September 14th, 2012.

September 14th 2012 will be a day that we will forever remember. Not only because we welcomed our sweet little girl into the world, but also because it was one the scariest days of our lives. Nothing about that day went according to plan or how we imagined it should, but I truly believe that someone was watching out for our little family, and for that I'm extremely grateful!

Really this story begins on Sept. 12th at about 4 am, with me laying awake in bed counting the minutes till 5 am when I could make the phone call to the hospital to see if I could get in for our scheduled induction that day. After many, many, many phone calls between me, my doctor, and the hospital we were shoved off till the next day and the routine started all over again...at 4 am with me laying in bed staring at the clock, counting down the minutes till 5.

As the day progressed on the 13th we began to realize that we weren't going to get in again. My doctor suggested that we come in and she would strip my membrane in hopes that nature would take over and kick things into action. So off we went and one painful appointment later we walked out the door with a promise from my doctor that she was going to continue to try and get us in for that ever elusive induction.

Mentally,  I had given in. I decided it wasn't so bad (even though my back pain had made it impossible to ever be comfortable) and that we would just wait until baby girl decided she was ready to make her appearance. Plus it was Thursday night and we would actually be able to catch the Bears game on TV. We would order some Hot wings and just wait for them and the stripped membrane to do their thing! Plans were in place for our big evening and that's when the phone rang.

 My doctor called at 6pm to let us know that she had gotten us in for 7 that evening and we would be induced by 8. She asked if an overnight labor would be OK and we quickly agreed that it would. Kisses to Buggy, promises to see him soon, and explanations about how baby sister would finally be here were exchanged. Packed our bags into the truck and off we went...into the longest, most confusing, extremely emotional and physically demanding 5 days we have ever experienced.

As soon as we arrived and were hooked up to the monitors the nurse quickly realized that something just wasn't right. Baby Girl's heartbeat was indicating that she was in distress. At this point I was having contractions on my own and it was obvious that she wasn't reacting well to the contracting of her space. In the two hours that followed Randy's eyes never left the monitors. I couldn't see them well enough to figure out how to read them, but I have always been great at reading other people's expressions and I could tell that something was very wrong with the way things were progressing. The doctor was quickly called in and the decision was made that baby wouldn't make it through any type of active labor and a C-section was necessary. We never even made it to the induction part. But Baby Girl had to come out in order to remain healthy.
My biggest fear was becoming a reality. Something was wrong with my unborn child and I was going under the knife. Of course, this was an easy decision to make. I would have done anything to protect this little life I had created...but that doesn't mean I wasn't terrified! The whole Cesarean process was actually quicker and less scary than I had imagined it would be. As it turns out there was an actual knot tied in the umbilical cord and I had a tear in my uterus. So this surgery was just as important for my health as for that of the baby!

6 lbs 2 oz and 19 inches long

Getting all cleaned up

We had our little bundle in our arms and thought all was right with the world. We quickly realized how lucky we were when the doctor came in to explain to us about the cord and the tear, she finished the conversation by saying that she never and meant EVER, did night elective inductions. But for some reason she decided that she just needed to get us in and get it over with. She then added that she was really glad that we got Baby Girl out when we did. After the third time of her saying this exact same phrase over the next few days I began to understand that if we had waited there was a very real possibility that she wouldn't have survived. We had no indication, without the monitors, that there were any issues. My entire pregnancy seemed normal and healthy. Yet there were definitely problems going on.

So, Thank You. Thank You, to Dr. Richter for deciding that she needed to preform this night induction. Thank You, to the hospital for allowing us to come when they were already swamped. Thank You, to my husband for being my rock. Thank You, to my mom for being here for Landon. And Thank You, to whichever force (karma, guardian angel, god) that allowed everything to align in order for our Sweet Cammon to be with us!!

Things were great for the next few hours until we got smacked with another change of plans and our sweetest little one was whisked off to the NICU...but I'll save that adventure for the next blog entry.