introducing the little man. {camden daniel}

chris and i were very blessed to have our fourth child, and third little boy become a part of our family on september 4th.  all of my previous babies have been overdue (brady 4 days), olivia (two weeks) and zach (two weeks).  i was induced with all of them.  

with this pregnancy my back had been out for three weeks prior to camden's birth.  i was flat on the couch as much as possible and then switching between ice packs and heating pads just to get through the tasks i HAD to do...like feeding my family and taking care of everything!  moms don't have sick days :/

at 38 weeks i went in for my normal appointment, having had steady contractions at least every hour for the past 3 days.  my doctor said my blood pressure was elevated and my extreme discomfort due to my back (and babies' positioning) worried her.  she said to go home, get my bag, arrange for the kiddos to have a place to go and to get back to the hospital within the hour! THE hour!

i called chris, who had taken the day off for working the previous saturday,  he was at the park with the kids so he played with them while i did a quick clean sweep of the livingroom, threw the last few things in the hospital bag and got myself all arranged.  i met the kids and chris out front (they were hopping all over the place so excited to FINALLY meet their new baby brother!)

we drove them to a friends house (THANKS CANDICE!!!) and were so grateful to know that they would be safe and have fun until Grammie Graf got down there that evening to take over!

                                                  

38 weeks

(sorry for the tan lines and tank top! but we had to snap a pic before getting the gown on!)

chris and i checked into labor & delivery and after being hooked up to fetal monitor and changed into my love-r-ly gown we got to walking, and walking, and walking....and walking....oh, and um, walking.  contractions sped up to every 5 minutes but after an hour of doing circles in the hallways my legs were chaffing so we went back to my room where i sent about an hour rolling my hips on the birthing ball.

contractions remained steady at 5 minutes or so but still were not too intense and were not getting closer together.  i'm a little impatient.  my back was K-I-L-L-I-N-G me.  i could hardly walk, let alone deal with back labor and contractions.  oh this was going to be fun.

finally after another hour or so and more walking we decided to speed things up a little with a tiny does of Pit.  worked like a charm. within another hour hard labor had begun, my doctor came in and broke my water and my little man came crying into this world a few hours later.

i delivered naturally again, and again, marveled at my sheer grit to be able to get through it. seriously, toughest thing EVER.  but so worth it to me to know that i have that strength and to allow my body to do what it was designed to do.  oh i hollered and screamed.  i may have scared a few nurses.  i know i scared chris!  and when he was born i shouted, "Oh thank God!"  I didn't mean it in a "taking the name of the Lord in vain" way.  I was seriously so thankful! 

having a baby is one of the most amazing things. that moment of actual delivery is the most painful and most amazing sense of relief ever!  i am truly thankful to God that i have been blessed to have four beautiful, healthy children.  i know that all are not as lucky as chris and i have been. it something that i try to never take for granted.

~Camden Daniel~

6 lbs. 2 oz., 20"

we named Camden after my very favorite place in Maine where i grew up (after my mom suggested it as a baby name) and his middle name after chris' dad, Dan.  for all of our children we have tried to incorporate a name from either side of the family into the middle name and we like names that have nicknames as well. we may or may not call Camden, "Cam."

after mommy and daddy got some snuggle and feeding time in with our new little one we made phone calls and sent pictures to family and close friends.  

the next morning Grammie brought the proud big brothers and sister over to meet Camden.

our new family of six!

mommy and her new brood. four kids! yikes!

that's one proud Grammie!

Zach liked spinning around on the hospital stools.

when we could get his attention he came up on the hospital bed and held his baby brother.  he wasn't quite sure what to think, but quickly warmed up to him and hasn't stopped kissing him since!

Brady has been such a huge help as a big brother! he tries to help with Camden as much as he can and is often found laying by Camden and reading or playing, and having Camden sit with him while he watches shows or plays video games!

Olivia has been great as well.  she talks and sings to Camden and is now able to hold him and carry him.  she also loves to have him sit with her while she watches shows and always checks on him and gives him kisses.

going home!