This is the first time I have been alone with all FOUR kids since Clarissa’s birth…and I am blogging! I can’t even believe it. The Mamaroo has Clarissa peacefully swinging away while the other three kids play together. I didn’t know how it would be with four kids, but it seems they can handle themselves (for now, at least). I am over-the-moon thrilled.
Anyway, I have to back-blog because I have been too exhausted and/or delirious with pain at the end of each day to blog, and so I’ve missed recording some wonderful days.
The BEST day I’ve missed so far was, of course, the day of Clarissa’s birth. It was absolutely incredible. If Abe and I were to have any more biological kids (which we are not), we would totally choose to be induced every time in the future. It was an amazing experience.
First of all, I was so excited the night before that I could hardly sleep. When it was time to get up, Abe and I were both in such a great mood. We couldn’t wait to go and finally meet our baby girl! Abe was also able to plan for the induction date, meaning he got all of his work out of the way so he could be fully present for the entire birthing event. That was HUGE.
After we got to the hospital, Abe wheeled me up to labor and delivery where they were expecting us and we were already registered. All we had to do was sit in the waiting room watching a random talk show wherein septuagenarian Jane Seymour (who looks twenty-five) advertised a skin cream that gets rid of all your wrinkles. Abe’s running commentary on the show kept me laughing while we waited.
Then it was time! The nurse got me all ready and got the IV in in one try. I can’t overstate how amazing that was. Usually this step takes over an hour and my arms are black and blue, top to bottom, for a month afterward. The nurse was amazing.
Then they started the pitocin. I wanted to feel some sensation since I have been waiting for this birth for so long, so I waited a little to get the epidural. After about half an hour my water broke on its own. In between contractions, Abe read old blog posts and showed me pictures of our kids from years back while we listened to Chopin nocturnes. I always listen to the nocturnes while in labor, and I hum them for days afterwards. It is a nice tradition.
When the contractions started to get strong, I asked for an epidural. At that point, the anesthesiologist was tied up with a c-section, so they took me off pitocin for about two hours and stopped labor while we waited. About two hours later the anesthesiologist came in and got the epidural in within less than five minutes. Again, this was remarkable to me because in the past this step has always been labored. (HA!)
After the epidural, everything was pain free, blissful and quick. I dozed in between looking at the pictures Abe kept excitedly showing me (to my delight), and after about an hour I felt like I needed to push. We called for the nurse, she checked me, and said I was dilated to ten and just minutes away from delivery. I almost cried from excitement. I’m almost in tears now writing this because I am SO happy to have Clarissa here.
The sweetest doctor I have ever had, Dr. Dabling, came in, and she calmly delivered Clarissa. It took a couple pushes because Clarissa was facing the wrong way and Dr. Dabling had to turn her. But after a couple pushes, out Clarissa came!!! She filled us all with so much joy. She was born at 1:09pm and weighted 8 lbs 6 oz–our biggest baby by far! Maybe all the bedrest fattened her up. 🙂
Ammon was thrilled to meet Clarissa, too! We just didn’t take any pictures with him on the first day because we did not know if he would be gentle or not. It turns out he is incredibly gentle and sweet with her. He says, “Baby! Baby!” in the most excited tones and points at Clarissa when he says it. He also tries to say her name. It comes out, “Kissa.”
Tom and Suzanne came up in the afternoon to help with the kids and meet Clarissa. The kids were so excited to have them around, and they were a huge help. We have some really cute pictures of the fun they and the kids had together, but they are on Abe’s phone and he is at work. Hopefully I can get them on here soon.
In short, meeting Clarissa was one of the happiest days of our lives. Birth was a beautiful, sweet experience, beginning to end. We were so excited through the whole process and never encountered a single bump or bit of worry at any point. And best of all, when the wonderful process was done, we had baby Clarissa in our arms. She is an absolute delight and our entire family is in love with her.