Rewind a few days...

It's hard to believe that Clare is almost a week old. Several people have asked for details about our labor and delivery. So, for those of you who actually care, here is a brief summary of how we ended up with our precious daughter on Wednesday, August 13th.



I had a doctor's appointment, at 10:30 on Wednesday morning, because I was five days post-due. The doctors wanted to make sure that everything still looked okay. Phil was back at work, so my mom joined me for the appointment. As the doctor did her typical exam, I said something like, "I sure hope I'm further than 2 cm. because I've been there for over five weeks." She gave me a strange look and said, "Are you feeling contractions?" I told her that I had been feeling Braxton Hicks for a while, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. She then told me that I was 5 cm. dilated, in active labor, and that I needed to go directly to the hospital. WHOA! I wasn't expecting that at all. Phil and I were registered at the "premiere birthing hospital," but that was 40 minutes away. She told me that I needed to go the local hospital and that I didn't have time to go home and grab my bags. DOUBLE WHOA! My mom (the first-time-expectant grandma) started crying with all of the excitement. I called Phil, with our emergency page code, and told him that it was baby time.

My mom helped me check in to the new hospital, and my sister grabbed all of my bags and hospital stuff. Phil, my dad, and Ann made it to the hospital around noon, and I was already between 6 and 7 cm. dilated at that point. Things were moving quickly, and I was VERY THANKFUL to see my hubby's face. Phil was a magnificent coach, and he helped me through every contraction. For several reasons, I was bound and determined to give birth without any medication. Therefore, I had to employ other strategies (my favorite CD..."Fruits of the Spirit" - thank you Eric Schrotenboer, breathing techniques, etc.) to make it through the labor, but I truly couldn't have done it without Phil. By 2:45, I was ready to push that little babe out and see her beautiful face. The pushing went "well," and it was actually a relief to be in the final stages of labor. The last few contractions resulted in some earth shattering screams. Since I hadn't screamed during the first couple of hours, all of the nurses knew that is was time to have the baby. After pushing through a few contractions, the doctor said that I needed an episiotomy. I was hoping to avoid that, but it really helped. At 3:10 PM, Clare Ann was born on the very next push.

After Phil cut the cord, they placed her directly on my chest. There aren't any words to describe that moment.
For the past six days, we haven't been able to take our eyes off of her.
My mom and dad...the proud new grandparents.
The stork is a tradition in The Hillary family. Keith and Wendy kept the tradition alive by storking us while we were still in the hospital. It was a fun surprise when we arrived home on Friday evening.