Clark's Birth Story

I. Am. Terrible. But also busy with two kids under two years old. I have just now gotten around to typing up Clark's birth story. Side note: I am determined to do everything that I did for Max, for Clark. Whether it be a pregnancy journal, a "Baby's Book of Firsts," doing a blog post about their announcement, baby shower, birth, month milestones, etc. I just want to be sure that whatever was special for our firstborn is also special for our second. With that being said, here is the short and sweet, non-graphic birth story of Clark Ash!

Clark's "due date" was May 27, 2022. But because I had a C-section with my first, we just went ahead and scheduled for Clark to be born (by C-section) on May 23, 2022 (unless my water broke before then). I was actually worried that my water would break since it did with Max. We made it! My last day of work before summer break - since I work for the school system - was Friday, May 20th. So I had the weekend and then it was bright and early Monday morning surgery for me!

We got to the hospital extremely early, went to the wrong section of the hospital, had to be escorted through a few different wings, and then we finally were taken to our room. They prepped me for surgery, and I actually got to walk to the operation room. So crazy!? Since LAST time my C-section was an emergency, this was totally different. Everyone was so so nice and calm. Which, in turn, allowed me to remain calm. Boom, boom, boom. There was a lot of pushing and pressing as well as talking between the doctors ... then we heard a little baby cry. They lifted him over the sheet for me to see and the first thing I said was, "He looks like Max." He was born at 7:33 AM on May 23, 2022 at 8 lbs 10 oz and 20.5 inches long. They cleaned the baby up, cleaned me up, handed Clark to Justin, and then we were finally ready to head back to the original prep room. There, we would have an hour with him alone, get checked again, and then get moved to the recovery mother/baby wing.

Once we were there, they said that visitors were allowed. Yet again a totally different experience than with Max. Since he was a (dare I say the word) Covid baby, we weren't allowed to have any visitors whatsoever. Once we were there a while, each set of our parents, siblings, and a couple friends were able to come by over the course of the time we were there. He was such a quiet and sweet baby in the hospital - truly, hardly said a word or cried at all. I will still to this day say that it was because the Lord knew that I couldn't have handled a screaming baby during the hospital stay because I was in so much pain. I will always be thankful that Clark was literally an angel baby while we were in the hospital. We decided not to have Max meet Clark for the first time in the hospital. We wanted him to be home, on his turf, when they met. So we only FaceTimed him while we were there.

The first post-pregnancy meal I requested after BOTH boys was Firehouse Subs. The New York Steamer? To die. Once we were ready to go home, we were ready. That, we felt a *little* more comfortable with this time because we had done it once before. We planned for both sets of grandparents to be waiting at our house with Max. Then we would walk in with Clark and introduce the boys to each other. Max was very curious and interested, gave him a kiss, and agreed to hold him. Other than that, he soon was more interested in his toys and that all of his grandparents were at his house. The first night, as is usual, was rough because you are learning to deal with not only ONE child at bedtime ... but two! They kept waking each other up, so I immediately pulled up Amazon and ordered under-the-door sound and light blockers. It was worlds better once we got those. My sweet brother and sister-in-law came early the next morning with breakfast. It had never tasted so good! Haha*

Overall, I am so so thankful to my nurses, doctor, and all the staff that assisted during the surgeries and after. It could have gone badly, but it didn't ... and I have God to thank for that! He had His hand on all of those people, and on us. Clark, we can't believe you've been here for a while now. We love you so.