, some that made me stop, but nothing regular. We decided to get our kids back since baby was not in a hurry.
I woke up about 2:00 Monday morning (January 21) with contractions. They kept me awake and weren't going away, so after about an hour I woke up Cory. He started making phone calls -- the midwife and birth assistant, and our friend Danelle to come be with the kids (I'd warned her I always end up going into active labor in the middle of the night). The midwife on call lived in Maryland, about 30-40 minutes from the Birth Center; we live about 10 minutes from it. I panicked that we'd get there before her -- because, remember? This baby was going to come fast now that I was in active labor. She called the back up midwife, who lived nearby, to meet us there until she got there. Danelle came over in record time and we took off about 3:30am for the birth center. Kelly, the nearby midwife, and our birth assistant Aimee met us at the birth center. I was still fairly pleasant between contractions, so I was just anticipating a change in direction any minute. Jennifer, the main midwife on call, got there right away. I was still having contractions, but they were very erratic. And, my water hadn't broken yet. I figured once that happened, things would move fast. Per our wishes, Jennifer and Aimee gave us our space to labor together. I rely on Cory to help me through labor. They'd come in every 15 minutes to check the baby's heart tones, but other than that gave us our space. As the morning went on, Cory and I were baffled that things weren't happening as fast as we thought. My contractions weren't getting longer, stronger, and closer together. In fact, as the sun started to come up, I remember thinking, "Where is this baby?!"I hadn't had an exam yet and, finally, around 9:30 am (I think), the midwife offered to do one. I was hesitant because I didn't want to be disappointed, but agreed to it as long as she didn't tell me any numbers. After checking, she told me I was definitely in active labor (Cory and I were honestly thinking of going back home), but that the baby's chin wasn't tucked, which meant its little head wasn't putting as direct pressure on my cervix as it would otherwise. Honestly, at this point, my pride was a little hurt. I'd had 3 babies and I teach childbirth classes...shouldn't I know when I'm in labor?! Once again, reflecting back, I think the Lord was teaching me patience, which would be a recurring theme over the next weeks and months.
In order to help the baby turn in a more favorable position, they had me kneel on the bed with my rear in the air and my chest on the bed. This could allow the baby to shift back, then re-settle into a chin-tucked position. ( Oh, and by the way, I found out later I was 5 cm dilated and 70% effaced at this point.) I stayed in that position for a good 30 minutes. We decided to go for a walk outside and get a little something to eat. We walked across the street to get a breakfast burrito at Subway, and I started having contractions about every 2-3 minutes. Getting some food and fresh air was great. It would have been more pleasant to keep walking outside for a bit, but it was hard to relax through contractions when I was shivering from cold. For the next several hours, Cory and I worked together as contractions continued about 2-3 minutes apart. He was my rock; I completely relied on him as he helped me through my labor, one contraction at a time. I took a shower, sat on the birth ball, walked up and down stairs two at a time sideways...all hoping to help this baby get in the best position. About 1:00 pm the contractions started to feel different and were double peaking or coming right on top of one another. I lay on the queen size bed and Cory laid next to me as we worked to finally meet our new baby. With my first push, my water broke and splashed the midwife. They helped me to hold back a little bit so as to avoid tearing, and within another push or two Clara was here!
They laid her on my chest and covered us both with a blanket.Labor is amazing. There is nothing like the feeling of pain and intensity that comes just before you welcome a baby into the world, because as soon as that little one is laid on you, all that happened before is forgotten. Cory and I kissed and welcomed our new little one to the world. It was a minute or two before we lifted the blanket to reveal the gender...and Cory and I both just stared. Both of us fully expected a boy and we honestly didn't know what we were looking at! Neither of us said anything until the Birth Assistant, Aimee, finally clued in these clueless parents: "It's a girl!" We laughed and immediately started calling her Clara.
About 3 hours later, we brought Clara home. We took a nap before Brooke bought the boys home to meet her. She had taken them to pick out some gifts, and they were so excited to present her with a fuzzy pink blanket, a set of monkey hat and slippers, and some hair bows. From the moment they met her, these boys fell in love with their little sister.
We were now a family of 6!
We are so grateful for this first miracle in our journey. We are thankful I was able to carry Clara full-term and that she was born healthy and without complications. A few weeks before she was born, I told Cory that I felt like this baby would bring a spirit into our home that we needed. I had no idea just how much that would be needed! I am grateful I was diligent about eating healthy and exercising throughout my pregnancy. I know Heavenly Father was helping me prepare to not only have a healthy birth and baby, but also to endure what was to come.
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