Welcome to the World, Clayton Michael

Our precious Clayton Michael Zorio was born at 9:31am on Monday, March 21, 2016, at Saint Mary's Birthing and Midwifery Center at Saint Mary's Physicians Regional Medical Center-the same hospital where I was born 30 years ago and where Nora Kate was born 2.5 years ago AND where Carter was born almost 4 years ago! 

Clayton's official due date was Wednesday, March 16th.  That day came and went without any signs that Clayton would be making his grand entrance any time soon.  In fact, I didn't really feel like he would come on that day so much so that I took the kids to the zoo.  We had a great time at the zoo and were continuing to enjoy Dawson's Spring Break.  Ever since I had put Clayton's due date on the calendar and realized it was during the middle of Dawson's spring break, I had been hoping that Clayton would be late.  That way I would have an extra few days of doing fun things with all three kids home before we welcomed Clayton.  I thought this would be extra special time.  Well, Clayton must have listened to me voice this wish because he waited!
Dawson's first day back to school was to be Monday, March 21st.  At 1:05 am on Monday, March 21st I had my first contraction!  He barely waited for spring break to be officially over! Isn't that funny?!  And perfect!
Let me go back for just a minute though...So I had planned our spring break week REALLY full, but by Saturday we were out of things to do and I was starting to get just a tiny bit impatient!  We came up with more projects and fun activities to do with the kids to fill the weekend and we spent a ton of time outside! 
During the night on Saturday night I was awake for about an hour and a half having contractions, but then they suddenly stopped! They weren't really strong, but it was still disappointing when they stopped.  Sunday I had a really dull backache all day, but I thought this could be due to not sleeping well and the contractions the night before.  Sunday was Palm Sunday so we got the kids up and went the church.  They were excited to wave their palm branches, and I got a lot of comments of, "I didn't expect to see you here!" To which I responded, "I didn't expect to be here! I thought we would be having a baby by now!"  :)
Sunday afternoon even though we didn't know how soon it would be, John and I tried to get things lined up for the week knowing that Clayton would probably come some time within the week.  And then we were able to go out on a date for dinner.  We decided to go to Buffalo Wild Wings and have hot wings hoping the spicy dinner might help put me into labor.  I actually did have three fairly strong contractions while we were at dinner, but then nothing else.  We went home, put the kids in bed, and watched a little tv before going to bed for the night.  As we went to bed I told John, "Sorry! Looks like no baby this weekend, so you'll be going to work tomorrow!" 
I was scheduled to have a doctor's appointment mid-morning on Monday for them to recheck everything with Clayton was still healthy and for them to perform the nonstress test.  All weekend I hoped that I would go into labor before the appointment on Monday.
At 1:05 on Monday morning I woke up having a strong contraction.  I got up and walked around downstairs in our house.  I was hoping these contractions wouldn't stop like they had the night before.  With the previous kids, all my contractions started out being 10 (or more minutes apart), but these from the first contraction at 1:05 on were never further apart than 7 minutes.  I was determined to labor at home as long as possible.  At about 2:15am I woke John up and told him I had been having contractions for about an hour and I wanted him to know, but I also wanted him to sleep just a little bit longer while I kept moving and made sure these weren't going to stop.  During this time I painted my nails, did a load of laundry, finished the ironing, packed Dawson's lunch for school, and wrote out instructions for taking care of Dawson, Carter, and Nora Kate.  All the while my contractions were getting stronger and closer.  This is the reason it's so nice to labor at home as long as possible-doing all these little chores is a welcomed distraction that makes it go by faster.
I was hoping that we could stay at the house long enough to get Dawson off to school (he leaves for school at 7:15), but I was beginning to wonder if this was going to be possible.  I finished all my chores downstairs, and I headed up to Clayton's room to start packing his items for the hospital.  I was sitting in the floor picking out his hats for the hospital when John suddenly opened the door to Clayton's room.  (This is my favorite part to hear John telling people because he says he just woke up and went downstairs to look for me.  He couldn't find me so he came up to Clayton's room where he says I was just casually sitting on the floor organizing Clayton's clothes like it was no big deal. Hah!)  During the 5 minutes John and I spent talking about our plan for going to the hospital I had 2 strong contractions-yes, during just 5 minutes! They were getting a lot closer together fast! 
John was ready to go to the hospital right then! But I needed to shower and pack our bags.  He called Nana and Grandad to come over to stay with the kids who were still sleeping while I showered and packed.  I went in and kissed all the kids goodbye but didn't wake them up.
We left to make the 40 minute drive to the hospital a little after 5am.  I was a little frustrated with myself that I had only labored at home for about 4 and a half hours because this worried me that I would have a lot of laboring time left in the hospital which I didn't want.  (During my 32 hour labor with Carter I spent 16 hours of that at the hospital, and those 16 hours were the longest because there are no distractions once you're at the hospital...so I had this in the back of my mind the whole time I was determined to stay home as long as possible.)  But by the time that we had gotten out of the neighborhood I had already had two very strong contractions in that short amount of time.  They were getting much stronger and I was starting to feel differently.  I could feel Clayton pushing down a lot more.  John was driving faster than usual (it had been a joke between John and I since we got our new van in December that I would NOT be allowed to have Clayton in the van on the way to the hospital, and I think with the pace that the contractions were speeding up to John was starting to get concerned this joke could be a reality).  Haha!  He pulled out of the neighborhood and was going faster than usual and the first car we passed was a police officer.  Thankfully though we weren't going fast enough to catch his attention.  Driving to the hospital at 5:30am there was not much traffic at all so it seemed relatively quick. 
I called the doctor while we were in the car.  One of the midwives was on call for answering and she verified that this was my 4th child, I was 5 days past my due date, and she didn't even ask how far apart the contractions were before telling to go straight to the hospital now.  Good thing we were already on our way! I also text my parents and told them that we were headed to the hospital!  I had planned and REALLY wanted to text a few more friends that we were headed to the hospital, but the contractions were still getting closer so I just turned my phone to silent and focused on Clayton.  Thankfully John did a good job of posting on facebook that we were at the hospital and texting some people the exciting news!
We got to the hospital at 6am (I had been in labor 5 hours at this point) and they examined me in triage for what seemed like 5 minutes (as opposed to the leisurely examinations I had there with Carter and Nora Kate that probably lasted an hour while they watched my contractions on the monitor).  The nurse, Julie, who checked us in asked how far apart the contractions were.  I told her about 4 minutes although when we were in the car I hadn't been timing them as much since I knew we were on our way to the hospital.  She said, "They're closer than that! They're more like every 2-3 minutes!"  She also said she could tell things were progressing quickly and I was at 4cm so she wanted to go ahead and get us set up in a room.  The labor and deliver floor was really quiet and it felt like we had all the nurses to ourselves.  Not a lot of babies were being born at this time!  It was great-I won't turn down being the center of attention-hah!
We had delivered in Room 26 and Room 27 before but this time we were in Room 15 which was on the opposite side of the hallway.  We opened the blinds and there was a beautiful sunrise the morning Clayton was born!  The nurses changed shifts at 7am, and I was thrilled with our two new nurses-Gail and Kiley.  They were SO great! They were very calm and encouraging.  They said they had already talked to Dr. Brabson who was on his way to the hospital.  At 7am I was 6cm (so in one hour I had progressed 2cm!) I was excited because this was going so much faster than with my previous deliveries.  Just for comparison I was induced with Dawson, labored 14 hours then had a C-section; with Carter I was in labor 32 hours; with Nora Kate 19 hours.  I knew Dr. Brabson had told me my labor would probably be shorter this time with it being our 4th, but I still didn't think it would be less than 12 hours long.  So I was SO excited with how quickly it was going.
As I said, our nurses were great! From the time their shift started at 7, I don't think there was a time that at least one of them wasn't in the room with us until several hours after Clayton was born.  When there was nothing for them to do they sat in the chairs and talked to us.  It was a welcomed distraction that made my labor go by so much faster than just John and I being in the room together by ourselves while the nurses watched the monitors from the nurses station.  Having them in the room was also helpful, because just when I would think they weren't really paying much attention and were just talking to John they would say things like, "Jessica, I can tell you're tensing up by looking at your arms.  Try to relax your arm."  This was really helpful because a lot of their little tips like this were things that I didn't really even realize I was doing.  Dr. Brabson spent a lot of time in the room with us too just monitoring everything and visiting with us (mostly John) and the nurses.  It was nice having the doctor and nurses in the room monitoring everything, but in a laid back manner.
I want to go back for a second and mention that the entire week before Clayton was born (the week of my actual due date) Dr. Brabson was out of town!  I was so disappointed when I learned this because I REALLY wanted him to deliver Clayton...but, honestly, by the time Clayton was about 3 days late I had decided I would be good with whoever did the delivery! Haha!  Well, the morning that I went into labor was the first day Dr. Brabson was back!  Yet another thing that Clayton could not have timed more perfectly!! 
I had requested not to have an IV going unless it was necessary, so they put the IV in just in case there was an emergency where they needed access quickly but then closed it off.  This is what I had with Carter and Nora Kate too which is nice not to be connected to the IV (and I think it's why I didn't get as swollen because they aren't giving me unnecessary fluids).  When I was thirsty I drank water so I wasn't dehydrated, so really no fluids were needed. 
I did have the monitors on my stomach monitoring Clayton's heartrate and my contractions, but these were the ones I could move around with so I didn't really feel trapped to anything which was nice.  So at 7am I was 6cm and the nurses asked what I wanted to do, I asked for the ball to sit on.  Everything was going great and I knew there was no way that I could have stayed at home until 7:15 when Dawson left for school.  Around this time my water broke and I could tell things were getting more intense.  From about 7:15 until 8:50 I sat on the birthing ball, we watched the beautiful sunrise out the window, visited with the nurses and doctor, and, of course, labored.  My contractions were only about 2-3 minutes apart, but I was still feeling like this was manageable to have Clayton naturally.  John was so encouraging during this time too which helps so much, telling me how good I was doing!  He was great about asking me what I needed-ice chips? more water? cool washcloth for my head? chapstick?  He remembered all these needs from Dawson, Carter, and Nora Kate!
At 8:50 I felt like I wanted to get off the ball and get in bed.  The nurse suggested that I lay on my left side for a minute.  She said sometimes this helps you move quickly from 8 to 10 cm which is where she was guessing I was.  They hadn't checked me again, but the doctor and nurse said from what I was describing this was about where they thought I was.  I had never heard this about laying on your left side, but I was willing to try it!  Well, she was right! I probably only laid on my left side for maybe 15 minutes before I told them it was definitely time to push! 
With Nora Kate I only had to push through 3 contractions, and Dr. Brabson had told me at several doctor's appointments that it would probably only be 3 contractions or less for Clayton since Nora Kate had been so quick.  I was thrilled about this, but this was the only little surprise.  So as I have mentioned in all of my posts about Clayton-he moved CONSTANTLY when I was pregnant! I mean constantly! Remember how he had been head down at 35 weeks then flipped to breech at 36 weeks and then flipped back?!  Yes, constantly moving!  Well, even when I was having contractions I could still feel him kicking and moving (more than any of the other kids when I was in labor).  Well, at some point he flipped from facing my back (like he was supposed to be) to being "sunny side up."  As I was telling them it was time to push, Dr. Brabson was telling me that he had flipped face up.  He said this was completely fine, but that I would have to push for longer.  I wasn't thrilled about pushing longer, but I was so ready to meet him at this point!  I definitely pushed longer, but it still wasn't horrible!
After pushing for about 20 minutes at 9:31am we welcomed Clayton Michael Zorio to the world!  I got to hold him immediately.  All we could say was how precious he was and SURPRISE he has hair!!  A lot of dark hair!!!  All of our babies have had no hair or just peach fuzz, so this was a huge surprise!!  Also, we noticed how he looked bigger than our other babies (fuller cheeks) and looked longer!  We noted how big his hands and feet looked...and look at those LONG fingernails.  The whole time I was holding him (even when the umbilical cord was still attached) Clayton was kicking his legs like crazy!  The nurse even commented on how active he was moving his legs around!  I said, "I know!!! This is how much he moved in the womb!!"  We had requested that the cord not be cut until after it stopped pulsing and that John get to cut it like he did before.  So when it was time, John cut the cord! 
The nurse checked Clayton out while I was holding him and nursing him.  His temperature was great so I continued to hold him for over an hour.  Finally after he was a little over an hour old, I said, "Okay, I really want to know how much he weighs now!"  So they weighed him on the baby scale in the room with us.  My guess had been 7 pounds 13 ounces (because that was both Dawson and Carter's birth weights -- Nora Kate was 7 pounds even), and John's guess was 7 pounds 14 ounces.  Well, we were both surprised when he weighed 8 pounds 4 ounces!!  Not only was he the heaviest baby, he was also the longest at 21 inches! 
After he was weighed and measured John and I took turns holding him.  Finally, when he was between 3 and 4 hours old, we gave him his first bath.  John has helped with the first bath of all of our kids, but with Clayton John and I both gave the first bath.  The nurse brought everything in our room so we could both stand and give him a bath.  It was so nice.  In addition to having two nurses to ourselves, another benefit of the hospital not being busy at all on this day was that we got to pretty much do things when we were ready.  Clayton's first bath was very leisurly.  The nurse was in the room, but John and I got to do it all which I loved!
Clayton has been a happy and content baby since he was born!  He ate great starting the first hours after being born!  He has been so easy! 
That evening Clayton got to meet his big brothers, big sister, and grandparents!  All three kids were WAY more interested in Clayton than I expected!  It has been so sweet! They were SO, SO excited!! 
Clayton's first night was the best first night we have ever had with a new baby!  He would wake up, eat, go right back to sleep...it was amazing!!!  I actually felt rested the next morning when we woke up.  We had asked if we could go home the day after Clayton was born, and so Tuesday was full everyone coming to check on us in order to discharge us-Dr. Brabson, the pediatrician, the hearing screening, the birth certificate paperwork, etc. 
We also had a few friends visit us and meet Clayton at the hospital!  We were thrilled that these friends came to the hospital especially since we weren't there that long! 
On Tuesday afternoon, we checked out of the hospital.  I had been feeling great and just taking Motrin for pain, so I felt good about going home.  We had the same two great nurses on Tuesday we had had on Monday, and they took TONS of pictures of us leaving the hospital (how many people have a "first elevator ride" picture of their baby-haha!).  It made it a lot of fun.  While the weather had been really, really warm for March, the day we went home from the hospital it was a little chilly, but it was still a beautiful, clear, and sunny day!  We drove home where the kids were waiting and were SO excited to see Clayton!  All three kids want to hold him CONSTANTLY!  Especially Nora Kate! Nora Kate would probably sit and hold him for hours on end if I would let her!
We are loving every minute as a family of SIX!!  It's hard to believe that in the short 8 years John and I have been married we have grown to a family of SIX!!
Clayton is such a sweet and precious baby and we feel very blessed to have our three wonderful boys and one wonderful girl!

So finally...

On to the pictures...

This picture of me was taken about 35 minutes before Clayton was born!

The clock in the room where Clayton was born at 9:31am

Our first picture with Clayton! He's 3 minutes old!

Official weight: 8 pounds 4 ounces

Lungs work great!

This little frown looks like Dawson and Nora Kate's little frowns when they were babies!

look at this hair!!!

I realized I didn't mention his eyes.  We aren't totally sure what color they are yet, BUT we are thinking they are brown.  They still look blue like most newborns but they have a little bit of a brown look toward the center..maybe.  It's so hard to tell.

We took several little treat bags of "sweets" as a thank you for the nurses and doctors for helping us welcome our "sweet" Clayton!

Thoughtful Clayton had gifts waiting for his big brothers when they first came to the hospital to meet him!

The peppermint sticks John has been handing out!

(Dawson was so excited he was determined to take these to school to give to a few of the teachers too!)

Me and Clayton when he was about 3 hours old.

Clayton meeting Dawson!

Clayton meeting Carter!

Sweet sibling kisses!

Probably my favorite picture of Nora Kate meeting Clayton!

Lolly meeting Clayton.

Nana meeting Clayton.

Zorio Party of SIX!

With Dr. Brabson who delivered Clayton

(and Nora Kate and Carter)

Lauren and Harper came to meet Clayton at the hospital!

Dawson was so sweet he wanted to bring Clayton balloons and a stuffed animal to the hospital!

Sweet siblings excited to meet baby brother at the hospital!!

Alana and Jessica visited us at the hospital!

Clayton after a great 1st night!

Look at those cheeks!!!!

Clayton's first car ride home from the hospital

With our wonderful nurses Gail and Kiley before leaving the hospital.

Car ride home from the hospital.

Leaving the hospital!

Leaving the hospital!

Goodbye Labor and Deliver Room 15! We are headed home!

In front of the anchor door décor which displays Clayton's name, birth time, weight, date, and length.  It's now hanging in his nautical themed nursery!

Clayton's first elevator ride (haha!)

Heading home!

Leaving the hospital!