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Mila Jane’s Birth Story, Part 2

You can read Part 1 of her birth story here. Check it out first!

Emergency broadcast warning: this post is not intended for sensitive ovaries. It will contain multiple graphic images of my very sweet baby girl and may lead to ovarian explosion. I’m talking graphic images like this one:
Professional baby photo in turquoise scarf

Consider yourself warned.

I told you in Part 1 of Mila’s birth story how I had a specific lists of goals and prayer requests for Mila’s birth:

1. A quick labor (I was hoping for five hours or less this time).
2. But still enough time to get to the hospital, which is an hour away when there’s NO traffic.
3. A nearly pain-free delivery.
4. A faster pushing phase!
5. A quicker recovery.

Well. Be careful what you wish for!

Here’s how Mila’s birth went down.
Newborn in basket with sheepskin

Danger: Baby in a basket.

3:00 p.m. – I have a conversation with my neighbor in which I mention that I’m pretty sure I’ll be pregnant for all eternity, because there’s no sign this baby is coming today, or ever.

3:30 p.m. – Well hello there, contraction! Out of nowhere, I have two, 6 minutes apart. I tell myself not to get too excited, calm down, and maybe get a few jobs done that I had planned to finish during early labor.

For some reason instead of doing any of those jobs, I start vacuuming… under the sofas? Because it felt very urgent at the moment. (?) And I text Andy at work to tell him that I’ve had two contractions, but still feel great. He casually takes his time tying up loose ends and starts to head home.

4:30 p.m. – Andy arrives at home. Contractions are consistently five minutes apart, but I’m trying to ignore them so I can get this laundry put away! Every time I have a contraction, I get excited because it means this baby is COMING. Contractions are still very mild, pretty similar to menstrual cramps. (TMI? Sorry. If you’re TMI-averse, this is a great stopping place.)

Our hospital is one of the few in Georgia that allow water births, and having had my first baby in the water – (which by the way, is not as gross as it sounds, I promise! In fact, it seemed cleaner than the alternative.) – I knew how much more comfortable a tub birth is and was willing to do whatever it took to get one again!

Even if it meant driving an hour away to get it.

An hour when there’s no traffic, that is, and I’m in early labor just in time for Atlanta’s rush hour traffic.

My midwife had recommended we leave the house when contractions were 5 minutes apart, but eh? They’re still so mild, you know? Let’s not rush things.
Newborn on white blanket turquoise flower

Caution: miniature ball of baby.

5:30 p.m. – My mom arrives at our house to take our son, Weston, so we can go to the hospital. The contractions have intensified enough that I need to stop doing critical things like vacuuming under sofas, and start focusing. I lay down on our bed and turn on my Hypnobabies relaxation CDs, then just focus on relaxing my muscles and allowing the contractions to sort of wash over me, without resisting them. I know that as soon as I start to fear a contraction and tense up, it will become painful, so I don’t fight it. I just lay there on my side, silent, eyes closed.

I also take a moment to pray for this delivery. I remind God that I’m trusting Him for this birth, that if He chooses to give me the kind of birth I’d been praying for, then the glory and the praise will be HIS alone. Because I am nothing, my preparations are nothing, without His hand in the situation.

Meanwhile, outside our bedroom, unbeknownst to me, Andy has morphed into a luggage-packing tasmanian devil: he is literally running from room to room getting our last-minute things packed for the hospital and into the car. Occasionally he stops into our room to check on me, acts casual and calm, then leaves the room and rushes around in a crazy panic.

6:00 p.m. – Knowing that we have a long drive ahead of us, I find Andy and tell him that we should expect a two-hour drive and should probably leave soon, but that I’ll probably end up laboring at the hospital a while, and I probably won’t be very dilated when we get there. He agrees, and says it’s better safe than sorry.

6:15 p.m. – We finally pull out of the driveway. Andy has set up a bed in the back of the van where I lay down, pop in my headphones and continue listening to the Hypnobabies CDs. Except for occasionally asking Andy where we are and who he just talked to on the phone, I’m silent the whole drive.

I start to feel a little nauseous. When Weston was born, I spent most of labor “yodeling in the porcelain cannon,” so this time we’re prepared. Andy has put some peppermint oil on a washcloth to help with the nausea, and every time I start to feel sick, I smell the cloth and find relief. (Did you guys know about this? Peppermint oil is like a magic upchuck cease-fire.*)

*Note to self: find another time to use the term “upchuck cease-fire.”

Andy notices the gas gauge light turn on. (I was supposed to make sure we stayed above half a tank at all times.) He makes a mental note to never trust me to take care of important things again!

During the drive, my contractions start to intensify significantly. I am actively telling myself, “This is not a ‘pain’ feeling. This is a tightening, pressure sensation.” And you know what? It makes a huge difference. I really do feel the contractions as pressure or tightening and not as pain. I welcome each one because it means my cervix is opening and I’m getting closer and closer to meeting my baby.

Baby with large flower headband on pink blanket

Alert: Disproportionate flower headband on teeny head

7:15 p.m.– After pulling some kind of miraculous traffic maneuvering, Andy has managed to get us to the hospital in only an hour! We pull in to the emergency room entrance and I walk to the counter. The guy at the desk says, “Are you in labor?” (As a 100-months-pregnant woman with a just-get-me-to-the-labor-and-delivery-room look on my face, I briefly ponder violence.)

7:20 p.m.– We arrive at labor and delivery, where our midwife is waiting. She starts to ask me questions in the middle of a contraction and I mentally “check out” and breathe through it. Normally, you’re supposed to go straight to an intake room where they check you out before they take you to the delivery room. But my midwife takes one look at me and tells them to prep the delivery room.

Once we’re in the delivery room, I see the tub is set up but not filled yet. “Can someone please start filling the tub?!” I ask.

I mean really. I am deep in the throes of labor and I’m pretty sure they’re supposed to obey my every whim and desire at this moment, but no one starts filling the tub!! WTH?!

The midwife checks me and pronounces that I am six centimeters. Mentally, I scoff. My body has been working wayyyy too hard to only be at 6 cm. I can feel that I’m in transition and this baby is coming soon. In my head, I disagree with my midwife.

And also, why is no one filling the tub yet?!

I take out the headphones and ask Andy why they’re not filling the tub. He says, “Kelly honey? I don’t think you’re going to be able to get in the tub. They don’t think there’s enough time.”

This is where it gets crazy: literally TWO contractions after my midwife says I’m at 6 cm, my body starts pushing.

I did not decide to push.
I actually had no part in the matter.
My body was like, “I will handle this. This baby is coming OUT.”

“I’m pushing,” I announce to the room.

“No no, don’t push yet!” Andy says. Because the kid is trained, and he knows that if you push before you reach 10 cm, it’s a bad idea because you can slow labor.

I also know this rule, but like I said, my body has decided not to check with me on this matter. It will be pushing, and it does not need my consent.

The midwife checks me again. “You’re complete!” She says.

I had literally gone from 6 cm to 10 cm in TWO contractions.

“You can push if you’re ready.” (Pssshh, I think. Try and stop me!)

7:33 p.m. – I push.

Once.

Twice.

And she’s out!

Two pushes. I hardly even felt it. It was WILD. The pushing part was a CAKEWALK.

As soon as I saw there was a baby there, and she was not in my body anymore, Andy and I looked at each other and I said, “WHAT?!! What was THAT?! What WAS that?!” and we both giggled because this whole shebang had just been ridiculous.

We had been at the hospital for 18 minutes.

So to recap:

1. A quick labor: CHECK. Four hours from first contraction to a crying baby.
2. But still enough time to get to the hospital: Yeah, just barely. Afterward, Andy said: “You know, I’d been praying that God would get us to the hospital at the perfect time. If we ever do this again, I’m going to specify that whatever time God thinks is the right time for us to arrive to the hospital, I would like to ask him to please add 10 minutes to that.”
3. A nearly pain-free delivery: Checkity-check-check. I couldn’t have asked for more. I felt tightening and pressure, but minimal pain. Thank you, Jesus.
4. A faster pushing phase!: Uh, yeah. Yep.
5. A quicker recovery. So far so good! I couldn’t believe how much better I felt this time than I did after Weston’s birth.
Holding Newborn in a nursery
It was a beautiful birth, kinda wild like a rollercoaster ride, but I am so thankful to God for His blessings on this story! We are crazy-in-love with Miss Mila Jane and just overwhelmed with joy and gratitude to have her in our lives.



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Comments

  1. Oh my goodness Kelly I’m sure there are so many women who are soooo jealous of you right now!! I mean 4 hours total? Two pushes? (I think Abby only took me 3 pushes so… 😉 ) You might have said this earlier, but how long did Weston take? I’m slightly worried this time I’ll have a story similar to yours… our hospital is an hour away too and last time I needed to get there early enough to get the medication for group b strep… Anyway, thanks for sharing, I’m glad things went amazing and surprisingly easy for you all!!

    • Three pushes for your FIRST baby? YOU are a superwoman! 🙂 It took me two straight hours with Weston. I had labored all night and it was 4 am when I started pushing, so I was just exhausted. I remember saying to my midwife – “You have to give me some hope here! This is taking forever!” 🙂 I’m sure your next birth will be beautiful and perfect! Can’t wait to hear about it!

    • Lisa Wright says:

      Hi Kelly,

      This is the first time I have come across your blog page. (I found it on Pinterest!) Anyways,
      I am a 26 year old female who – if anyone knows me – knows what my BIGGEST, and I mean B-I-G-G-E-S-T fear is…childbirth. I am at the age where many of my friends are having children so I have become more and more fascinated with the process. I have LITERALLY read everything I can find on the topic – via internet and….well…my opinion grew even more fearful, and the idea about what you-as a female go through with your body I couldn’t handle it! That’s it, childbirth is just NOT FOR ME. But then..I read your stories. Your two children, and the fears you had and how you overcame them with learning to cope and accept. I admire this. And, I think my friends would look at me as CRAZY but, I seriously don’t find it as scary anymore. Thank you for sharing your honest, and just-enough “TMI” to get some-type-of-visual story.
      Thank you!

  2. Whaaaat?!?! And here I am all smug since it *only* took me an hour of pushing. Pffft. That’s amazing. If I ever have another one, I’m going to have to look into that Hypnobabies CD!

  3. holy crap. that is amazing. your body knows what it is doing.

  4. i teared up, thanks for sharing! Congratulations, she’s beautiful 🙂

  5. That’s amazing! Praise the Lord for answered prayers. What a wonderful God we serve! So happy for you and your sweet family. Have I mentioned that Mila Jane is about the sweetest little thing ever? I love that first picture with her wrapped in the shawl/scarf/pashmina thing.

  6. Great birth story, I love it! Thank you Jesus for sweet Mila Jane! Also for Andy’s mad driving skills and for Kelly’s beautiful story she shared today.

  7. God is good, isn’t he?! Mila is absolutely adorable!

  8. What an incredible story! I’m so happy for you and your fam. That pushing sensation is so incredible. I felt the same thing…my body was definitely in charge, and there was nothing I could do about it.

  9. So wonderful!! I love it!!!!! It made me literally cry and laugh (Andy’s time instructions for God). Great story and what a wonderful ending too!! She’s gorgeous!!

    • Thanks Bree! But even more importantly – thanks for guiding me toward Bradley and all the crunchiness that came with it. 🙂

  10. Stephanie says:

    an amazing, inspirational story. thank you for sharing!

  11. in. love.

    thanks for sharing — it’s inspirational!

  12. Jamie P. says:

    I can’t get over this story! I think I’ve read it 10 times 🙂 Very inspiring and encouraging! I’m so happy for you!!

  13. Wow, this story is pretty incredible. Having never given birth, the idea terrifies me! This makes me feel a teeny bit better about the prospect of one day.. VERY cute pics to accompany story ;]

  14. Beautiful birth story. So thankful for God’s loving kindnessness. Congrats again on that perfect miracle.
    (those pics are beyond adorable btw)

  15. Thanks for sharing your story! We’re using hypnobabies (in about 3 weeks!) and I’m so glad you had such a great birth. Little Mila is just precious by the way!

  16. This is incredible. Congratulations!!! Your little girl is beautiful and that sounds like the perfect birthing experience. No joke, I want this. Having never had children with a relative in her third trimester, I’m terrified to say the least. This might just be my goal. I think I’ll bookmark this as my goal. Is that a little too far, do you think?

  17. You are a ROCKSTAR mama. Two pushes!?! Come on, showoff!! 🙂 But seriously, your daughter is just simply stunning. I hope you bring 100 million pictures of her to the Haven Conference bc I want to see them all! Congratulations!
    xo
    Cat

  18. How wonderful! Goodness gracious! I wish everyone could say such wonderful things!

  19. Amazing! My 2nd was similar, 90 minutes, 2 pushes, he practically fell out. Then the third was 5 hours total, which felt long. Ridiculous. I love Mila already, she is just adorable!

    Jessica
    stayathomeista.com

  20. Love, love all the Mila photos! Too adorable … good to see that she won’t be the poor second child with no baby photos …

    And didn’t I tell you? Fast, two pushes. I had to literally hold my daughter in while waiting for my OBGYN to deliver twins in the next room. She walked in the door and I said suit up and get those gloves on. Two pushes and done.

    And that was when I understood how women can have more than two …

    🙂

    Linda

  21. Oh my goodness! I’ve never given birth before, but I’ve heard plenty of stories and what an incredible answer to prayer! That is fantastic!

  22. Holy cow this is so awesome!! Praise God!! He really knows what he’s doing huh? If I ever get married and have babies I’ll have you be my mentor ok? 🙂

  23. First your the most adorable pregnant lady, then you have the cutest baby ever and then it turns out it was easy peasy, no pain, calming music, no time to fill the tub easy. Too cute you are!!
    Karah

  24. WOW what a story!! I LOVE reading birth stories, so thanks for sharing!! Happy your experience was SO easy, you’re so blessed 🙂

  25. Aww, she’s beautiful. Great birth story!

  26. Wow, this is a heroic story! I love hearing about this – so curious about everything. Congratulations, and boy is she perfect!! All the best to you guys and big brother. xo

  27. this is seriously an amazing story. i hope that one day i can be as strong as you…your posts of your birth story are so encouraging!

  28. TOO MUCH CUTENESS. I cannot even handle it.

    SO happy for you, friend!

  29. This is sweet and hilarious. (As usual for you.) 🙂 18 minutes has got to be a record, for sure. God is so good! And that ball of baby picture reminds me SO much of the pics I’ve seen of Weston. Is it just me?

  30. Love it! Such a great birth story 🙂 Congratulations and thank you for the inspiration for my upcoming Hypnobabies birth!

    • How cool! I love to hear from fellow hypno moms. Good luck in your birth – I’m sure it will be wonderful and comfortable!

  31. What a beautiful birth story! ~from a fellow Hypnobabies mama

  32. What a beautiful birth story. My first pregnancy went awful as in I was left paralyed for three mths. after giving birth. Thankfully I recovered but it was scary, second pregnancy went awesome though.

    Thanks for sharing your story Kelly and can I say I just can’t get enough of your sweet baby girl : ) Precious!

  33. You are blessed. In more ways than one.

    ~Bliss~

  34. I think I had contractions reading this! Oh my goodness, I love this. Beautiful baby!
    Debbie

  35. Kelly, I love the end of this story because it just goes to show that you can plan and prepare, but in the end it’s not in your hands, it’s in God’s. I think sometimes women are disappointed if their birthplan doesn’t go the way they envisioned, and think it’s really wonderful that you shared your experience. So happy you got to the hospital in time, had minimal pain and an easy delivery. And best of all – that sweet little cherub to show for it all!!

  36. Great story, and I love the pictures, did you take them yourself?

  37. Awesome story! A lot like my hypnobabies birth at the end of March(arrived at birth center at 9:42 baby at 9:46). Hypnobabies is the best thing ever!! Congrats

  38. Michaela says:

    Amazing tale of your labour but I’m chuckling at how much fun you’ve clearly had dressing up a sleeping baby and putting her in baskets etc. You’ll be doing this next: http://bit.ly/cHfpHO

    (PS I saw this video ages ago and just went to find it now for you and wanted to say the baby’s name is totally coincidental and made me gasp!! Weird huh?!!) xxxx

  39. That was awesome!! We have a son named Weston too. And so similarly, with our last birth (in NC at home) my midwife checked me and I was 7 cms and 2 min.s later I felt like pushing as well. 3 pushes and she was out. Unlike you my pushes were super intense (I have a vaginal cyst which can cause a more intense feeling of pushing)..that was my only time when I struggled to keep in my hypnosis but other than that it was very easy. I slept from 11-3:30 am and had her at 6 am! Thanks so much for sharing your story. I love it!! I’m preggo with #4 and it’s always good to hear successful, easy births! 🙂

  40. I love everything about this post! Especially the beautiful photos of your sweet baby girl.
    I had tears in my eyes for you by the end…
    I am always a bit misty for birth stories, as I was not the one who was able to bring my son into this world. (We adopted) How lucky you are to have such a beautiful experience.
    GREAT post!
    xo-Lisa

  41. I’m currently pregnant with my 4th baby and this time, I really wanted to do it naturally. I have a friend flying in from Texas this week to teach me the Hypnobabies techniques that she used on the birth of her last daughter. I’m very excited to learn about it! Thank you for sharing your birth story.

  42. 2. But still enough time to get to the hospital: Yeah, just barely. Afterward, Andy said: “You know, I’d been praying that God would get us to the hospital at the perfect time. If we ever do this again, I’m going to specify that whatever time God thinks is the right time for us to arrive to the hospital, I would like to ask him to please add 10 minutes to that.”

    I literally laughed out loud at that comment and everyone in the office looked at me a little funny….

  43. This post totally made me tear up. Just perfect. So glad you shared this. Gushy email coming your way soon. 🙂 ~V

  44. Just stumbled upon your site – and I’m just loving it! Love the birth stories, and your kids are just darling. Loved the post on finding your style… And that’s all I’ve read, but can’t wait to read more! You are an excellent writer – I find myself thinking, “I want to be her friend!”. Keep it up!

  45. Your birth story is very similar to mine with my first (He’ll be 10 this month). It was 9 hours from water break to baby. I distinctly remember the nurses telling me to stop pushing because the On Call Dr wasn’t there. I hadn’t started it ON PURPOSE! I looked DIRECTLY at them and said,”No. I can’t”. The doctor came in just to play “catch”. I also jumped from 6 to 10 within minutes. No drugs for that and my 2nd (she’s 3) took 2 hours w/o drugs.

  46. Being a person who is also completely terrified of actually having a baby and has been praying and praying and giving it over to God your story is very encouraging. Thank you for sharing! No baby coming here yet but I am getting less scared by the idea which is an answered prayer! Thank you for sharing your story!

  47. Hi! I’ve just happened across your blog on Pinterest, I started reading your yard sale tips and tricks and then started surfing the rest of your blog. I saw you named your daughter Mila and got super excited, my little girl is Mila too (!!!!!!) so naturally I started looking for your birth story. Then I got even more excited because I’m in Atlanta too!! Then we hit the trifecta, my Mila’s birth was super fast too! Though not as fast as yours, but still, makes me wonder about these Mila’s lol
    Love your blog!!!

  48. Ugh! Where was this when I needed this? When I gave birth back in the dark ages (1999), I was SO scared and that definitely made it worse. Plus, that hospital only had a 1 day birthing class and no epidurals. I had a 25 hour labor. I went to the hospital WAY too early (contractions 5 min apart but probably false labor) and they should have sent me home. Baby #2 I was induced. Baby #3, I had an emergency C-section. I wasn’t even in labor but the placenta had abrupted. Baby #4 I finally found the Bradley Method… by reading a book. However, my husband didn’t want to read it so I did my best and outlined the book for him and gave the notes to him because I knew when my right (or left? which is it?) side of my brain took over, I wouldn’t be able to coach myself. He sort of tried but isn’t comfortable taking that active of a role. I ended up getting an epidural after I had been stuck at 7cm for FIVE hours. Then I went to a 10 in one contraction. Baby #5 was stillborn (don’t know what happened but we knew he’d died before labor even started). Baby #6 I was dealing with the bigger issue of my terror over getting that baby out alive and safe to have enough metal power to do the Bradley Method. And babies #7, 8, 9, and 10 were all C-section. Anyway, they are all beautiful and (other than my angel) healthy… but I could have used you years ago! Love your humor. You definitely make me LOL!

  49. Beautiful story! What an incredible blessing! I, too, never understood the interest in birth stories until I had my own to share. I’m totally with you there! My first labor was a grueling 19 hours long but my second was super quick, much like yours! We got to the hospital just in time, and after a couple of pushes, plop, there he was! It was AMAZING. God is so good! http://jenwoodhouse.com/blog/2012/10/15/liams-birth-story/

  50. I love your birth stories and your Dave Ramsey appreciation. I will check out more after this. My three births were everything I could have imagined and hoped for. My son was born after 5 hours of labor. My contractions started at 4 minutes apart and stayed steady until transition when I was already at the birth center and dilated to 7. I pushed on my left side because I was comfy. I had no birth training and went in with the naive desire for drugs. I had a relatively easy labor thanks to an inspirational nurse and a quiet family doctor (not an OB). My first daughter came along 4 years later and her labor started easy, a contraction, 30 minutes later a contraction, 15 minutes later a contraction, 8 minutes later a contraction, then every 4 minutes until transition. I pushed on my side again because I liked it so much the first time. And she was born with her hand reaching out for daddy’s envelope of cash before her head was delivered. My third and second daughter was a planned unassisted home birth only 20 months after her sister. Her sex was a surprise until about 10 minutes after she was born. My friend commented when she came to pick up the “big” kids that I didn’t look like I was in labor. But we started scrambling after they left. We prepped and started filling the birth pool and we stopped with only 4 inches of water because I knew we didn’t have time. I was on my knees and pushing outside the pool in the middle of our family room. I supported her and brought her up from between my legs and I forgot to check if we had a son or a daughter until it was time to deliver the placenta. She was born after only 1 hour and 58 minutes of labor. My kids are now 8.5, 4.5, and almost 3 and if I didn’t desperately need a hysterectomy last year (at the ripe old age of 27) I would be trying to convince my husband that 4 is a nice round number after seeing pictures of your sweet little ones.

  51. I loved reading your birth story- thank you for sharing it. I’m a natural birth convert and people think I’m odd but I actually enjoy giving birth!

  52. You know, I saw the warnings, but read anyway. Annnd now I want another baby. Like right now. Beautiful stuff.

  53. Hi Kelly,
    thanks for sharing this story! I found it very inspiring, and, although I am am atheist, hope to give birth with the same calm and trusting-in-my-body attitude as you.
    I love your blog, by the way!

  54. Thank you for sharing your daughters birth story ~ I loved reading it. I am a huge fan of midwives and natural birth as it just makes so much sense to me. After a negative experience with my first childs delivery I educated myself and developed a trust with my body. I have looked forward to each of my 3 subsequent deliveries.

  55. Joanne Mason says:

    All praise to God for happy, healthy babies and Mom! (And your great coach, the hubby.) I love your blog, I find you so delightfully funny, just a great whimsical sense of humor. I admire your hard work with the home makeover, and as a new-ish Mom. I’ve had six, and had very easy births as well. The first was six hours from start to finish, the last an hour and a half, and 1 push, we are so blessed, aren’t we? I’m just finding this blog in 2015, but I hope you get this comment. I hope this finds you, your children and hubby all well and happy. God Bless all of you, and thank you for sharing your makeover ideas and your baby stories. You have quite a gift, you might consider writing professionally.

  56. Mamabear5 says:

    I too used the Bradley Method, Husband Coached Childbirth lots of preparation throughout pregnancy, the same AMAZING midwife and faith, prayer and trust in the Lord to deliver all 5 of my babies naturally & unmedicated. Your right…it’s not for everyone. Thank heavens for choices. I know the Lord knows us individually, by name. He hears and answers prayers!! Thanks for sharing your birth stories. I love reading about good experiences like yours;)

  57. Hi Kelly! Michael just told me that you two were chatting, and then he sent me part 1 of this post to read. I’ve been reading lots of birth stories and watching lots of birth videos lately – I read yours as soon as he sent it over. It was super encouraging to hear that you did both the Bradley method (this is what we will learn at our classes through the birth center) and Hypnobirthing (I’ve been reading the book). Thanks so much for sharing your story. It was uplifting and lighthearted, and I’m so thankful! 🙂

Trackbacks

  1. […] as we’ve been preparing for this sweet girl! (UPDATE: See Mila’s birth story part 1 and part 2.)var linkwithin_site_id=752147;var linkwithin_div_class="linkwithin_hook";{ 51 comments… read […]

  2. […] Okay that’s enough for Part 1. In Part 2 I’ll tell you the series of events on Mila’s birthday. I don’t want to talk this […]

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