Claire Elizabeth Daems

Claire Elizabeth Daems was born on August 15, 2012 at 8:21 AM.  She was 9 lbs., 9 oz. and 19 1/4 inches long.  

After failing the fetal lung maturity test the Thursday prior to her arrival, my OB, Jeff, and I decided to go ahead with the c-section the following Wednesday, without another amnio.  As we said before, we felt confident that this was the best decision for both my health and Claire's.  

Jeff and I headed out to the hospital at 5AM Wednesday morning.  The following 2 hours were spent signing paperwork, being hooked up to monitors and IVs, and going over the surgery with the anesthesiologist and the doctors.  I was brought into the OR around 8AM, and even though this was my third c-section, I was very nervous.  I'll admit, I got a bit weepy.  No matter how many times you go in, an OR is not exactly a comforting place.  Although it doesn't hurt, knowing that you are being cut open and have no control over your body is a disconcerting feeling.  By the time Jeff was allowed to come in I was a bit panicked and was convinced I was going to throw up.  Luckily the anesthesiologist gave me something for that and then my breathing was brought under control.  Very shortly after they started we heard, "Oh, there's an ear."  Followed by, "Wow!  This is a BIG baby!"  And then we heard the first sound of our newest daughter.  

The doctors brought down the screen a bit so I could see Claire.  I was relieved that she was finally here!  It took about another 40 minutes or so to fix me back up and then I was wheeled into recovery.  Meanwhile, Claire was assessed by the pediatricians.  Like most babies of diabetic mothers, Claire's blood sugars were very low, so she was given one bottle of formula in the delivery room, as well as half of a bottle in the recovery room.  After those two bottles, she was fine and her blood sugars continued to rise throughout the day until they were at a stable level.  Claire's breathing was fine, so we made the right choice with foregoing the amnio.

The biggest difference after the delivery is that Clarie was with me in recovery and I was able to hold her right away.  She is the only baby that I have been able to hold so soon after the c-section.  Both Nicholas and Lexi were whisked away to the NICU and I did not meet them for hours afterwards.  I actually said to the nurse, "Don't you need to take her to the NICU?"  The nurse said, "No, she's perfectly fine."  I was shocked and happy to see that she was doing so well.  

I was in the hospital from Wednesday until Saturday morning.  Unfortunately, the spinal block gave me a false sense of how well I was feeling, as it had long acting pain medication that lasted well into Thursday.  Consequently, I decided against taking additional pain medication.  Bad move...by Thursday evening I was a mess and in so much pain.  I had hoped to leave by Friday, but I needed to get my pain under control.  Luckily Jeff and my mom were both able to stay overnight with me so that I didn't have to get in and out of bed too much to attend to Claire.  

As for Claire, she continued to surprise me.  My experiences with Nicholas and Lexi were so much different.  Claire took to nursing right away, quite naturally.  With Nicholas and Lexi I had a very hard time nursing them in the hospital and it continued at home.  We had to call in lactation consultants and we supplemented with bottles for the first two weeks with both of them.  Claire has been the exact opposite.  Also, Nicholas and Lexi both had jaundice, with Lexi being sent home from the hospital with a UV blanket.  Claire has really shown no signs of jaundice.  I'm not sure if it's because I ended up not having preeclampsia with Claire (and therefore not the medications that accompany preeclampsia) or because I was pregnant with Claire longer than the other two, but she did not have any of the issues of her older brother and sister.  This was great news for all of us!

As for Nicholas and Lexi, they came to visit each day, along with Grandma and Grandpa, who came in the day before Claire's birthday.  Lexi took to Claire right away and was so excited to see her baby sister.  Nicholas was a bit hesitant the first day.  He did not want to hold her.  By the second day, he held her briefly.  By the time we came home, we couldn't keep him away from her.  He follows me around all day asking if he can hold Claire and insists upon checking on her if she's in her swing or sleeping in the bassinet.  He's turned into a wonderful big brother (again!) and loves his new baby sister very much.  It's heart warming to see, especially knowing how resistant he had been to the idea of a new baby in the months prior.

All in all, Claire's birth and recovery has been the easiest of all three.  I am doing well at home, having minimal pain.  Jeff and I are slowly readjusting to what it is like to have an infant in the house again....including operating on minimal sleep.  However, experience has made the transition that much easier.  We are excited to begin this new journey as a family of five!  Enjoy reading about our new ride! :)  

The morning of surgery...37 weeks, 6 days

The first glimpse of Claire

Out she comes

Clean up job

Meeting Mommy

Our biggest baby...9 lbs, 9 oz! 

Doing much better now that Claire is safe and sound

Chunk

Stabilizing her blood sugars

Recovery

Parents...for the third time

Baba and Claire

Mimicking her pouty face

Lexi is so happy to meet her new baby sister with Grandma

Claire brought the kids gifts

The new big girl razor scooter she's been wanting

Showing Grandpa her new gift

Claire brought Nicholas some Legos

She loves her sister!