Happy 4th Birthday Camryn Nicole

My baby is 4 today. I cannot believe how time has flown. It seems like she was just born today!! She picked her cake - Barbie of the Castle. She loves Barbies!

I bled with her during the first few months of pregnancy. I was always scared that I would lose this baby as I had miscarried right before I became pregnant with her. We went on vacation to Virginia and I ended up in the ER as I was cramping and bleeding. I had told myself this was it and to gear up for a miscarriage. I was shocked when they saw a heartbeat and the placenta attached firmly. They still don't know why I bled, but I am thankful she stayed put!! I was supposed to be on bedrest during that vacation, but I did not follow directions too well as it was our last family vacation as an extended family in Virginia. My parents were retiring and moving to Sandy, Utah within the next year. Thank goodness Heavenly Father let the pregnancy progress despite my disobedience to the doctors advice.

When the doctor first told me it was a girl, I did not believe him. After having 4 boys I was sure it was another one. In fact, we picked the name Camryn as we decided if the doctor was wrong we would just spell it Cameron! I had many ultrasounds that confirmed it was a girl but I just would not believe. In fact, my friends wanted to give me a baby shower but I would not let them until she was born and I knew for a fact she was female:)

I was put on bedrest with her at 8 months due to contractions. I also had to take that awful medication terbutaline, which I should have been used to as my last 3 pregnancies required it. I did OK with trying to stay down on bedrest, but it is hard when you have 4 little ones clamoring for your attention and I was still working my triage nurse job from home. Again, Heavenly Father blessed me by keeping her safe despite my not listening very well (I seem to follow that theme, don't I?)

She was born 2 weeks early at 4 am after a long night at labor and delivery. Actually, it was probably longer for Rich as I had an epidural and got to enjoy TV, sleeping, etc. I finally felt pressure and the nurse checked me. To her great surprise and mine Camryn was on her way out!! Yay epidural! The doctor came in, I gave half a push and she was out. My little redheaded girl was born screaming for 2 minutes and then she fell asleep. She was worn out from all her work too.

The nurse noticed about an hour after birth that she was turning yellow at a fast rate. I have type O blood and she has type A, like her dad. This leads to a condition known as ABO incompatibility as I passed over my antibodies to her at birth and they were breaking her blood cells down. She was whisked off to the NICU and I was left without a baby! At first, it was a relief as I slept. But I sure missed her when I woke up and no baby. I visited the NICU as much as I could but could only take her out of the bili lights for feedings. To tell you how stubborn she was, I tried to nurse her and pump at the hospital. She would not nurse no matter what and the stress of that led me to not be able to pump. I decided I would just give her the bottle and not stress. They would ring my room when she woke up and I would take the elevator up to the next floor. I could hear her screaming all the way down the hall! Her loudness has not changed to this day:) She had to stay for a week and I was discharged home after 2 days. Thank goodness for the great nurses who worked at the NICU. They let me decorate her bassinett with pictures of her brothers and teddy bears. They would let me call frequently and I tried to visit as much as I could. She finally came home after a week and there was much excitement in the home. I decided I would try one last time to nurse her. That little stinker decided now she would nurse! She nursed for a whole year until she decided it was time to stop. I should have known then what I was in for:)

We love her dearly and are so grateful she is a part of our family. It has been a blast to do girlie things with her and her brothers enjoy teaching her many things (some not so good of course.) All I can say is that whoever she dates is going to have to get past her dad and 4 brothers! Happy Birthday Camryn:)