she's here!

Clare Elisabeth De Young
Born November 25th, 2008 at 9:05 am
5 lbs, 14 oz, 19 inches long
Sweet and Healthy and Perfect!

We are overjoyed to announce the birth of our daughter, Clare! Although she is not even a full week old, she is growing and changing so much every day. We couldn't have asked for a sweeter, more precious baby!

Katy has told me that I need to share the "birth story," something I have been replaying in my mind over and over the past few days. It went by far too quickly for a memory that I want to savor for the rest of my life. I have to admit I'm not sure how detailed I should be... I really don't want to gross anyone out. (I have been on the receiving end of that conversation, friends, and I wouldn't wish that on you! ) But I have been wanting to write down as many memories as I can from those two wonderful days so that I will never forget them... and I figure this blog is as good a place as any. So sorry if I share too much! You were warned.

Last Monday, the 24th, Jesse and I had our routine 38 week doctor's visit. They had warned me at 37 weeks that my measurements were off and my doctor wanted to do an ultrasound to make sure that my fluid levels were doing all right. They had mentioned that there was a possibility of induction if anything looked worrisome, so I went to the doctor on Monday trying to prepare myself for both scenarios... being sent home to muddle through 2 more weeks of pregnancy, or being sent to the hospital that day. Talk about conflicting emotions! They ran the ultrasound and everything looked great... fluid levels were great, baby passed the bio-physical profile with flying colors, the placenta looked healthy (another concern.) But our baby was only measuring in the 8th percentile for weight... the ultrasound measurements kept showing "34 weeks, 2 days" or 35 weeks." I was getting very panicky that they were going to push my due date back! "Actually Mrs. DeYoung, you're not due the 8th of December. Silly us! You're due the 21st. See you in a month!" My doctor met with us and told us that any weight under the 10th percentile is grounds to induce. She was very sweet and comforting and told us that all indications pointed to a healthy baby, but she just wanted to be absolutely sure. We were a little scared when words like "genetic abnormality" were being thrown around, but we were trusting that the Lord had a plan for our family, no matter the outcome. And we are so very, very thankful for a healthy pregnancy, birth, and baby... we do not take them for granted.

It felt like life got thrown into fast forward from that point on. We spent the next few hours calling our families, running to Chick-fil-a for quick lunch (hey, I didn't know when my next meal would be! and yes, I went for the cookies and cream milkshake), and quickly packing our hospital bags. We arrived at the hospital around 1 pm. The plan was that I would be put on Cytotec, a pill that would help me dilate, until I was 2 cm or labor began, whichever came first. They thought that I would probably not be officially induced with Pitocin until about 7 am the next morning. The hours flew by... we had so many sweet visitors come by and keep us entertained while we waited. Around 10 pm there was still no change and I was only having very mild contractions, so they gave me an Ambien and had us settle in for the night.

Around 11 pm my contractions really started to pick up, to the point that I could not sleep and was very, very uncomfortable. I don't know what true, full-on, very active labor contractions feel like, but I imagine that these were about half that strength, maybe a little more? But the thing was that they never. let. up. Ever! At one point I remember crying to Jesse, "The birth ladies lied to me! This pain is not intermittent!" I started tossing and turning in bed, trying to get comfortable. Our mean nurse burst in and sighed at me, "Every time you move, I have to re-adjust the monitors!" (I have to say she was the only unpleasant nurse we met.) You know me... I am not a confrontational person, but at this point I gasped, "Are you saying that I'm in pain and I have to lie perfectly still so I don't disrupt the monitors?" She just glared at me and said, "If that's at all possible." OK.

At this point my patience was wearing thin so I decided to take matters into my own hands. I got out of bed and began walking back and forth from the bathroom to take my mind off of the pain. (A big no-no.) At some point I decided that kneeling on the floor sounded nice, and this is what I was doing when the nurse burst in again. She looked at me kind of funny and asked, "Are you ok?" Yes lady, I'm in the middle of one never-ending contraction, kneeling in the middle of the floor, but don't mind me. At this point it was discovered that the Cytotec, while doing absolutely nothing to help me dilate, had, in fact, caused my uterus to go into one big contraction. The idea of pain medication was raised, to which I said yes, please. I had always wanted to labor as naturally as possible for as long as I could, thinking that I would probably opt for an epidural after a period of active labor, but... at this point I threw it all out the window. And I am 100% ok with that!

So let me just say. The pain medication was awesome! I don't know what they gave me but it was wonderful... I felt like I was floating, maybe, or under water. I slept blissfully for an hour... when all of a sudden I woke up to find nurses running around the room, telling me that the baby's heart rate was dropping and becoming irregular, that the big giant contraction had thrown her into distress, that they were stopping my contractions and putting me on oxygen, that they had called a neonatologist to be present at the birth. Very scary.

We managed to sleep for a few more hours when I was told that the baby was doing much better and they were going to start me on Pitocin... this was sometime around 2 or 3 in the morning. At 4 I woke up to some mild contractions and to experience my water breaking. Immediately the contractions started to become more intense, and the nurse stressed getting an epidural if I wanted one. (I was still only 1.5 cm dilated and in for the "long haul.") I got the epidural... not pleasant, but afterwards I was able to get some wonderful hours of sleep! As my contractions picked up, the baby's heart rate became irregular again, so there was still that worry. At 7 in the morning, my OB came by to visit. She let me know that I was still only dilated to 3 cm despite intense contractions, and that the baby would most likely not be born until later in the evening. She did comfort my fears, though, and told me that she was not overly concerned about the heart rate but would be watching like a hawk just in case. Jesse and I caught another hour of sleep before the nurse came to check my progress at 8 am. When she checked me, she practically shouted, "The head is RIGHT THERE! You are 9.5 cm dilated! You are going to have this baby!"

Thank goodness for the epidural! That hour would most likely have been MURDER without it! We waited for another hour while my doctor was called in and everything was prepped. The mood in our room was so happy... all of the nurses were so sweet and everyone shared in our excitement. In fact, my mother-in-law came by our room to try and visit before the delivery process began (she was too late), but she said that it sounded like a party in there... all she could hear coming out of the room was laughing and talking. It was a very sweet, fun, memorable way to bring a baby into the world and I really recommend Baptist East and our doctor, Reid Nett.

I pushed for less than 15 minutes... Jesse gave us a scare and almost passed out, and watched the birth from a chair across the room. This was my only real regret about the whole delivery... that he wasn't right there beside me as I pushed and when she was born. But he did get to see the birth, as opposed to laying passed out cold on the floor, so I guess I can't be too disappointed. : ) Jesse and I had had a brief, panicked conversation about names when the nurse told me I was 9 cm, and we had settled on Clare Elisabeth and John Brennan if we felt that they fit our baby. When the nurse announced that it was a girl and laid her on my stomach, it was unlike anything I have ever felt in my whole life. They asked me her name and I immediately told them Clare Elisabeth... she just didn't seem like she could be anyone else! Jesse got a little teary and emotional, but I just felt elated. I couldn't take my eyes off of her.

We had so many wonderful people come by the hospital to visit and make sure we were taken care of. Clare is such a joy. Already her little cheeks are starting to get chubbier and her personality is coming out. She loves to snuggle. She makes little squeaking and sighing noises that absolutely melt my heart. She loves to suck on anything she can... fingers, hands, arms, my cheek, Jesse's nose, her blankets. She is beautiful and perfect!

More pictures later...