After 34 hours of breathing and pushing, Amy Clendening Makice delivered Carter Orlan Makice into the world on Sunday morning. The first child of Amy and Kevin Makice weighed in at 7 pounds, 12 ounces and stretched to 20-1/2 inches after birth.
The couple’s long weekend began with an aborted nap Friday evening. What was at first thought to be dog slobber turned out to be amniotic fluid. The initial phone calls were made to relatives, and the parents-to-be settled in for a night of contractions. Meg Clendening, Amy’s sister, arrived shortly after midnight to lend support.
Contractions became more regular by morning, offering only 5 to 6 minutes of sleep at a time. By 8 a.m., Amy was admitted to Bloomington Hospital to prepare for delivery. The initial exam at 10 a.m. indicated 2 cm dilation; by 4 p.m., Amy had progressed to 5 cm.
However, the process ground to a halt for the rest of the evening. As the contraction pain worsened, the couple set their sights on a 9 p.m. delivery. But a doctor’s visit at that time revealed no progress had been made. After an epidural an hour later, Amy managed to get some much-needed relief and rest. Pitocin administered shortly after midnight helped labor progress to full dilation by 2 a.m.
Amy pushed the top of the baby’s head into view quickly, but for a couple hours the journey was slow. Inspired to avoid medical intervention with a suction cup or forceps, Amy managed to deliver her child into their world at 6:53 a.m. after nearly five hours of pushing.
During the long night, Amy and Kevin had debated a number of middle names, having long ago settled on Carter as a first name. If the child proved to be a girl — the couple did not know the gender of the baby until delivery — “Megan” would be her middle name, honoring Amy’s sister. As a boy, the “Orlan” edged “Payton” and “Joel” as the chosen middle name, honoring Kevin’s maternal grandfather (Orlan McGrew Arnold).
“Carter” was selected as a first name back in 1995 during a trip to the Jimmy Carter museum in Atlanta to honor the former president and humanitarian.
Carter was initially admitted to the Special Care nursery at the hospital to provide oxygen after his long birthday.