Welcome Baby Claire!

It's been 9 days since Claire has greeted us and boy, how life has changed!!! It's weird to think that today is actually my due date :)  It's amazing how fast time is already flying.

I thought I'd share Claire's birth story, so I don't forget :)

Wednesday, 11/25
It was the last workday before Thanksgiving break and I wanted to wrap up most of my work items by the end of the day in case maternity leave was coming sooner than I had expected. A few peculiar things had happened with my pregnancy in the middle of the night, so I had a feeling that she was going to be coming that weekend! I even told Ross when he left for work to make sure he brought home anything he would need for the next 2 weeks (as he was going to be taking off time for when she arrived).

So I was trying my best that morning to work and wrap some things up, but at the same time, I was trying to clean my house in preparation for mom, dad, Michelle, Mike & Luca coming to our house for Thanksgiving. Mom was going to bring the turkey and her and Michelle were bringing all the side dishes! I was so excited for them to be coming up and to have a relaxing Thanksgiving meal! Of course, all along, we knew I might go into labor any day so it would be no surprise if we had to cancel.

After working a bit that morning, I called my dr.'s office to ask them about the peculiar incident in the middle of the night. They told me it was nothing to be concerned about. So I kept working. And cleaning. I was at my dr. appt. just the day before and was only 2.5cm along and 80% effaced, so there was def. progress, but it could still be days or weeks before labor! As the morning progressed, I guess so did my labor! Michelle and I were even joking about me going into labor that day, to which I assured her that I wasn't, and that Thanksgiving was still on! *famous last words*

Around noon, I called my dr.'s office again. I told them this time that I was leaking pretty steadily (sorry if this is TMI!! haha). I was going through maxi pads like crazy but didn't think much of it. The nurse's response? You need to go to the hospital now and go to Triage on the 3rd floor. *Uh oh* haha So I called Ross at work. Him and I had an agreement for the past week that I would only call him if it was TIME. I would not call for any other reason. So there it was. I called him, and he rushed home. I ran around the house packing last minute things into our hospital bag but I was still under the assumption the hospital would just send me home. After all, I was having no other signs of labor, no contractions, nothing. I even promised Ross McDonalds on the way to the hospital, but we ended up not passing it and I told him we would swing by when they sent us home.

In the hospital, they checked me, and sure enough, my water had broke! It's not a gush of water like they portray in the movies! Since my water had broke, they wanted to kick start labor with pitocin since the risk of infection goes up with there being no barrier there any longer.

So this was it!! I had left things unfinished at work and was not mentally prepared to have a baby!! haha

Here I am before things got real!...

We checked in to the hospital around 1:00 and had Claire at 9:27pm. The labor went smoothly with no complications. I cried for the epidural pretty much from the beginning. I thought I'd tough it out, but nope, those contractions are no joke and I have no tolerance for pain. Even with the epidural, I was still sobbing in pain between pushes. Luckily, I only pushed for 90 minutes and Claire was born! My doctor and nurse were exceptional and encouraging the whole time! I sobbed even after she was born, thanking the Lord that labor was over. How do people do this multiple times?!! haha

First family photo...

 

It was the most surreal moment, seeing her for the first time. I look back on that day and easily count it as the best day of my life. Claire was born healthy and passed every test with flying colors. She was 8 lbs. 4 oz., 20" and has an exceptionally large head, to which Ross & I already tease her about, haha. Her head is in the 92nd percentile! Claire's pediatrician gave me kudos to pushing this thing out. No wonder I still hurt :(

What we ever did to deserve such a blessing, I can't even begin to explain.

 

My heart be still. To see these two together is more than I can handle...

Ross has been such a huge help this week! He's done everything from laundry to changing diapers. He has jumped in to help in any way possible and I'm so lucky to have him. We are both obsessed with Claire and can't put her down! (besides right now, when I needed 2 hands to type :P).

Claire has been the easiest baby so far! She grasped breastfeeding almost immediately and things have been going smoothly ever since! What a relief! And she almost never cries. She really makes us feel like we have this parenting thing down, even though neither of us has any clue as to what we're doing. We just go with the flow and figure things out along the way.

As for her name, Ross and I really stressed about what to call her. Her nickname 'Baby No Name' was not going to cut it any longer, haha. We had a few contenders, but in the end, I couldn't get Claire out of my head. It's time-tested, vintage and sweet, exactly how I picture her. And not too 'cutesy' for when she's an adult. I had tried Claire Marie (using my middle name) but couldn't get over the fact that when swapped, Marie Claire, is a magazine. I loved the way Elyse sounded, so Claire Elyse it was. Neither name has any meaning, but that's ok. We purposely stayed away from any family names to not offend anyone.

Friday after Thanksgiving, we were discharged from the hospital. I apologized to every nurse and doctor in the hospital who had to work on Thanksgiving, haha. But none of them seemed to mind. I can't brag about the staff at the hospital enough, they were all so kind and helpful in those painful recovery hours!

Here we are heading home....

Well that was it. The biggest Thanksgiving surprise I ever could imagine! Now to get back to holding my baby before she grows up....

*Kristin*