Welcome to the World Camdyn Reece!

Friday, December 9th I woke up like any other day and got ready for my biweekly doctor's appt. Little did I know I would meet my sweet daughter later that evening. I went in and of course my blood pressure was still up and protein too. Dr. Heiner wanted to do an ultrasound and then put me on the monitor to listen to baby. The ultrasound was all he needed. After doing my ultrasound, he told me that Camdyn hadn't gained any weight in the past week and a half (I previously had been in the hospital Monday and Tuesday and had an ultrasound done and also had one done the week before when I had to stay in the hospital). He said he would feel better if he went ahead and took her instead of waiting. The plan was to induce me, wait to see if I would start contracting and then if I did contract we would see if Camdyn tolerated it well. He said for me to be prepared that the cervidil wouldn't work and that he would be doing a C Section Saturday morning. As I sat and waited for my paperwork to be done I texted William and told him I needed him to get off work - today was baby day! I have never been more anxious or scared in my life! I got to the hospital around 10:30 am and Dr. Heiner came in around lunch and started the cervidil. Within minutes I started contracting - NOT expected. Camdyn tolerated the contractions well in the beginning and then she had some decelerations in her heart rate so Dr. Heiner decided that a C Section would be best. He said after his other surgeries I would go in - probably about 2 to 3 hours. After he left everyone left my room besides William since they knew it'd be awhile. My plan was to rest and try not to get worked up over having surgery - this would be my first surgery. About 20 minutes after everyone left, Camdyn's heart rate dropped into the 50's and 60's and several people rushed into my room. Within minutes, I was placed on my side with an oxygen mask on my face, had a catheter put in and was given a shot to stop contractions. It was the scariest moment of my life and I can't explain how stressful every minute after that was. Dr. Heiner happened to be just outside getting ready to down to surgery and rushed in. He asked that they have me prepped and ready as soon as he was done. I was only inches away from an emergency c-section. An hour later I was wheeled down to the OR. I was already shaking (teeth chattering and all!). The fear of having a C-Section paired with the fear of having a baby that wasn't breathing or developed terrified me. Dr. Heiner had estimated her weight at 4 lbs 9 oz earlier that morning during my ultrasound. We weren't prepared for a 3 lb 15 oz baby that was delivered at 5:22 pm! She was just under 4 lbs, was 16 inches long, and came out SCREAMING! I have never been so glad to hear such a loud noise in all my life. My first words to William were, "She's crying!" then followed by "Does she have any hair?" :) Of course they all told me no, she was as bald as they come. Not only was this TINY little girl perfect in every way but she was STRONG. Her apgar score was PERFECT and she required no oxygen or any intervention. They brought her over for me to see and then she and her Daddy went upstairs. I was able to go up from recovery about an hour later (the longest hour of my life) and finally got to hold this sweet little girl. She is such a fighter and a true miracle. Everyone involved in her birth was overwhelmed, excited, and most of all surprised at how well she has done. When we went to the doctor Tuesday we were told that she was the smallest baby our doctor has delivered in Elkin that didn't have to be taken to Winston (Brenner's). AMAZING. Nothing can explain this except for prayers and an awesome God that saw it fit to give us this tiny but perfect miracle just before Christmas. I still look at her in amazement as she holds her head up, eats 2 ounces at every feeding, and does everything a normal newborn does. People that see her pictures think she is so tiny but then they see her in person and realize that not even pictures does her tiny being justice. God has blessed us beyond measure and now my hope is that we will raise this little girl in his will and bring her up in his word and truth. Christmas this year just got a little bit sweeter....

Boredom: noun; a dull, repetitious, or uninteresting state

Yes I actually looked up the definition of BOREDOM to see what it said. Webster hit that nail right on the head. I have never been so bored in my entire life. Minus Thanksgiving Day, I haven't been out of the house since Tuesday evening. I am not a person that enjoys staying home very much when there isn't anything to do. There are so many things I need to get done before Camdyn gets here and now they are put on hold because of my stubborn blood pressure/protein/swelling. We just can't seem to get a grasp on it. Tuesday we switched medication and it still is running somewhat on the high side. I had bloodwork on Tuesday and a test at the hospital yesterday which all show good. Because of all of the symptoms, they have put me on "strict bed rest". I am a typically stubborn Type A personality so this is torture! I have waited awhile to vent about it but today I'm at an all time "boredom" high. I am currently waiting on William to return with baby laundry detergent so I can watch him do Camdyn's laundry :) There are perks to this I will say - love you William! ;-)

Nonetheless, we only have 3 to 5 weeks left! 37 weeks is considered full term so maybe she will come early ad rescue her mother from this boredom. I need something to do and I can't think of anything I'd rather do than take care of a sweet newborn baby girl! She is truly blessed to have so many people who are anxiously waiting to meet her and hold her and love her. I can't wait for all of you to meet her! Maybe my next post will have pictures of Miss. Camdyn :)

My Shield

On Friday I went for another doctor visit and was very discouraged to hear that I have protein in my urine now. This paired with swelling and high blood pressure isn't a good thing for someone who is pregnant. My doctor proceeded to ask me how big of a deal it would be if he had to take me out of work......of course in my mind it is a HUGE deal. Not only do I not have enough sick days to do something like that but I kept thinking how awful! I would take all of my days before she gets here and then have no time with her afterward. I have worried myself sick the past 3 days over what is in store for us and what will happen. I want more than ANYTHING to work until she gets here and then spend a great 10 weeks with her afterward but it isn't in my hands. I feel somewhat silly after seeing the things God has gotten some of my friends and their families through within the past year. My situation is nothing compared to others and God is faithful. I read this evening in Psalm 115:11, "Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield." This is so true and I need to only BELIEVE it. God is going to get us through whatever happens and I just need to trust him. So often we say trust, hope, believe....but how often we don't believe our own beliefs and words!

It won't be long now!

I haven't posted in awhile, as things have been pretty boring and uneventful here. Yesterday marked the first day of our THIRD trimester! It seems crazy that we are on the final home stretch these days. We learned at my doctor visit last month that we may be induced earlier than the typical 38-40 weeks if my blood pressure continues to inch it's way towards being too high. That would put us having little miss before Christmas! Today was my October visit and glucose test. I passed the glucose test with flying colors which was so exciting to me! We are planning to go to the Dixie Classic Fair Sunday evening and all I have thought about is the food that awaits me! I would have been one sad girl if I hadn't passed that test. Everything else checked out normally also and I was excited to know that I haven't gained one single pound since last month. I was exactly the same :) When it was time to hear her little heartbeat, he said "this kid is hyper today, I think she's practicing karate". Her heartbeat was faster than normal and she was moving all over the place. The only negative to today's appt was that I will have to continue seeing the doctor every week over my blood pressure as it was still high today. I am so excited to meet this sweet little girl and can't wait for the end of this last trimester!

Great afternoon...

So a week from today I had the worst meltdown of my life in the doctor's office. Today was my rescheduled anatomy ultrasound to check all of her organs etc and make sure things looked good. Things went smoothly and it was a great visit. Our sweet little girl is approximately one and a half pounds and we are already at 24 weeks! She is definitely still a girl...a girl with lots of hiccups. She had them for a little while during the ultrasound which was cute to see. I cannot wait to have another 4d ultrasound done, especially after seeing Brittany's (my sister) pictures from her 31 week 4d ultrasound. Her little "Tucker James" has lots of hair and you could even see his eyelashes! God is amazing and seeing a little person unfold before your eyes has got to be one of the greatest miracles of life! :)

Joys of Being a Teacher

I could never imagine a job that I love more on most days. I had an "off" day however on Saturday. I loathed being a teacher yesterday and blamed it for the "bug" I caught. I woke up Saturday excited about spending a Saturday with my husband who is always so reluctant to go anywhere away from Wilkes county. We were going to go shopping and have dinner out for his birthday. Of course the one day he agrees to go do these things, I turn up sick shortly after waking up. I thought at first it may just be some morning sickness that I occasionally still get but knew all too quickly there was more to it when I was vomiting every 30 minutes. It was absolutely horrible and I couldn't keep anything down. I knew it was a stomach virus but never being pregnant before, I didn't know how all of that worked when you have a person inside of you! I called Dr. Heiner who wanted me to come in and get fluids and some nausea meds. I would have tried to tough it out like usual but apparently pregnant women get sicker quicker and dehydrate fast. I was admitted for a short while to the OB floor for monitoring to make sure I wasn't contracting and all was well with the baby. We got a sneak peek of where we will be in early January! My potassium was low so we stayed for more fluids and phenergen for nausea and left the hospital around 8 p.m. I slept until earlier today and now feel pretty good, just a little weak. I will now be bathing myself in hand sanitizer at school and I refuse to use the same bathrooms as the kids now!

Nursery beginnings

Ventings of a Distraught Pregnant Woman :) Proceed with Caution

Had my doctor visit for the month today. I picked the perfect day because we had a teacher workday today and it wasn't a huge deal that I had to leave a little early this afternoon. Sounds good, right? WRONG! When I got there, they hadn't put me on the ultrasound schedule ( I was supposed to have my anatomy scan today) and after waiting 50 minutes in the waiting room, they then decide to tell me that they will check me as usual but they will need to reschedule my anatomy scan because THEY messed up. I guess all of the hormones began to reveal themselves because I had a complete MELTDOWN right there in front of nurses, receptionists, etc. and I am glad William was not present for this appointment because he would have been embarrassed. I was so upset that I would have to leave work early AGAIN next week and had looked forward to this appointment for over 4 weeks. There I stood paying at the counter with tears running down my face. Tears of anger, frustration, and who knows what else! On top of that, I have restrictions now at work. I have to periodically put my feet up throughout the day and closely monitor my blood pressure as it is still borderline. NOT the afternoon I had hoped for. We will try all of this AGAIN next Tuesday afternoon. Please pray for this emotionally distraught pregnant lady tonight and pat yourself on the back for listening to this rant/vent :)

And Baby Makes 3....

Married in November and found out we were expecting in April! It's been a roller coaster of emotion with us the past year. We were excited (or I guess I was a little more excited) to find out we are having a little GIRL! Her due date is January 5th although I figure with my luck it will happen on Christmas Day just as I am getting ready to eat some dessert or something really great :) I am still learning about blogging and am hoping to make this blog a place where our friends and family can keep with us and our growing family. God has been so good to us and I cannot wait to see what he has in store yet! Blessings come in all shapes and sizes and ours just happens to come in the form of a sweet little girl :) More to come soon....