Claire - The Birth

So it's been awhile. We've been a little busy around here but I promise my readers (all five of you) that I will be better with updates.

The greatest news is that we had our baby girl Claire Anneliese on July 28, 2009, exactly three weeks early. She weighed 6lb 4oz and was 19 inches. Feel free to skip over my long novel below as most have already heard this story to some degree.

It started out like any other hot summer day. The girls and I had escaped the heat that morning and headed to my parents' house. My mom and dad took my car in that morning to have the brakes fixed. That afternoon my dad, the girls and I headed out in his car to the auto repair shop about twenty minutes away to pick up my car. My dad and the girls waited as I went inside to pay. It was then that I felt a small gush of something in my pants. Looking down my first thought was to check if I was bleeding, but then it occurred to me maybe my water just broke. Thankfully the cashier was a woman and I nervously blurted out, "I think my water just broke." She was calm and reassuring and as a mother of three herself she made it clear that I would not be able to drive in my somewhat panicked and shocked state.

I mean surely if I had carried twins to 38 1/2 weeks and only delivered them then because it was my scheduled c-section day, I wouldn't have an early singleton. :) I am a planner and all I could think was "my bags are not fully packed" and "I haven't really prepared the girls for this." So we left my car at the shop and back we drove in my dad's car as I called Ty and told him to meet me at my parents' house. Then I called my doctor's office and asked if I had time to go to my house and get my stuff. The nurse laughed at me and said, "No, the safest thing would be to go the hospital soon." And she also mentioned maybe it was just pee though I was fairly certain it wasn't. As it turns out, I would have had hours and more to go home but I guess they have to give the safest answer.

Shortly after arriving at the hospital, the nurses confirmed my water had broke and we discussed our options. It had always been my plan to attempt a v-bac (vaginal birth after cesarean). Ideally for that, you arrive at the hospital in some type of labor and are closely monitored because of the additional risks. Well I wasn't in labor at all. I was quite comfortable, experiencing no pain or contractions so the doctor called it a "premature membrane rupture." We waited three or four hours to see if anything progressed but it didn't. Nothing. I was still smiling and very comfortable and not dilated. To make a long story short, we opted for another c-section. The doctor on call was willing to give me many drugs to move things along but I knew my own doctor was not comfortable with using that many interventions in the case of a v-bac. Once we made our decision to have a c-section, Claire was born within the hour. And life hasn't been the same since. She's so sweet and unique and the perfect addition to our family of little girls.