Birth Story...

It was a typical Wednesday. The girls and I left the house at 8 am to bring BP to school. We said our good-byes, kissed her, and then drove to Daddy's office. BB and I dropped something off, visited for a little while, and left to run errands. We saw Keri for a couple minutes because we had an envelope to give her. We dropped off some long overdue Christmas presents at Annie and Grace's house. We went to the post office to mail a couple other presents and pick up the mail. Then we returned home for lunch. All through the morning I was having contractions, but never really timed them. I was also very crampy and uncomfortable. BB and I ate lunch and the contractions / pain kept getting worse. My gut instinct told me something was up and I called my doctor. They told me to come into the office to be checked.

BB and I jumped into the car and sped off to the office. I almost got pulled over by a trooper who followed me for a while and then must have decided against it. Eric and Papa met me at the doctor's office. We ran in while Papa stayed in the car with a snoozing BB. In the office the contractions were getting more and more uncomfortable. Lying still attached to the monitor was difficult. I was wiggling all over the table. The Dr. checked me and I was 1 cm. She suggested going to the hospital because I appeared to be in labor and since it was to be my third c-section they did not want to risk full labor.

Everyone in the office wished us good luck and we left for the hospital. Papa took my car and went to pick up BP from school. By the time we got to the hospital I was 3 cm and the doctor on call said, "book the operating room we're going in". That was around 3:30 ish and they wheeled me in at 5. Baby Claire was born about 20 minutes later. As it was my third c-section in four years...yikes!!! I knew what to expect, knew the prep, knew the drill, but it did not keep me from freaking out at one point. That point was when my sweets went to change into scrubs with my doctor, and the anaesthesiologist went to work on me. I was shaking from head to toe. Then as I laid on the operating table waiting to see him return, my blood pressure dropped and I started to black out. They gave me oxygen or something and I felt better immediately. But then I felt very nauseous and just as I did with BP and BB I started throwing up while strapped to the table. It figures since I vomited through all three pregnancies that I would do so again until the very end. I must have warned the OR staff because later as I apologized for vomiting, they laughed and said at least you warned us. Because of the medicine it gets fuzzy, but I remember seeing Claire, asking a hundred times if she was alright, and kissing her as she, Eric, and the nurse left for the nursery. It was not long before they were wheeling me back to my room to be with Claire, Eric, and our parents.

Today Baby Claire is one week old. Wow...time really does fly. She has eaten her way back to her birth weight and is a happy, very content baby. She reminds me of BP in looks and disposition. As I said before I feel complete with our three little girls...a little tired, but complete!