Claire Annalise Mann

The link to the kodakgallery newborn pics can be found at: http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=823003204805%3A1762770256

So, I've been MIA for a while. You know, having a baby and all :) This is my official post announcing Claire's birth and giving a shout out to all who have visited and helped out these first couple of weeks. We are so blessed to have you in our lives!

Claire Annalise Mann was born 9/30/09 at 5:41pm. She weighed 7 lbs 4 oz and measured 20 inches long. Her arrival via C-section was scheduled for Monday, October 12th. After going into false labor the week before and having contractions every 5 minutes for a total of 4-5 hours, being admitted to the hospital and getting a shot to stop the contractions and sent home, she decided to come early after all!

Birth Story: The first time we went to the hospital, the contractions weren't making any changes. On Wednesday at work I was having really bad back pain (to the point that sitting down was pretty painful). Driving home from work was a challenge so w/ persuasion from Emily I decided to call the doctor and make an appt. BUT, they were closed for lunch from 12:00-1:00 so I had to wait till 1:00. I picked the kids up and had them home for 20 minutes and took them back to make a 2:00 doctors appt. At this point the back pain had stopped (of course) but on the way to the doctor the contractions started. When I got to the doctor, she "checked" me and I was "making changes" so she hooked me up to the contraction monitor to see regular contractions and determine I was in actual labor.

So, at 3:00 they sent me over to labor and delivery and I thought I had way more time than I ended up having due to the last time I had eaten. I thought I had to wait till 6:00 or 7:00 for surgery, but turns out the doctor said 5:00. SO, I had sent Todd home to "pick up a few things" and say bye to the kids, drop of stuff for them, etc. So he of course got to the hospital 30 minutes before I was scheduled to go into surgery. THEN, I had to send him to get the video camera and camera and duffle bag out of my car that was parked at the doctor's office. He had to go catch a shuttle, get the stuff and shuttle back to the labor & delivery area. He basically had time to put his scrubs on and I was sent off to surgery. He got to come in about 20 minutes after they sent me. Claire was "born" at 5:41pm with a full head of dark hair!!! She came out exercising her lungs to the fullest and looking great! I made it through surgery w/ out too much anxiety due to the fast pace in which everything went.

When we came back to our room, Mamaw (my mom), Grandma (Todd's mom) and Grandma & Grandpa (my dad and stepmom) were there awaiting her arrival. We still weren't sure on a name-we were going back and forth between Ava Claire and Claire Annalise. As most of you know, Taylor had an issue w/ the name Ava and really didn't like that. That was part of the reason we ended up steearing clear of it and in the end Claire is a sweet, girly, classic, timeless name paired with a just as pretty middle name to match with our beautiful, sweet little girl. And Taylor was SUPER happy that we picked Claire. The smile on his face when he found out what we named her was great! We are so happy to have Claire with us as part of our family-she has made us complete and we are so blessed to have her! And my shout outs:

• Thank you SO MUCH to Andy & Emily for taking the kids overnight the first night. We really appreciate it, especially with no notice! Also, Em, thank you for bringing the boys up to meet Claire shortly after her birth and sending them w/ flowers for me-you really made their visit special and they were so happy to bring the flowers!
  
• Thank you to Angie for taking the kids in the afternoon after watching them all morning!


• Thank you to Grandma's & Grandpa's and Mamaw & Papaw for all your help when she was born(staying w/ us for a couple of days to help out, making us dinner, cleaning the house, buying things for Claire that we needed, etc.) We couldn't have done it without you!


• Thanks to our neighbors, James & Michelle, who don't read this but thought I would include them-for making us dinner one night. Very thoughtful!


• Thank you to Grandma's & Grandpa's, Mamaw & Papaw, Aunt Ali, Uncle Scott, Emily & Andy, Cheryl, Kim (& Ben) and Kristen for visiting us in the hospital! It was good to see you! Thank you to Stephanie for visiting us at home once we were home!


• Thank you to Jim & Jeri for their visit and to Sara & Ian for visiting and bringing dinner-you rock and my kids appreciate the entertainment! Sorry I forgot to take pics!