Now Introducing: Owen Alexander Clark!

A typical Friday for Graham and me usually includes a trip to Gymboree class and running some errands. What it does not typically include, however, is my water breaking in the parking lot of the United States Post Office.

Now, it wasn't quite like what you see in the movies. It was more like me looking around wide eyed and thinking, "Hmmm, did I just pee my pants a little?" As many pregnant women know, this (peeing just a little bit) is not necessarily an unusual occurrence. But I had been having this weird Mommy Intuition about our little Owen all week. So, instead of heading to the airport to pick up my good friend Cristyn, I drove home first to assess the situation. I decided that my water indeed had broken.

I called Alex, who was literally at the gate waiting to board a plane to Pennsylvania for a wedding, and said, "Hey babe, I don't want to be over dramatic or anything but I think my water broke". So, he scooped up his things, went to find Cristyn (talk about perfect timing) and drove the 10 minutes home to pick me up. Here is a photo of us ready to head to the birth center.

Next, some documentation of the bump that I've been putting together. I was going to wait until 36 weeks to post. But since Owen had other plans we snapped a few baby bump photos before we left.


We arrived at the birth center at 2:20 p.m. (water broke at 12:30 p.m.) and were placed into triage to be monitored and readied for the birthing room. Mind you, I was not having any painful contractions yet. I was having what I thought to be Braxton Hicks contractions, which are really just my uterus hardening - no pain at all, my stomach just gets really hard. When they checked me to see if I was dilated they found me to be fully effaced, 4.5 cm dilated, and Owen's head was extremely low. We were really surprised at my progress especially for not having any pain.

The next few hours were spent relaxing in our birthing room. They didn't check me again until 5:30 and, unfortunately, there was no change. So, they started me on a little Pitocin and things began to rock and roll! The Pitocin caused my contractions to come closer together and become more intense... fast. My epidural was administered at about 6:45 p.m. I literally went from no pain to "are they coming?" in less than an hour. Once the epidural was in, things went extremely fast. There was a lot of hustle and bustle due to the nurses switching shifts and calling the doctor and baby nurses and getting them to the room. Then it was time to push. I pushed through 2 sets of contractions and little Owen arrived - albeit 30 days early.

Owen Alexander Clark
Born 7/1/11 at 7:30 p.m.
5 lbs 13 oz, 19 3/4 inches

Tonight, Momma and Daddy got to hold Owen for the first time. He spent his first night on earth attached to a CPAP machine along with countless other wires that made holding him impossible. However, Owen has been improving rapidly. His lungs, rather than being underdeveloped, were determined to be "wet," and his breathing has since improved to the point where he is now taking in "room air." Owen still has air being pushed through his lungs through small tubes, but this is just as an aide.

Owen's next big step will be eating. He is currently taking his nourishment through IV... a "scientific umbilical cord," as it were. As soon as he starts showing interest in milk, he will be one step closer to leaving the NICU. Finally, Owen has been decked out in a sweet tanning bed to combat oncoming jaundice - a common occurrence among Colorado Springs babies that his brother, Graham, dealt with as well.

Owen's timeline for returning home has been placed at anywhere between one week and his original due date (July 31). Momma and Daddy are hoping for closer to the former!