Our Little Bundle of (Camryn) Joy!

I think it's a little ironic that I'm just now getting around to posting about Camryn, and today was supposed to be the day she was born! Ha! She certainly had other plans! I have been enjoying the last 2 weeks, but it has definitely not been easy. There have been several tears and moments of frustration, but all in all, it has been wonderful. :) So here's how the whole thing went down...

Saturday 2/14/09 @ 11:59p.m. - I get up out of bed to go to the bathroom...not at all an unusual occurrence at this point in the pregnancy.

Sunday 2/15/09 @ 12:00a.m. - My water breaks! I hadn't had any contractions, so there was no warning at all. It was an especially big surprise since it was 12 days before my due date! I run back into our bedroom and wake up Tyson. I say, "Honey, I think my water just broke." Poor guy was so groggy, surprised, and confused! He got up, and while both of us are crying and shaking, he prayed over me and the birth of our baby...sweet memory for me. :)

12:10 - 12:45a.m. - We rush around the house getting last-minute things together for the hospital. Oddly enough, that day we had set up the pack-n-play and packed Camryn's bag of things for the hospital...but we were expecting to have 2 more weeks to get everything else packed up! During this time I start to have some minor contractions. They're definitely noticeable, but not too painful. They basically started right after my water broke!

1:00a.m. - We arrive at the hospital and get taken up to labor and delivery. I had the best nurse for most of my labor! Her name was Lisa, and she was very positive, kind, and funny! I was very sad that her shift ended before Miss Camryn arrived!

1:00 - 4:30a.m. - Contractions. That's about all that was happening at this point. They got longer, closer together, and more intense...and that's probably all you want to know. :) Tyson was very sweet and helpful throughout my labor...I just love him so much! He kept telling me what a great job I was doing, and was very sweet to help me and get things for me...Thanks, honey!

4:30a.m. - I realize that my pain level has increased to the point where I'm ready for some meds. I told this to the nurse, and I was thinking she would give me some demerol or something because I was still a long way from needing the epidural. Well, she checked me and said that it was epidural time! Whoa, this was much sooner than I was expecting! Actually, about an hour earlier, Tyson and I made a short video (between contractions!) where we talked to Camryn. I said in the video, "It's very early in the morning, and we're looking forward to meeting you sometime this afternoon." Ha! :) So, things are progressing faster than we or the nurse were expecting...this is a good thing for me!

5:00a.m. - Epidural time! It really wasn't too bad getting the epidural except that I was having contractions while the anesthesiologist was working on me...that made it tough to be still and stay in the right position. I did tell him, "I just don't want to see the needle!" and I didn't...I think that helped. :) It was around this time that we called our families to tell them that we were having the baby. We decided to wait until 5:00 thinking that would let them get some sleep and give them PLENTY of time to make the drive from Tyler...things just moved more quickly than we anticipated.

5:00 - 7:00a.m. - Labor continues to progress, but I'm not feeling the pain from the contractions...yay! I am, however, feeling quite a bit of pressure during the contractions. That pressure increases throughout this time, to the point where I feel like I need to push. I tell this to the nurse (Ashley now, instead of Lisa because her shift ended), and she calls the doctor on call to let him know it's time!

about 7:30a.m. - Nurse Ashley calls the doctor again to make sure that he's on his way. I'm really feeling the need to push, so the nurse lets me push a little during the contractions. She eventually has to tell me NOT to push because the doctor's not there yet!

sometime between 7:30 and 8:00a.m. - The doctor arrives...whew! He has just enough time to get all set up before I really start pushing. Later I find out that it's a good thing the nurse called him a second time...he was on his way to Starbucks to get some coffee before coming to the hospital! He thought he had lots of time since it's my first baby and I had an epidural...usually two signs that the labor will take a while!

about 8:00a.m. - Our families arrive just in the nick of time! I promise I didn't know the labor would go so quickly!

8:16a.m. - After just over 8 hours of labor, Camryn Joy arrives! She is crying and pink and perfect!