Camryn's Birth Story

When I went in to my appointment last Tuesday morning my doctor informed me that he scheduled me for an induction the next morning.  I was on the fence about even going through with the induction, but I was already having regular contractions, and he and I both felt like I would be in active labor by the time I showed up Wednesday morning.  I went ahead and agreed to the induction praying that it would be easier than Grant's.  

We were up bright and early Wednesday morning and went on in to start my induction.  They started the pitocin drip about 9 am and slowly dialed it up every 30 minutes.  Stephen and I spent the morning watching TV and relaxing waiting for active labor to start.  My contractions were very regular, but very manageable.  After lunch time, the contractions had kicked it up a notch and I was up walking around my room as far as  my IV and monitors would allow.  I like to stand up during labor.  I have found that I can manage the contractions much better that way, and gravity also helps speed things along.  Hours of this went by...dialing up the pitocin...slowly progressing.  By the time my night nurse came into check my progress I was only 3 cm.    It was 9:30 pm and I was pretty exhausted, ...I had been on my feet all day.  She suggested I come off the pitocin for the night, get something to eat, and sleep for a little while.  This was the best idea ever!  I was able to rest and regroup.  They started my induction back about 5 am.  It took a while to get going again because they had to increase the pitocin drip every thirty minutes.  By 9 am things were moving along and I was finally 5 cm.  From this point on things were really intense, but I knew from my other pregnancies that it wouldn't last much longer.  By 10:30 am I was sure I was in transition.  I called my nurse to come in and check me.  She said she'd give me fifteen more minutes before she called my doctor.  She'd only been gone a few minutes when I started to feel the urge to push.  She quickly called the doctor and got the room ready for the baby's arrival.  Dr. Powers got there just in time to deliver Camryn!  She was born at 10:57 am!

Camryn had a knot in her cord just like Grant and Erin!  Dr. Powers was amazed that all three of my babies had knots in their cords.  He called them miracle babies because a knot in the cord is very dangerous and can cause a stillborn birth.  I am thankful that the Lord kept them safe while in my womb.  Camryn never showed any signs of distress during my labor.  Childbirth is nothing short of a miracle itself!

Grant and Erin couldn't wait to meet their little sister!  They were so sweet when they brought Camryn back to the room for the first time!  Erin had picked out the Minnie Mouse lovey the day before at Walmart for her baby!

Grant and Erin love on her all day long!  She is showered with kisses!

I love this picture of Stephen with his little girl.  He is such an amazing father and husband!  I couldn't have made it through this labor and delivery without him!  He was there every step of the way through each contraction.  I used him as my support to lean on (both physically and emotionally)  He was so encouraging to me!  I am so thankful for him!

Some Pics of Baby Camryn

I know I promised to tell you about Camryn's birth on Sunday, but I haven't had the time to sit down and write it out yet.  I promise to get that and the Grant's school pictures uploaded soon.  Our first week home has been great.  Everyone is right!  Going from two kids to three kids really isn't that hard.  It helps that Camryn is such an easy going baby!  She is such a sweet heart!!!  We are back to business as usual around here.  Stephen went back to work yesterday (can't keep him away too long, but he has Thursday and Friday off!)  So until I get my act together here are a few pics from the last couple days!

The girls

Camryn LOVES to be swaddled!  I never really swaddled my other babies because they would get out of it immediately, but this girl...loves a good swaddle!

Camryn and Erin's Bitty Baby

I happened to catch one of those sweet sleep smiles!

This is what I found earlier today!

I'm glad she is easy going because she sure has to put up with a lot of loving from her sister and brother!

She's Here!!!

Camryn Grace

 November 18, 2010  6lbs 8 oz 19.5 inches

We are home and doing well!  She is such a sweet baby and I can't wait to share more from this week.  Stay tuned!!!

(Thanks Kelly for the picture!  I need to get some more photos with her eyes open!)

38 Weeks and Counting

I haven't documented too much about this pregnancy.  I am already thirty eight weeks along and we are anticipating the arrival of our little girl any day now.  The truth is the pregnancy has flown by!  I can already tell we are going to be so much more laid back about baby number three.  I'm a third child.  I have always given my parents a hard time about how there were hardly any pictures of me in the photo album.  I promised that I would never do that to my third child.  However, if you were to scan through my files on my laptop, I am sure there are at least 1,000 (thanks to the digital age) more pictures of Grant than Erin already.  Also, I spent so much time planning and decorating Grant and Erin's nursery, this baby will have to share a room with Erin.  She gets hand me down bedding from Erin (although it is in perfect condition and I still love it!) and to be honest we haven't even set the crib up yet!  I have placed the cradle that my grandfather made me in our bedroom.  Experience tells me that it will be a few months before we even start using the crib.   The important things have been taken care of I have washed all the tiny clothes and blankets, and I have even had a chance to sew a few new items for the baby.  We have even installed the car seat in the car.  Grant thinks it's so cool because he gets to sit in the very back now!

I went in for my appointment today and Dr. Powers went ahead and scheduled an induction for next Friday.  I am not of fan of inductions.  I really don't want to be induced!  I think he felt my hesitance because he told me to come back Tuesday morning for another check and we will make the final decision.  He wants to induce because Erin came so quickly, and he is going to be out of town the week of Thanksgiving.  Grant was an induction.  I have to be honest, when I was expecting Grant I really didn't do much research about childbirth.  I read whatever was written in the book "What to Expect When Your Expecting" and went to the hospital's child birth class, but that was the extent of my preparation.  I had already made up my mind that I would get an epidural and all would be fine.  People do this everyday...right?  Well the induction was long and hard.  Pitocin is terrible!  After fourteen hours of labor I was finally dilated enough (4cm) that they would give me an epidural.  After my epidural, I could rest, but I was finally in active labor and I dilated quickly, before I knew it it was time to push.  There was just one problem.  That epidural that I wanted to badly made it impossible for me to push Grant out.  I tried and tried for an hour and a half!  At that point my doctor took matters into his own hands and with some "help" from him and a vacuum delivery Grant made his entrance into this world.

When we found out we were expecting Erin, I knew there had to be a better way.  (I had a hard time recovering from Grant's birth.)  I started reading all I could about childbirth.  I came across "The Birth Book" by Dr. Sears.  I read it cover to cover!  I made up my mind that this time around I was going to have this baby natural...no drugs!  (People still look at me like I am crazy when I tell them that is how I plan on delivering this baby.)  Erin's birth was textbook! (Easy in the scheme of things...but it was still labor and childbirth.)  I think I was able to handle it better because I had prepared myself mentally this time and I wasn't hooked up to a drip of pitocin!  I tell people it's like running a marathon it's not all physical preparation it takes mental discipline too!  (Right Liz?  You are the only one I know that has completed a marathon!)  The recovery process was so much better this time around.

So were does all this rambling and reminiscing lead too?  I fear the induction, because I don't want to go through what I went through with Grant!  On the other hand, I understand Dr. Powers' concern that A:  I won't make it to the hospital this time,  (we live thirty minutes from the hospital) and B: that they need to give me antibiotics because I am positive for group B strep.  (I was positive with Erin, but they didn't have time to start my IV.  They all acted like it was no big deal with her.)  I also think he prefers the convenience of scheduling me because he would like to be here for the birth.  It really doesn't bother me.  He was out of town when Erin was born, and for that matter the nurse delivered her anyway!

So, I am hoping that I go into labor before Friday or that I can convince him to hold off on the induction.  Whatever happens, I pray for the safest delivery for our baby and myself.  I know sometimes things don't go according to plan.

(Sorry for the long post!  I promise to include cute pictures in the next one!  I have some great ones of Grant on a "horse")

Trunk or Treat

We had our annual "Trunk or Treat" last night after evening worship service. It is always fun to get together with all our friends.  We brought home a ton of candy.....enough to fill 5 gallon ziploc bags and then some!  Here are some photos of our evening. 

Quick pose before heading out into the parking lot.  Can you tell that having their picture taken was the last thing they wanted to be doing?

Grant playing a game for some candy!

Stopping at Mimi and Papa's trunk for lots of treats!

Erin and baby Becca (I just love this little girl! She was the cowardly Lion, but had already come out of her costume.  It was a little warm.)  Rylie and Haylie.

Hanging out at the car with the smoke machine.  

Grant's Pre-school Halloween Party

Grant's class had a little Halloween party today!  Erin and I were able to join in the fun.  She even got to wear her costume and participate in the festivities.

One of the stops along the way.

Peter Pan during circle time

***I did end up re-making Grant's costume.  When I went back to the fabric store to purchase more fabric for a longer shirt, they had sold out of the green that matched the original outfit.  Grant decided it was ok if the green didn't match his Peter Pan figurine he got at Disney World.  I actually like this costume better than the original!

Conner's A-Maize-Ing Acres 2010

We went to Conner's A-Maize-Ing Acres with our friends this past Saturday.  The weather was beautiful and we look forward to this trip every year!  The kids had a great time and so did we.  It was nice to get out and enjoy some fun time with the kiddos after the long week that we had.  

Grant

Erin

The cow train is always a favorite!  The kids rode all by themselves this year!  

The ride was a little dusty!  We are really in need of some rain right now.  The ground is so dry!

Erin waiting for our turn on the hay ride!

Grant found a little treasure!

Family picture...might be the last one of just the four of us!

Erin's Musical Debut

Wendy and Peter Pan

For months now Grant and Erin have known who they wanted to dress up as for Halloween.  They both love the movie, "Peter Pan," and have fallen in love with the characters.  At first, Erin wanted to be Tinkerbell, but ever since our trip to Disney in May she has wanted to be Wendy.  I have just about finished their costumes.  Grant's Peter Pan costume doesn't fit quite right.  I may remake the shirt to make it a little longer.  The pattern  made the shirt short and the pants too long!?    I may also tweak his hat a little bit.  Either way, he is thrilled with the costume.

Erin has also assigned characters to us.  Papa is Captain Hook, Mimi is the the crocodile, Stephen will be a lost boy, and she says I will be Smead!  I had to laugh at her because I sort of see the resemblance between myself and Smead.....we have the same figure right now!  

Grant's 4th Birthday

Grant turned four years old this past Friday!  He has been so excited about his birthday this year.We celebrated with a cupcake Friday night after dinner.  We have seen so many changes this year in Grant.  I think I am liking four year old Grant!  He's definitely becoming a much easier kid.  Grant is very caring and nurturing and can't wait for his baby sister to arrive.  He is becoming more patient with Erin and is much more likely to share his toys with her.  We love our little guy so much!

Grant wanted a "Tornado" Birthday Cake this year.   Believe me, I tried to talk him into something easier, but he was very persistent.  I did an internet search to try to get some ideas.  This is what we came up with.  It may not be the prettiest cake, but Grant loved it!

Grant and his cousin Dixie

Grant had a great birthday filled with love from his family.  Here's to another year!

28 Week Ultrasound

We finally went for our ultrasound this morning and got a glimpse of our baby girl!  She looks great!  She weighs about a 2.5 lbs and is measuring right on track with my due date.  We are so excited!  Now that we know that she really is a she we have to pick out a name!

Grant's 4th Birthday Invite

Grant will be four this Friday.  I can't believe he will be four!  He has requested a "Tornado" Birthday Cake this year.  I'm going to attempt to make said cake. He is really into the weather and gives us his own weather reports daily.  We even have the local radar saved on the computer so he can check it whenever he pleases.

I ordered the invitations from Pinch of Spice on etsy!  I think they are great!

Now, how am I going to decorate for a tornado party?

It's Football Season!

It's that time of year again!  We showed our team spirit Sunday morning by wearing our team colors to worship service.  The kids are oblivious to whether they are supposed to be an Auburn Tiger or a Florida Gator.  They cheer for both teams.  Luckily, our team colors are similar. (Except Auburn's navy and orange is much better than the Gator's loud blue and orange ; ) Stephen and I pull for each others teams as well.  (I just won't say "Go Gators")  We don't play each other this year, and we always want to see the SEC do well!  I don't really have a great dress to show my team spirit this year because I have to wear maternity clothes.  I think I need to find some orange accessories!  

The kids were giving the baby a hug.  (I really wish I had my shoes on in the picture.  They hang out by the door on Sunday mornings.  It's much easier to rush around the house barefoot than while wearing high heels.)

Giving the baby a kiss....so sweet!

We let Grant take our picture too!  We were laughing so hard at him.  He was so serious about it.  I wish I had a photo of him taking our photo.  He was so proud of his work too!