Claire's Birthday

Claire Elise Campbell was born on Tuesday, Oct. 21st at 12:39 p.m. She weighed 8 pounds 10 ounces, 21 inches long. When we went to St. Mary's that morning, I kept thinking- "I finally get to hold this miracle that God has given us today!!" I never imagined that my labor and delivery would go so smooth and fast! I had the most wonderful labor nurse named Pam and when she got me hooked up to the monitor, we discovered that I was already having contractions on my own. She asked if I wanted to have her naturally, because I was not feeling the contractions, although they were already pretty strong. Of course, I said no- I'm somewhat of a wimp when it comes to a lot of pain! Dr. Traylor broke my water at 7:00 a.m. and things went quickly from there. Terry had gone to get something to drink and my nurse said that she was trying to get in touch with Dr. Traylor because Claire was ready to arrive. I started getting a little anxious because I could feel a lot of pressure and it was just me and the nurse in the room! Terry and Dr. Traylor arrived just in time! I pushed for about 11 minutes and then Claire was born! She was so big compared to Clayton! She did not even look like a true newborn! Her cry was so precious and when Dr. Traylor laid her in my arms, I praised God for her! Terry and I had waited for this moment for 5 years! Little did we know that our precious angel was going to have a rough start in her first 3 days of life. First they told us that her blood sugar was low and they would have to supplement formula to try and get it back up. The first night was an all nighter! Terry and I could do nothing to soothe her. The next day we met with the pediatrician and he told us we were going to stay an extra night because he had ordered an ekg for the next morning. One of the nurses had called him out of concern when listening to Claire's heart. They thought they were hearing a heart murmer, but wanted to be sure. Claire's turned out to be what they call ASD. Basically all babies are born with a small hole in their heart that closes after birth. Claire's was taking a little longer than expected to close. Terry and I were very concerned. I think we both prayed all night. Thank you to everyone that joined us in prayer for our sweet girl! On Thursday, the next pediatrician, Dr. Summers ,read the ekg report and told us that everything was fine, that she could barely hear the ASD, but she was concerned that Claire looked jaundice. When she had her level checked it was at 15. Because it was at this level, she discharged Claire, but wanted to see us the next day at her office. So on Friday, we saw my favorite dr. , Dr. Rimer. First he listened to Claire's heart and said that he heard the ASD, but it was very faint. He was so good about explaining what this defect is and he drew a diagram of the heart so we could understand it better. He said that it is important to keep a check on it, and if they continue to hear it , she will have to have another ekg at age 2. He even explained the procedure that she would have to have if she still has it when she is 2 years old. He was so sweet with us and I felt like God was using him to calm our fears. They checked Claire's bili rubin level and said they would call us with the results. Soon after we got home, Dr. Rimer called and said he wanted to admit Claire to Children's. Her level had risen to 19.9, which he felt had gotten high in a short amt. of time. I was devastated! We had only been home with Claire and Clayton for one night and now it was back to the hospital. God is so sweet to show His marvelous love for us in little ways! When we arrived at Children's, the first nurse we had was Jill Ogle, a familiar face. Claire loved the lights! We could only take her out to feed and change her. The hardest part was seeing her with an IV and when they came to take blood for lab work, they could not get her blood to flow, so they had to stick her multiple times. My sweet baby was so brave, by the time the third person came in to try to take blood, she laid on the bed without crying (Mommy was the one crying!) Well I could go on forever, but to end this post , Claire's levels finally went back down to a 14 at her last check-up, so no more dr.s until our 1 month check-up! Thank you so much to everyone who called with encouragement, prayed for our family, visited the hospital, and prepared wonderful meals! I thank the Lord for each one of you!

"all beautiful you are my darling; there is no flaw in you!" Song of Solomon 4:7