Darcie's Birth Story
As always with my lengthy posts, I like to remind you that this is my form of journaling, so sorry if there is a ton of TMI. The short version is that Darcie's birth was an incredible VBAC and everything that I had hoped for. The recovery is going so smoothly and we are so happy to be a family of 4!
Burke and I are just sitting in our room at the hospital, bags all packed and waiting for our pediatrician to come sign a paper and officially discharge Darcie so we can go home. We are not feeling very patient right now (we've already been waiting for 3 hours!), so I am trying to distract myself by working on Darcie's birth story instead.
In the days leading up to Darcie's birth, I kept hoping I would go into labor on my own, but there seemed to be no progression going on down south. I felt great physically, which I was grateful for, but by my last appointment, I was soooo ready mentally and emotionally to have her. On Thursday, October 2, I was 5 days out from my due date, but when Dr. Sanders checked me, I hadn't progressed at all since my 37 week appointment (still dilated to a 2.5 and 70% effaced). Dr. Sanders said if I hit my due date on Tuesday without her coming on her own, then he would induce me so we could still try a lower risk VBAC. When he said the word, "Induction" my lip began to quiver and when he asked what was wrong, I started to cry. I wanted to go into labor on my own, because being induced in my mind was just one step closer to having a C-section instead of a VBAC. Dr. Sanders was very encouraging and offered to lightly strip my membranes the next day (Fri) at the end of his clinic hours and see if we couldn't encourage a natural labor over the weekend while he was on call. We tried that route, but with no such luck and by Monday night, I was so grateful that we were scheduled for an induction at 7 AM the next morning so we could get this show on the road.
My Mom drove down from Logan on Monday night to be with Daphne while we were in the hospital and we had a fun time visiting for a couple of hours, before Burke and I nervously went to bed. At 4 AM I woke up and couldn't go back to bed, so I finally just got up at 5 AM to take a shower and make sure we had everything ready for the hospital. While I was in the shower, I missed a call from the hospital and when I called them back they had horrible news - ALL of their labor and delivery rooms had been filled unexpectedly and they had to cancel our induction! I was SO disappointed and tried hard not to bawl my eyes out when I went to tell Burke. He got up with me and we talked, watched a conference talk and read scriptures before cuddling and falling back asleep right when I got another call from the hospital at 7 AM saying a room had opened up, we were back on schedule and for us to come in around 8! The extra time at home allowed us to see Daphne wake up and have breakfast with her and Mumsie and then to have Burke give me a priesthood blessing before heading to the hospital. In the blessing he blessed me to be calm and at peace as I went through the "ordeal" ahead. He never said anything about her safe arrival or how she would come, so the word "ordeal" kept repeating itself in my head over and over throughout the day.
As we got to the hospital, the elderly woman at the information desk said, 'Are you moving in? Well, today's the day and I've already heard the lullaby twice!" When we asked what she meant about the lullaby, she said that every time a baby is born at Valley View Medical Center, they chime out the first few measures of Bram's Lullaby to announce their arrival. I thought that was so sweet and heard it play out a couple of times throughout the day. We checked in at about 8:30 AM and were introduced to our nurses, Annie Gibson and a nursing student named Diamond Hancock who was shadowing Annie on her shift. They were so incredibly good to us and were a big part of the reason this was such a positive experience. I loved that the whole time Annie was so positive and encouraging, efficient and professional while still being personable. Seriously, an all-star nurse! I was nervous about the initial IV as I remembered the painful stab after stab with Daphne on both arms until they finally just settled on a vein in my hand that was uncomfortable and painful. Thankfully, the nurse was very skilled and got it in on the first try. After an initial check that placed me at a 3 and 80%, they started me on a very low dose of Pitocin by 9:00 and said they wanted to take this all nice and slow, never overexerting my uterus to help lower chances of a C-section. However, Dr. Sanders was very clear from the start that this was a trial of birth and that if things started to look uncertain, a C-section was still a very real possibility if that would be the safest route for both baby and I.
At 11:00 I hadn't progressed one iota and although they had turned up the Pitocin a bit and my contractions were about a minute and a half apart, I felt strong and able to handle the pain. At about 1:30 Annie came in and gave us some advice. She said that the anesthesiologist currently in labor and delivery was the very best on staff and that the guy coming to replace him was still good, but very slow moving which could make for a more painful epidural insertion. She knew I was a bit nervous about the epidural because with Daphne's birth the anesthesiologist had missed and had to stick the needle in twice. Annie knew I wasn't really hurting yet, but her advice was to get the epidural right then so I could have the best guy on staff and then they could just put me on a low dose until I needed more pain relief later on. Burke and I agreed this was the best route and although Bill (the anesthesiologist) was efficient and got it on the first try, I still made Burke squeeze my hands and stroke my face while I bawled my eyes out! However, that was the only time I cried that day due to pain.
Not 10 minutes after Bill finished, at about 2:00, Dr. Sanders came in and checked me. I was only at a 4 and 80%, so they decided to break my water to help move things along. Over the next 15 minutes, I was so grateful that Annie had suggested getting the epidural when she did, because I was beginning to feel some nasty contractions and was thankful I could push my little button and get relief from the epidural within a few minutes. From 2:00 until 4:45, Burke went to grab some lunch while I rested and then we just talked, ate jolly ranchers (I think I had at least 5!) and filled out paperwork. At 4:45, Annie checked me again and I was stoked when she said I was at a 6. With Daphne, however, I had stayed at a 7 for several hours, so when my mom called to check in, I told her to go ahead and get Daphne to bed at her 7:00 bedtime because I thought we had hours left of laboring to go. To our great shock when Annie checked me again at 5:30 she said I was at an 8 and that one side of my cervix was completely detached! She had me roll to the other side to see if we could get baby to move and detach the other side, so for the next 15 minutes Annie just stayed and visited with us, making us laugh with her stories until about 5:45 when she checked me again and said, "That did it! It's detached!" She began bustling around the room, but I was still thinking we had to go from an 8 to a 10 when I said, "Wait a second...do you mean it's baby time?" And she replied enthusiastically, "It's baby time girl! But I have to get Dr. Sanders over here before we start pushing." Burke and I just looked at each other in shock. We could not believe how fast that had gone as we had been planning on another 22 hour labor or some other complication to slow us down and here we were only 9 hours into it. When Annie left the room to call Dr. Sanders, we held each other and bowed our heads in prayer, so grateful for how well things had gone so far and pleading for the safe arrival of our daughter.
By 6:30 everything was good to go. The new nurse Krista had arrived on her shift at 6:00 and I knew Annie's shift was over, but that blessed woman stayed with me to help us through the pushing and final delivery. Again I have to say - what an incredible nurse! It makes me tear up just thinking about how much that meant to me to have her with us through the whole process. We began pushing and my epidural started to wear off, which I was grateful for because I could feel the contractions starting, but I couldn't feel much pain with them. This allowed me to know when and how hard I was pushing, but again to be relieved from the actual pain of it. What a blessing! After a few pushes, Dr. Sanders explained that baby was posterior facing, so when I pushed she wasn't descending down the birth canal properly. He tried several times to flip her when I would push, but wasn't having much success. Burke and I could tell Dr. Sanders was getting concerned and at one point I caught a communication between he and Krista as he made sure that the C-section team was standing by. She confirmed they were right outside the door in the hall. At this point, I was trying desperately to push with all my might. I was so scared that this was going to end the same way it had with Daphne and I tried to follow their upbeat coaching as perfectly as possible. They brought in a small ultrasound machine and watched the screen on the next several pushes as Dr. Sanders continued to try and flip her. Finally, to our great relief, Dr. Sanders visibly relaxed as he called triumphantly that she had done it - she flipped! Now each set of 4 pushes was filled with increasing excitement from Krista, Annie, Dr. Sanders and of course Burke and I as they confirmed that she was dropping further and further and would call out, "She's at a 2+! Oh, definitely almost a 3 now!" I loved that Dr. Sanders called me "Em" the whole time and kept on encouraging me, "You are so strong Em! Come on Em, show this baby who's boss!" The nurses were just as positive, "Wow! You're doing amazing! That was your best push yet!" Burke was on my left the whole time, my most important cheerleader, the designated counter and neck holder when I would bear down. They kept telling me to keep my eyes open, sink my neck into my chest, hold my knees like I was holding a giant beach ball with ballerina arms and try to poop out a bowling ball. Haha! Towards the last set of pushes, Dr. Sanders calmly told me that even though she was so much smaller than Daphne, I still needed a little help and he would have to give me an episiotomy. Of course I agreed (even though the thought of it alone makes me tense and want to throw up!) and I said a prayer of gratitude that the epidural was still strong enough that I couldn't feel anything. And then, by 7:35, it was all over and Annie was calling, "Listen! They're playing your lullaby!" And I could just barely hear a few tinkles of Bram's lullaby signaling new life entering the hospital, our family and our hearts.
From the time that she flipped until she was delivered, it was just 30 minutes of pushing and then suddenly, she was there. I couldn't see what was happening, but I could hear the sound of impact as Dr. Sanders caught her little body and Burke cried joyfully, "You did it Em! She's out! You really did it!" They held her up for me and I just bawled and bawled. I truly could not believe I had actually done it, that I had actually pushed our baby out all by myself and that we weren't being wheeled into the O.R. again. Within seconds, her warm, wet little body was being laid on mine and just like with Daphne, I couldn't stop saying, "She's so beautiful. Oh my gosh, she's so beautiful Burkie." It was everything I had ever imagined and hoped it would be.
Soon they were cleaning us up while Dr. Sanders stitched me back up and the respiratory nurse (our neighbor, Jennie Hulet!) cleared out Darcie's breathing passages. After we had some time together, they took Darcie for a few initial tests and to wipe her down. It was heaven to be able to turn my head and see them cleaning her up right there in the corner of the room. Burke meanwhile was a champ and had cut the umbilical cord, was sending a picture out to the family (with no explanation leaving many of them in suspense as to the method of her delivery - he was in a bit of a whirlwind - haha!) and watching over Darcie and I. I was surprised at how quickly it was down to just us and Krista who placed a bundled up Darcie in my shaking arms and asked if we wanted anything to eat or drink. It was about 8:30 by this time and we were both starving. She got us some juice and we called to order room service. While we waited, I was tanking down on the apple juice when Krista asked if I was ready to try and feed Darcie. Again, this whole being with your baby immediately concept was so new to me and I was delighted that I even had the option! I of course said yes and was shocked all over again when she instantly latched on and began her first feeding. What a miracle! However, a few minutes later I was suddenly overwhelmed with an instant nausea and I cried out to Burke, "Burkie I'm going to throw up!" He sprinted to the counter and grabbed a wash cloth, but it barely held anything and I ended up puking apple juice all over myself and our little lady! I was mortified as Krista walked in five seconds later and just said, "Oh don't worry, I was just coming in to give her a bath anyway." She cleaned up Darcie while Burke cleaned me up. By the time the food got there, I was three sheets to the wind (as Burke always says) and could barely even keep my eyes open or my stomach settled to take a bite. Krista gave me something for nausea, removed my epidural and IV lines and helped me into a wheelchair. With Burke pushing Darcie's crib and Krista pushing my chair, we went down a few doors to a recovery room and got settled in for the night. When I was finally feeling a little less woozie and it was just the 3 of us, Burke wrapped his arms around us and we prayed in immense gratitude for such a miraculous, amazing experience and to be holding our wonder baby in our arms. We couldn't stop admiring her beautiful features and dual red birthmarks on her eyelids. She was perfection.
Here we are, five days later and I am still in awe as to how great this experience was. When I stopped to count all the things that went better from Daphne's birth to Darcie's birth, I am absolutely blown away. Here's just a brief list:
1) No throwing up during pregnancy
2) No PUPPS during pregnancy
3) One try on the IV
4) One try on the epidural
5) Half the amount of time (10.5 hours start to finish instead of 22)
6) Fantastic nurses
7) Our own Dr. delivered her
8) I could feel enough to know when and how to push
9) Vaginal delivery
10) Holding Darcie instantly
11) Having her in the room with us the whole time
12) NO NICU drama!!!
13) Breastfeeding success immediately
14) Being able to bend, lift, cough, laugh, etc. without feeling like my incision was going to burst open and spill my innards all over...and then die. :)
15) Being able to go to the bathroom without wanting to die
16) Being able to get out of bed on my own hours after delivery
This recovery was EXACTLY what I had hoped for. It astounds me that besides a little tenderness from the episiotomy, my abdomen and everywhere else almost feels 100% after just a few days. I knew this was the kind of recovery I had wanted and to think I will be able to go running in just a few weeks instead of hurting for the next 6 plus months is more liberating and exciting then I can even describe. I feel so so so blessed and so happy with how things turned out. And now, my little lady is waking up and letting me know she is hungry. More about our sweet Darcie Catherine later.
***
Burke and I are just sitting in our room at the hospital, bags all packed and waiting for our pediatrician to come sign a paper and officially discharge Darcie so we can go home. We are not feeling very patient right now (we've already been waiting for 3 hours!), so I am trying to distract myself by working on Darcie's birth story instead.
In the days leading up to Darcie's birth, I kept hoping I would go into labor on my own, but there seemed to be no progression going on down south. I felt great physically, which I was grateful for, but by my last appointment, I was soooo ready mentally and emotionally to have her. On Thursday, October 2, I was 5 days out from my due date, but when Dr. Sanders checked me, I hadn't progressed at all since my 37 week appointment (still dilated to a 2.5 and 70% effaced). Dr. Sanders said if I hit my due date on Tuesday without her coming on her own, then he would induce me so we could still try a lower risk VBAC. When he said the word, "Induction" my lip began to quiver and when he asked what was wrong, I started to cry. I wanted to go into labor on my own, because being induced in my mind was just one step closer to having a C-section instead of a VBAC. Dr. Sanders was very encouraging and offered to lightly strip my membranes the next day (Fri) at the end of his clinic hours and see if we couldn't encourage a natural labor over the weekend while he was on call. We tried that route, but with no such luck and by Monday night, I was so grateful that we were scheduled for an induction at 7 AM the next morning so we could get this show on the road.
Me the morning of our due date, exactly 40 weeks pregnant and our last picture as a family of 3!
My Mom drove down from Logan on Monday night to be with Daphne while we were in the hospital and we had a fun time visiting for a couple of hours, before Burke and I nervously went to bed. At 4 AM I woke up and couldn't go back to bed, so I finally just got up at 5 AM to take a shower and make sure we had everything ready for the hospital. While I was in the shower, I missed a call from the hospital and when I called them back they had horrible news - ALL of their labor and delivery rooms had been filled unexpectedly and they had to cancel our induction! I was SO disappointed and tried hard not to bawl my eyes out when I went to tell Burke. He got up with me and we talked, watched a conference talk and read scriptures before cuddling and falling back asleep right when I got another call from the hospital at 7 AM saying a room had opened up, we were back on schedule and for us to come in around 8! The extra time at home allowed us to see Daphne wake up and have breakfast with her and Mumsie and then to have Burke give me a priesthood blessing before heading to the hospital. In the blessing he blessed me to be calm and at peace as I went through the "ordeal" ahead. He never said anything about her safe arrival or how she would come, so the word "ordeal" kept repeating itself in my head over and over throughout the day.
As we got to the hospital, the elderly woman at the information desk said, 'Are you moving in? Well, today's the day and I've already heard the lullaby twice!" When we asked what she meant about the lullaby, she said that every time a baby is born at Valley View Medical Center, they chime out the first few measures of Bram's Lullaby to announce their arrival. I thought that was so sweet and heard it play out a couple of times throughout the day. We checked in at about 8:30 AM and were introduced to our nurses, Annie Gibson and a nursing student named Diamond Hancock who was shadowing Annie on her shift. They were so incredibly good to us and were a big part of the reason this was such a positive experience. I loved that the whole time Annie was so positive and encouraging, efficient and professional while still being personable. Seriously, an all-star nurse! I was nervous about the initial IV as I remembered the painful stab after stab with Daphne on both arms until they finally just settled on a vein in my hand that was uncomfortable and painful. Thankfully, the nurse was very skilled and got it in on the first try. After an initial check that placed me at a 3 and 80%, they started me on a very low dose of Pitocin by 9:00 and said they wanted to take this all nice and slow, never overexerting my uterus to help lower chances of a C-section. However, Dr. Sanders was very clear from the start that this was a trial of birth and that if things started to look uncertain, a C-section was still a very real possibility if that would be the safest route for both baby and I.
Super flattering picture of me all rigged up! And no, my belly was not quite that big - there are belly monitors strapped under the gown to keep track of baby's heartbeat and my contractions.
At 11:00 I hadn't progressed one iota and although they had turned up the Pitocin a bit and my contractions were about a minute and a half apart, I felt strong and able to handle the pain. At about 1:30 Annie came in and gave us some advice. She said that the anesthesiologist currently in labor and delivery was the very best on staff and that the guy coming to replace him was still good, but very slow moving which could make for a more painful epidural insertion. She knew I was a bit nervous about the epidural because with Daphne's birth the anesthesiologist had missed and had to stick the needle in twice. Annie knew I wasn't really hurting yet, but her advice was to get the epidural right then so I could have the best guy on staff and then they could just put me on a low dose until I needed more pain relief later on. Burke and I agreed this was the best route and although Bill (the anesthesiologist) was efficient and got it on the first try, I still made Burke squeeze my hands and stroke my face while I bawled my eyes out! However, that was the only time I cried that day due to pain.
Not 10 minutes after Bill finished, at about 2:00, Dr. Sanders came in and checked me. I was only at a 4 and 80%, so they decided to break my water to help move things along. Over the next 15 minutes, I was so grateful that Annie had suggested getting the epidural when she did, because I was beginning to feel some nasty contractions and was thankful I could push my little button and get relief from the epidural within a few minutes. From 2:00 until 4:45, Burke went to grab some lunch while I rested and then we just talked, ate jolly ranchers (I think I had at least 5!) and filled out paperwork. At 4:45, Annie checked me again and I was stoked when she said I was at a 6. With Daphne, however, I had stayed at a 7 for several hours, so when my mom called to check in, I told her to go ahead and get Daphne to bed at her 7:00 bedtime because I thought we had hours left of laboring to go. To our great shock when Annie checked me again at 5:30 she said I was at an 8 and that one side of my cervix was completely detached! She had me roll to the other side to see if we could get baby to move and detach the other side, so for the next 15 minutes Annie just stayed and visited with us, making us laugh with her stories until about 5:45 when she checked me again and said, "That did it! It's detached!" She began bustling around the room, but I was still thinking we had to go from an 8 to a 10 when I said, "Wait a second...do you mean it's baby time?" And she replied enthusiastically, "It's baby time girl! But I have to get Dr. Sanders over here before we start pushing." Burke and I just looked at each other in shock. We could not believe how fast that had gone as we had been planning on another 22 hour labor or some other complication to slow us down and here we were only 9 hours into it. When Annie left the room to call Dr. Sanders, we held each other and bowed our heads in prayer, so grateful for how well things had gone so far and pleading for the safe arrival of our daughter.
Nice quote they had in vinyl up on the wall
By 6:30 everything was good to go. The new nurse Krista had arrived on her shift at 6:00 and I knew Annie's shift was over, but that blessed woman stayed with me to help us through the pushing and final delivery. Again I have to say - what an incredible nurse! It makes me tear up just thinking about how much that meant to me to have her with us through the whole process. We began pushing and my epidural started to wear off, which I was grateful for because I could feel the contractions starting, but I couldn't feel much pain with them. This allowed me to know when and how hard I was pushing, but again to be relieved from the actual pain of it. What a blessing! After a few pushes, Dr. Sanders explained that baby was posterior facing, so when I pushed she wasn't descending down the birth canal properly. He tried several times to flip her when I would push, but wasn't having much success. Burke and I could tell Dr. Sanders was getting concerned and at one point I caught a communication between he and Krista as he made sure that the C-section team was standing by. She confirmed they were right outside the door in the hall. At this point, I was trying desperately to push with all my might. I was so scared that this was going to end the same way it had with Daphne and I tried to follow their upbeat coaching as perfectly as possible. They brought in a small ultrasound machine and watched the screen on the next several pushes as Dr. Sanders continued to try and flip her. Finally, to our great relief, Dr. Sanders visibly relaxed as he called triumphantly that she had done it - she flipped! Now each set of 4 pushes was filled with increasing excitement from Krista, Annie, Dr. Sanders and of course Burke and I as they confirmed that she was dropping further and further and would call out, "She's at a 2+! Oh, definitely almost a 3 now!" I loved that Dr. Sanders called me "Em" the whole time and kept on encouraging me, "You are so strong Em! Come on Em, show this baby who's boss!" The nurses were just as positive, "Wow! You're doing amazing! That was your best push yet!" Burke was on my left the whole time, my most important cheerleader, the designated counter and neck holder when I would bear down. They kept telling me to keep my eyes open, sink my neck into my chest, hold my knees like I was holding a giant beach ball with ballerina arms and try to poop out a bowling ball. Haha! Towards the last set of pushes, Dr. Sanders calmly told me that even though she was so much smaller than Daphne, I still needed a little help and he would have to give me an episiotomy. Of course I agreed (even though the thought of it alone makes me tense and want to throw up!) and I said a prayer of gratitude that the epidural was still strong enough that I couldn't feel anything. And then, by 7:35, it was all over and Annie was calling, "Listen! They're playing your lullaby!" And I could just barely hear a few tinkles of Bram's lullaby signaling new life entering the hospital, our family and our hearts.
Darcie Catherine Adams
Born Tuesday, October 7 at 7:35 PM
7 lbs 3 ounces and 19 inches
Soon they were cleaning us up while Dr. Sanders stitched me back up and the respiratory nurse (our neighbor, Jennie Hulet!) cleared out Darcie's breathing passages. After we had some time together, they took Darcie for a few initial tests and to wipe her down. It was heaven to be able to turn my head and see them cleaning her up right there in the corner of the room. Burke meanwhile was a champ and had cut the umbilical cord, was sending a picture out to the family (with no explanation leaving many of them in suspense as to the method of her delivery - he was in a bit of a whirlwind - haha!) and watching over Darcie and I. I was surprised at how quickly it was down to just us and Krista who placed a bundled up Darcie in my shaking arms and asked if we wanted anything to eat or drink. It was about 8:30 by this time and we were both starving. She got us some juice and we called to order room service. While we waited, I was tanking down on the apple juice when Krista asked if I was ready to try and feed Darcie. Again, this whole being with your baby immediately concept was so new to me and I was delighted that I even had the option! I of course said yes and was shocked all over again when she instantly latched on and began her first feeding. What a miracle! However, a few minutes later I was suddenly overwhelmed with an instant nausea and I cried out to Burke, "Burkie I'm going to throw up!" He sprinted to the counter and grabbed a wash cloth, but it barely held anything and I ended up puking apple juice all over myself and our little lady! I was mortified as Krista walked in five seconds later and just said, "Oh don't worry, I was just coming in to give her a bath anyway." She cleaned up Darcie while Burke cleaned me up. By the time the food got there, I was three sheets to the wind (as Burke always says) and could barely even keep my eyes open or my stomach settled to take a bite. Krista gave me something for nausea, removed my epidural and IV lines and helped me into a wheelchair. With Burke pushing Darcie's crib and Krista pushing my chair, we went down a few doors to a recovery room and got settled in for the night. When I was finally feeling a little less woozie and it was just the 3 of us, Burke wrapped his arms around us and we prayed in immense gratitude for such a miraculous, amazing experience and to be holding our wonder baby in our arms. We couldn't stop admiring her beautiful features and dual red birthmarks on her eyelids. She was perfection.
Here we are, five days later and I am still in awe as to how great this experience was. When I stopped to count all the things that went better from Daphne's birth to Darcie's birth, I am absolutely blown away. Here's just a brief list:
1) No throwing up during pregnancy
2) No PUPPS during pregnancy
3) One try on the IV
4) One try on the epidural
5) Half the amount of time (10.5 hours start to finish instead of 22)
6) Fantastic nurses
7) Our own Dr. delivered her
8) I could feel enough to know when and how to push
9) Vaginal delivery
10) Holding Darcie instantly
11) Having her in the room with us the whole time
12) NO NICU drama!!!
13) Breastfeeding success immediately
14) Being able to bend, lift, cough, laugh, etc. without feeling like my incision was going to burst open and spill my innards all over...and then die. :)
15) Being able to go to the bathroom without wanting to die
16) Being able to get out of bed on my own hours after delivery
This recovery was EXACTLY what I had hoped for. It astounds me that besides a little tenderness from the episiotomy, my abdomen and everywhere else almost feels 100% after just a few days. I knew this was the kind of recovery I had wanted and to think I will be able to go running in just a few weeks instead of hurting for the next 6 plus months is more liberating and exciting then I can even describe. I feel so so so blessed and so happy with how things turned out. And now, my little lady is waking up and letting me know she is hungry. More about our sweet Darcie Catherine later.
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