Clara Maria

It is will great pleasure that we announce the birth of Clara Maria Fulton. She was born September 14th at 9:45 on a rainy Sunday evening. She weighed 7lbs 8ozs and was 19.5inches long. She is beautiful and most people have said she looks like her mother.

Lois actually had told me 20 hours earlier that she had just had a contraction that was somewhat uncomfortable. She had been having painless contractions for weeks, but at 2AM on Sunday she had her first "real" one. By 6AM they were coming every 3 minutes or so, but what we didn't realize was that we had a long way to go and they were to get much much stronger. We called Dr. Tun at home and he met us at the hospital at 7AM. He told us to come back at noon. We spent the morning breathing through the contractions, applying counter pressure, and walking. We even played some cribbage! At noon he told us to come back at 4PM. We were a little disappointed that more progress hadn't been made. Lois also seemed to be experiencing a strange phenomenon that when she laid down her contractions stop, so we spent the rest of the day sitting or standing. By 4 the contractions were incredibly strong and long. When we went back to the hospital again, this time Dr. Tun told us to stay. By 7pm Lois started to feel like pushing, and a very intense 3 hours later little Clara made her grand entrance to the world. We were so excited she was out that we forgot to check if she was a little boy or girl for several minutes!

My major feeling on the day, other than unspeakable exhiliration and joy was the strength and courage Lois had throughout her labor. I don't think I will ever really understand what it feels like or means to go through labor, but I do know that Lois is amazing and now that its over, we have both agreed we wouldn't trade it for anything.

There are too many details from the day to recount, but just a few more: After Clara was born I got up from behind Lois to go meet her. She immediately pooped all over my shirt. "Nice to meet you too!" The hospital administrator Pablo Benedicto had come that night when he heard Clara was on her way. He had a clean Guatemalan National Team soccer jersey which he gave me to wear instead of messy shirt. When I tried to return the jersey a few days later he said, "Please keep it as a gift to remember the birth of your daughter in Guatemala." Another story, after we had gotten cleaned up a bit after the birth, Emi Tun, Dr. Tun's wife, had also come. She brought with her some piping hot chocolate, a Guatemalan tradition, for us all to toast the birth of Clara.

My final feeling on the day is the overwhelming sense that God was present and supporting us through it all. Whether it was through the energy he gave Lois to sustain through so many contractions, or through the calm presence of Lois' Mom, or through the perfectly timed and rejuvinating arrival of Flori our favorite nurse who for some unknown reason had decided to call the clinic that night to see if we were there. When she found out that we were she came immediately and arrived just as Lois felt she had no energy left to begin the final 3 hours of pushing. Or in the patient presence of Steve, another volunteer, who did all our driving for the day, and refused to leave even when there was nothing left to do but wait for hours and hours. Or the prayers and encouraging phone calls with family so far away. Or perhaps in the many calming and reassuring Church songs we would sing to regain our composure between contractions. And while I think whatever might have happened would have been exactly as God would have wanted, we can only give our deepest thanks that here in this place, without technology or advanced medical care, where we needed everything to go normally without complications, it did. Now I look across the room at Lois rocking Clara to sleep and realize this is only the beginning. We know God's love and support will continue through the hands, prayers, and love of family and friends. Thank you to everyone for your help along the way. We couldn't have done it without you.

Much love,

Dan, Lois, and Clara