Pictures and birth story...

Well, I have a few quiet minutes so I'll share the birth story with you.

I mentioned in a previous post that my contractions started on Monday, 16 March just after I picked the kids up from school. I had walked 3 miles to and from the school that day and as you read on that day, I tackled a very large to-do list. It was my intention to help the labor start and it worked. Throughout the evening, the contractions continued but were tolerable and irregular, about 20 minutes apart and I still managed to do all that I need to get done. About 1:30 in the morning, the contractions woke me up and they were getting stronger and about 11-12 minutes apart so I called the midwife and as expected, was told I had to wait a bit longer before they would assess me. So I had a miserable night sleep and took little cat naps between contractions and called back in the morning at around 6:00 am as the contractions were still 11-12 minutes apart. Again I was told to wait a bit longer.

Meanwhile, Shawn is getting ready for work as usual and I asked the midwife if she thought that was a good idea and she said she thought it best that he stay close by me. So Shawn called and started his baby leave.

We then got Natalie and Robbie ready for the day and we walked to the school as a family to drop Natalie off. We had to stop a few times on the way and back to let a contraction pass, but I felt like I needed to "do" something and not just lay around. I continued to keep busy when we got home and gave myself a pedicure (yes I was able to reach my feet), vacuumed the living room and dining room and cleaned up the kitchen.

My friend Abi came over and kept me from going crazy and her son Sam and Robbie happily played while Shawn supervised them. My contractions were getting very irregular and spaced out funny. I would go an hour where they completely stopped and then they would be like 6 minutes apart and then a half hour. Then at about 1:30 - 2:00 pm they started getting stronger and more frequent so Abi told me I should perhaps call the midwife again and she finally said I could go in an be assessed at the hospital. At that point they were 8 minutes apart.

We got in the car and they started coming at 5 minutes and by the time we got to the hospital (half hour drive) they were 3-4 minutes apart. I had 2 contractions on the way from the car into the hospital and one while I was waiting for a room. Once I was settled into a room and got all the exam stuff done, it was about 4:15 pm and my dilation was checked and I was still only 3-4 cm, but fully effaced so the contractions were doing their job. I got aquainted with the Entonox (laughing gas) and was told how to use it and it was taking the edge off the pain. An hour later I was dilated to 6 cm and was extremely uncomfortable and was told I couldn't have an epidural because I was progressing too quickly. That made me grumpy, however, my epidural with Robbie didn't work so I don't know why I was surprised.

It finally got to the point where I wanted to push and my water broke and I was ready, and he came out quite quickly after my water broke, only 2 or 3 pushes. After Clay was born, I was still sucking on the Entonox and feeling a little drunk and I remember looking at him wondering what didn't seem quite right and it wasn't until the midwife told me it was a boy that I realized that what we'd been calling Penelope for the last 21 weeks had a penis! So Clayton Ezra Spain was born and I had packed nothing neutral for him to wear. I had a couple of onesies and a white blanket, but everything else had pink on it. Finally in the middle of the night, one of the nurses told me I had to just put him in pink because he was going to get too cold! I felt so bad.


Shawn was given instructed to bring back something suitable for him to wear home so he came home in a yellow sleep gown with little frogs on it. Shawn and Robbie came to pick us up and bring us home and that is where we are now, just settling in and learing how to be a family with 3 kids.

Here are some pictures of the last couple of days...