DISCLAIMER: This is a long and detailed birth story where I tell about my experience giving birth naturally to my fourth little miracle. Please read at your own discretion.
I’m sitting here right now holding my sweet little angel, Claire. In a way it seems like she has always been here, but if I think back just a bit I can still easily remember the first day I met her just five weeks ago…..her Birthday, February 28th. The day before she was born was Ben’s birthday. I woke up that morning at 36 weeks and 5 days and I knew immediately that I was in the early stage of labor. I had that instinctive feeling that something big was about to happen, and I was in a sort of daze where I felt like I was going through the motions of normal life, but all of my thoughts and emotions were focused inward on the task at hand.
We had a good day celebrating Ben’s birthday and by that night I was worn out. I tried to sleep but I couldn't. The contractions were pretty regular but not very strong so I decided to watch a movie. Somewhere around 2 AM I felt tired enough that I thought I might be able to take a nap so I laid down on the couch and went to sleep.
I woke when I felt a gush of fluid at around 4:30 AM. I hopped up and ran to the bathroom thinking “This is it! This is what it feels like when your water breaks!” That hasn't happened to me before so I was excited to get to experience it once! When I got to the bathroom and turned on the light I got a little scared. It wasn't water. I was bleeding, and it was a lot. I yelled for Ben because he was asleep on the other end of the house. He came running into the bathroom a little panicked from being woke up that way. I said “I thought my water broke but its just blood. Is this normal? I think something is wrong.” He just said “Get your stuff we’re going to the hospital.”
The bleeding got worse on the way to the hospital and I worried that they may need to take the baby quickly. My contractions were about 2 minutes apart and they were starting to get pretty uncomfortable. When I got there around 5 AM the nurse was so sweet and comforting. She calmly said “This happens sometimes, I think everything is going to be fine. This is a lot of blood, but let’s just get you in a gown, check on baby, and go from there.” She quickly helped me get into the gown and hooked me up to the monitors and there was that sound that I had wanted to hear the whole way to the hospital! That sweet little heartbeat! The baby was fine! She checked my progress and said that I was about 5-6 centimeters dilated.
Feeling completely relieved I started thinking about labor and what I needed to do. I decided to start out in the rocking chair. I sat there and rocked, breathing through contractions and talking in between for a while. Everything was so peaceful and calm, just like I wanted it to be. The nurse stayed with us the whole time and we talked about the kids and life and got to know each other. The contractions were uncomfortable, but they weren't really that bad. After a couple of hours, even though I wasn't in much pain, I started to get this overwhelming urge to “get ready”. I told my nurse that I wanted to get where I needed to be to have the baby. She said that I could be wherever I wanted and she suggested that I get on the bed with the foot of the bed dropped (it looked like a big chair). I moved between the next contractions and she and Ben helped me get comfortable.
Not long after I got settled in I started feeling the urge to push at the end of every contraction. Within a few minutes I felt the contractions change, they were becoming much more intense and I needed to push through them. The nurse checked my progress so that she could give my doctor a heads-up and I was 9 centimeters. After a few pushes the baby’s head started crowning and my doctor told me that my water was still intact! I think that may be one of the reasons that I wasn't experiencing much pain. I remember thinking “If my water didn't break, what in the world was going on?” He broke my water and I pushed again and the baby’s head came out. He said very calmly “Samantha, the baby’s cord is wrapped around the neck, give me just a second and then you can push again.” He quickly flipped the cord over baby’s head and said “Okay, you can push!” and there she was! The next thing I heard was “It’s a girl!” She was born at 8:08 AM, completely natural (no drugs), with a head full of dark brown hair, at 21 ½” long, and weighing 8 pounds and 1 ounce.
I think I’ll remember what happened next for the rest of my life! Ha! This is where my past experiences made me a little crazy. You see when Tim was born he was pretty blue and had breathed in too much fluid, when he didn't get pink fast enough they whisked him away and I didn't hold him again for three days. When I had Maddie I sat there like a crazy person with bulb syringe sucking her nose and mouth out for thirty minutes so that she would GET PINK! So with Claire my doctor said “Here she is!” and held her up towards me. I said “Why is she so blue?! Make her cry!” He said “Oh she’s fine, she’ll cry in a minute.” And he pushed her towards me. I said “No, you take her over there and make her cry and then bring her back when she’s pink! Ya’ll just make her cry!” Well they did! They made that baby so mad that she was screaming in seconds. It was music! Music to a tired mama’s ears! I wanted a strong, screaming, mad baby! I held that sweet baby and immediately thought “I think I wanted a girl all along!” I was so exhausted from the last few 10 or 15 minutes of labor that all I could do was hold her and cry knowing that she was alive, and healthy, and in my arms. She was so strong! She even nursed right away like an old pro.
After a quick exam my doctor explained that all of the hemorrhaging was caused by a “placental abruption” that had probably been going on for a few days. This is where the placenta starts to tear away from the uterus and it can be very dangerous if not caught. Thank God for His protection!
Our little Claire was just perfect! I felt like I was in a dream! Just a beautiful dream….As soon as they had everything ready Ben went to get the kids. When I saw Molly’s little face my heart just swelled! My sweet girl has wanted a baby of her own for so long, and her little face said it all! We told them that she was a girl and let them each hold her.
Then Ben went back out to get the whole crew! We passed our new little family member around to all of the people who prayed for her and loved her from the beginning. Do you know that that has always been one of my favorite parts of having a baby? I love to share those first few moments of life with the people who love us most. It just wouldn't be the same without them! My heart could just burst watching my family hold a new baby for the first time! And in this family there is a lot of sharing to do!
(I know it's blurry, but love the look on their faces as they found out that she was a GIRL!!)
(Claire and her best girl, Violet! So sweet!)
When everyone left and it was just Ben and I there with her, it all hit me…She’s ours. Oh my goodness! She’s mine! She made it! We made it! I have a baby! And it’s a little girl! I told my doctor the next day that it was like I found out I was pregnant, found out that she was a girl, and was handed a baby all in one day! And there she was….my little miracle, Claire Caffee.
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