Camden Christopher's Birth Day

Camden Christopher Raymor arrived on our 9 year wedding anniversary...December 10th, 2014 at 4:49 PM weighing 7 lbs, 11 oz and measures 20 inches long. We are SO in love with our little guy :)

The way it all happened was so surreal! As you know if you follow along, I had a repeat C-section scheduled for Dec 23rd, so I never really believed I would have him sooner than that. On the 9th I just didn't feel good. I was SUPER emotional, kind of nauseas, low back cramping that went into the tops of my thighs, and stomach cramps that I attributed to feeling like I was going to throw up. As the evening progressed my symptoms fell into a pattern of about every 10-12 minutes so I thought maybe this is labor? I never even experienced one contraction with Laila because she was a scheduled C-section as well so I had no idea. Just as we were about to head to labor and delivery to check it out at around 10:30 PM my symptoms lessened and sort of went away. I had my 37 week check the next morning so I figured I could hold out until then to figure out what was going on.

As soon as my doctor walked into the room and saw my belly she said, "WOW you look low! SO different!" She measured my belly (which I had been measuring a couple of weeks ahead all along) and the baby had dropped so far into the pelvis I was barely measuring at 35 weeks! Also I had dilated to 2 cm and was 75% effaced. She said I was in the early stages of labor and it was "go time" and we were going to have him that day!!!! I couldn't believe it!

I got home, told Chris the news, called my parents and one of my longest bestest friends, Melissa who all headed up from Anacortes to be at the hospital and take care of Laila.

Leaving for the hospital! Our last pic as a family of 3.

We got to the hospital, got all checked in, changed into a gown, got my IV started and answered about a million questions. Turns out I was in labor, having contractions every 4-6 minutes! The anesthesiologist came in (who was amazing and so comforting about doing everything he could to make sure we didn't have a repeat of my last spinal block which can be found HERE.) The time finally came, and I was taken back into the OR while poor Chris had to wait in the hall while they got me up on the table, and I got my spinal injection which is fairly painless for anyone who has one coming up. The worst part is the stinging from the lidocaine they use to numb the area. They laid me down, put in my catheter, and prepped my belly.  Once that was all done and the surgery was about to start, they let Chris finally came to my side after what seemed like a million years!

I felt really calm and good during the surgery. Chris held my hand and we talked about how amazing it was that here we were again, just 16 months after Laila was born, having our second...a BOY, when we never thought we'd even have one baby. We are SO blessed.

Before we knew it, I was told I would feel a ton of pressure in my ribs which would make it hard to breathe for a couple of seconds (which it sure did!) and my doctor held up our little boy who was pink as can be and crying right off the bat! Best sound in the world! I absolutely lost it and burst into tears! I couldn't believe he was finally here, completely healthy and I didn't have any kind of complications. We had a son, and Laila had a little brother.

Chris went over to watch them clean up Camden, weigh, and measure him, and then he brought our son over to me to meet :)

Soon after, Chris and Camden were taken to recovery while they finished stitching me up, and I was moved there shortly after for a few hours. I felt really good in recovery except I was so incredibly cold and was super dizzy. They thought it was from all the medication they gave me during the surgery. It passed after a few hours but delayed our stay in recovery for a few hours.

Once we got back to our room, we got to bring back our families and enjoy snuggling the new little man in our lives.

My Dad, Doug

My Mom, Kathy

Chris's Mom, Debbie

Chris's Brother, Brian

My Brother, Joey and his girlfriend Stefani

Chris's step mom, Diann

Chris's Dad, Ray

Our stay at the hospital was 4 nights...I had some issues with pain control and nausea that started the night after the surgery which was NOT fun, but it was really nice to have that time to be so well taken care of. Our nurses were the best and made our stay there actually kind of enjoyable!

So welcome to the world, Camden! We love you so much :)

A Very Overdue Update

Sorry I've been sooooo behind on my updates! I usually take time to blog at night after Laila has gone to bed but I have been so incredibly tired by then I just can't find the energy. So here's the update!
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I ate entirely too much! I do have to say that being pregnant around the holidays rocks and I had to refrain from saying how thankful I am for maternity pants while sitting around the dinner table. Laila absolutely loved her Thanksgiving dinner and had turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and green beans. She sat in her high chair in just her diaper because I thought it was going to be a mess because I just let her have at it, but she ate so carefully and everything pretty much ended up in her mouth! She even shared pumpkin pie and vanilla ice cream with me for dessert! Holidays are so fun this year!

My brother's girlfriend Stefani took some pictures of us for our Christmas card that's being put in the mail tomorrow :) I found this maternity shirt that's just perfect...It says "Tis the Season to be Pregnant". It sure is!

Sorry for the blurry pic, but I had to post a pic of my little poser! Merry and Bright describes her just perfectly! Laila Bug is 16 months old TODAY and we have some HUGE NEWS! We finally have a walker!!!!! Woo Hoo! She's been walking now for a couple of weeks, but the last couple of days she's made huge progress and surprised me this morning when she just came strolling into the kitchen saying, "Mama! Mama!" She's turning into a little girl so quickly! I think her lack of hair, and until a couple of weeks ago lack of mobility had me fooled into thinking she was still my little baby! She is the sweetest, goofiest, silliest little girl I know, and my heart just about bursts when I think of how good of a big sissy she will be in just 2-1/2 weeks!

 

On Saturday we braved the extremely cold temperatures (and by that I mean it was 23 degrees and a wind chill in the single digits)  to get our Christmas tree with my brother and his girlfriend out at Stoney Ridge where we got our pumpkins this year! So the tree is up and decorated complete with his and her booties courtesy of my parents and of course we kept the tradition of cutting off the bottom of our tree and writing on it :)

Laila loves the tree. We put all of our soft non breakable ornaments where she could reach them and she spends all kind of time taking them off and trying to put them back on. We even found her lovey and a couple of paci's in the tree...I guess she wanted to add her own flair :)

 

As far as Mr. Camden is concerned, I had a doctors appointment today and he's still sideways with his head in my right hip and his knees/legs in my left ribs. I guess you could say I'm wearing him like a sash these days! He's a busy strong little guy and I can't wait to meet him...which could be sooner than later! I am already 1 CM dilated and 70% effaced! I don't know why, but the 16th has been stuck in my head the whole pregnancy...so maybe he will come a little early.

 

 

How Far Along: 36 Weeks, 2 Days

Weight Gain: 35 lbs

Gender: BOY

Craving: Ok this is totally bizarre but the only thing I'm craving these days and absolutely cannot get enough of is ice chips. Our freezer doesn't have an ice maker so I am literally breaking up ice cubes and eating them with a spoon. Something about the cold and the crunch...I don't know. Weird. Oh, and I may have brownies baking in the oven right now...at 10pm ;)

Maternity Clothes: Are getting limited. Growing out of maternity clothes is getting a little old to say the least...

Getting Our Lives Ready: Just got a lot more urgent! I haven't even packed my hospital bag and we haven't installed the car seat yet...or decided even if we are going to get a new one! The new monitor sits in the box and Camden's room is filled with empty Christmas decoration boxes and laundry that needs folding...Better get on it since he could come any day now!

Feeling: Stressed! We have a lot to get done in the next couple of weeks while still making sure Laila has an amazing Christmas season.

 

I'll try to blog a few more times before the big day, assuming it's going to be the 23rd as scheduled. If you don't already, you can follow me on Instagram (@amandajune888) because I'm a lot better at keeping that up to date, and we will post pics of our little guy and family of 4 there before I get a chance to blog about Camden's Birth Day.

 

It's coming up fast! Yikes!