Dear Friends and Family,
Clara Irene Ripka was born on April 20th 2011. She weighed 6 pounds 11.5 ounces and is 19 inches long. She is so beautiful and we are enjoying every moment with her. As you know, I was induced on Wednesday just short of 41 weeks pregnant. I was started on pitocin around 8am and ended up delivering at 7:08pm. My period of active labor was incredibly quick. I progressed from 3cm to 9.5cm in an hour and a half. (It was an excruciatingly painful hour and a half but thankfully things moved quickly!) I pushed for about 40mn. Joey was awesome and really supported and encouraged me through the labor process. The nurses and doctors at Yale-New Haven Hospital were also wonderful. The last few days with Clara have been a lot of fun but also extremely exhausting. The second night home was difficult because Clara had an upset stomach and was only able to sleep for about an hour. We are very lucky that Joey's mom is here and is happy to watch her while we take quick naps during the day. She has also been cooking and cleaning for us. I am feeling better everyday and recovering quickly. It is such an incredible feeling to transition from a family of two to a family of three. We are excited to watch Clara grow and develop. We will try to update the blog when we can. Obviously it was much easier to find time to post before the baby came. We hope you all had a wonderful Easter.
Best!
Erin and Joey