Claire

Look at those tiny feet and that tiny casket, I know she didn't even take up half of it. On June 4th I went in for a Doppler. I hadn't felt the baby move in a few days, plus I was feeling off. Chills, night sweats, etc. They couldn't find a heartbeat with the Doppler and honestly I wasn't worried, I thought the baby must be low and they just can't get to it. We went downstairs for an ultrasound and the nurses were having a hard time finding what they were looking for. So the doctor came down and when he found the baby, there was no heartbeat. Talk about getting that punched in the stomach feeling. So we went home and packed up some things for us and the kids and took Logan and Camille to Grandma Black's. Madelyn and Abby were still in Wyoming. When we got to the hospital they started me with some medicine that they crushed up and put in my cervix, which was awesome. They said it would take 2 or 3 doses of that medicine before it would work and they could give it to me every 4 hours. It never worked. I was laboring for 30 hours before they finally gave me something else. This particular medicine they don't like to use because it causes GI upset, big time. So I had two doses of that, and luckily I didn't get any GI upset. So after that medicine for 10 hours I was finally ready to push. Once the baby came out the doctor new immediately what had happened. The cord was around her neck 3 times and knotted. He said he'd never seen a cord that tight. He figures she swam around and got tangled and then grew. He said she's probably been gone only 4 days or so, which is what I thought. I was absolutely shocked that it was a girl. I have been guessing boy all along, but most of you know that I've guessed boy for all my kids and how many boys do I have. Afterwards, I had to have a D&C because the placenta wouldn't come out. Luckily I was asleep for that. We had some time to hold her, and a photographer took some pictures of her. She was 9 ounces and 9 inches. We laid Claire to rest on Tuesday with Mike's grandpa Clair Black. 40 hours of labor was tough, but I think it helped us to prepare. We aren't worried about why it happened, we know why. We will miss her and this has been a hard struggle for us, but we know where she is and who she is with and we are grateful for the Plan of Salvation. She is one kid whose salvation we don't have to worry about. Thank you all for your prayers and love and support and for the flowers. We wouldn't be able to get through this without all of you and your love.