Camdyn

January 16, 2006 we got the wonderful news!

We were finally pregnant again!!! We were so excited, and we were definitely hoping for an easier pregnancy this time around. :) Yeah, well, we can dream!LOL

The bleeding started again on Super Bowl Sunday. Their is something just sooooo wrong w/bleeding when you're pg (in addition to the bad possibilities, of course). It's just not fair! I wasn't worried at all this time, but we did head to the ER to be safe. I had decided to doctor in Des Moines this time around, but they don't see you until about 12wks, so I hadn't seen a doctor at this point. They basically figured out nothing in the ER that night. We headed back to the clinic several times after that for ultrasounds and blood draws, but just did not get the help we needed. One nurse I spoke to actually told me that if I was miscarrying their was nothing they could do anyway.

They had no idea what was causing the bleeding, which I know happens. But I was also getting conflicting advice from the doctors in the practice. When I was up and about the bleeding would often get worse, but sometimes it was bad anyway even when I was off of my feet. Whenever I called the clinic I'd get advice from a different doctor w/a different opinion. It made me mad and frustrated. We weren't satisfied w/the care we were receiving, so I looked into the clinic in Ames and found out my old OBGYN was still there. We made the switch and couldn't have been happier!

We never did find out the cause of the bleeding this time around, but eventually it stopped, and the care was much better in Ames! Our big u/s appt was a good news/bad news day. Good news--we were having another baby boy!! Bad news--he had hydronephrosis. More good news--it almost always takes care of itself before birth and overall he was healthy. So, we put it out of our minds and didn't think or worry much about it. Here are some early pics of our 2nd baby boy:

Sept 19, 2006 I had my final OB appt.

Dr. Beer (yes, that's her real name!) was aware of my history of quick labor w/Kaden. She was also aware of the fact that I was still working...in Carlisle...45mins from the hospital. Me going into labor while I was at work had been a concern for both Josh and I. We even had a plan in place--Barb and Kelly (my principal and her secretary) would drive me to Ames if I went into labor at school, and Josh would meet us there (he was still in Madrid at the time). We joked about it several times, but thankfully that didn't happen!

Well, at the final appt I was dilated and effaced a good amount, so Dr. Beer decided to schedule an induction for the following morning. I remember her mentioning doing it that afternoon, but for some reason chose the following morning. Maybe the hospital was busy? I don't remember. Anyway...

I wasn't ready and it freaked me out a bit! I was so worried about all kinds of things that seem so silly now. How would Kaden react to no longer being an only child? Would I really love the new baby as much as Kaden? Would I favor one over the other? Could I handle being a mom of two? On top of all that craziness, I was REALLY enjoying this pregnancy!!! Even this far in, I was loving it! But none of that mattered. At 7:00am on the 20th I was scheduled to be induced and baby boy #2 would be here.

I quickly went into plan mode. The idea that our baby (who was still nameless, btw) would be in our arms the next day still seemed surreal. Plus their was so much to do! Josh and I stopped at McD's for lunch, talked about the appt, and called a few people to tell them what was happening. Namely Eric and Sarah, so we'd have someone to keep Kaden. :) Then we each headed off to work. When I got there everyone I saw stopped me to ask how the appt went...the more I talked about it and the induction the more REAL it started to feel. Our baby was going to be here tomorrow!!!!!

That evening after work we got busy packing up Kaden. He was spending the night w/Eric and Sarah so we wouldn't have to wake him and deal w/all that in the AM. I also went through my hospital bags to make sure they were all ready. Double checked that the camera was packed and reminded Josh that it COULD NOT get left in the car again!LOL It was weird not having Kaden home that night. His last night as an only child. That evening I was filled with sadness and excitement all at once. :)

At about 3:30am I woke up with what felt like gas. It crossed my mind that it could be contractions, but it didn't feel like it did w/Kaden, so I assumed it was nothing. I mean wouldn't it feel the same the 2nd time around? Wouldn't I KNOW the 2nd time? Yeah, right! If only it were that easy. :) I got online and emailed some friends that I might or might not be having contractions. Hey, I couldn't sleep! What else was I going to do?LOL

Eventually, I woke up--or wised up??--and realized I was definitely having contractions. Nothing major, but still....I ended up waking Josh at 5:00am instead of 5:30am, and told him I was in labor. I told him we didn't need to rush, but that we should go ahead and get ready and head out. As I was getting ready in the bathroom I felt the contractions coming faster and harder, but I still wasn't worried. Got out to the car (BRRR!! It was cold that AM, but Josh grabbed me a blanket :) ) and same thing. They hurt but were still manageable. About 1-2miles from our house that all changed.

Suddenly they were coming harder and faster...MUCH harder and faster. I really started to worry--I mean, the hospital was 30mins away and we hadn't even made it out of town yet! I didn't want Josh to worry, though, so I didn't say anything. By the time we got to Huxley it was pretty bad. I finally told Josh to go as fast as he thought he could while still being safe. At that point, I really didn't think we were going to make it to the hospital. About 10mins from the hospital it was all I could do to not push. For the 2nd time, I truly thought Josh would be delivering a baby on the side of the road.

We finally made it to the hospital, and Josh pulled up out front. I felt like we were so close, yet so far. I tried to get out of the car and it just wasn't happening. I'm sure Josh was getting frustrated w/me, but I literally could not move myself out of the car. I thought, "Crap! We've finally made it and I can't move. Nobody is around. He's going to be delivering our baby in front of the freaking hospital!" Somehow, he finally got me out of the car. I seem to remember him wanting me to walk to the door where they had wheelchairs. Again, not happening. I honestly don't know how he got me into the wheelchair. At some point during this process I remember feeling wet. I totally thought I'd pee myself, but at that point couldn't have cared less. LOL Found out later that, obviously, that was when my water broke. Hope they cleaned that wheelchair!LOL (BTW, through all this I somehow had the presence of mind to remind Josh to NOT forget the camera in the car!LOL Can you tell I was determined to get pics this time?!)

Josh left the car running in the drive in front of the front door and rushed inside w/me and into the elevator. (A valet later parked it for us.) It felt like the longest freaking elevator ride EVER!!!! We got to L&D and as soon as I could speak I told the nurses I needed to push NOW (or 15mins ago)! Thank goodness their was an on-call OB on the floor! I couldn't get myself from the wheelchair onto the bed...once again, no idea how they did it! (I later learned that in the last stage of labor it is physically impossible to walk, etc. Your fun fact for the day!) Josh told me that at that point the baby was already on his way out, and just minutes after we got there we were holding our baby boy in our arms!

6:16am (44mins before the scheduled induction)
8lbs 9oz
21"

So, much for an induction. Cam was determined to come in his own time, when he was good and ready. NOT when someone else told him to. Sound familiar?! He still doesn't like to be told what to do!LOL Through the whole pregnancy we'd gone back and forth about names, and we (mostly me!) just couldn't decide which one was right. We had it narrowed down to Eagan and Camdyn--Josh liked Eagan, but I just wasn't sure which one was right. Sometime later that day I looked at our baby and Camdyn just seemed to fit. So, we chose Camdyn Charles Baxter. :)

And here is our little, big man 2yrs later!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CAMDYN CHARLES!!!!