Update and Clark's birth story

So much has happened to us since I last blogged. Here are the 2 major things- We moved back to Logan and had a baby. Did I mention that happened the same month? March was the craziest month of my life.

Clark Andrew Yerka was born on his due date-March 21st. It was a busy week for us with my birthday on Monday the 18th and his due date on Thursday. I started having contractions on my birthday and it was scary because we were in South Jordan that day and we were nervous about getting back to Logan in time in case I went into labor. Well, I didn't go into labor that day, but I was sure it would be the next since I was already having contractions. Nope, that didn't happen, nor the next day. I didn't want to go over (cuz who wants to do that?) so I was induced on his due date. I was pretty anxious about it since I've heard a lot of horror stories about inductions. I slept very little the night before I was to be induced and was up at 4am. I decided to take a nice, long shower and then get ready for the day. I called the hospital at 5:15 and was told to come in at 6:15. I woke up Andy and we got everything together and left to get some breakfast-McDonalds. When we got to the hospital, it was very cold, windy, and snowing. We got all checked in and at 7am I was given Pitocin to start contractions. One thing I need to add about Pitocin-my nurse said my body reacts really well to it, so she had to keep lowering the dosage so I would have a steady and consistent labor. By 7:30 I was having contractions. We knew I would be in labor for at least a few hours, so Andy left to buy the Hobbit. We watched that and our nurse would come in and watch snippets with us. Since we didn't know for sure what we were going to name Clark, our nurse would joke and say we should name him names from the Hobbit. No way. :) At 8:40 Dr. McCulloch broke my water. I was really nervous about her doing that because I thought it would hurt, but nope. It didn't. My wonderful nurse, Ruth, kept telling me that I didn't have to be in pain if I didn't want to, but I wanted to wait for the epidural until the contractions got painful. Before my water broke, my contractions weren't very painful, I just felt a lot of pressure. After it broke, they escalated quickly. Andy was so great when I was having a painful contraction. He would rub my shoulders to make me feel better. I felt like we were a team and it made me more at ease. I got my epidural at 10 and I was dilated to a 5. When I got my epidural with Evelyn, I was in so much pain, I couldn't even think straight so I didn't feel the needle at all. With Clark, I was more in control so I felt when I got my numbing shots and it felt weird, like hitting your funny bone or something. With Evelyn, I couldn't feel anything after my epidural, but with Clark, I could feel the pressure of the contractions. At 11:20, I was a 6 and at 12:30 I was an 8. My nurse said at this point that Clark would be born within the hour and she was right- he was born at 1:02 after 2 pushes. I asked for a mirror to watch him be born and it was incredible. I was so proud of my body that I could push him out and I was also SO grateful for the epidural. I was really able to focus on him being born, rather than being in tons of pain. When he came out, the cord was wrapped around his neck and Andy said he was really blue. My doctor quickly unwrapped it, Andy cut the cord, and Clark was placed on my chest. It was amazing. Evelyn was born with Meconium, so I didn't even get to see her for about 15 minutes while the nurses were sucking everything out of her. It was more real for me to have Clark on my chest right after. It was just amazing. With Evelyn, I was in labor for about 10 hours and pushed for an hour. With Clark, labor was about 6 hours with 2 pushes. He was 7 pounds 15 ounces and 20 inches long. This labor went so much smoother than Evelyn's and I'm actually grateful I chose to be induced. Clark was born with lots of dark hair and the nurses kept commenting on his"pouty" face where he would stick out his bottom lip and of course his long fingers and toes. I guess all of our children will be blessed with those. :) I tore a little more than with Evelyn so I needed a couple of stitches. I've been comparing this pregnancy and labor to Evelyn's and I don't know if it's due to me doing this before or what, but everything went so much better and smoother. Including recovery. I left the hospital the next day and everything has been going well since. Clark is just a joy to have in our family. We love this boy and are so grateful to have him in our family. Now enjoy a photo overload. Don't mind Evelyn's face covered in ice cream or how awful I looked for our first family pic (minus Evelyn) at the hospital. I wish someone told me before we took it! Also, Clark's "going home" outfit has a jacket that says "Daddy's Little Rock Star". It's so perfect for a son of Andy's. Enjoy the pics!