Cuatro

Oh, Boy.  It has been a crazy and wonderful few weeks.  On December 3, we welcomed the fourth member of our family.  Clara Afton Hansen was born at 9:27 p.m. and weighed 8 lb. 14 oz!!  If you would have told me she was that big, I never would have believed it.  That's almost 2 pounds bigger than her sister!  And with almost hourly feedings, she's not slowing down!
Thanks to our moms, everything went pretty smoothly for the first couple of weeks.  Obachan was fortunately able to come down a few anxious days before Clara got here.  She hung out with Ada and we all distracted ourselves by decorating for Christmas. 

The night we put the Christmas tree up, I started feeling slightly stronger contractions than I had been feeling for weeks.  Even though it was 3 days past her due date, I wasn't feeling very optimistic about something happening.  I was able to sleep that night, and had an appointment with the midwife, Tisha, the next morning.  I was finally checked (I'd been putting it off for fear of getting my hopes up) and was dilated to a 5 or 6!  I still assumed it would be a while, but that maybe she would come in the next day or two or three.  After the appointment, I came home and took a nap, being able to sleep between increasingly painful contractions.  After sitting on the exercise ball and taking a bath to relax, I decided that maybe Bryan and I should go into Labor and Delivery.  It was almost 7:00p.m.  Because the contractions still weren't very regular, I was worried they would send us home, but luckily we only live 3 blocks from the hospital, so it wasn't going to be a big waste of time.  I had a few more contractions on the drive there and as we were checking in, and by the time I was checked in Triage, I was at an 8 or 9!!  I couldn't believe it!  My first thought was that I wasn't going to be able to labor in the tub, but the nurse told me she would go fill it and I could get in right away.
At the appointment, Tisha had told me that if I went into labor that night, to have them try to call her.  She wasn't on call, but because I wanted to have an unmedicated birth, she would try to come in.  Luckily, we timed it right and she was able to make it.  I stayed in the tub for close to an hour, and it was great.  I was feeling the pain with each contraction, but was able to relax in between.  Bryan stayed by me the whole time and encouraged me.  Tisha would just come in to check on me (and dim the lights so it was a calmer atmosphere), but then leave us alone. 
Finally, after Bryan realized I was getting a lot more vocal with the contractions, I decided I needed to get out.  I wanted to sit on the birthing ball for comfort, but after one contraction, I felt the need to push.  With a lot of assistance, I got up on the bed and laid on my side.  After about 15 minutes of pushing, Clara was here!!  They immediately put her on my chest, and Tisha told me to feel the cord pulsing.  It wasn't something I'd ever imagined I would experience, and it was amazing!  Actually, everything about the whole birth was amazing.  It happened so fast and was so dreamlike that we couldn't have asked for it to be any better! 

Recovery went really well, and Clara was healthy and hungry from the beginning.  Bryan and I were sure she would have jaundice, but (we think) because she nursed so often, that bilirubin never had a chance.

Obachan brought Ada in the next morning, and the sisters bonded instantly.  I was a little worried about how Ada would react, but she didn't seem to be phased at all by the fact that her little sister was now on the outside of my belly.  It was like she already knew her! 

Then Ada learned how to help take care of the new baby by practicing swaddling.

Obachan stayed for a few more days (thank goodness) and Ojichan was able to fly down for a night to meet Clara.  Then we had our first night alone with two kids.  It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be, but we knew the next day, Grandma was coming down.
Grandma stayed with us for four days, entertaining Ada and showering the girls with grandma-love.
I still can't imagine how we would have done it without our moms.  We were able to adjust so much better with them here.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to convince either of them to stay forever.
So now we are on our own, but are handling it.  Bryan finished schoolwork today, so now we have a few weeks together as a family to figure it all out!

We have about 4,000 pictures of the new life with a new baby, so we will post more soon.