My Baby Boy is 1!!!

This is what I posted on Cam's site 3 days after he was born & only 1 day after he was home with us...

Labor Day

Cameron decided to come into the world with a vengeance! I was scheduled to be induced Thursday morning, 9/25 at 6:30 a.m., but apparently he didn't want to wait that long. Wednesday morning went on as a normal day until about noon or so when I started to feel cramping. I didn't think much of it since I had been having pre-labor pains for a while. I visited with my friend, Lisa until about 1:30 when she left and headed home. My cramping started to get more intense and I had a strange feeling Cameron wasn't going to wait until the morning. So, I quickly ate a PB&J sandwich just in case I went into labor. Then I grabbed the laundry from the dryer and started to fold it around 2:30 pm, when GUSH, my water broke! So, I quickly called Mike and told him to come home. Then I called the dr's office where they told me to come into the office vs. the hospital. I sensed that things were going to progress really quickly so I grabbed everything I needed and left for the dr's office with Mike. As we were driving, my contractions were getting more and more intense, so I didn't understand why I had to waste time going to the dr's office. Apparently some women aren't sure if they're in actual labor, so they make you go to the office first. I thought I might die at the office as I huffed and puffed in the waiting area as other patients stared at me. Finally the dr took me back where she told me that I was 100% effaced and the baby's head was right there... I was 4cm at this time which I had been since at least Monday, the 22nd.

As we took the 5 minute drive to the hospital, I seriously thought that I just might die from the intense contractions. Somehow I made it into the hospital where they made me wait in the lobby for at least 10-12 minutes. I'm not sure how I survived. All I wanted was an epidural and I was terrified that it was too late. FINALLY a woman came back and took us to our delivery room. As soon as the nurse saw me, she new she had to hurry. When she checked me, I was 7 cm. So, I had progressed from 4 to 7 cm in the matter of 20 minutes. So, thank goodness my nurse decided to fly around the room, getting me ready for my epidural. She pumped IV fluids into me faster than I thought possible. The epidural was an absolute savior, and kicked in within about 10 minutes of being started. About an hour later, I began to push and Cameron came bolting out about 20 minutes later.

The entire labor was everything I never expected. I never in a million years thought that I would deliver from start to finish in about 4 hours. It was the most intense experience of my lifetime and probably will remain that way forever. But, we have a beautiful, sweet, adorable little boy that we created and I couldn't ask for more. It's been very overwhelming and tiring at times, but Cameron is well worth it. We look forward to sharing our pictures and thoughts with you all!

Lots of love,

Allison



And this is us one year later, right around the exact time Cam was born. So much has changed over the past year that it's all too much for me to wrap my head around. At this time last year, I was still in the labor & delivery room, in an insane amount of pain & facing so many unknowns.

There have been many ups & downs over the past year, but mostly ups. Becoming a mom was a tough adjustment for me, as I'm sure it is for many new moms, but I went through a major emotional roller coaster when Cam was first born. Still, as I type this tonight, I wouldn't choose any other life in the world. I am blessed & honored to be Cam's mom & I don't take it for granted for one moment.

As I say to Cam each night as he drinks his bottle & drifts off to sleep in our arms, "Thank you God for our BB, God bless our BB."

Happy 1st Birthday, Cameron! I love you more than anything in the world & it's my goal in life to give you the best life in the world... the life you deserve!