40 Weeks and Clare's Birth Day!

2/23/16: I haven't been neglected my blogging, I promise! The problem is I have ZERO time to sit at my computer and so I have been drafting blog posts from my phone while I feed Miss Clare. I can't publish from my phone though. All the formatting gets crazy for some reason! Blogspot, please fix this issue. I would be much more up to date. So I have all these posts prepared and bare with me as I find the time to sit down and perfect them all for publishing :) 

I had this post all written out when I went into labor on my due date, but when I got home from the hospital my post disappeared! So I re-wrote it and now she is 3 weeks old. Here is a look back on December 28...

I met my due date! I thought for sure the baby would arrive the weekend of Christmas, but no show.

So I went to my appointment that afternoon of 40 weeks (Monday, December 28). Dr. Atlanova checked me and I was 3 cm and 75% effaced. She said the baby is right there and as soon as more pressure/gravity was applied, Clare would come quickly. So the suggestion was to get walking and moving around. She also stripped my membrane, which should help move things along as well. I left my 3:00 pm appointment and went to the park with the kids to get moving and while we were there I started to feel some cramping. I was pretty certain that night would be the night.

After a couple hours at the park, we headed home and Matt brought back spicy Chinese per my request. I was ready to induce labor with any old trick! I had my spicy dinner and started to feel increased pain. Sure enough by the time the kids were ready for bedtime I was ready to head to the hospital. Grandma Doreen just got into town, so we were able to leave as soon as I said, let's go. How do all my kids come in the middle of the night?? It is so strange!

Matt was very anxious to get going because I think he was afraid of delivering the baby solo. I was pretty uncomfortable at this point, but I tried to delay the trip because I have little desire to sit in the hospital any longer than necessary. But we ended up leaving and checked into the hospital at 9 pm. 

Picture courtesy of Grandma Doreen. Off to the hospital!

The nurse checked me when I arrived and I was 4 cm and 90% effaced. She seemed pretty nonchalant and said the doctor on call wants to check you in two hours so feel feel to walk the halls. Two hours?!!? I'll probably have the baby in two hours! I said ok... and went walking and was quite uncomfortable. After 20-30 minutes I said forget this. Get that nurse in here. The nurse checked again and I was 6 cm and effaced so they finally put me in a birthing suite and hooked me up to the monitors.

I think with your third baby they aren't too concerned because I had to keep asking the nurses to check on me. Then they would be surprised by the progress.

I asked for my epidural once I was in the suite and like previous times they have to take my blood to test my platelets. I always hope they'll forget to do that and just give me the epidural :) Not a chance. Thankfully, my platelets came back at 111 and I was good to go! It takes a while though for the lab and so by the time the anesthesiologist came around I was VERY uncomfortable. I don't know why on earth anyone elects to feel that miserable. Once the epidural was in I could sit back and relax. Really, I was so relaxed and felt so peaceful. Matt and I could hear a woman screaming down the hallway. Clearly she didn't have an epidural. I took a little 20 minute "Kat Nap" and felt wonderful.

Once again no one really checking my progress so I asked for another check. At midnight I was 9cm and 100% effaced. Then everyone left and by accident I hit my epidural button with my shoulder and went totally numb! Uh oh. So I just relaxed and waited for someone to come back. The nurses came back in to check and were shocked to see what the baby and my water (which wasn't broken) were beginning to arrive! Dr. Atlanova came in quickly to deliver Clare and as this is happening... Matt passes out! The nurse holding my leg catches Matt before he falls to the ground (he hit my bed as I was pushing Clare out) and missed her arrival! I thought I was in the twilight zone. I said seconds before this happened, "Matt, you're looking really gray..." and BAM! Down he goes! The birth of Clare was so easy, quick and uneventful compared to Matt's fainting incident.

Clare did great! The doctor cut the umbilical cord, I held her, and they cleaned her up. Matt missed all of this. He was still out! Matt finally came to and thought he had passed out for only a second. A birth story for the books! Matt had been under the weather, it was the middle of the night and I think Clare arriving within seconds of the doctor arriving was the perfect storm for Matt. He claims he didn't see anything frightening :) Thankfully we had the smoothest and easiest delivery and I was so thankful for that. Her official arrival time was 2:16 am.

7 lbs 10 oz. / 20.5" long

All cleaned up

Dr. Atlanova on the left

Clare after the nurses cleaned her up

Waiting for our postpartum room and we're catching up!

Hi Clare!

Welcome back Matt!

In our suite with baby Clare resting

Sweet baby Clare

Daddy holding Clare

So we made it back to our postpartum suite at around 5 a.m. Just like the other two - a full 24 hours of no sleep. It was very tiresome like the other two times! Once you're in the room then the nurses start wanting to take my vitals and Clare's vitals and the cycle begins.

William and Grace came to meet their little sister and it was adorable! They were so happy and they were literally beaming. William brought Clare a rose. I was wondering if William would be intimidated by the hospital room, but he didn't seem to notice. He just wanted to see Clare. We had a great visit. Grandma and Grandpa Orosz came to visit and Grandma Doreen also came to visit.

A rose for Clare from big brother William

Grandma Doreen

First family of 5 picture

Grandma and Grandpa Orosz

We stayed one night at the hospital and then I was ready to get home on the 30th. It really is more tiresome being at the hospital because the nurses are constantly waking you. Clare was doing very well except that she wasn't very hungry. I was use to being up every twenty minutes to feed, but because Clare came so quickly she wasn't "squeezed out" enough - meaning amniotic fluid was still in her tummy. So she had a lot of fluid to spit up and we had to use the bulb syringe a lot to make sure she didn't choke on any fluid. The extra fluid make her feel full, so she wasn't eating constantly. She left the hospital weighing 7 lbs 6 oz, so really not that big of a weight loss. A couple days later she started eating very well though. All the fluid had come up.  

Checking out on the 30th before lunchtime

Buckling up and ready to head home

William and Grace were still thrilled when baby Clare came home. We took some really adorable pictures of the three of them. See below! Welcome home, Clare! We love you!