Cambry's Birth Story

I better write this down before I forget it. I still can't believe what a smooth, quick, and easy (relatively speaking) labor and delivery I had. God had a perfect plan for Cambry's arrival and I am so thankful for how it happened. I'll start with the day before her birth...

Greg had taken Thursday afternoon off work since he had some vacation days he needed to use by the end of the year. I was 41 weeks and 1 day pregnant. I was really hoping Cambry would come on her own and I would not have to wait until 42 weeks to be induced. When Greg got home from work around lunch time we decided to go for a long walk. We joked that we would not come back from the walk until I was in labor. We walked to the disc golf course and Greg played through the course while I walked along beside him. By the time we were done we tracked that we had gone 3.9 miles. I was exhausted by the end and barely shuffling along. That evening we rented a DVD and then went to bed around 11pm.

At 2am on Friday morning my water broke. It woke me up and I immediately jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. I somehow managed not to get it on the bed, but my clothes were soaked when I got to the bathroom. Even though I was almost positive it was my water that broke, I wanted to make sure I hadn't just peed everywhere - ha! After determining that it was definitely not pee, I called out - "Greg...my water broke." I got no response so I repeated it a little louder. About half a second later he was in the bathroom wide-eyed and excited. I hopped in the shower and we both began getting ready to go and gathering last minute things for our hospital bags.

I started having contractions right away but I didn't realize they were real contractions at first because they just felt like Braxton Hicks and weren't painful. I was excited knowing that it was the day we would finally get to meet our baby girl, but my excitement was overshadowed with fear at first. I was so nervous anticipating the pain and the whole labor process that I was shaking the whole time in the shower.

I told Greg as I was getting ready that I didn't want them to give me pitocin right away in the hospital to bring on labor, I wanted to wait for it to start on its own. Little did I know it had already started and would go very quickly!

We called our parents to let them know we were leaving for the hospital soon. By the time we were ready to leave my contractions were coming regularly and were getting pretty uncomfortable. I had to stop what I was doing to get through them.

We arrived at the hospital at 3:40am. I'm sure I was a site to see as I was shuffling along in pain and holding a huge towel because my water was continuing to leak out everywhere. I could not believe how that much water could have been inside me as it continued to come out in gushes for the next couple of hours.

After signing a few papers they wheeled me to a room right away. I was in pain now and all I could think as I was signing the forms was "Seriously?? Now??"

We got in our room and this is where I started to get a little cranky. A nurse handed me the most confusing hospital gown ever and then left us alone for what seemed like forever. Neither of us could figure out the ridiculous gown that was just a flat piece of fabric with snaps everywhere and you have to make the sleeves yourself. The contractions were getting really painful and I started pleading with Greg to go get a nurse. She finally came and started to do all the normal stuff- IV, hooked me up to monitors, blood work, etc. She checked me and I was 4 cm dilated. Contractions were very intense and painful, and I was ready for the epidural. I felt like a baby wanting it so soon but I just wanted the pain to stop. It didn't take very long for the anesthesiologist to arrive and by 5:15am the epidural was in. It wasn't bad at all, and once it was in it was the best thing ever! I am so thankful for epidurals! They checked me again at that point and I was 6 cm.

They told me my doctor would arrive at 7:30am to come in and check on me. So for the next 2 hours I just relaxed and chatted with Greg and my parents. During that time Greg's parents arrived at the hospital - they had left Waco in the middle of the night. It was a good thing they got there when they did because Cambry came shortly after that.

Around 7:40am my doctor arrived. She checked me and calmly said - "Alright you are ready to push, her head is right there". What?? I could not believe it. I was prepared for an all day labor and was completely shocked I was already 10 cm.

The doctor and nurses got ready and I started pushing a few minutes before 8am. Greg and my mom were in the room with me, as well as my doctor and 2 nurses. I pushed for 30 minutes and then the doctor said "On this next push she will be out." It was so surreal. She was right though - on the next push Cambry was out. She was born at 8:24am. And the best part was I couldn't feel anything! They laid her on me as soon as she was born and they began cleaning her up. Greg got to cut the cord. After several minutes of her laying on me and just being in awe of her, they weighed her quickly and cleaned her off a little more. She was a healthy 8 lbs. 10 oz.

Greg held her briefly and then they laid her on me again for about an hour. I tried to nurse her but she wasn't too interested. Towards the end of our hour with her our parents got to come in and see her. Then they took her to the nursery for the next few hours. They wheeled me up to the recovery room where I spent the next two days.

I was in complete shock. None of it seemed real. I couldn't believe God's goodness in blessing us with such a sweet baby girl. She was perfect in every way. She was beautiful. She was ours.

Throughout the labor Greg was so wonderful. He was a great encourager and comforter during the painful contractions and was great at cheering me on as I pushed. It was such a special thing to experience together. I loved seeing him hold his daughter for the first time. And the next 2 days in the hospital with him were so special. They didn't even seem real.

Our stay at the hospital was so nice. All of the nurses were so friendly and helpful and are ready to get you anything you need. We had family and friends that came by to see us and meet our precious baby girl.

We are overwhelmed with thankfulness for God's sweet gift to us.