Lauren Claire is here!!

Here is Lauren's birth story, for those of you who have been asking for it! :)

We went to my OB's office for my 9:00 appointment on Tuesday morning, May 26. Blood pressure was still 120/80 for the second week in a row, and my weight gain was at 36 pounds. It had stayed exactly the same for three weeks. He checked, and I was still 2cm dilated and barely 60% effaced. He asked if we had talked about inducing today (haha... we sure HAD!), and told us to get our bags and head on up to L&D. I was SO nervous at this point!! So many people had told me horrible induction stories, and I was really scared. I felt like this was my first baby, and not like I had already gone through it twice.

So, we got up to L&D where they put me in the exact room where Brittany and Zach were born! I was in my gown and sitting in the bed by 9:30am. The nurses came in to ask questions and to start my IV. That was a lot of fun! She tried putting it in my forearm, but something wasn't right and it stopped flowing and it HURT. She finally took it out, and did it down below the base of my thumb. That was much better, and it didn't hurt at all.

At 10:45am, she came back in and started my Pitocin. I had a wonderful nurse! I had told her that I didn't want an epidural or pain meds, and I was telling her about the things people had said about pitocin-induced births. She said that I could definitely do it if I wanted to do it, and not to let other people scare me. :) So, I kept that in my head. At 11:30am, she came back in an increased my Pitocin by one unit. Dr. S came in at 11:41am to check me and break my water. I hadn't really dilated a lot more at that point, but I was a little more effaced. He broke my water with the giant crochet hook, and we were on our way to a baby!

My contractions had already started to become pretty uncomfortable before that, but I was getting through them just by holding Clay's hand and him telling me when they were peaking and heading back down. Once my water was broken, they started coming closer together and were a lot harder. The nurse gradually increased my Pitocin again around 12:25pm and again at 1:21pm. By the second time, I was hurting pretty bad and we asked if she would check me, as it would give me some mental clarity about any progress that I had made and how this thing was going. She said that she had been noticing some "earlys" on the monitor, and I asked what this meant. She said it was when the baby's heartrate starts to decrease slightly with the contractions. She said it was an indication that things were moving a lot closer. So, she checked me and I was 3cm dilated and 90% effaced (1:21pm). I was hurting a lot by this point, and she changed the position of the bed so that it was like I was sitting up in a chair. With every contraction, I closed my eyes, held Clay's hand, and he talked me through it. Although, I think I was doing a lot of the talking... things like, "This hurts." "Ow, ow, ow" and "I don't like this!" LOL He was SO great, and never left my side for even a second. At one point, I was having a bad contraction and the blood pressure cuff (my nemesis) messed up and was squeezing my arm so hard that I thought it was going to pop vessels. I had been telling Clay about the cuff when a contraction hit, and he just tore the bloated cuff off of my arm. For some reason, even though I was in the middle of a lot of pain, I got cracked up at the visual of him doing that and I laughed my way through that contraction. It still cracks me up now to think of it. Anyway, he was absolutely perfect, and I can’t tell him enough how much I appreciate him going through the whole thing with me, taking care of me, supporting me, and making me feel loved. He did absolutely anything that I wanted him to do, and he anticipated most of it without me ever having to ask. :)

Okay, getting off track... anyway, so I was sitting in the bed in the chair position when I had another contraction. This one felt different, and I could tell that the baby was getting closer. Clay called the nurse. She checked me again and I was 5cm dilated and 100% effaced. She said that she could feel the baby's head right on my cervix, and that she thought things would be moving along quickly now. She called Dr. S and told him how quickly things were moving along. The nursery people brought in the baby measuring/warming station thing, and my nurse went out to get her table. I had another contraction, and she came back in during the middle of it. She checked me again, and I had dilated to 8cm that quickly. She laid the bed back, had me roll over on my right side with one arm above my head, my right leg straight below me, and my left leg crossed over my right leg and with my knee up as close to my head as I could get it. That is hard to describe... anyway, she said that she had found that this position worked to help people become complete a lot faster. She said she would be right back and walked out as the next contraction hit. My body involuntarily started pushing, and Clay hit the nurse button without me even having to tell him. She came running in and saw what was happening. They were getting me turned over and into the birthing position, and I was hurting a lot so it was hard to turn. I think I was crying a little at that point, because I just wanted her out and I could feel her head pressing so hard. I was trying not to push because my doctor hadn't made it yet, but my body wasn't listening. I was so afraid she was going to shoot across the room and nobody was going to be there to catch her! During the next contraction, my body was doing its thing and I opened my eyes to see Dr. S come in just in time to make the catch and hold her up for us to see. :) I didn't have to do any pushing at all. She basically just shot out into his hands at 2:36pm. Instant relief! :)

He first thought I didn't have any tears, but then found a very small "skid mark" (that made me laugh). He went ahead and did a couple of stitches, which I can't even feel two days later. They did the measuring and weighing (6lbs 15oz and 19 1/2 inches), and then handed her over to me. She spent the next hour to hour and a half (I lost track of time) nursing, and then they moved us to our postpartum room. We were discharged 24 hours later, and we are at home doing great!! I feel SO much better not pregnant, and I am so happy to have her home. Clay took a few days off of work, and we have just been sitting around snuggling with her and loving her. Brittany and Zach are both completely in love with her, too, and life is just perfect!

So, she was 6lbs 15oz and 19 1/2 inches long. Born 5/26 and 2:36pm. Welcome to our lives little Lauren Claire! We love you so much already, and you make our family perfectly complete!!

Of course, any birth story worth its weight wouldn't be right without pictures!

Here I am on Tuesday morning before we left for the hospital... nice and big and swollen and pregnant!


Here is Lauren just after delivery.


All wrapped up like a burrito and snuggling.


I have spent most of the past three days staring at her. :)


Zach and Brittany were (and still are) SO excited!


Such a PROUD (and handsome) daddy!!


Ready to leave the hospital with our baby girl.


Brittany is happy she is home!


Sound asleep and so peaceful.


Stretched out and relaxed on her boppy last night.