Sunday, August 14, 2011

A Little Blue Bundle and Answered Prayers

He finally arrived!

Our newest little grandson (grandbaby #3 and second grandson) came into the world on Wednesday, August 10.
His birth was a rather long, traumatic ordeal and he was not at all very happy about it.
Just after being born, he was placed on his mother's tummy where he looked into her face and proceeded to tell her about his terrible experience.
It was one of the most interesting things I have ever seen. He whimpered in a funny little tone as if trying to say, "I have had the most awful day!"

Below is Camille and Camden, both looking a little happier.
Camille became one of my heroes that day.
Her first delivery resulted in an emergency c-section so she desperately wanted to have this baby all natural to reduce the chances of ending up in surgery once again.
She knew it would be difficult but she and her sweet husband, Dave, did all they could to prepare.
Even so, Camille said it was a hundred times worse than she ever imagined.


Her contractions began the minute her water broke and continued pretty much nonstop for nearly 13 hours until the baby was born.
She was making slow progress, but at least there was some progress until she reached 9 1/2 centimeters and then it stopped.
For almost two hours (5:00-7:00) she dealt with transition contractions with no relief.
Finally the doctor arrived and helped out.

And then the pushing began.

Another two hour ordeal.

One of the people critical to her being able to do this was her doula, Dawn. Dawn was wonderful!! She massaged Camille's legs and feet during active labor, spent a couple hours helping Camille stay focused on breathing during transition, helped her change positions to get more comfortable, and during pushing earned a bruised hand.

Dave was also critical to the process. Camille never let go of his hand for pretty much the entire day. His love and support were essential to her staying focused and able to get through the long hours of labor.

I too was glad to be there.
Although Camille was a little reluctant to have me there.
After all, giving birth is a very personal thing,
so I was happy to accept her wishes and not be in attendance.
After all, her comfort was what was the most important to all of us.

But in the end she decided she could use her mom.

And so I was able to witness his birth.
The first birth I have seen of my three grandchildren.

And it was very hard for me.
I cried a lot.

It was so hard to see Camille suffer the way she did.
It gave me new appreciation for our Heavenly Father and what He must feel watching our pain and suffering in life.

We were so relieved when the baby finally made his appearance.
We joyfully celebrated his arrival.

And then my tears began to flow again as the doctor explained that the birth had caused some complications for Camille and she would have to be taken to the operating room and given general anesthesia while they corrected the problems.

She made it all the way through the birth without any outside interference or medication,
only to end up in the operating room for over an hour in surgery.

My heart ached for her.

The good news is that she is on the mend.
She is home from the hospital, and although it will be a while before she is back to normal, she has a great husband to help out.

We love them all!!

Post Script.
Before the birth I was getting so frustrated that it was taking so long for Camille to go into labor. I knew my prayers were being heard, but I wasn't sure they would be answered how I wanted them to.

But they were.
Not according to my time frame, but all our prayers were answered.
Camille was able to have a successful delivery following a c-section and she gave birth to a healthy little boy. She did not need any outside intervention for her labor to progress (i.e. pitocin), and before the baby came I was able to spend a week with my little granddaughter, (a big treat since I only get to see her a couple times a year).
Plus I had some fun times with Camille going to lunch, shopping in Denver, taking Carly to the park etc.

Dawn was also an answer to a prayer as she helped Camille a lot through the most difficult part.
While watching the two of them conquer the pain, the thought occurred to me that I had been wondering if my prayers were being answered, and yet, my meeting Dawn a couple years ago was the answer to a prayer (Camille getting through the labor) that hadn't even been offered yet.

Yes, God is very much aware of us and our troubles.
And He does hear and answer our prayers.
Sometimes in different ways than we would like,
And sometimes before we even have spoken the prayer.

And that thought brings great . . . joy to my journey.


21 comments:

Lauren said...

What a great birth story! He is a beautiful baby. Happy you were able to experience the birth with Camille and glad Dawn was there!

Lauren said...

oops. The above post is from Lisa. Lauren is down for a visit and had the computer open.

Neil and Meredith Larson said...

Camille is a rockstar!!!

Cairen said...

How wonderful!!What a precious little guy, I love that he told his mommy about how horrible his day was... very cute!

Handsfullmom said...

Camille is an amazing woman. I could barely handle transition, and mine only lasted 15 minutes. I'm sorry she still had to have surgery. =(

How sweet you could be there. Thank you for sharing your tender thoughts and experience.

Be Thou Humble said...

He is beautiful! I am so glad this is over and that you were able to be there for his birth. Camille is a trooper. I can't imagine going through all of that and then surgery too! I don't think I'll be able to be there when it's my daughter's turn. I can't even watch my own deliveries!!! I'm such a wimp!

Unknown said...

I am so glad he is here. What a birth story, though. Hope Camille is feeling better every day.

Donise Price said...

Every time I hear of a birth, I always sleep a little better that night knowing that that mother is sleeping better that night. (Of course, she might not get much sleep the next few months, but I try to let her be on her own for that.)
What a beautiful son! I did not read a name, did I?

Rebecca Irvine said...

Congratulations! He is beautiful. I hope Camille heals quickly.

Momza said...

You captured the day very well, Lori-- the preparation and the prayers! I loved being there. Thank you for inviting me!

CB said...

Ohhhh what a beautiful baby. I loved the way you describe how he "tells" his mom about his hard day. so cute.
Camille looks absolutely beautiful after all she went through.
I am glad she is on the mend - that sure sounded like a tough delivery.
I saw the picture of Dawn and put it together it is Momza Dawn - Ha ha. That is so neat - she sounds like she did an amazing job helping Camille through everything. What a blessing.

Congratulations to all of you!!

The Crazy Coxes said...

Congratulations to all of you! What a wonderful birth story. I'm so happy Camille was able to do it the way she wanted too! He is beautiful!

Susan Anderson said...

What a wonderful, wonderful story of prayers asked and blessings received.

And I loved reading about it on Dawn's blog, too.

Congratulations!!!

=)

Susan Anderson said...

What a wonderful, wonderful story of prayers asked and blessings received.

And I loved reading about it on Dawn's blog, too.

Congratulations!!!

=)

Shannon said...

Congratulations to you all! I'm so glad things went as well as they did and thet mom, baby, dad, grandma, and friend are all doing so well!

Terri said...

Oh he is really cute

Heidi said...

What a beautiful post! Thanks for sharing this. He is truly a darling little boy!

Unknown said...

My sisters reads your blog all the time. She loved the post about doing 40 acts of service for the 40th bday. I read it. Do you have any of the other things you did you could email me? katie.ryan.robinson@gmail.com

She is turning 30 next week. I am going to surprise her and do this. Congrats on the baby- My oldest was born on August 10th:)

Marilyn said...

Congratulations Grandma! I'm so glad that all is well and how wonderful to have Dawn there to help out! FYI- I was in your neck of the woods on Tues visiting Amy. We stopped by to see the temple site-I loved being there with her and seeing her part of the world right now! (plus she suckered me into going to Nordstrom's Rack for the first time-bad daughter!)

Connie said...

I'm so happy that he's here and safe and Camille is doing better. I was able to see one of my grandchildren born and it was a very spiritual experience. So glad you were able to be there with her.

Isn't it wonderful how our Father in Heaven hears and answers our prayers. He's always with us.

alpinekleins said...

Congratulations to all! Such an incredible birth experience, it just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to have such a wonderful outcome. Yay for Dawn for all her amazing support! And now a new grandbaby to love love and cuddle - what a blessing :)

Kristin