Campbell Joseph

I totally meant to do a “Welcome to the World” post when Campbell made his arrival, but #newbornlife. So instead, here’s a ONE MONTH update on life as a mom. Still can’t really believe I’m a MOM!

Due to Cam being breached, we knew that we’d have a c-section on Friday, December 15th. We had to be at the hospital for 5a, surgery was scheduled for 7a. A few hours later, and the family could meet our sweet, little bundle of joy.

I started my maternity leave the week before Cam’s arrival so that I could rest as much as possible before never resting again. Haha! I never felt any contractions, but my water did break early Friday morning before we got to the hospital. These birth classes should really go over what it feels/looks like when your water breaks. My experience was nothing like what you see in the movies. It was a more of a small gush that woke me up right before my alarm went off. I wasn’t sure if that was my water breaking or something else. In fact, I didn’t even mention it to Kirk. He asked if I felt anything as we were pulling into the hospital parking garage. Whoops.

To say I was nervous about surgery is an understatement. I was on the verge of a panic attack while sitting on the operating table just before my spinal block. Thankfully, the nurses & doctors in the room with me were absolute ANGELS. Even Dr. Paine helped calm me down. She told me to ignore all the horror stories she knew I read online about the spinal block needle. She even laughed and said she knows that I’ve done worse shots TO MYSELF in order to even get to be on this table at this moment. Before I knew it, the spinal shot was over. She was right, it was nothing compared to my IVF shots.

Parts of the surgery are a blur to me. I only remember bits & pieces. Like, I don’t remember Kirk coming in or leaving the room. Heck, I don’t even remember how I left the operating room. I do remember that Dr. Paine told me she wasn’t going to announce the gender. She was going to let Kirk tell me if Sugar Bear was a boy or a girl. That was probably the coolest part!

Although Kirk spent 9 months wishing I would let him find out the gender beforehand, he did say he loved being able to walk into the waiting room at the hospital and announce that we had a BOY. Maybe now, he won’t put up as much of a fight if/when we decide to go for Baby #2 (but y’all chill out… that’s not happening anytime soon).

We spent the full 5 days in the hospital. Look, I was going to take all the help I could get before being sent home to keep this new human alive on our own! One of my favorite visitors had to be the one and only, Dr. Huber! I know I’ve said it a least a dozen times through the past 2 years, but we cannot thank Dr. Huber enough. When we would start to lose hope, he didn’t. He cried with us. He laughed with us. He kept our spirits up when things just didn’t look like they were going in our favor. He told us early on that we weren’t leaving FINO without a baby and looky here: our very own baby! I mean, just look at the smile on that man’s face. He has definitely found his calling and I will sing his praises to any and everyone.

Recovery for me has been harder than I anticipated. It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that my body can’t do some simple tasks it could do just a few short weeks ago. Things are healing like they should. I just wish they’d heal faster. Ha. You know ya girl is itching to get back into the gym and to start running again!

We had newborn pictures taken when Cam was about 3 weeks old. I only had 2 requests: a rainbow picture for my rainbow baby and a picture of Cam with his painted embryo. And let me tell you, Dawn did NOT disappoint! Not to mention, the rest of his pictures are just as fabulous.

Let me tell you about this embryo painting. Right before each FET (frozen embryo transfer), the clinic gives me a picture of the embryo they’re using. I ordered a painting of Cam’s embryo a few months ago. My note to the artist asked her to use bold colors & that we didn’t know the gender. How cool is it that she used more blues than pinks?! Shoutout to Favreaus on Etsy for the painting and Dawn Roe Photography for capturing my sweet Campbell better than I could have ever imagined.

If you’re going through IVF yourself, buy the embryo painting. It makes the hard parts of this journey suck a little less.

We’ve survived 4 weeks of life with Cam so far. And for the most part, he’s absolutely perfect. He hates his bassinet. And his swing. And sometimes his bouncer. But he loves contact naps. And being held 24/7 (but actually held, not worn.) And gives the best cuddles. Ok, fine. Kirk & I are part of the problem. It’s just so hard to put him down when he’s snuggled into the crick of your neck with his little hand on your chest, making his little mouse noises. We are trying to be better about that though. I really need this boy to learn to sleep in places that don’t involve my touch or Kirk’s. It’s a work in progress. (But feel free to send me any tips & tricks!)

All in all, I think we’re doing pretty good in our new roles as a family of 3. Feel free to stick around. Y’all are officially a part of Campbell’s village and my plan is to keep ya updated on all things Cam from here on out.

And maybe, eventually, another round of IVF to make Cam a big brother (but again, that’s no time soon!).