Celebrating Cam's First Year

Cameron joined our hearts and our lives in the early morning hours of December 30th 2005. He was born at 4:43 a.m. Our beautiful baby was big all around! He weighed 10 pounds, 11 ounces and was 22 1/2 inches long.

My due date was December 24th, Christmas Eve. I worked half days most of that week, and was off work starting Friday the 23rd. Christmas Eve came and went, Christmas Day came and went and still no baby! I had an appointment with Dr. Terry on the 26th. He checked things out and said I wasn’t making any progress. He wasn’t worried and said they would put me on the schedule to be induced on January 3rd, 2006! I of course cried and said, “Dr. Terry! That is 100 years from now!!!”

He was confident that I would go into labor long before that. He signed me out of work starting that day. On Wednesday the 28th, he sent me to Cottonwood Hospital for a non-stress test, just to measure the amount of amniotic fluid I had and make sure there was nothing to be worried about.

Everyday that went by with no baby, Dustin would say to me, “Just think about going into labor. Just Think." He was also making me eat spicy food like Smothered Burritos from La Puente.

On the 29th, Dustin and I were just tinkering around the house. I never really got the “nesting instinct” that everyone talks about. People told me I would know that I was going into labor because I would mop the floor or something like that. The only inkling of anything like that was I decided to sort through a big pile of old bills and papers to file or shred. Dustin was busy cleaning and organizing the garage. He called me out there to see what he had done. Our beagle, Willie, followed me out there. I was checking out all the organizing Dustin had done and suddenly could hear something like water spraying. I looked over and what I saw was Willie, leg lifted, peeing on my car tire. This was not something I had ever seen before! Dustin and I both busted up laughing!

We came back inside and I sat on the couch. Then I felt something very strange. I told Dustin, “I think my water just broke!” After accusing me of peeing my pants and me assuring him it was definitely not that, he went into full on panic mode. After standing up and sitting down a few times, saying “What do we do?!?” Dustin regained his composure. My friend Corinne had just gone through this 25 days earlier so she told me that before I go to the hospital I should take a shower and eat dinner. I hopped in the shower while Dustin went to grab dinner. He went for one of our favorites, Carne Asada Burritos from Lone Star Taquiera. He got back and we ate, he quickly showered while I double checked that I had everything I needed in my hospital bag.

We hopped in the truck and drove down to Cottonwood Hospital. We checked in the hospital around 7 pm. On the way there I had Dustin call my mom so she could meet us there. Once I checked in, they decided to put me on pitosin since even though my water had broken; I wasn’t really progressing in labor. Also, much to my dismay, I wasn’t going to be able to have Dr. Terry since he was very sick with a cold. I had heard horror stories about the on call doctor, Dr. Larkin. That stressed me out a little bit. I waited a while for the epidural and was very relieved to see the anesthesiologist arrive since by the time he did I was in quite a bit of pain. Once I got the epidural, I was able to rest a while. Dustin and my mom were getting very tired since it was by now well past midnight. We had been keeping Cameron’s name a secret from the family so while I was in labor Dustin and I told my mom the name for the first time. She absolutely loved it.

Around 2:30 am, I really started to make some progress. Dr. Larkin had to really push hard on my belly and boy did that hurt. The nurses were awesome and took such good care of me. After about 2 hours of the intense part, Cameron arrived. Cameron was so big that everyone was awestruck. Dr. Larkin acted as if he had just landed a prize winning fish. They had Dustin cut the umbilical cord and handed Cameron to me. The first thing I said to Cameron- while holding him and looking at him through my tears of joy-”You came out a month old!”

Dr. Larkin said, “The 49ers are in the hallway with a contract!” While they weighed Cameron, we were all so curious we couldn’t wait to hear the details. The scale was in Kilograms and the nurse turned to Dustin and translated “10 pounds 11 ounces!”

While they did all the newborn screenings Dustin took photos and Cameron screamed his little lungs out. Cameron nursed for the first time right after that. Then Dustin and Cameron went to the nursery for Cameron’s first bath. They took me to my new room around 6 am and my Mom stayed with me until Dustin got back. Dustin slept in a chair while we waited for Cameron to get back from the nursery. We were so tired but I was having a severe case of separation anxiety. I was calling the nursery asking for Cameron every 10 minutes. I was feeling so strange not having Cameron with me.

Once they finally brought Cameron back to me around 9 am, Dustin headed home to take care of Willie and Sheriff, make sure Fishwest orders were taken care of and get a shower. He came back to the hospital as soon as he could and brought me everything I asked for. I was craving Starbucks and an onion bagel toasted with butter. He also showed up with flowers and a gift certificate for the day spa. What a great dad and husband. Each day I was in the hospital Dustin brought me anything my heart desired.

That was one the most amazing and wonderful parts of the whole experience. In that moment that Cameron was born I saw Dustin become a Father. There was a change in his countenance and in that instant I knew our whole world had changed.

Our very first visitor was Dustin’s Dad, Cameron’s Grandpa Phil. He was surprised that I was in the room alone with Cameron. He very tenderly and lovingly held Baby Cam during his visit. Also my mom came back after I am sure just a few hours of sleep. Then Dustin got back, and the parade of visitors really started coming to meet our beautiful baby boy.

We were so lucky to have so many people to come meet Cameron. Grandma Tammie, Grandpa Dan, Aunt Heather, Uncle Dana, Aunt Andrea and Cameron’s cousin Aston all came by. Also Auntie Annie, Uncle Jim and Cousin Sam, and Aunt Laura, Uncle Marty, Cousins Joe and Caroline came to visit. Luckily Uncle Ted was still in town from Arizona on his regular Christmas Visit so he was able to meet Cameron at the hospital too. Also our dear friends Corinne, baby Nicholas, Bobby and Jennie and my friend Jan were all able to visit. Grampa Ed and Grandma Linda weren’t able to be there but we talked to them on the phone. All of my other girlfriends- Sheraka, Kristi, Jana, and Rachel called me and sent me text messages while I was in the hospital. EVERYBODY was so generous and showered us with gifts for Baby Cam.

Each day that I was in the hospital my mom brought gifts, treats and meals for Me, Dustin and Cameron. She was our lifesaver throughout the whole time.

One other memory I have from the hospital is Dustin and I watching the ball drop New Years Eve in our hospital room. What a cool way to spend New Years Eve, with a brand new baby!

We were released from the hospital New Years Day. Dustin ensured that we had the car seat ready and listened very closely to what the nurse said about the best way to buckle up the baby. We headed home to introduce Sheriff and Willie to our newest family member, Baby Cam.