Lincoln has Arrived!

Lincoln Craig Campbell was born Wednesday, January 5, 2011 at 1:58 p.m. He was 21.7 inches long and weighed in at 9 pounds 8 ounces. His head was 14.8 inches around. What a chunk of cute baby boy!
My delivery went differently than I would have or even could have expected. I went in for my regular appointment on Tuesday afternoon and my doctor suggested that I go in to be induced. I was only 40 weeks, but I was definitely ready! He made a call to the hospital but they said they didn’t have room at the time and that they would call within a few hours. We left the office and within 20 minutes they were calling. We ran home and grabbed my bags and headed for the hospital. They got me all checked in and were about to start the IV and draw some labs when the anesthesiologist came in. I have a bleeding disorder and they wanted to know a few details about it. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the information that they wanted because my Von Willebrand’s has never caused any issues for me. They explained that because of the risks associated with it, they would not be able to give me an epidural. A “natural” birth was never even a consideration for me so I was definitely nervous and pretty scared. My OB came in and suggested that since this was an elective induction and we didn’t have to rush it, that maybe I could just go home and meet with a hematologist and possibly a perinatologist, try to get cleared by them, then come back Monday and try again. We decided that would be a good idea and so we planned for discharge. They brought in all of my paperwork and I mentioned that I had been feeling some contractions. They put me back on the monitor and to all of our surprise I was having contractions every 2-3 minutes. My doctor came back in to say nice try but it looked like I wasn’t going to be going home. I spoke with the anesthesiologist at about 1:30 in the morning and he mentioned that all of my lab work looked good and that maybe we could do an epidural after all. He suggested we check my bleeding time and if that came back okay, he would be willing to do it. At 3:30, my nurse came in to tell me that the bleeding time came back elevated and that it wasn’t going to happen, she also said that while I was sleeping my contractions had gone down to one every 10 minutes for the last 2 hours. She said that she had been speaking with my doctor and because of the way things were going they gave me the option of going home again. Logan and I talked and prayed about it and we decided that since we were already at the hospital and there was a chance that even if I did see a specialist they would still say no, that we would just stay. I just knew the Lord would take care of me. When the nurse came in to see what we decided, I told her again that I felt more contractions. Once again, my contractions had picked up. She joked that if you told that baby there was a chance of going home he would act up every time because he wanted out! At 5:00 a.m. they hung the PItocin and then at 7:30 they broke my water. At that point, I was dilated to a 4 and fully effaced. This was when it got pretty rough for me! The contractions were so intense and I was really feeling them. I decided to get in the shower and there I stayed for the next 5 or so hours besides getting out when the doctor would come in to check me. I found that the hot water, in addition to the pain medicine, was the only thing that could help me to relax and handle the pain. Logan was so wonderful! He just sat outside the shower for hours, talking to me and making sure I was ok. At about 1:00 p.m. or so, the doctor came in and said that he would check me again but that I didn’t seem to be progressing and if that was the case, it was time for a c-section. I was only dilated to a 5 so the prep for surgery began. About 20 minutes later they were wheeling me into the OR. The hardest part for me was leaving Logan, I just wanted him by my side. Since I couldn’t have any spinal, they had to put me under general anesthesia so he wasn’t allowed to come in. When we got into the OR they had me climb up on the table and lay flat with my arms out to the side and my legs together. They told me that they would do as much of the prep before I had any anesthesia in order to decrease any risk of harm to the baby. I remember this being the most painful part of it all because they strapped my legs and arms down but I was still having contractions and I would have been much more comfortable in the fetal position rather than all sprawled out! Next thing I remember I was waking up in the recovery room and it was time to take me to my room. On the way there, we went by the special care nursery so that I could meet my little boy. They had to watch him in there for 6 or 8 hours because he had struggled a little bit because of all the IV pain medication I had been given. Luckily, a dose of Narcan and some oxygen was all he needed. Logan said Lincoln was totally out of place in the special care nursery. Here he was this big healthy baby in with the little preemies and babies that really were sick. They let me hold him for a minute but I kept dosing off so they decided it was time to go to my room. I remember having a few visitors and sending out a mass text that evening but it’s all a little foggy and I don’t recall many details. The next day, I began to think of the ordeal I had been through the previous couple of days and I decided that I would do it again 1,000 times over if I was still able to bring this sweet spirit into our family. It really is amazing how much a baby can change you and make you forget all of the not so fun things about labor and being pregnant. I absolutely adore my son and I have thoroughly enjoyed being able to spend this last month at home with him. I laugh every day at his cute faces and I can’t help but smile when his daddy comes home and just wants to hold and cuddle him. I love my boys and don’t know what I would do without them. They bring me so much joy!

Just a couple random things I love:

1. Lincoln gets these big cheesy smiles and his eyes flutter when he’s falling asleep or waking up.

2. Lincoln laughs in his sleep, never when awake, but it makes me chuckle every time.

3. Logan and Lincoln have so many similarities. They're both very slow to wake up and take their time stretching, then dozing off, then stretching again. They both sleep on their sides with a hand in their face. Lincoln has his daddy’s big lips and his angel pinch ears. And of course, they both make me the happiest girl in the world.

4. Lincoln has gorgeous blue eyes.

5. Whenever he is hungry, if you try to kiss his cheek he tries to eat you. Logan loves testing to see if his hungry by sticking his nose in his mouth and watching him swing his head back and forth trying to eat it.

6. Lincoln has huge gorilla hands.

7. Lincoln loves to cuddle. This is my favorite!

And now, here are a few pictures of the fun we have had this last few weeks.

Not my most beautiful moment

All ready to leave the hospital

There's that smile when he first wakes up

He loves his daddy

Headed to his first doctor's appointment

Linkers loves his bathtime

Just like his daddy

Our little lumberjack

Nothing makes me happier than this sweetheart's smiles