Clara Ann

My daughter Clara Ann was born two weeks ago.  She is beautiful; she is amazing; she has brought with her so much love. 

You may have noticed how quiet things have been around here.  This was certainly not my intention.  I had planned so many crafts for this baby – crochet blankets, little girl hats and booties, burp cloths and dresses; I had planned on crafting right up until labor, and had planned on having another peaceful homebirth with my littlest love, like I did with my two elder boys. 

But you know what they say about the best made plans.

As the later months rolled around, eighth and especially the ninth month, I started to get that first-trimester-like fatigue again.  Had I really forgotten how hard the ninth month was?  I was more than tired – I was exhausted.  I spent my days lying on the sofa, running out of breath, achy and a bit lightheaded.  Still, I didn’t feel bad per se, and so I kept pushing on best I could.   However, as the month progressed and I felt even worse, a visit from my homebirth midwife established that there was indeed a problem – I was suffering from a fast-progressing preeclampsia.  My midwife urged me to call the hospital first thing the next morning.

They had me come in immediately upon calling and barely needed to do more than check my blood pressure when they sent me over to Labor & Delivery and hooked me up to a Pitocin drip, a magnesium sulfate drip, and proceeded to check my blood pressure every fifteen minutes.  Not long after that, I was put on blood pressure medication because it kept spiking even with the magnesium sulfate.  My hospital bed was fitted with pads in case I started to have seizures. When labor was not progressing fast enough to keep my blood pressure under control, they broke my water.

This was far from the intervention-free birth I had originally planned for, but I am very lucky that I was in the hands of so many people who took such good care of me when things could have gone so badly.  My nurses were kind and compassionate and the midwives and physicians were professional and competent.  And a few hours later, I safely and happily gave birth to my first daughter with tears of happiness and gratitude.

Now that we are home and have all had time to welcome little Clara into our lives, I’ve had some time to gain back my strength and pick up where I left off a couple of months back.  There is still so much to do and catch up on, but my heart and home are so filled with love and happiness.  The happiest days truly are when babies come.  And there are so many happy days yet to come. ♥

~Mellie