Claire Jane Thatcher

Our little one arrived on December 4th at 6:39. We were convinced it was a boy, so we really did get a surprise when she came out. She weighed 7 lbs. 8 oz. and was 21 inches long.

Here's the story:

We got a good dose of false labor this week. On Saturday night, Jen had regular contractions for 7 hours. So we called Grandma, who quickly came down from Cache Valley to get the girls. Paul canceled all his Sunday meetings, and we got ready to go to the hospital to deliver. That's when the contractions stopped! We had a quiet Sunday together, just sure we'd be going into the hospital any minute, but the contractions never started up again. So we got the girls back on Monday morning and went back to our routine life, preparing for the baby to come.

Then on Wednesday night, Jen had stronger contractions for a few hours, so we headed in to the hospital, excited and sure we wouldn't return without the baby. They admitted us, but then sent us home after an hour, saying that the contractions weren't putting me into labor. It was discouraging to drive back home at 5:00 am, after another sleepless night, especially since Jen's contractions were even more painful than before. We wondered if we'd really know when it was the right time to head to the hospital. Even though the contractions continued all day Thursday, we were able to sleep well that night, and then head into LDS hospital Friday morning to be induced.

During labor, it was uncanny how everything that could go wrong did. Jen had to get 4 IVs and 4 epidurals (none of which worked!), and then delivered completely natural. The baby came so fast that the Doctor almost didn't make it back for the delivery. She had to leave another delivery and made it just a minute before the baby came. We were so grateful that the baby came safely and that Jen survived the unexpectedly difficult labor.

We enjoyed a few hours just holding our darling little girl, feeling so grateful she was healthy and safe. That night though, a nurse popped her head into our room, and told us that they had sent Claire into the "Special Care Nursery" to monitor her more carefully because she had not been breathing correctly on her own. Then a few hours later, a Dr. came in to our room to talk to us about his concerns with Claire's behavior. They began antibiotics and tests, trying to find out why she would be struggling to breathe at times.

We've had to stay at the hospital a couple days longer to do these tests, but we haven't felt worried or concerned. Claire seems to be healthy, and we are hopeful that everything will be fine. But seeing her covered with monitors and IVs, and hearing all the possible problems she could have, has helped us empathize with others who have had children in the hospital. We thought we'd be able to go home this morning, but we had a talk with the Dr. and it looks like 2 more days here at least. This was disappointing, but we're trying to look at the positive side of things.

Millie and Gracie have been happy at Grandma and Grandpa's but they can't wait to meet their little sister. They have been patient as the plan to go home and see the baby tomorrow keeps being pushed back a day. Every time we talk to Millie, she asks us if we are holding the baby. She has asked a couple times for us to send a picture of the baby coming out of mommy's tummy. She wants to know how that works, and since we haven't really answered her question, she would like a picture of it. Well, needless to say, none of those! But here are some pics of our darling girl!