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....