birth | Claire Elizabeth

So on Sunday, May 20th, I’m laying in bed getting ready to fall asleep around 10pm … and all of a sudden, my phone makes the most obnoxious texting sound ever (thank you, Randy – my husband – for making it sound like a blow horn!) … and immediately I knew who it was and what it was about … my friend Amy telling me she is in labor! I immediately got re-dressed and headed down to Evans Army Medical Center down on Fort Carson. For those of you who have never been to Evans, especially in the middle of the night, it’s the most confusing hospital on the face of the entire planet. It took me 20 minutes walking around the dang place trying to figure out how to get to the third floor since all of the elevators would only go to the second floor (hint :: find the TOWER elevators!). Once I got up to the labor and delivery unit though, it was smooth sailing. The entire nursing staff and the doctors were all absolutely wonderful, helpful and kind (which is a BIG difference in my own experiences with military medical, but that’s a story for another day, ha ha!).

Amy was in labor room 3, and I walked in and she was full of smiles and laughs. Seriously??? She was already 6cm when I got there (she had been at 4cm when she came in), and was bound and determined to have Claire completely naturally. Chris (Amy’s husband) ran home to pick up some supplies (since Amy hadn’t packed her hospital bag yet), so I got to hang out with her before the party really got started. Amy and I had been talking about me being there to photograph Claire’s arrival for a few months, because Chris had been serving overseas in Afghanistan and we weren’t yet sure when he’d be home. Thank God he made it home literally LAST week! But I was still invited to be there, and I am so grateful.

Around 1am, Chris and Cindra (Amy’s mom, who flew all the way in from Georgia the night before) returned and the doctor decided to break Amy’s water to get the ball rolling because she was “clearly way too happy to be in active labor” (his words, not mine!). Amy and I joked about her pain scale was at a “6.25” (out of a 10) …

At this point, it’s about 2am and Amy’s contractions started getting a bit more intense (past the 6.25 point, for sure) … The contractions were coming right on top of each other, but Amy soldiered through them with just a grimace on her face … I was absolutely amazed.

That last picture was the “Oh my God, I’m *only* at 7cm??!” face. Not going to lie – me, Chris and Cindra all got a big chuckle out of her reaction. We all thought for sure it was about to be go time! Transition started right after that last shot, the point of labor between 7cm and 10cm. It got pretty quiet in the room during this time, focusing on trying our best to coach Amy, console her, encourage her and just BE THERE for her as much as any of us could be. Cindra was fanning her and Chris was putting cold compresses on her face – it was really a group effort toward the end. Chris did a GREAT job as a coach! I do have to say though, some of the contractions reminded me of scenes from The Exorcist … I’d never seen someone deliver naturally, so it was definitely a new experience for me!

This was 2:51am on May 21st at this point. After I snapped that last shot, Amy yelled out “She is coming NOW!” and I ran out into the hallway, I could hear Cindra telling Amy that I had gone to get the doctor … I ran back inside the room, the nurse ran in right after me and Claire was literally coming out right then and there. It was INTENSE. The nurse had time to toss on gloves and with the next contraction, Claire was born!

I got a shot of Cindra looking at the doctor as he rushed in as the nurse was essentially catching Claire … and then the look on Amy’s face as she realized she had done it – she had done labor completely naturally!

Claire Elizabeth made her way into the world at 2:54am on May 21st. She weighed in at 7 lb 5 oz and was 20 inches long.

It was such an amazing experience. I am so, so thankful to have been there and able to capture these wonderful memories for the O’Neal family.
Before I left for home, I took a few more shots of Chris and Amy with Claire.