Our Birth Story

I have had several people ask me about Claire's birth story, so I decided to post it here.

As all of you know by now, Claire is quite the miracle. Steve and I prayed and stood in faith for a baby for three years before finding out that we were pregnant with Claire. My pregnancy was easy and fun. I loved being pregnant. I didn't have any weird symptoms or any problems. In fact, after sending in blood work during the last month of my pregnancy, my midwife commented that I had had a perfect pregnancy and nothing was wrong with me - no matter how hard they tried to find something to fix. I was their easiest patient.

On the Wednesday before Claire was born, I had a scheduled doctor's appointment. During this appointment, at 40 weeks and five days, I expressed my concern that Steve would miss Claire's birth since he was scheduled to work over the weekend. The midwife decided to strip my membranes to see if that would kick start labor. Braxton Hicks contractions started within half an hour and continued all day. (This is usually a sign of labor - contractions that don't stop.) Steve and I spent all day running errands. After all, activity is supposed to help labor along. That night we went to church and went up for prayer asking the prayer partner to agree with us that Claire would be born before Steve had to leave for the weekend. The prayer partner agreed with us and prayed that we would have a pain-free, quick and easy labor and delivery - just what Steve and I were believing for even though we hadn't mentioned all of that to her. When we got home from church that night, we sat down to watch American Idol. During the first 10 minutes of the show, all contractions stopped.

Thursday was very uneventful without even one contraction. I was so disappointed. About 9:00 p.m. that night, Steve agreed to help me clean out the pantry. This turned into also cleaning out the kitchen cabinets and drawers. We completely rearranged the kitchen. (Nesting - another sign of labor.) We finally went to bed around 11:30 p.m. Shortly thereafter, I asked Steve to move to the guest room since I couldn't get comfy. Steve was scheduled to leave for work at 8:00 a.m. the next morning.

At 1:58 a.m. on Friday morning, I woke up - instantly wide awake. I got up and went to the bathroom. I felt no contractions, so I went back to bed. At 2:08 a.m., I had a very real contraction that caused my whole body to tense up. There was no doubt that this was the real thing. For the next 10 minutes, my body had one contraction after another. I finally made it into the guest room to wake Steve. He woke up and went to call Polly, leaving me to make my own way back to our bedroom. LOL

Contractions were hard and close together. They started out at two minutes apart. Around 3:00 a.m. my water broke. We left around 4:15 a.m. for the birthing center.

(Just FYI for those who have not yet experienced childbirth: Contractions are a tightening of the muscles. When you flex your bicep muscle, you are contracting it. It doesn't hurt to do so, but it does work the muscle. Labor contractions are the same way. The muscles tighten and work hard. They can even get very tired, but it doesn't hurt. For anyone who plans to have babies in the future, I strongly recommend reading Supernatural Childbirth.)

As I've mentioned before, Steve and I had read the book Supernatural Childbirth and were believing for a very supernatural childbirth - which means a quick, easy, pain-free labor and delivery. I was in labor for a total of six hours (very quick - especially for a first-time mom). I pushed for about 30 minutes (also very quick and easy - especially being a first-time mom and the size of our baby girl). I had a completely supernatural labor and delivery - completely drug-free and pain-free. At 8:38 a.m. on Friday, May 22nd, I delivered a 9 lb 6 oz beautiful baby girl without pain or complications.

Claire was born at Reunion Birthing Center. Since neither Claire nor I received any drugs or medical treatment, we were both alert and felt great immediately. We left the birthing center that same day. We were home by 1:30 p.m. that afternoon.

Steve and I chose to use the birthing center instead of the hospital (which is just three minutes away - door-to-door) because they allowed us to have the type of birth we wanted. We had been informed that once we checked into the hospital, I would be hooked up to an IV and monitors. I would be treated as a medical patient. I would have to stay in bed and labor on my back - which is why most women ask for an epidural. (A lot of the labor muscles are in your back. It's very uncomfortable to lay on your back during labor.) And to speed up the delivery process, most doctors perform routine episiotomies which require lots of stitches and quite a bit of recovery time. Steve and I wanted a drug-free, pain-free, non-medical event. At the birthing center, I was allowed and encouraged to change positions frequently. I was massaged during labor (which was FABULOUS!). My body was allowed the time to stretch, accomodating the birth of my baby, without being cut or torn. It was the best decision for us and allowed us to have the kind of birthing experience we wanted.

That Sunday, when Claire was just two days old, we took her to church. This time we went up for prayer with our daughter and dedicated her to the Lord.

Claire is now two weeks and two days old. She is sleeping at night, waking only to eat with four hours of sleep in between each feeding. She had her two-week checkup on Friday; and her pediatrician said she's doing great. She is peaceful and happy and content. Being her mommy is SO much fun!!!

Claire is our miracle baby. We were told that we couldn't have children; and yet I get to hold her in my arms everyday. God is the kindest person I know! He loves me! And He gave me the desire of my heart. I can honestly say that I have everything I've ever wanted. I am so very blessed!