Thursday, December 27, 2007

She's Here!

Claire Cheryl Whitaker
born on
December 26, 2007
7 lbs. 9 oz.
20.25" long
Our little girl has arrived!



I woke up at 3am on Wednesday morning feeling pretty consistent contractions. Hmm, interesting, I thought. Since I was induced with Isaac, I had never gone into labor on my own, and figured it was probably just a false alarm. But 4am came, and then 5am... I wasn't sleeping, and the contractions weren't stopping. I started to panic. I had childcare set up for every day up to week 42...starting on the 27th. Perfect timing, I thought, as I lay awake trying to figure it all out and time my contractions.

Vance talked me down out of my tree when he woke up at 6:30, reminded me that everything would be all right, and rubbed my back to help me fall asleep until 8. Wonderful man, my husband. But at 8 the contractions were still going, and now only 3 minutes apart. I decided to go to my doctor's appointment at 9:15 and see what they would say.

My midwife checked me, said I was dialated 4 cm. "Have you leaked any amniotic fluid?" she asked as she was doing my exam. "No," I said. Then whoosh, my water broke. "Mmm, that's not supposed to happen," said Deb, looking a little sheepish. She told me to get Vance over here. I told her I had the car, asked if I could go back and get him. She told me in no uncertain terms that I was staying, and that I better not sound too calm on the phone, because Vance needed to get over to the hospital right away. I checked in around 9:30.

God provided childcare mercifully, and Vance got over to the hospital in record time. My labor was so much better than when I was induced with Isaac. We walked and walked and walked. By 11 my contractions started to require some focus to work through, by 12:30 I was dialated to 6-7cm, and by 1:50 I was complete. By 2:10 our sweet girl had arrived!

So far, she's been an easy baby (I know, I know, she's only a day old, it could all change). She loves to be touched, she hardly cries, and she meows like a kitten instead of hollering like a banshee when she's hungry. She's got Vance wrapped around her little finger, and we're so glad to have her here!

6 comments:

Suzanne said...

Oh, Terri! Congratulations!!! She's precious. I love that you were able to honor your mom with her name. My new baby has my mom's maiden name - since Mary wouldn't have been a good name for a boy! :)

Ellen said...

What a precious little niece I have! Ok, on this one, I think the baby has decided to do a Terri clone. I'm not seeing much of you in there, little bro. That's probably for the best. Seth (sitting in my lap) says, "I can't wait to pull her nose!" =) Wink. We love you! Oh yeah, I can still call her Geraldine from time to time, right? I was starting to get attached to that name...

Julie said...

AJ & I are thrilled to pieces that Claire is here & we cannot wait to meet our new niece! She's a beautiful little girl, Terri. I know you and Vance are grateful for your growing family. You are truly blessed to have two children...two miracles! I look forward to spoiling Isaac and Claire with lots of love for many years to come. See you soon!

Love always,
Julie

Rachel said...

Congrats Vance and Terri! Next time you're in the area, we'd love to meet Claire! So happy you had a good birthing experience and things happened on their own this time. Look forward to more pics of the new baby!

Jenn said...

Congrats! What a blessing from God!
And what a fun, exciting story. So glad you were able to go naturally ... keep the pics coming. (when you have time of course and aren't feeding/sleeping/etc. hee hee)
Love, Jenn :)

Unknown said...

Beautiful!!! I am so excited for you and Vance... and happy that Allie got to be there! Praise the Lord for another precious baby... I can't wait for my new niece next month.

Love you all!