It's A Girl

We are proud to introduce the newest member of our family...

Keira Jane

born: 10-02

8oz 2lbs

20in

After arriving to the birthing center a little after 12pm we started the birth off by popping the water. I was surprised to see after dispelling the extra water that this picture showed me looking so big still. I also love how fancy and homey the birthing center is. After all the vitals were taken we were sent outside to walk the park. After about 2 laps I couldn't keep up my pace with the contractions. They were so strong I needed to stop and lean on Larry for support. Within about 15 mins of this I could only get about 15 steps before more contractions would come that would wrap the back and make my legs shake. I was so afraid of not making it back to the birthing center , we turned around and started back.

I was grateful to find that stopping to sit helped steal a few moments in between contractions. After laboring through a few more contractions inside the birthing center I asked if I could get into the nice, warm, relaxing comfortable tub. The Midwives agreed to it, but not until the baby could be monitored and I was checked to see my progress. To my surprise I was only a 5.

All that work and only a 5. Bummer. At 215pm I got into the tub, moaning through ugly contractions. After 3 more contractions and trying my best to relax and not freak out, the labor jumped into high gear. Soon I wanted to just crawl out of my skin. And let's just say that by 245pm, Keira was born. And in the traditional Rachel fashion, I pushed once to slowly release her head (that Larry caught in the tub) and then pushed a second time to have him catch her and lay her on my chest! And YES, that calculates out to 30 mins of contracting so hard I moved 5 inches, went through transition and pushed out a kid. I am so grateful it went fast because if it had gone longer, I don't think I could have made it.

After seeing the photos, I was also glad to see that the water I was sitting in wasn't totally gross. I'm slightly anal about cleanliness and wasn't very keen on sitting in a big mess. Depending on the date you calculate from Keira could be 2 weeks to 1 week early. Either way she was still coated in that thick white goo, but was already over 8 lbs. I'm super happy she didn't have a chance to grow any bigger inside me.

Larry was able to bond with Keira while I finished the birthing process. She quickly turned from blue to pink as she screamed and cried for most of the first hour. Obviously from the picture you can see she was not happy and grabbed on tight to her dad. So sweet! All the workers at the B.C. were very happy to have such an experienced Dad that didn't need any instruction on cleaning, diapering, etc..

And another blessing is counted to find that Keira was superb at feeding too. There's nothing worse then a lazy eater. Personally I think was just glad to have the whole experience over with.

After a shower and some food, I was totally revitalized. And by 8pm we were home with our kids and introducing them to their new little sister!