*Camryn's First Week*

Here is the adventure of our first week at home...

The day we got home, we settled in and tried to become accustomed to our new life!! We loveee this baby girl!!

The first night was interesting...she did not want to sleep! We changed her, fed her, rocked her, changed her, fed her. It was trying. She finally went down well at about 3am and we slept for just a few hours. I got up at 6am and made a HUGE pot of coffee for Daryl and me and we just hung out all day, mainly in our room, with Camryn, trying to get used to home life with her! I was loving it!

Thursday night was pretty hard. We were still tired from the night before and Camryn wouldn't sleep well either. We discovered that she's a pretty gassy baby and does NOT like to be wet. AT ALL. I helped her poop a little by a rectal temp, but we still barely got 5hrs of sleep that night. I was still pretty sore at this point, so I was trying to take it easy...easier said than done!

Friday was her newborn follow up appt. We took her to Dr. Dionisio in Farmville and she has gained back 4 out of 7oz that she lost at the hospital. Her color is a little jaundiced looking, so we have another appt for her on Tues, November 8 to just be sure she is doing well. The doctor told us to give 1 tsp Karo Syrup in each bottle for Camryn to help her have stools. So, we were going to try that. She then had newborn photos...which are going to be GORGEOUS. She is such a pretty baby and her skin is beautiful. I love chubby cheeks!! I began to get pretty tired and sore pretty quick so we headed back home and napped! Needless to say she slept very well Friday night, and we did too!

Saturday we had some friends visit, Tim and Steph. Steph fell in love with Cam :)  It's hard not to, with the little snuggle bug that she is! Then late Saturday night, when Daryl was feeding her, she had a HUGE blowout diaper. haha. He looked at me with huge eyes and said "Uhhmmm what was that??" HaHa. That was a two-person changing job! So funny. She didn't sleep as good that night, but I think her tummy was gurgling. Poor baby.

Sunday was mom's birthday, so her and dad came over and we had steaks on the grill. Dad kept Cam awake and talked to her alot, then we bathed her and fed her and put her down and she slept great!!

<<I have been debating for the past week over breastfeeding, bottle feeding, pumping, all three...my mind changes daily. I would love to be nursing her strictly, but after I do, everytime, she gets fussy and turns red and then screams! I feel like it's hard on her, and with formula, she does great. I am so up in the air about it. Plus, Daryl loves feeding her and holding her. So, for now, we are doing a little bit of everything to see what works. I obviously only want what is best for her, so I will do what needs to be done to make her feel good.>>

Then, here we are at Monday, November 7th...

 HAPPY ONE WEEK BABY GIRL!! What did we ever do without you?!

**CAMRYN LYNETTE**

Our sweet, sweet baby girl...

*Camryn Lynette Prewitt*

Born 10/31/2011 @ 12:19 pm

8lbs 5oz

20 3/4" long

Here is the detailed, yet very abbreviated version of my labor and the birth of Miss Camryn Lynette.

Saturday, October 29, Daryl and I dropped off our pups at the kennel and ran a few errands. We then went back home and straightened up and packed up the car. Then off to my parents we went. We stayed at their house Saturday night because we rode with them Sunday morning to the hospital. We had dinner, watched TV, and just relazed.... although I know Daryl and I were so nervous we could hardly stand it! We went to bed sort of late, then got up at 5:30am to call the hospital to be sure there was a bed and room reserved for me for my induction. Indeed there was, and we were told to arrive between 7:30 and 8:00am. So, here is where the journey began!!...

Daryl made me a turkey and cheese sandwich and a big glass of water to try to hold me over through the labor. HaHa. Little did I know...once we got to the hospital, mom and dad parked and we registered. We were sent up to L&D Room 3. My nurse was Megan, and she was great. My doctor came in to check me at 9am and I was 2-3cm and 70% effaced. Better than last time! So, we started my IV and Pitocin, and we were on our way!

Daryl's parents and sister came to give their support and then my sister showed up as well! Nice little support system  :)

Around 3pm, I started to get pretty uncomfortable because the contractions were picking up in the front. I decided to ask for an epidural. Well, I flinched the first time, so we had to redo it. Fun. But then it took pretty decent for a while. The doctor came in to check me around 6pm, and I was at 4cm and 80% effaced. She broke my water and let me tell you...I soaked three full-sized towels. The nurse said it was a good thing I didn't have that happen in public because it would have been a "clean up on aisle 4". Wow. HaHa. They put an internal fetal monitor on Camryn because she was so active still and they couldn't get a good pickup of her heartrate. No biggie at that point. More waiting... and into October 31, we go.

We all slept, and watched TV, and slept. It was a little bit of a blur to me. I started having some back labor around 3am or so, and then came and gave me a bolus in my epidural. I had to keep rolling over because my hips would hurt after laying on one side for too long, too. I got nauseated and got Zofran. YadaYada. Then they had to change my room because of some maintenance work being done outside of my current room... a little frustrated, but whatever. I was too tired to even care at tht point.

At 6am, the doctor came in to check me once again...STILL 4cm and 90% effaced. I was getting very frustrated as it had been 12hrs since they broke my water. She told me to sit tight and that we would discuss c-section options at the 24hr mark of induction (10am). Soooo frustrated. I went back to sleep.

At about 9:15am, I called the nurse in to tell her I was having pretty severe back labor. I was lying on my right side when she checked me and was 6-7cm and almost 100%. I rolled over then to my left side and just continued to wait. Within 30 minutes, I called her back and told her to check me because I knew I needed to push. She told me to just hang in there, and I said "No, check me now or I am going to start pushing. She did, and 10cm I was!! She called the doctor and told me to not push yet. Easier said then done. All the nursery nurses got everything set up, and it was time...

I began pushing at 10:15ish, with Daryl holding one leg and a nursing student holding another. Mom stood beside me and Kristen was my designated "push counter". Well, after about 30 minutes of pushing with SEVERE backlabor, my BP went up to the 170's and 180's and Camryn's heartrate was in the 180s. My temp was also going up, so they gave me Tylenol. I was put on a non-rebreather for oxygen and let me tell you...I was in sooooo much pain. The nurses were amazing, though. Daryl was awesome, but I could tell he felt helpless. I believe the epidural wore off before I even started pushing. And backlabor is the worst pain I have ever felt. The doctor came in around 12pm and told me he wanted to discuss ways to 'help' get Camryn out because she was face up and was not coming out on her own. He and I opted for the vacuum (well, mostly he did, I just said 'get her out!). They put my legs in stirrups and Daryl stood by my side. I had oxygen on, was crying (still, after 2hrs of pushing), and felt miserable. The next thing I knew, it felt like I was literally being tortured...the vacuum was the most painful thing I have ever felt. I believe now he was turning her while she was in the birth canal. I screamed soooo loud and begged him to stop. I looked over and poor Daryl and my sister were bawling and faces were red and mom walked into the bathroom for a few seconds because she couldn't stand it. Then, the doctor said "Ok, here we go..." and out came Miss Camryn. She opened her eyes and then we heard that precious "Wahhh". Daryl cut the cord and they took her to get her cleaned up. She was then brought to me (while I was being stitched up...ATLEAST 20 stitches due to four tears...OUCH!). She was a miracle. Daryl was still crying. It was so amazing. Words cannot even express how amazing it is when you first look at your child. :*)

We stayed in the hospital for two days and went home Wednesday, November 2 at 12:15pm. Camryn came home in the gown I wore 25 years ago, as we planned. When we walked in the door with our baby girl, it was surreal. She was beautiful, and alllll ours  <3