Baby Girl Birth--Part 2

Ok so at this point: I had the amazing epidural. And I was somewhere around a 5-6. Oh and before I forget, my anesthesiologist was so amazing. He was really calm and reassuring the entire time. He talked me though the process the entire time and did everything perfectly. I didn't feel a thing like I was worried about. He even took the time at like 2 or 3 am (time was all fuzzy at that point) the next morning to come find us in our room and see how I was doing and to see our new baby. He was great. Anywho, back to labor.

About an hour after receiving the epidural, a new nurse came in and said the baby was having difficulties because my contractions were so close together. She didn't have enough time to relax and really get oxygen, so I had to be put on oxygen. That's when she noticed how high my Pitocin level was at and she said that's why my contractions were coming on so heavy. She turned it down by at least half. And thanks to my in-laws who had the foresight to bring my hubby food at one point, we have some documentation of the oxygen mask humiliation. :) I had NO IDEA how huge I was until looking back at these pictures. Water weight is a killer. But here is the wonderful pictures...

our awesome Phase 10 game...ya, look at that belly!

 as you can tell, I was loving this...

So then it was just the waiting game. We relaxed; Clayton tried to get a little rest; I watched movies. My poor mother- and father-in-law hung out in the waiting area. At around 10, I was checked again and my amazing receiving nurse (who would be helping deliver Claire that I REALLY wish I remembered her name because I absolutely loved her) said that although I was fully dilated, Claire's head wasn't in position so she wanted to wait just a little bit longer. She came in to check me again 45 minutes later and realized that although my water had broken, it broke at the top so Claire's head was still stuck from going any farther. She then broke the sac, and Claire slipped right into position. She then said that I was ready to push.

This moment was definitely a surreal one. Even though we know we're having a baby, it didn't really become real to me until I was told to push. I wasn't just waiting anymore; it was happening. Poor Clayton even got to help hold a leg and got to watch it happen. Which he said was cool, but he gets pretty light headed with this stuff. He later told me that he had to keep stepping back and taking a breath or breath into his shoulder. And I did notice him drinking a ton of my water during this time. It was all his hidden and calm ways of not passing out. I was very proud of him. :) But! He did get to see that she had hair. And he kept threatening that Poston babies never have hair. I was so hoping she would since I was born with quite a bit.

Well after seriously 20 minutes of pushing, Claire could have come right out. But the on-call doctor who apparently lived 20 minutes away and was told when I started pushing to come, still hadn't left her house yet. Ya, I wasn't happy. So then it was just waiting for the next 30 minutes for the doctor to get there. I just had to keep doing small little pushes to keep Claire's head from going back in. Nice right? But I had an amazing support team so it wasn't bad. Oh before I forget, So 10 minutes into pushing, these three women come in who work in the nursery. They said that they were bored in nursery and heard that someone was starting to push so they came in to get things ready and hang out. I basically had my own cheering section. After every push they all were like, "wow! great pushes! you're doing so great!" etc. The only problem was that they kept cracking jokes and having a grand ol' time watching me push with front row seats that I kept laughing mid push. Ya you try pushing a baby out while people keep making you laugh. Not so easy. But I really loved it. They and my receiving nurse all made the situation very low stress and fun.

FINALLY the doctor got there and had me push. Seriously, Claire was more than ready to come out, it took one set, maybe 2?, of pushes and she came right out. TMI but that is one weird feeling haha It was such a wonderful feeling to hear her cries and hold her. They placed her right on my belly after she was born and my absolute favorite moment happened: she was crying and then I spoke my first words to her and she instantly stopped crying and stared right at me. It was so special to see that she knew me. From the first moment she has always been so aware.

It was right then that we finally named her. Everyone in the room knew that he were debating between two names and still weren't sure. Choosing a name had been one of the most difficult things ever. When I was holding her one of the nurses said, "Well, have we chosen a name?" Clayton and I just looked at each other and knew right away that she was our Claire Elizabeth. I'll admit it took me a long time to be ok with the name. It always seemed too grown up for her, but I know that it's her name. 

Then Clayton got to hold her, which again was a wonderful moment. She cuddled right into him. She was a daddy's girl from the first moment they met. And then a whirlwind of activity happened. Clayton stuck by her taking pictures while they weighed her and cleaned her up while I was sewn up from some small tearing. Jodi and Brad came up and were introduced to their newest granddaughter. It was so wonderful holding her and enjoying her so much. But we all definitely noticed how aware our little girl was of everything going on. 

Again she was born at 11:31pm weighing 7lb11oz and 20" long and perfect :)