The Story of Camden's Arrival

Now, that I finally have a moment (I totally understand why people never post the birth story of their babies right after having them!), I want to take the time to tell the story of our day on Tuesday! Neal and I drove to the hospital and started things at 7:30 am. It was so nice to know that my bag was packed with more than enough stuff for our hospital stay, Neal was with me (and not in Dallas or Arlington for class), and that we did not have to worry about my water breaking or some other crazy thing happening at home. I will admit that I was nervous about how everything would go, but at least I knew that there were some aspects of the labor and delivery that I could control. When we showed up, I had to change into the hospital gown, provide a urine sample (hopefully, one of the last for awhile), get my vitals checked, and have several vials of blood taken for various tests that are done when they admit you to a hospital. Next, I was hooked up to a blood pressure cuff which monitored my blood pressure every fifteen minutes for the entire day (not fun!) and the Pitocin and fluids iv which gave me continuous fluid and the drugs needed to kick start my labor contractions. This is what I looked like:
Also, this is the last shot that we have of my big, huge pregnant belly! After the drugs were started, my doctor came in and checked my cervix - I was dilated to a three, and broke my water. That is one of the weirdest feelings! Needless to say, I am very happy that this did not happen at school or at home! After that, Neal and I just waited through the contractions. The nurse came to check on me periodically. My doctor came back at lunch to check my cervix - I think I was up to a four or a five at that point. Then, the contractions started to get more painful, so we called in the anethesiologist. Now, don't get me wrong, he was a very nice, calm man, but not on my top ten list of favorite people/doctors. He explained the procedure to us, and with the help of Neal and Connie (our wonderful nurse), he put in the needle and catheter (the catheter is what actually stays in for an epidural, not the needle) for my sweet and glorious pain medications. Unfortunately, the first time he did this, it did not work! Also, this was about the time that my parents and Neal's sister stopped in to say hello for the day. I was in a lot of pain, so I do not remember much about their visit. At that point, we realized the epidural was not working, so Connie found the doctor, who came back to take out the first epidural and put in a new one! Yikes! This time, I sat up instead of laying flat, and he was able to find the correct spot. I could tell that there was some immediate relief.

Unfortunately, he did have to come back to give me more medication, because the right half of my pelvis was not really getting any relief. I could feel all of the contractions on that side, but not on the left side. Once I changed positions and got more medicine, it seemed to get better. I still don't think I was ever fully protected from the pain, because I still felt quite a bit. I think that this helped me to push when I needed to at the end, though. Things did start to get more intense during the afternoon and evening, and I started to feel major contractions in my back. I think I was experienced back labor, which cannot even be helped by an epidural. At about 7:00, I started to feel contractions that made me want to push, but the nurses wouldn't let me - they wanted the doctor to make it up to the hospital, and they wanted Camden to move on his own to the correct station. The doctors at our hospital want babies to be at station 2 (which is about halfway down the cervix, I think), before you start pushing so that women don't have to push for as long. I will say that I am very grateful for that! I don't think I could have pushed for hours like some women do! I became very good at the "He-he-he-who!" breathing, and so did Neal! That is honestly what kept me from pushing when I wasn't supposed to. At this point, I had a new nurse, Sharon (she was a wonderful assistant coach), and the doctor showed up at 8:30 to begin delivery. When I started to feel contractions, they let me push (Camden had moved down), and I watched the progress with a mirror. I didn't think I would want to see that, but in the end, it was a great motivation to get things going! Neal even watched more than I thought he would. He and the nurse each held my legs in position while I pushed. Everyone said I was a great pusher - I think it was just because I just wanted that baby out! I did cry once from the pain and frustration, the nurses gave me oxygen to keep me focused, and the doctor did have to give me an appeasiotemy (spelling?). Literally, two seconds after she finished the cut, I gave one final push and Camden was out! I still can't get that image (it's a happy one) out of my head and the euphoria and relief I felt at that moment was amazing! Here is a shot of Camden right after he came out (he was still attached to the placenta at the time):

This is what Neal did right after he was born (I have never seen my husband cry, by the way):

So sweet! Neal also helped put on his first diaper - you can already see how gentle he is with him. I have to say that this parenting stuff has come pretty naturally to him. He is the best at burping Camden in our house, and he is so good at loving on him.

Our first family photo:

We were very worn out from the day, but so happy with our reward! Camden tried feeding for the first time, the family came in to meet him, and we took tons of pictures! Then, Camden was taken back to the nursery for his first bath while I recovered, changed gowns, and went to the restroom for the first time. I also enjoyed a Whataburger as my first meal - a burger has never tasted that great before! That night, I went to my post partum room, took some painkillers, slept, woke up to feed Camden, and slept some more. I have to say that our lives have definitely started to revolve around his feeding schedule, and we constantly focus on whether he has a good latch, but we are getting into the routine. I am definitely learning lots of patience!

Getting some skin-to-skin time on Wednesday to help with feeding. What a precious boy!

With his very proud Grammy and Paw!

With his equally proud Nana and Pop!

With his Uncle Michael who drove all the way from Longview to meet him!

Meeting Penny and Peyton for the first time - they are incredibly curious, and they cry every time he cries (I think it's sympathy)!

Our very happy, exhausted family - finally at home! The hard stuff has started - we are learning what works to get him to sleep and how to wake him up to feed, but there have been some frustrating moments! Thanks for all of your prayers!