Campbelle Hope... The Beginning

Campbelle arrived at 3:30 am on April 19, 2011.









The weeks preceding her arrival were marked by so many instances of "false labor" I began to understand how women can head to the hospital anticipating the arrival of their precious infant only to be sent home. At times my contractions were so regular that I had a bag packed and ready for Ryan to grab a month before Campbelle's due date just in case I went into labor at work. Obviously, I was over prepared and our little Belle had her own timeline.

My last prenatal visit I was 4 cm, 80% and -2 on Friday the 15th, Campbelle's due date. Dr Sutton stripped my membranes and told me if it was effective I would be in labor within 24-48 hours. He also scheduled an induction for Thursday the 21st. Saturday afternoon we took Bria to see Rio, her first experience at the movies, and I contracted consistently all through the afternoon and evening ten minutes apart. We called my parents and drove to Muncie to the mall to walk and be a little closer to the hospital. Shortly after we left the mall to grab something to eat my contractions stopped around 10:00 pm after lasting about six hours. We enjoyed dinner at IHOP and our unexpected date night and headed home. I spent the rest of the night waking up to an occassional contraction.

Sunday morning was uneventful, but the afternoon brought another series of contractions. I was scheduled to work and took a three hour nap that afternoon. I was feeling off enough that Ryan and I discussed if I should go in when I decided if I had any contractions at all I would call off. It helped that he all but told me I needed to call off, which I did. We spent the evening with Ryan's family and ended up calling them to come stay with Bria around 2:30 Monday morning. When we arrived to the hospital I had been contracting 5 minutes apart for about three hours and was 4.5 cm, 90% and -1. Ryan and I walked and walked spurring more intense contractions on, but to no avail. When the nurse rechecked me an hour and a half later I had not made any cervical change. After calling the Dr on call he said he would not come in to break my water as I requested, but that I could stay and be started on pitocin if I wanted or to come back when my contractions were five minutes apart. After the nurse told him that they were five minutes apart he told her to tell me to come back when they were "more painful." We were frustrated to say the least. After explaining the we lived almost an hour away and that we felt the Dr's instructions were vague the nurse encouraged us that if we came back after 7:00 Dr Voss would be on and that he would most likely keep us. We ended up grabbing breakfast and heading home as my contractions spread out to about 6-10 minutes when I was resting.

Monday = Misery. I spent a majority of the day with painful contractions. Coupled with only being able to sleep about 10 minutes at a time since my nap on Sunday I was not feeling too great. Finally, at dinner Ryan asked how far apart my contractions were and I said, "I don't know, I don't see why it matters." After saying that, Ryan became more stern with me than he has been in a long time and said, "Joni, I am NOT delivering a baby in a car. You may be angry about last night but we are making it to the hospital."

We went to bed, now with prayers from my heart that the contractions would just STOP so that I could sleep. They didn't and about 12:30 I got out of bed and tried to rest on the couch. I was so exhausted by this point that I slept soundly between contractions every ten minutes. I got in the bathtub around 1:00. When I got out I decided maybe we should call Ryan's family again, and when I stood up the contractions started coming every 2-3 minutes. I honestly did not admit this to Ryan when I asked him to call his parents, but I'm pretty sure by the fact that I could not stand still he knew it was urgent. I called Dr Sutton who asked what I was last dilated to and when that was, his response... "And you were sent home???" I rushed to dry my hair because I did not want to look horrible and we waited around until his Mom and Dad arrived. When we got into the car I didn't have another contraction for 6 minutes... talk about unpredictable labor! I felt like I had no idea what my body was doing. Ryan made it in record time, in the rain, to the stoplight at the hospital's entrance when the policeman we had passed going the opposite direction pulled a U-turn and flashed his lights. Ryan said, "You've got to be kidding me." as he unbuckled his seatbelt to get out of the car. I quickly reminded him that the officer might feel a little threatened if he suddenly popped out of the car. He rolled down his window and waved, yelling, "Sir, my wife is very much in labor!" The officer's response was, "Go!" Now really, who pulls a speeding car over right outside of the hospital entrance anyway???

Once we arrived to labor and delivery, after walking what seemed like miles, the nurse checked me and said I was 7 cm and 100% at 2:20 am! I started to cry, more out of pure relief that this was real... I would have been happy if they told me I was 5 cm as long as they let me stay! They quickly led me to a labor room and told me Dr Sutton was on his way. At 3:00 he arrived and broke my water and said I was complete. He headed to the desk to do some paperwork and told me to push whenever I felt the urge. Meanwhile my nurse, Lisa, never left my side... in retrospect, I remember laying there thinking, if I just have this baby by 4:00, but the way she hovered I should have known it would probably be sooner. I honestly don't remember feeling the urge to push like I did with Bria until I pushed for the last time and Campbelle was born. I started pushing though, because I figured out that the contractions were not quite as painful if I pushed and there wasn't any reason not to. So, after starting to push around 3:20, our second daughter was born at 3:30 am with a wail to the world!







The events of a little less than a week ago are already fading in my memory and for as miserable as I know in my head I was, it does not seem all that bad now. God did a funny thing when he programmed our minds to forget exactly what pregnancy and delivering a baby is like.



One moment I don't think I will forget is when Dr Sutton leaned over Campbelle and whispered in her ear, "Happy Birthday." My first visit with him had been less than wonderful and I originally hoped he would not be delivering our child. However, after subsequent visits, I began to feel differently and was thrilled that he was on call the night Campbelle was born. He so clearly loves this part of his job and was so respectful of my hopes and plans for Campbelle's birth. While she would have arrived regardless of who was there I am so glad it was him.

And now we are home, enjoying life with two precious daughters and looking forward to all the changes that God brought into our lives last week. Thanks for your faithful prayers for our family, especially over the last tiring month of this pregnancy. We are blessed beyond measure.







The FOUR Frosts, Ry, Joni, Bria & Campbelle