Another Campbell Has Arrived! The Birth Story of Baby Snowflake

'Baby Snowflake' is our little "drama" queen! She really knows how to play tricks on her mommy! After 2 bouts of false labor, she finally decided to come at the last minute before 2011 was over- our New Year’s Eve baby!

Here is the full story of her birth:

On Saturday, Christmas Eve, the day before my due date, I started having contractions about 7 minutes apart around 1pm. The night before, I had been having contractions on and off, which really hindered my ability to get a good night's rest. Friday morning, I nested like crazy, cleaning the whole house thinking baby would be here soon. Daddy C was feeling sick like he might have the flu, which made me even more anxious. Between all the cleaning, I tried to feed us all good, nutrient dense foods and supplements to ward off the sickies. By 1pm, the contractions had returned with regularity. I went on a walk, and they got stronger and closer together. I decided to call the midwives and tell them to come at 4:30pm. Daddy C took Peanut to a relative's house just in case, and the midwives arrived around 5:30pm, by which time the contractions were now coming 5 minutes apart. They were not really painful though, and since I had back labor with Peanut, I wasn't sure if this was just what regular labor contractions felt like. I decided to be checked to see how far along I was since Daddy C was trying to decide whether or not to miss the Christmas Eve Worship service he needed to lead. They checked me and I was just 1-2cm, so he left and my sister who was there with us stayed and hung out with me while we waited for him to get back. During this time my contractions did not get any closer together and they varied in intensity.

When Daddy C got back, the midwives went out for a Chinese dinner and me, my sister and Daddy C took another long walk. It was kinda pretty walking around after dark on Christmas Eve, looking at all the lights. I had quite a few intense contractions while walking, and by the time I got back I sat on the stability ball to work through them. They were coming 2 minutes apart and were pretty intense. I was so worn out by time point I decided to try and lay down on the bed for a while. During this time about 10pm, the midwives came back and checked me again to see if any progress had been made. I was still the same 1-2cm. I pretty much knew it was not going to happen that night and we sent them home. I then took a long hot shower and had a good cry. I was more upset over not having our Peanut home with us than anything- it was the first time she had ever been away at night and we did not want to wake her up just to bring her back home when we could just get her in the morning.

The next few days came and went without any contractions. On Tuesday, I was feeling crampy in the evening, but nothing like I had on Saturday. Daddy C and I went to bed, and contractions started coming soon after around 9:30pm. I had to really work through these contractions which were much different from the ones I had on Saturday. It was eerily reminiscent of Peanut's labor and birth, so we called the midwives over at around 10:45pm and they got here shortly before midnight. We had been timing the contractions to be 4 minutes apart and lasting around a minute each. My sister also came soon after since she was going to take care of Peanut if she woke up. Unfortunately, she also brought her dog, which I didn't expect, and I got needlessly upset. The stress slowed the contractions down considerably. I was checked and found to be 4-5cm, 80% effaced and -2 station. Because the contractions were slowing, the midwives suggested I take a shower and see if that stopped them. I did and it seemed at that point they were slowing. My body was extremely tired by now and all I wanted was sleep. I think my body knew this, and everything stopped by 2am and we sent everyone home once again. I still had very irregular contractions all throughout the night before they stopped completely in the morning. I was so sore the next day, disappointed, and thinking the baby would never come.

Friday morning, I decided to go get adjusted one last time at my chiropractor. I was so stiff and sore from the stress the past week had brought on me. I felt so much better after being adjusted, thinking that the next time labor started I would probably stay in labor. We then went out to eat at a Mexican joint for lunch so I could eat some spicy foods.

Saturday morning, New Years Eve, I really needed to get my mind off things now that I was nearly a week overdue. We went hiking at a nearby nature preserve and I flew down the trail, hiking with gusto. This was so abnormal for me since I normally take my time climbing hills! I didn't really think too much of it though. Later that afternoon, Daddy C and I made love (for like the millionth time that week, haha!) and then went out shopping at Lowes. At Lowes, I started having contractions that were pretty strong, but I didn't want to

get my hopes up so I didn't think too much of them. They were coming every 10 minutes so nothing to get excited over. We went home, made dinner, and I started timing them around 6:30pm and they were coming 6-7 minutes apart. I made the call to alert one of the midwives, but did not tell them to come yet.

We put Peanut to bed, and I took a shower to see if that would stop the contractions. Shortly before the shower, I had a very small amount of "bloody show" which was really just pink twinged mucus, and not much of it- it certainly wasn't as much show as I had with Peanut. The shower seemed to intensify the contractions, and I was moaning and trying to get through each one. At 8:15, I had DH summon the midwives. He then worked on getting arrangements for Peanut while I worked through the contractions on my stability ball. I had to visualize myself getting through each one, like riding a wave. By the time the midwives arrived, I was having them very close together. Moving around seemed to intensify them so I

stayed on my ball. Despite the intensity and pain of each contraction, I was able to get through them with visualization and chanting "I can do this" over and over. I was determined to remain as relaxed and positive as possible throughout labor this time around. I held on tight to DH's hands through each one, and everyone was very encouraging throughout, telling me how great of a job I was doing.

Around 11, I decided to be checked to see my progress, since things were really picking up. I was starting to feel nauseated and getting chills. I was checked and found to be 7-8cm. I remember asking if I was going through transition and they told me I was. A few of the contractions became horrible at that point and someone suggested I get in the shower for a bit to see if that might help. I got in, and was relieved to feel the hot water. I couldn't really stand at that point, so I dropped to my hands and knees. We decided to fill up the tub for better relief, which helped a bit. The contractions were so intense at this point, I was afraid I would not get through them. I tried as hard as possible to remain as controlled and relaxed as I could, but a few of them I sorta lost it and everyone tried to bring me back down. I knew this baby needed to get out and now. I could not stand this a minute longer! I tried to get out of the tub and make my way to the bed, but as I stood up, I felt like I needed to push right there. I decided to stay in the tub. The uncontrollable urge to push came over me and after the first push, one of the midwives put my hand down to feel that the baby's head had crowned. I remember being freaked out and said "I don't want to feel it!" but it was actually very encouraging to know baby was close. I think my water broke sometime before that happened as well. Daddy C said the water suddenly got very cloudy when that happened. The last 4 minutes or so of pushing were agonizing, I was screaming partly in fear of it lasting forever. But within 3 more pushes, baby shot out like a rocket. I couldn't believe it- such relief! She made a wimper as soon as she was lifted out of the water and placed on my chest. I was in shock! I thought she should be crying more, but everyone was saying how gentle her birth was, she had no reason to cry! She was so warm on my chest, with the blankets all around her. After a minute, I had Daddy C look to see if it was a boy or a girl, and I was thrilled when we saw she was indeed a baby girl! (everyone was saying it was going to be a boy but I thought girl from the start!). She came into this world at 11:37pm on New Years Eve- just in time for that 2011 tax deduction, haha! She weighed 7lbs 4oz and was 19 inches long.

Afterwards, I got out of the tub and dried off, and got in our own bed and snuggled with our new baby girl. She took to nursing right away, and probably would have crawled up my chest if I had let her! I was a little distracted during the nursing session though from my after pains, which I knew would be bad (as a side note, can I say how unfair after pains are? I seem to have them pretty bad compared to most moms, boo!). I also was afraid I had tore really bad since I was having some sharp pains down there. However, later, one of the midwives checked me for tears and was actually surprised to tell me I was completely in tact! I wasn’t even swollen or bruised! I was so happy to hear this since I tore with Peanut's delivery and had needed stitches. The pain I was feeling was just because I had a natural delivery- hello just pushed a baby out, haha- and was normal. After nursing for a while, it had pretty much subsided though. I was, and still am, in awe of the fact that I could immediately go to the bathroom without any problems or pain! This has been wonderful!

After nursing and bonding for a while, I took a shower, and put on some clean clothes. About this time, I got to cut Snowflake’s umbillical cord and the midwives bagged up the placenta. After looking at the placenta, they said it was very healthy and had no signs of aging whatsoever. Even though Snowflake was technically a week late, she seemed to have been born right on time!

I really could not have asked for things to go any better than they did for our first homebirth! Total time spent in active labor was just over 3 hours. I went from 7cm to pushing in less than 30 minutes and then only pushed for just 4 minutes. I didn’t have any back labor either, which I was trying very hard to avoid this time around! The difference between back labor and "normal" labor was incredible- part of the reason I was in such shock that she came so fast was that I was expecting to be in excruciating pain for hours before the actual delivery, since that was how it went with Peanut. I am so thankful to have experienced birth without back labor, it made the whole labor process so much more bearable and positive.

So far my recovery has been going very well, and Snowflake is doing great. She is a such a little bundle of joy and we never get tired of just watching her!

I'm still here! Summer Garden Update

I know I have been major MIA lately on this blog! I've just had to step back and take a break due to intense morning sickness that is just now starting to go away. I am 17 weeks along, and finally starting to get some of my appetite back as well as my energy. Taking care of an active toddler definitely makes being pregnant more of a challenge, so I have not had the chance to blog like I used to. However, I hope to resume a somewhat more consistent blogging schedule now that I am feeling better!

Our garden is doing great so far! We have been able to harvest lots of broccoli, and endless amount of lettuce (which really was a mistake because we could not eat it all!), several heads of cauliflower and cabbage as well as a few onions. I sorta let the garden go while I was feeling sick, and so I am embarrassed to admit quite a bit of our broccoli went bad before we could get to it! I also planted tons of tomato and peppers plants and they were doing pretty good despite me remembering to water them during dry spells.

Unfortunately, during this time we also took in another cat, Pickles. My mom, who is moving, asked us to take her in and we agreed as this is my childhood pet were we talking about. However, much to our dismay, we recently discovered Pickles has been using the vegetable garden as her litter-box!! I was so upset when I discovered this. Because of the risk of toxoplasmosis during pregnancy and to babies, we decided to stop harvesting and call it a year for this gardening season.

I am so sad, since I especially was looking forward to canning endless amounts of tomatoes and freezing all those peppers! I cannot even tend to the garden anymore, which makes me really disappointed. Thankfully, after some research, we discovered a way to restore the soil once fall comes. Next year we will have to build a fence of some sort to keep Pickles (and other neighborhood cats) out, but should be able to resume gardening then. It's definitely been a year of learning what not to do as far as vegetable gardening, so that will at least give us a leg up on the next season!

I really need to take some pictures of the state of our garden now that we have let things go. Our lettuce plants are going on 5 feet tall! The broccoli plants have flowered completely and are also very tall. Oh and the squash is spreading beautifully. At least it still looks pretty, lol.

This post is linked to the Frugal Gardening 101 Series hosted by Smockity Frocks.

Garden Progress and Harvesting Time!

It's been a while since I've updated this blog, but rest assured everyone, I am still here! About 8 weeks ago, we found out another Campbell Baby will making his or her entrance in December!! Since I suffer from rather terrible morning sickness, some things have sorta gotten thrown to the wayside. However, I am feeling a little better now that I am about to enter the 2nd trimester.

My garden pretty much got neglected the entire month of May. Terrible, I know! But we had one of the wettest springs in decades, meaning I really didn't have to water anything and some growth was stunted for a while. However, now that we've dried out, the weeds have been growing like, well, weeds! In fact, I was too embarrassed at the state of my garden to even take a picture- the vegetables were completely overtaken by those nasty intruders! A good 2 hours of weeding was required to get it back in shape, but now you can see how things are really doing.

My onions are starting to pop out! I expect in another month we will have plenty of onions for our cooking needs!

I think I was a little over-zealous with the lettuce plantings. I think we could feed the whole neighborhood with this harvest!

I really did not know what to expect from our cauliflower plants, but they turned out great! Here's a picture right before harvesting:

Beautiful cabbage heads ready for picking...

Our garden, 2 months along! (The empty space in the front bed next to the cabbage is where our radishes were. We harvested them about 3 weeks ago - they were perfect! My mom was a grateful recipient since we don't really care for radishes.)

Today I bought tomato, pepper and squash plants. I also plan on getting some zucchini, peas and beans. I can't wait for our summer harvest!!

Baby C's Nursery

Yesterday I was hard at work getting Baby C's nursery together. We don't have a whole bunch of stuff for this baby, but I like it that way since it keeps things simple and clutter to a minimum. The only items we have bought thus far are the crib and the changing table. Since we fully expect lots of Campbell kids, we wanted to get those new. We didn't pay much for them either- the crib was $79 at IKEA and the matching changing table was $40.

My mom gave me her rocking chair (it was a wedding gift to her from my grandparents), which I love. We already had the canoe-shaped bookshelf (it used to be in our old living room). Most of the books we bought at a library book sale where we filled a resuable bag with used children's books for only $4. The storage drawers used to be in our closets, but they don't fit in our new apartment's closet, so we are using them as a dresser for the baby. The filing cabinet really didn't have a home, so I just put it in here and will use the drawers for more storage.

Sometime this week, we plan on making some shelving for the walls. We have an old tabletop from an IKEA desk that we are going to cut into shelves. It cost less than a $1 for a set of shelving brackets at Home Depot, so it's a nice frugal project! I am going to spray paint the shelves white.

I packed some more items in the hospital bag, and I also organized the diaper bag. I feel much more prepared for baby C's arrival! The only things left to do is freeze a few more meals, install the carseat and purchase a few more non-necessary but nice-to-have items (diaper genie, baby monitor, bouncy seat, moby wrap- purchased 2nd hand of course). I plan on tackling these tasks this week!

Countdown to Motherhood

In just a few weeks, I'll officially be a mother. Baby Campbell is due June 23rd, 2010. I would appreciate him or her not to be late. Even though we may call ourselves 'The Late Campbells', I really don't think it becomes our child to take upon that trait. We would like for him or her to be 'The Slightly Early Campbell' or 'The On Time Campbell'. But really, whenever he or she makes their entrance, we'll be thrilled nonetheless. Or petrified. Whichever you prefer.

This blog is about mothering- specifically, mothering that is done via a blindfold. Why a blindfold? Because I am going about this blindly, having no experience whatsoever, unable to see ahead a few days at a time. I'm taking things as they come, and I have no idea what I'm doing. Rest assured, I will be trying my best. But don't count on perfection, folks!

A little background about our family, the Campbells: Daddy Campbell met Mommy Campbell (who at the time was not a Campbell, but very soon would realize the importance of becoming one) at college. It was love at first sight. No, really. The stuff from storybooks. There was never any doubt how much Mommy C and Daddy C loved each other. After 9 months of dating, Daddy C proposed while on a picnic by a pond under a huge oak tree. 5 months later, Mommy C officially became a Campbell.

Daddy C and Mommy C still had to finish school, so they were your typical poor college students until that was over. They lived in a 3rd floor walk-up apartment in a quaint little town they adopted as their own. The kitchen did not have any counter space and the boiler heater occasional would break in the cold, winter months. After 5 months of fresh marriage, they decided it was time to begin expanding the family. They looked on craigslist and adopted a kitten, whom they named Mrs. Weasley. Shortly after, they moved into a larger apartment with better heating and a few feet of counter space.

Mommy C graduated one semester ahead of Daddy C, so she started writing part-time and took upon the responsibility of full-time homemaker. Daddy C was a little unmotivated when he begun college, so it was taking him longer to get his degree. During this time, they expanded their family once more. Mommy C's aunt convinced her to take in an abandoned kitten. They drove to the country and picked her up, rightfully naming her Luna Lovegood.

As Daddy C completed his final semester of schooling, Mommy C discovered their family was not done growing just yet. She went in the bathroom with a little stick and came out with interesting results. Mommy C was pregnant! It was quite an emotional time discovering this piece of news, and immediately the word spread that there would soon be a Baby Campbell.

During her pregnancy, Mommy C battled intense morning sickness but was aided by the use of sea-bands and crackers. She and Daddy C also decided to move out of their quaint little town after Daddy C had graduated. They did not have many friends in the small town, and Daddy C had more opprotunities for his job in a different city. So, they stuffed the cats into their carriers (which, mind you, took the better part of 2 hours as they scampered away, running in circles inside an empty apartment), and traveled an hour and a half away back to Daddy C's hometown. They moved into another apartment with even more counter-space and better heating. They even had a tiny balcony they could call their own (well, as long as they continued paying rent!).

Now, two months later, Mommy C is getting tired of being pregnant. Daddy C has a new job downtown, which he commutes to everyday. And Luna Lovegood and Mrs. Weasley have declared the not-yet-completed nursery as their own.

More fun facts about the Campbells:

• We're thrifty and are trying to pay off our student loans in two to three years
• We love the outdoors and are usually spotted camping across the nation (or just our state)
• We like to backpack in the wilderness and plan to introduce Baby Campbell to it as soon as possible
• We love books, the library and literature
• We try to cook all our meals at home and don't like preservatives
• We like to go out for ice-cream
• Daddy C is an aspiring tri-athlete and Mommy C enjoys running (when not pregnant, of course!)
• We try to keep our 'stuff' to a minimum (although this is partly out of necessity from living in a small space)
• We're Christians who love discovering God's goodness in life