A Long Overdue Post - Birth Story

I don't have any of her newborn pictures, so I'll have to post those later, but I can at least begin posting the images I do have! I finally figured out how to get my pictures from iPhoto.


My last prego picture! Taken at about 10:30 am on the 7th. We were scheduled to be induced, but when we got to the hospital, I was already dilating and contracting about 4 min apart. My doctor broke my water, but after a few hours, nothing had changed. I got pitocin, and by about 5:30 couldn't handle the pain anymore. I had been having regular contractions every day for the last 2 weeks, and they were painful, so I was exhausted and I asked for an epidural. When you get an epidural, you also get a catheter, and about 6:30, the nurse was putting in the catheter when Camree's heart rate dropped, and stayed low for long enough to cause them concern. Another nurse called in to see if my nurse needed help, to which she said she was inserting the catheter and wanted to see if the heart rate climbed back on it's own when she was all done. After another minute, it didn't and she called for help. The second nurse came in and they administered some Terbetuline (I think that's what the full name is) which totally stops the contractions. Her heart rate still did not climb back to a safe rate, so they started to wheel me out of my room for an emergency C-section. My good friend Sharon was sitting by and she asked me if I wanted her to call Corey to let him know. He had stepped out with his mom to get something to eat, and wasn't there to witness everything. I asked her to call him, and then was wheeled out. Jen and Trent were outside and I told them Sharon was calling Corey. I was not worried at all at this point. Strange, I know, but I couldn't panic. I knew they were doing everything to keep both of us alive and safe, and if I panicked it would make it worse for everyone. I could remember thinking that I didn't want to recover from a C-section, and that was what I kept focused on. We got to the emergency room and about 5 other people rushed into the room, besides my two nurses. They hooked up the monitors, told me that they couldn't wait for my doctor to get here and that the live-in on-call doctor would deliver Camree. I didn't care because once again, I knew they had our health on their mind and I trusted them completely. I got some additional epidural drugs (anesthesiologists are the best), and then they noticed Camree's heart rate was going back up. They kept getting things ready, and then my doctor came in, shortly followed by Corey. Long story short, they didn't do the C-section because she changed her mind. She wanted to come on her due date, at her own time, not dictated by her heart rate and them. We were wheeled back to my delivery room about 7:30, where we started the process again. I got the lovely pitocin, and they slowly increased the rate, while watching her heart rate (they used a better probe that was attached to her head, in addition to using a contraction intensity probe), and then at 4:16 am on the 8th, she was born. I don't have the pictures Corey took shortly after she was born, so I will try to remember to upload them later!

After she was born, she was monitored by the nursery nurses because she had pooped right before she came out and she wasn't crying as intensely as they wanted (it cleans out her lungs to cry right after she's born). They cleaned her up, and did let me hold her before they took her. She was breathing fine, just trying a little too hard for them to feel comfortable. While in the special care nursery, she was weighed and measured. She weighed 7 lb. 15 oz. and was 21.3" long. While in the special care nursery, they also drew blood and found she had an infection. That meant she would need to get IV antibiotics for at least 48 hours, while they did a test to see what she had. She also had to get her blood glucose levels tested before each time I nursed her. She was such a trooper that by the end of our stay, she knew when they were testing her blood (heel pricks, she would bring her feet in as close to her body as possible, and try to get her foot away when the alcohol was rubbed on too. She hardly cried, especially if she had her binky.), but tolerated everything well. I was discharged on Sunday, and she was discharged on Monday. Our hospital lets mother's whose infants are staying longer turn their rooms into a hotel room (free of charge), but they get no nurse care. It's great and we took advantage of it Sunday night. Even though she was under the special care nursery (one level below the Newborn ICU), she got to stay with me most of the time. They had to administer her meds through the IV, and during those times she had to be monitored, but other than that, she was in my room with me.


This was taken Monday morning. I had some alone time with her. She is a pretty girl!!






Flowers from some really special people. Beautiful, simple, and thoughtful. My favorite!!