Campbell's Arrival

It's fun to think back to the day of her delivery and talk about the details and timeline. I could listen to friends tell the birth stories of their children all day long! I love being a mom. I love being pregnant. I love those exciting last few days of pregnancy/first few days as a new family. I love hearing similarities and differences in the way these miracles come into the world. Here's Campbell's story as I remember it today....


I was scheduled to be induced Wednesday, December 1st. I had been measuring a good two weeks ahead the second half of my pregnancy and my doctor thought she may be 9ish pounds so I was all for being induced. Our instructions were to call Mercy that morning at 6:00 and make sure they had a bed open for me. They did not... I had been preparing myself for such news... I sometimes have that kind of luck. The nurse said call back in an hour to check again. Karen had already arrived to be with Sam so the four of us sat and watched tv (well, the clock really) and played with Sam while we waited. I called again at 7:00 and this time the nurse told me they were really hoping to get me in before lunch but she wasn't certain things would go that way. Ahhh! Not the best news to hear when you are packed and ready to walk out the door! I held it together for a while and thankfully she called back just after 8:00 and said come on in... then the dam broke, you know me! I was pretty ready to meet our babe. By 9:00 I was hooked up to the monitors and comfy in bed. When Dr. Wenzel broke my water at 9:35 I was 3cm and 50% effaced. I started pitocin just after 10:00, got a dose of nubain at 12:45 (my doctor had just headed into another c section and my nurses didn't want me to be in freak out mode wanting an epidural since I was so close to that point if that surgery took a little longer than anticipated--- good idea ladies!) and at 1:40 I was happily, perfectly epiduraled! : ) Side note- this time they had me lay down on my side while they did it and with Sam they had me sit up hunched over- interesting to me at the time. I'm thankful for great doctors and two amazing epidurals! Anyways, the mid part of our day was a little tougher on me than I anticipated. I got stuck at 4cm and then again at 5cm for a long time. With Sam I was so out of it during this part of labor due to the medicine I was on for my blood pressure that I really didn't have the chance to worry or think ahead. I just assumed since it was my second time around that things would move at least a little quicker and I'd have a babe by supper. The nurses started to say things about not progressing much and if things kept up at this rate and blah blah blah. I had a hard time for a bit not getting nervous that we were going to stall out and have to have a c section. Dr. Wenzel assured me this wasn't going to be the case and Bryan pulled me through yet again and helped me get my head straight so I could do what I needed to do. It was a weird part of the experience that I didn't expect... just different physically and emotionally than I anticipated so I was a bit thrown. Anyways... they checked me again at 6:35 and said I was ready to have a baby! Three pushes and out she came! 6:49pm 7lbs 12oz and 20in long! She was perfect! Her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck so tightly that Dr. Wenzel had to cut it (vs. unwrap as they so regularly do during deliverly) before she was all the way out. This was a large part of the reason we were stuck for that bit mid-dialation. They cleaned her up and gave her back to Bryan and I. For kind of a long day, the last few minutes sure went quickly! Campbell was here and all was well. We couldn't have been more in love with our second miracle.