Clara Quinn's arrival
Clara Quinn arrived 12/31/15 at 10:44pm. The last week and a half was rough for me as Christmas Eve came and went, then Christmas came and went. We got spoiled over at Pam's for Christmas Eve. Ben and Mom came out, but still no baby. Mom took me shopping. We all went out to celebrate Ben's approaching final semester at ISU. Ben and Mom left, but still no baby. The doctor accidentally told me that they thought the baby was a boy. I was bummed.
On Thursday, the 31st, we went to the hospital due to some spotting. No one was concerned, so they sent us home. I got out of the car and thought I'd peed my pants. Turned out to be blood, so back to the hospital we went. The nurses still weren't concerned, but at 40 weeks and 6 days, the on-call doctor figured we should just get done with it. They broke my water and contractions began! Part of this whole process was being hooked up to monitors, which Clara did not appreciate. Her heartbeat dropped down to 60bpm, which almost prompted an emergency c-section. Instead, I was placed on my side, given oxygen, and told not to move. I started to have chills and opted for an epidural early on. The doctors used Pitocin to move things along, but I felt nothing. I pushed for about an hour before being told by the nurse to stop. About that time, I had the urge to throw up. As I did so, I felt the little lady enter the world, with almost no one ready to catch her. When I first saw Clara, I thought I was looking at giant baby testicles until the nurse said "It's a girl!" I was able to cut her cord.
Recovery so far has been AMAZING. My hip pain has been next to nothing, which has given me such a burst of energy. It's been hard to listen to people tell me to relax and sleep. Josh's Mom, brother, sis-in-law, and their kiddos came to visit, but we didn't get to see them until today! With so many people visiting, I just want to hole up and get to know the baby. She's had trouble feeding so far. I've felt like a failure sometimes, but I also know it happens to lots of women, and hormones make things seem worse than they are.
Now to start maternity leave! I began 2016 as a mom <3
On Thursday, the 31st, we went to the hospital due to some spotting. No one was concerned, so they sent us home. I got out of the car and thought I'd peed my pants. Turned out to be blood, so back to the hospital we went. The nurses still weren't concerned, but at 40 weeks and 6 days, the on-call doctor figured we should just get done with it. They broke my water and contractions began! Part of this whole process was being hooked up to monitors, which Clara did not appreciate. Her heartbeat dropped down to 60bpm, which almost prompted an emergency c-section. Instead, I was placed on my side, given oxygen, and told not to move. I started to have chills and opted for an epidural early on. The doctors used Pitocin to move things along, but I felt nothing. I pushed for about an hour before being told by the nurse to stop. About that time, I had the urge to throw up. As I did so, I felt the little lady enter the world, with almost no one ready to catch her. When I first saw Clara, I thought I was looking at giant baby testicles until the nurse said "It's a girl!" I was able to cut her cord.
Recovery so far has been AMAZING. My hip pain has been next to nothing, which has given me such a burst of energy. It's been hard to listen to people tell me to relax and sleep. Josh's Mom, brother, sis-in-law, and their kiddos came to visit, but we didn't get to see them until today! With so many people visiting, I just want to hole up and get to know the baby. She's had trouble feeding so far. I've felt like a failure sometimes, but I also know it happens to lots of women, and hormones make things seem worse than they are.
Now to start maternity leave! I began 2016 as a mom <3