Born May 12, 2010 10:03 AM
7 lbs 7 oz, 20.5 inches
Really cute!
It felt like we waited FOREVER for Charlee to be born. Her sisters were both born 2-1/2 weeks early, so we predicted she would arrive at the end of April. My due date was May 15, and she made us wait almost until then.
This is Charlee's birth story. Fair warning: this post is more for me to chronicle her arrival than for great reading. Skip to the pictures!
The weekend before she was born, I thought I was in labor. We initiated our backup childcare plan: our neighbor, Julie, came down late Saturday night and spent the night, and my Mom got on a plane Sunday morning, arriving early afternoon. False alarm. Mom left on Tuesday after trying to bring on labor by taking me to the mall for long walks. She figured that if she left, I'd definitely go into labor. She was right!
On Tuesday evening, our good friend Mary came over for dinner. We got takeout from P'Sghettis, and I drug Mary to Custard Station with me for a final chocolate, banana, and peanut butter cup concrete. Yum. While watching "Lost," I fell asleep on the sofa around 9:30. [As an aside, all of our girls are named after "Lost" characters. We're not fanatics--it was a coincidence!]
On Wednesday morning, Chad and I were startled out of bed around 3 AM by a HUGE clap of thunder followed by a rainstorm. Bean came into our bed soon after for about an hour. I had several strong contractions, and my water broke around 4:45 with a small "pop."
We hopped out of bed and started getting ready. It was great to have my water break. It did with the other girls, too, and it's such a clear sign of what's about to happen. No question. Charlee would arrive that day!
I showered, ate a little something, and packed the final things. My contractions were stronger and closer together (about 5 min apart) than with previous labors. I knew we needed to make out way to the hospital pretty quickly. We woke up the girls and put them in the car around 6. We dropped them off in their PJs with Laura, our wonderful friend and the girls' sitter.
Around 7, we checked in at the pregnancy assessment center and met our Doula, Sarah. It was shift change for the nurses, so it took a while for me to be checked. Around 8, I was 4 cm dilated, 90% effaced, and at a 2 station. Husband, Sarah, and I all knew that my contractions were strengthening, and things would progress quickly. We told the staff that several times, but they didn't seem to be in a hurry to get us in a room. It wasn't until I puked in a trash can in front of a couple of residents and nurses that they seemed to take us seriously. [Vomiting usually means you're nearing the final stages of labor.]
We were admitted around 8:30. I was checked a couple more times: 6cm and 8cm. The contractions were strong enough that I wasn't interested in walking around much. I stood next to the bed and leaned on Sarah or Chad through the contractions. Several times I had long and strong ones, and I felt like Charlee was clawing her way down. It really seemed like she was participating in getting out.
Dr. Stephens arrived around 9:30 and added her good sense of humor to the room. A little before 10, I told her that I was feeling close to being able to push and probably only needed to take a few more contractions standing up. She encouraged me to hop up on the bed and start pushing. I pushed through 3 contractions (Chad says no more than a few pushes total; I say 8-9). Pushing was harder than in past labors. The other girls seemed like they were shot out of a cannon. During the last push, Dr. Stephens said I needed to get her out because her heart rate was dropping while she was in the birth canal. A few carnal screams later, Charlee slid out.
I remember more about this birth than the last 2. Probably because labor was shorter. Overall, I felt more present for the whole thing.
Charlee was healthy and beautiful! Like her sisters, Charlee will have a blog nickname. Going forward, she'll be known as Little Bit.
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