Welcome To The World Baby Clayton

Natalie has one of those birthing stories that most mother's only dream of!

Three weeks before her baby was born she was surprised to find out at her Dr. appt. that she was already dilated 3 cm. & 70% effaced. :) They also said that her fluid levels were on the low side, so they had her go in for non-stress tests every two or three days. With all those ultrasounds, there was no mistaking that she was having another B-O-Y! :)

I decided that I had better fly out to Utah sooner than planned if I wanted to be there before the baby arrived.

At her 38 week check-up the midwife told her she was dilated to 4.5- 5 cm and 90% effaced! Wow-that's half way to delivery already! Other than the baby being extremely low and uncomfortable that way, she was feeling pretty good.

We kept busy working on several different projects waiting for the baby to decide when his birthday was going to be.

On October 2, a week before her due date, Natalie's water broke at about 1:45 AM. Upon discovering Jack in the hallway "gathering things", I excitedly jumped out of bed and went upstairs. Natalie was calmly sitting on their bed and would close her eyes and relax in a self hypnotic state with each contraction. She and Jack had practiced the "Hypnobabies" program during her whole pregnancy. It was AMAZING!

She decided to have a bowl of cereal before leaving for the hospital. Natalie asked me if I would go to the hospital with them and I was THRILLED to be invited! I ran downstairs and jumped in my clothes, grabbed my bag with my laptop & pillow. We called Jordan to come stay with Jackson, but decided there wasn't time to wait for her, so Jack called a neighbor. It took her about 15 minutes to get there from around the corner---I guess that whole thing of being wakened at 2 AM could be the reason?? Ha

That was a long 15 minute wait .......

Getting in the car to head to the hospital -Natalie
can still manage a smile :)

Fortunately, the hospital is only 6 or 7 blocks from their house.
When we arrived Natalie wanted to go straight to the birthing room. They sent her to the triage room, told her change into the gown and they would
come in and check on her in about 5 minutes. She said "Uhhh...they'd better
not wait that long!!"

Meanwhile, I was parking the car and struggling to get in the door with Jack's backpack, Natalie's bag, my bag, the cd player, & the big exercise/birthing ball. I wish I had a picture of me kicking the ball down the hall and struggling with all the bags & cd player etc. I'm sure I was quite comical looking.

As the door opened for me to go back to labor & delivery I noticed several nurses running down the hall. I dropped one of the bags on a chair and hurried around the corner to Natalie's room.

The nurses were running around like they didn't really know quite what they were doing. I wasn't sure who was in charge at that point, everyone just seemed to be caught off guard.

Amid all the hustle and bustle, Natalie was so calm...but things were happening fast! She was barely up on the bed, & the midwife asked her if she could move over. She said she couldn't and the midwife said "Oh ok, this is perfect!" ha They hadn't even gotten her ID bracelet on or inserted the IV line for her antibiotics. She had tested positive for Strep B at a previous Dr. appt. so was supposed to get to the hospital 4 hours before giving birth in order to get antibiotics to the baby.

10-15 minutes after arriving at the hospital...

Clayton Max Shirts
was Born at 2:53 AM
6 lbs 13 oz 20" long

October 2, 2010

I think Natalie was still undecided on the baby's name, but Jack asked if I wanted to know it... OF COURSE I DO! His middle name is Max after Jack's grandpa. Later that day they decided his first name would be Clayton.

Mommy's first kiss :)

Clayton had small tear in his lungs and fluid that didn't get pushed out as he was born so quickly. They ran some tests and monitored him for a while. Thankfully, everything turned out great.

After the whirlwind birth and they had taken the baby to the nursery to be monitored and measured etc., Natalie and I just sat in her room looking at each other. She said calmly with a smile and look of amazement on her face-- "Well, I guess that's that!!!" It was so funny! It had all happened so quickly that that's exactly how it felt! :) :)

It looks like Clayton may have red hair--it runs

on both Natalie & Jack's sides of the family

She was up and walking about 20 minutes after having the baby! Like I said, "AMAZING!!" The hypnobabies method had kept her calm, and her muscles relaxed so that she didn't tense up and the birth was able to happen freely. It was a beautiful experience.

Look at those tiny footprints-narrow feet like Mommy
NOT enjoying his first bath
His coloring was great--so pink, no jaundice for

this little guy

Proud Daddy

Jackson taking a peek at his new baby brother and giving

him his first kiss

"I'M THE BIG BROTHER!!"

Natalie got Jackson his own baby to take care of
He loved carrying it around all wrapped up in
a blanket.

Leaving the hospital October 3 at 10 PM

(Ya gotta love insurance...it was that or leave at 2:53 AM ha)

What a beautiful family of 4 !!

I was so proud of Natalie! It was a very special experience to be able to be there and witness the birth of our grandson. Thanks Natalie & Jack!