Clara Marie Larson has arrived!

Finally!  She's here!  She certainly took her time, but she was well worth the wait.

 Clara Marie Larson was born on May 5th, 2014, at 8:24am.  Feliz Cumpleaños to our Cinco de Mayo baby!  She weighed 8 lbs 7 oz and measured 20 inches long.  She’s beautiful and healthy and simply perfect and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have her join our family.  And now we are a happy family of 4!

Here is her birth story...

I really didn't want to be induced, but my doctor wanted the baby to be born before I was 41 weeks.  She knew it was important to me that I start labor on my own, so we agreed to schedule the induction the evening of Monday, 5/5/14.  Sunday afternoon/night (5/4/14), I started having contractions.  And they were more in my back than any other contractions I'd had previously with this pregnancy.  As the afternoon/night progressed, the contractions got to about 6-7 minutes apart on average.  Something you have to know about me... I was terrified that I wouldn't make it to the hospital in time.  (The hospital is about 45 minutes away, not in rush hour traffic.)  People talk all the time about how quickly the 2nd baby comes AND there was a baby born on the I-88 expressway the day before AND one of my customers delivered one of her babies in April in the bathroom of a Mexican restaurant.  Yeah.  So, I didn't want to take any chances.  The contractions weren't particularly painful to where I couldn't stand it, but they were certainly noticeable and made me pause at some times.  So, Carl and I decided to go to the hospital that evening, Sunday night 5/4/14.  Carl's mom came over to get Audrey and Carl and I packed the car and headed to the hospital.  When we got there and they had a chance to monitor me, they said I was in the very beginning stages of labor, but not active labor yet.  I was only 2 cm dilated and my cervix was still pretty thick.  So, we had a decision to make... do we stay and have them take necessary steps to induce labor or do we go home and come back the next evening to be induced?  And my doc, who knew it was important to me to go into labor on my own, left that decision up to me which I appreciated.  We decided to stay.

The induction was actually a much better experience than I could have ever expected it to be.  First, the staff at Christ hospital is phenomenal.  I was super lucky to get a nurse that I was already familiar with.  Her name is Abby and she did some testing/monitoring on me the morning I had my surgery 10 weeks earlier.  Love her!  She was very honest with me and kept me informed and comfortable with everything that was happening.  And she got us the "deluxe" birthing room.  Seriously... huge and really nice.  It was apparent they had done some remodeling since Audrey was born.

My doc decided to start with a foley balloon and small doses of Pitocin.  It is a balloon that they insert between the amniotic sac and the cervix and then they fill it with saline.  The idea is that it applies pressure to the cervix, "telling" the cervix that I'm in labor and that it needs to dilate.  Once the cervix is dilated to 4cm, the balloon just falls out.  They put the balloon in at around 9pm and it fell out, meaning I was 4cm dilated, shortly after that... around 10pm I think.  They (nurse/resident/my doc) were really pleased with that, as was I.  They increased the Pitocin gradually, and checked me again around 12am (midnight).  I was hoping for 8cm dilated (fat chance, right?) - ha - but was only 5cm dilated.  Abby, the nurse, said that was common to get to 4cm so quickly but then slow down a little bit.  She said my body had to "catch up" with the help of the contractions.

The only sleep I got that night was off-and-on between 10ish and midnight.  Then, at that point, the contractions were very regular and getting more intense.  The toughest part was that I felt like I was going to pee my pants (expression only, since i was only in a gown) every time I would get a contraction.  And they were pumping me with fluids, so I had to pee a lot.  And that's tough when I'm hooked up to all the monitors and have a bum ankle.  So, I decided to ask for the epidural.  I talked with Abby first and got her opinion on if she thought it was too early and if it would slow down my labor.  She assured me it wouldn't and that they were going to keep increasing the Pitocin and would probably have to break my waterbag, so it was a good time to get it.  The anesthesiologist came in not too much longer after that and at about 2:30am he put in my epidural.  I did tell him about my experience with my delivery with Audrey where I pulled the epidural out.  He assured me that he would tape it really good.  (And he did!  I still had tape marks on my back 2 weeks after delivery!)  They also gave me a catheter... thank God.  No more getting up to go to the bathroom.

The next thing they were taking about was breaking my water bag.  They were just waiting for further direction from my doc.  While I was lying in bed after getting the epidural, I was pretty numb but I felt a snap and warm liquid on my legs.  Abby was in my room (I think she had just gotten done giving me some nausea/heart burn meds that I needed after getting the epidural) and she confirmed that it had broken on its own.  Again, I was so pleased with that, and they (nurse/resident/my doc) were as well.  The first question I asked Abby, and I'm not sure why I even thought of this, was if the fluid was clear.  No, it wasn't... it was tinted brownish which means that the baby passed some meconium.  She said that it wouldn't change the delivery plan (i.e. it doesn't automatically mean that I need a c-section).  It just meant that they would have a pediatric team in the room when the baby is delivered and they will focus on sucking out as much fluid from her mouth/lungs before she cries.

At 5:53am, Carl sent our families a text saying I was still 5cm dilated.  Abby's shift ended at 7am and she told me that her goal was to have me deliver before then.  I was hoping for that, too, needless to say.  Around that time, 7am, the resident came in to check me again and I was at 8-9cm!  Yahoo!  So they called my doc to come in and we were getting ready for the delivery.  My doc came into my room a little before 8am I think and after actively pushing with 2 or 3 contractions (seriously only 2 or 3), Clara Marie Larson was born! With lots of dark hair, too!  My doc even let me help pull her out.  Such a cool experience!  And a very easy delivery.  And, they even put her on my chest while they were cutting her cord, which I didn't think they would be able to do because of the meconium.  I was glad about that.  Oh, and she pooped on my when they put her on my chest.  First of many.  :)

First picture!  What a plump baby...
all 8 lbs 7 oz of her!

It all happened pretty quickly once my body was ready, which was good.  Especially when you consider that I pushed for 2 hours with Audrey and she was over a full pound less in weight than Clara.  In fact, Lindsey (Boyer) Graff, my good friend from college, just so happened to be on rotation as a 3rd year med student in labor and delivery at Christ and she was starting a 24-hour shift (can you even imagine?!) at 7am that day.  So she came in to visit shortly after she began her shift.  So good to see her!  She had to leave for a triplets c-section, and when she came out after only 30-ish minutes, she asked how I was doing and they told her I was done and the baby was here already.  She was stunned that it happened so quickly!  She came in shortly after Clara was born and I was pretty teary-eyed.  I just remember her saying "Aw, you make me want to cry!"  I was so relieved that Clara was healthy.  They were certainly happy tears.  It's an overwhelming experience when your baby is born.  I'll never forget looking over and seeing Carl all teary-eyed.  What a proud moment for the both of us!

At that point, we hadn't finalized Clara's name yet.  We were deciding between Catelyn and Clara.  After she was born and cleaned up, they put her on my chest again for skin-to-skin.  And Carl made the decision that she is a "Clara".  So "Clara Marie Larson" she will always be.  And now I can't imagine her being named anything else.  A beautiful name for a beautiful baby.

My view of Clara in her bassinet, as seen while I was lying
in my bed in the postpartum room

Our traditional Illini stocking cap pic

And just for fun, here are my girls side-by-side in their Illini caps:

Left: Audrey / Right: Clara

Speaking of Audrey, here's a little peak at what she was doing the day Clara was born.  Joyce and Audrey both stayed home from school and had a fun day.  They went to the mall and even rode the merry-go-round!

Happy to be a big sister

Audrey Elizabeth Larson has arrived!

It's what we had been preparing for and waiting for the last 9 months. Audrey Elizabeth Larson came into this world on a Saturday morning, October 15, 2011, at 5:58a.m. She weighed 7lbs 6oz and was 20 inches long. She is a healthy and beautiful baby girl. To sum it up in one word... perfect. Here the story of the labor and delivery...

As you read in my 38-week update, I had a feeling that I was getting close to having Audrey. We had a really busy week, and I saw a lot of signs that it wasn't going to be much longer. Even though I wrote that I thought she might come soon and wondered if Audrey would come before my 39-week update, I was in denial about what was going to happen very soon. I was convinced throughout the whole pregnancy that I would go up to my due date, if not after. Well, Audrey had a different plan, didn't she?

Here is the whole story...

I worked all day on Friday, October 14th (9 days before me due date). We finished up the 2 remaining training sessions for our department and my boss "gave me her blessing" to have the baby since that was over. I have a feeling we will laugh about that timing for many years. Also, Carl had an important meeting/interview after work on Friday for a really good job with an engineering firm that he works alongside at O'Hare. I knew I had a little time after work before Carl got home so I went out to buy Carl an anniversary present (mind you, our anniversary was the day before on the 13th and I hadn't found what I was looking for yet). I went to a store in Orland Park, and as I was walking around, I just kept thinking "this baby is going to fall right out of me." If only it were that easy, right? ;) I really felt pressure in my pelvis, really low. She was getting heavy to carry around! I left the store very soon after getting there and just headed home. I felt "lazy" because I really wanted to show my appreciation for Carl and make sure our anniversary was "special" and not neglected this year. Especially this year because Carl has really been so supportive of me all throughout the pregnancy and as we prepared for Audrey to arrive.

So I went home and waited for Carl to get home.  I had the general feeling that I needed to go to the bathroom all the time.  I was nervous that I might be leaking amniotic fluid, even though I didn't feel like my water bag had ruptured.  When Carl got home, we he started making dinner.  It was shrimp tacos for us and black beans and rice.  Yummo!  Carl was filling me in on his interview, which went really well!  And I started to notice that my belly was getting kind tight and my back was hurting about every 10 minutes.  Time is about 6:45pm.  We commented on how much "space" I had between my boobs and my belly, which we just noticed for the first time on Friday.  Audrey had really dropped and was getting ready for her upcoming "journey".  We had talked about going to the hospital that night, even if my water hadn't broke, just to have them check me out and make sure I wasn't leaking amniotic fluid.  And then I said to Carl, "Scratch that.. let's go see Footloose". That's right, they made a remake of one of my favorite movies of all time and I really wanted to go see it.  I've heard really good things!  We laughed at that suggestion because I wouldn't make it but 20 minutes at a time before I have to go to the bathroom to pee.

Soon after that, dinner was finished and we made our plates and headed upstairs to the loft where we eat in front of the TV.  I finished one of my tacos and all of a sudden I felt a snap.  It was kind of like there was an elastic band around my uterus that snapped.  I said "Oh my God".  And Carl looked over at me and I explained what I felt and that I thought that was my water breaking.  There wasn't a huge gush of water or even a trickle, even when I stood up.  I walked over to the bathroom and sat on the toilet and all of a sudden... a huge gush of water.  I confirmed that my water had broken and Carl rushed around getting his things together for the hospital.  This was it.  Carl was excited.  I was apprehensive, and in denial still.  Time is 7:30pm.

As we were driving to the hospital, Carl was talkative, keeping my mind off of what was coming up.  We laughed and had a good time.  Once we got closer to the hospital, my contractions started to get more intense.  And they were coming about every 4 to 5 minutes.  Carl dropped me off at the main entrance to the hospital so I could head up to Labor & Delivery while he parked the car.  Time is 8:30pm.

Now, this is where everything started happening really fast and I just lost track of time.  That's good that I felt like everything happened pretty quickly, especially because I was in labor 10 and a half hours (between the time that my water broke and Audrey was born).  Apparently, there were a lot of babies born that Friday (the 14th) because they didn't even have an exam room ready where they could evaluate me before they transferred me to a birthing room.  They told me to wait in the waiting room.  I walked into the waiting room and didn't dare sit down.  My pants were soaked and I didn't want to ruin their couches (even if it was just water).  So I was pacing around the hallway and nurse's station.  We waited for an exam room to be cleaned and when it was finally ready, they told me to change into a gown and go to the bathroom before they hooked me up to the monitors and such.  I had this feeling that I just needed to have a bowel movement.  I was having some back labor, so I felt a lot of pressure in my lower back.  This was all happening and Audrey was coming that night or early the next morning.  I told Carl I didn't want to call our parents and let them know until the nurses confirmed that I was in labor.  Really?  Confirmed that I was in labor?  See, I was in denial.  While we were in the exam room, they hooked me up to a monitor that tracked Audrey's heartbeat as well as my contractions.  My contractions started coming about every 2-3 minutes while I was in the exam room.  And they were getting a lot more intense.  I remember counting the details in the wallpaper in the room to keep calm.  My body was doing what it needed to do, which is really great.  I am really thankful that I didn't have to be induced.  They talked about giving me pitocin to keep me moving along, but I really didn't want it until after I got my epidural.  In the exam room, they also confirmed that Audrey was head-down and told me I was between 2-3 centimeters dilated.  I had a ways to go yet.  Oh brother.

They transferred us to the birthing room where we were greeted by our nurse, Kathy.  She was really great.  As soon as we got to the room, she asked what my pain level was.  I told her the pain was about a 6 or 7.  She asked if I wanted the epidural now, and I quickly accepted.  She said if my pain was a 6 or 7 right now, we should get the epidural going because sometimes it can take awhile for the anesthesiologist to get there.  My contractions were intense.  I was really looking forward to the epidural.  And it was an immediate change when I got the epidural.  I was really quiet during contractions before the epidural, and I was so much more relaxed and a lot more talkative after the epidural.  They talk about feeling a poke and a burn with the epidural.  I didn't feel any of that.  I kept focusing on how much this would relieve the pain of the contractions.  They nurse told me that I must have a high tolerance for pain because I didn't even flinch when he put in the needle.  And I responded with, "Well, I thought I did until those I experienced those contractions."  We laughed.

After the epidural (I can't even tell you what time it is at this point... maybe around midnight?), Kathy told us to get some rest.  She told me I would need my strength and need to be rested when it comes time to push.  I thought I had the epidural so I would be fine!  We shut off the lights and tried to sleep.  Carl was sleeping on a little couch in the room, and I think he was able to really sleep for a couple hours.  I maybe slept on and off for about a half hour.  I was anxious and apparently intrigued by House Hunters on HGTV.  I couldn't sleep.  But I was really relaxed and didn't feel any pain.

At about 2:00am (October 15th), the resident came in to check my progress.  She looked at me and said I looked comfortable and didn't think I was very far along.  Then she checked me and said I was 7 cm dilated. She wanted to get a second opinion from a nurse because she didn't think that was possible.  The good news about the epidural was that it took away my pain, but I was still able to move my legs.  I certainly wouldn't have been able to walk, but I could at least move my legs which was good.  The nurse came in and confirmed that I was 7-8cm dilated and that my cervix was "squishy", which all means that I was ready to have a baby!  They called my doctor (Dr. Butler, who had just gone on call that night..another example of perfect timing!) to have her make her way to me.  She came in to see me about 3:30am and said that we were getting really close.  At 3:50am, Kathy and Dr. Butler had me do a couple preliminary pushes to see how the baby was moving down.  I was thinking that it was a cake walk having the epidural.  I didn't really feel much pressure, but everything was still moving along.  Yeah...

After 2 or 3 rounds of pushing, I wanted to sit up a little more in the bed so I put my hands behind me and pushed myself up.  I felt one of my cords or something pull out.  I told Kathy and she looked to see what it was.  Yup, it was the epidural.  I pulled out the epidural.  Not what I wanted to hear.  That epidural was my best friend during this process up until this point.  And I needed it.  I hadn't prepared to give birth without pain medication.  She said she couldn't insert the epidural catheter again because since it was pulled out, it wasn't sterile anymore.  She said the options were to have anesthesia redo it or not have the epidural the rest of the labor/delivery.  O.M.G.  I already was feeling some tingling in my legs and could feel a little more pressure with each contraction.  Could I really do this?  We decided we were going to push like hell and get this over with as quickly as possible and do it without the epidural.  So that's what we did.  Pushing was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.  They were telling me that every time I would push, Audrey would move further down; but then between contractions, Audrey would retract back a little bit.  That was not encouraging because I felt like I was really working really hard.  At about 5:45am, I asked Dr. Butler how close we were and told her to "reach in and pull that baby out... please".  So she made a decision to use the vacuum.  It's funny because during our birthing class, I decided I was against the forcepts and vacuum.  In the moment, I was a big fan of anything they could do to just get the baby out.  Seriously.  So after just a couple more rounds of pushing, Dr. Butler said "Abby, look at this. You don't want to miss seeing your baby being born."  I looked up and saw a full head of dark hair.  My baby was being born.  It was the biggest relief and a sight I will never forget.  How incredible that Audrey was here!  Carl cut the cord, then they took her away and we heard her crying and it was all very real.  Carl and I were parents.  She was here.  This is what we had been waiting for.  I was excited and overwhelmed with emotion.  The way I expressed it?  I looked at Carl and said, "Oh my God, it's over."  Really, it was just beginning, right?  The delivery is just the beginning of the true journey of raising Audrey.

Our little angel had arrived!

I'm so lucky to have Carl to go through this experience with.  I can't wait to raise Audrey with Carl.  He was such a great support to me during the pregnancy and during the labor and delivery.  He would remind me to breathe through the contractions, comfort me, give me massages where I was really feeling the pain.  He would just look me in the eyes and let me know how strong I was and that this pain was only temporary.  Carl is such a great person... someone I truly respect and admire and love.  He is going to be a great Daddy!

Funniest quote from Carl during the delivery... Between pretty intense contractions and pushes, I looked at Carl and said I didn't know if I could do this.  He looked at me with a straight face and said, "Abs, just think how many calories you're burning."  I don't think I laughed then, but we laugh really hard about it now.  He was trying to lighten the mood and make a joke.  I was thinking "F- the calories. F- a good workour. Get me out of this pain."  I think this Carl quote was the funniest not only of the delivery, but of the entire pregnancy.  What a funny guy!

We were in this birthing room only another hour or so.  They bathed Audrey (I will post pics soon), I got up to the bathroom, and I nursed her for the first time.

Amber was our first visitor.  I think the hospital workers thought she was a resident and they let her up to see us while we were still in the birthing room.  Visiting hours weren't until 12noon, but she was able to come see us at about 7am.  She was up early and so excited to meet Audrey!  Then, when we moved to the "post-partum room" Carl's parents and my parents came to visit and meet their granddaughter.  When they arrived, Audrey was down in the nursery.  They needed to get her blood type and the darn resident threw out the placenta.  Since they couldn't draw the cord blood, they had to stick Audrey and get her blood the hard way.  And this was important since my blood type is A negative.  If Audrey's blood type was positive, I needed to get another Rhogam shot.  Audrey was down in the nursery for about 3 hours while they tried to draw her blood.  It was really hard being away from her.  So strange to have just "met" her, but really miss her not being with us.  Carl took his parents and my parents down to the nursery to see Audrey.  They came back up to the room so excited!  We all couldn't wait until Audrey was in the room with us!

They finally brought her up to be with us.  The lactation consultant helped me while I fed her this time which was really helpful.  And then after Audrey was fed, everyone was able to hold her for the first time.  Early that afternoon, Ashley arrived at the hospital.  It was so nice having our family there... so supportive and so excited.

This was one of the best and most memorable days of my life.  Really, it is only comparable to our wedding day.  But it was just all different feelings, so I guess not at all comparable.  Both really exciting and life-changing days.

We are now a family of 3!

The newest Illini fan...

Speaking of the Illini, Oct 15th was the Ohio St game in Champaign.  Carl and his friends decided to sell their tickets kind of at the last minute.  I kept telling Carl I thought he was fine to go (see, I continued to think Audrey would come after her due date), but good thing he didn't!  And that's all I'll say about the game... we won't talk about the outcome.  ;)