Claire's arrival

They say the second child gets shorted when it comes to pictures and such. Sadly, after a month, I have to agree. So here is my attempt to give Claire the blog time she deserves. Plus this is my way of documenting all those important moments and memories.

December 22 started off as a normal day. Well, mostly. Early that morning I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. This wasn't unusual, the last month of pregnancy mean tossing and turning almost every night. This time I decided to actually get up so I wouldn't wake Randy up. I spent the next two hours playing on the Internet. Finally I was tired again so I went back to bed. I woke up early to take a shower and get ready for my midwife appointment. Our babysitter, Tiffany, came over to watch Avery for me while I was at my appointment. While in the shower and driving, I noticed I was having some small contractions. They were sporadic and not very painful. At my appointment, my midwife checked me and we were measuring at 37 weeks. I was also dialated to a 3 and 50% effaced. Funny thing was, I was at a 3 and 80% when we went to the hospital with Avery. I told Lisa that I had contractions for two days with Avery and didn't realize they were contractions, so I could be wrong about these. She said since they weren't strong and regular that it could still be a while. She jokingly said if we wanted her to come soon to walk a lot.

I left the birth center and headed to Sam's to finish my Christmas shopping. I just had a few things to get then I headed to Studio Movie Grill to buy tickets for the date night Randy and I had planned for that night. Bad idea I know. Ran by the post office to drop off a package. Got home and Avery was asleep. I grabbed some lunch and sat on the couch to blog and look at Facebook.

During the time I left the center and got home, the contractions got a little stronger but weren't long or regular. I thought it was just because I was on my feet. Resting on the couch seemed to lessen them. I still tried to time them but they weren't regular. Avery woke up about 3 and played while I sat on the couch. At this point, they would come in groups of 3 if I got up and walked but sitting slowed them. By about 4:30 I was having them while sitting too and they were getting stronger. Avery pretty much had free reign of the house. Poor thing, snacked on Cheerios and juice and ran wild for the most part.

Because I couldn't see a pattern I really wasn't sure if labor was progressing or if they would let up. Plus I really wanted to make our date night. By 5 they were pretty strong and I was having to sit or lay down during them. At this point I realized we wouldn't be making the movie. I called Randy and let him know I thought we needed to head to the birth center. I called Lisa and let her know what was going on and asked if we should come in. She said yes and that she'd get things ready for us.

Here is where things get crazy. See Avery surprised us at 38.5 weeks and we didn't have our bags packed or the car seat installed. Well this time we told ourselves we would be ready by 38 weeks and not be surprised. We should really stop saying that. There we were at 37.5 weeks and deja vu. So after calling Lisa and Randy and making sure Avery had plenty of juice and Cheerios, my to do list started. My bag, Claire's bag, snacks, Avery's overnight bag all had to be packed. I called Brenda to let her know Avery would be spending the night. And all this was from the floor of my bedroom. :) thankfully Randy got home soon and I had most of what i needed laid out for him to put in a bag. The Segler's arrived to get Avery and finally we were ready to go. Poor Avery didn't know what was going on. She did know something was up and that mommy was hurting. She was so cuddly that afternoon.

We left and debated on which route to take. Because of traffic and construction it took us about 30 minutes to get to the center. I was focusing on breathing through the contractions and Randy was driving and timing them. :) We got there, went upstairs to our room and it was about 7:00.  Lisa and Rebekah helped me get somewhat comfortable on the big exercise ball. I was having lots of pressure down low. Resting on the ball helped take some of the pressure off. With their help, and Randy's encouragement, I labored like this for about 30 minutes or so. Then my legs started feeling weak, so I asked to lay down.

After a little "rest" it was already time to push. Are you keeping track? We hadn't been at the birth center for an hour yet. I pushed for 10-15 minutes and then Claire was born! At 7:52 p.m.  She was perfect! I think she came out screaming. Her lungs were very healthy. :) We thought she was smaller than Avery, but she actually weighed 6 lbs 7 ounces. Avery was 6 lbs 5 oz. She was red, with light brown hair, and chubby cheeks. So different than Avery. She was all her own. I got to hold her right away and I was in love. I don't know how it happens but I loved her just as much as when I saw Avery for the first time. She got to nurse and took to it like a champ.

My parents arrived just after she was born and got to come in and meet her. Lisa and Rebekah checked her out, Daddy got to weigh her, and then it was time to enjoy her. Our little Claire Elizabeth. She was here. 2.5 weeks early. We joked that she didn't want to miss Christmas. She (& God) had a timetable all their own.

Randy and Dad left to grab something to eat, while Claire and I got to enjoy a nice herbal bath. We ate dinner (at 10 that night) and then Mom and Dad headed back to our house. Randy and I decided to stay at the birth center overnight because it was so late. We could have gone home 2 hours after she was born if we had wanted to. We had an ok night. I don't think either of us slept much. Not because Claire was fussy, she just was restless. I was running on adreniline and just couldn't sleep. It was a sweet night all the same. We got up the next morning and headed home around 8. 

I'm going to break this story up here. It will be easier to blog about our arrival home and Avery's first meeting in another entry. Pictures will come soon.