Just like that, our little newborn is two months old! Where did these last few weeks go?? I figured it was about time I sat down and wrote about the greatest day of our lives, and officially introduce our newest addition.
On Valentine’s Day at 7:13am, we welcomed little Camila Rose Hall into the world. She was 6 pounds 13 ounces and 19 and a quarter inches of perfection. My heart basically exploded the moment I saw her.
Her birth story is not what I imagined nor what I prepared for with the 10 hours of birthing classes Kyle and I went to in the months before her due date. At 36 weeks we discovered she was breech at her ultrasound, and prayed over the next few weeks she would flip head down on her own. Baby girl was pretty cozy where she was, and at each weekly ultrasound following we saw she hadn’t moved. Her head was right under my ribs, little legs straight up in front of her face, and her booty way down in my pelvis. It did not sound comfortable at all!
I was really disappointed at first having to have a C section, but realized it did not matter how she arrived as long as she was healthy and safe. I didn’t think about it that much as I was just concerned about her, and we were just so excited to meet her!! I wanted to do the safest thing for her.
The surgery was scheduled for Feb 18, but on my Feb 13 doctors appointment (my last one and her original due date), I had a feeling she would be coming very soon. I packed our hospital bags in the car and drove to my appointment (Kyle had a school lab he couldn’t get out of and I told him not to miss it) and mentally prepared myself to not come back home because I just had a feeling I wasn’t coming back with this baby still inside me.
Well mamas, trust your instincts because I was right!
At my ultrasound, while checking to see if baby girl had flipped, my doctor noticed my fluid was super low and calmly told me that my “placenta was done doing it’s job and wasn’t working anymore.” She told me to head straight to labor and delivery to be monitored.
Uhhhh..ok then!
I had just been googling bakeries nearby because I was set on getting a second breakfast, and now I was trying to decide if it was worth bothering Kyle about to leave school. I asked my doctor (thinking this wasn’t that serious?) and she told me to call him and then to likely expect our baby to be here that day or the next.
Suddenly I was so excited - we were just hours away from finally meeting our baby!! But then, also a little worried because I hoped she was ok? Was she getting the nutrients she needed since my placenta was “done”?
I walked over to the triage room in the hospital where Kyle met me literally 15 minutes after I texted him. They then sent me straight up to labor and delivery where I was put on bed rest and hooked up to an IV and all these monitors on my belly. I didn’t want to get my hopes up too much in case they decided to send me home and come back on the scheduled surgery date.
We texted our parents and they were freaking out. My dad dropped everything and rushed to the hospital, haha. I told him nothing was likely happening yet and that we were waiting for a second ultrasound to check my fluid levels. Meanwhile, I couldn’t eat anything since they didn’t know if my surgery was happening that day so my second breakfast was no longer happening. Just kidding I wasn’t even thinking about food at this point!
That afternoon we had one more ultrasound after I had been hooked up to an IV with fluids for over half the day. My fluid levels were even lower than that morning so my doctor decided the surgery needed to happen first thing the next morning - Valentines Day!
Omg! We would be meeting our baby girl in just hours!!
After our parents both left Kyle and I tried to sleep that night but it was impossible. Between the nurses coming in every hour, the uncomfortable monitors on my belly and the IV, having to get up to pee every couple hours from all the fluids, and just the overall excitement/anticipation from getting to meet our baby so soon, I think we maybe slept 2 hours total.
Around 5am a nurse woke me to shower and get prepped for surgery. Suddenly it hit me - was I ready for a C section? I hadn’t even really thought about it at all since I was so concerned with making sure our baby was okay. But suddenly I was terrified.
Kyle helped me shower since I was literally shaking from being scared/nervous/cold/sleep deprived (also showering is hard at 9 months pregnant). I’ve never been both so excited and scared at the same time. He prayed over me and our little girl and then we waited for what felt like forever for the anesthesiologist to come in and explain the spinal block to me. I had no idea what she said as I signed papers saying I understand all these risks and whatnot.
Kyle changed into scrubs and a hairnet thing for surgery and then we just casually walked over to the OR, which was right next door. Kyle moved our stuff to the recovery room and then had to wait outside while I went in to get the spinal block. When I walked into the OR I was visibly shaking I was so nervous! I totally felt so unprepared for a C section and everything was so cold and metallic and fluorescent. Why are hospitals so cold?
The nurse kept telling me to relax my back so they could properly insert all these needles and I just kept shaking uncontrollably. I really wanted Kyle there with me but they had him stay outside until I was on the operating table. The only thing that kept me somewhat calm was knowing we would be meeting our baby in mere minutes.
After the spinal block was inserted they had me lay down and kept pinching parts of my belly to see if I could still feel it. I kept asking for my husband because I was afraid they would forget him, haha. When he was finally there I felt so much relief but started crying. My doctor appeared and just said “Ready to get this baby out?” and then went to the other side of the curtain to cut me open. I started feeling a lot of tugging and couldn’t lift my head. After about 10 minutes they said it was time and I had them lower the curtain so we could see her being born. It was really important to me that I felt part of her birth. Plus, it was cool!
Suddenly, she was there. A bloody, screaming perfect angel baby with legs up to her face, folded in half like an ironing board (because of breech position). I was SMITTEN. I felt so much pride, love, and joy seeing her for the very first time. The anesthesiologist told kyle to take pictures with his phone (which he doesn’t even remember doing, haha) while she lifted my head for me so I could see. She placed my hand on the curtain as they held baby girl up from the other side and I was trying to see clearly through the tears in my eyes. Kyle and I were both crying and just kept saying “she’s perfect” over and over again. It was the most incredible, indescribable feeling in the world and I felt my heart swell up looking at the crying screaming red faced baby that was all mine.
Kyle kept encouraging me and telling me how perfect she was and I just kept asking to hold her and how much she weighed. The nurses had to suction a lot of fluid out of her so we had to wait twenty minutes to hold her of which I kept saying “Give me my baby” repeatedly, haha. Meanwhile, I kept feeling a lot of tugging as they finished the surgery. The nurses said “Congratulations!” and all exited the room and then we were wheeled out of the OR with a fresh baby in my arms who was the sweetest thing I ever did see or hold.
We were in a recovery room with a curtain around us for privacy and it was just the three of us. I nursed her for the first time and was clueless but she knew exactly what to do, which completely amazed me. Kyle and I hadn’t decided on a name yet but after looking at her and holding her we didn’t think she fit the other names we had picked. Camila was spoken aloud and (I kid you not!) she smiled sweetly. Rose was a name we both liked beforehand and thought it was fitting for her Valentine’s Day birth. Camila comes from Virgil’s “Aeneid” and was a fierce warrior princess maiden - which we thought was so fitting for our strong girl.
Our families came immediately to the hospital and I have never been on such a high. The recovery afterwards was the most pain I had ever been in, but it was all 1000000% worth it for this little girl. I would do it all again tomorrow. I’ve never felt so protective and caring of someone before, and each day I fall more in love with her. It’s true what they say - nothing mattered before she was here.
Now she has been earth-side for two months!! Our days with her have been spent nursing, changing diapers, cuddling, and going on lots of walks and outings to show her the wonderful world we live in. She even had her first travel experience to Houston during Kyle’s spring break! This past month she started truly smiling and it is THE cutest thing. Her hair is looking more red (!!) everyday, her eyes are still a clear blue, and she has the longest eyelashes. She hates going to sleep before 10, getting outfit changes, and dirty diapers. She loves silly faces, mama’s milk, being held, going outside, and sleeping in her crib like a big girl. Being her mama is the biggest blessing I could ever receive. Yes, it’s so hard and we are more exhausted than ever, but I wouldn’t change a thing.
We love our little Camila Rose and are so blessed to have her in our world.