Callie Has Arrived

So as many of you already know, Callie Dee Stemp was born September 5, 2008 at 1:45 p.m. at 36 weeks exactly. She weighed 5 pounds, 9 ounces and measured 17 3/4 inches.
Labor started about 8 p.m. The contractions were not very regular so I wasn't sure if it was real labor or not. They wer about 8-11 minutes apart, but the back pain was getting intolerable! Around 1:00 in the morning, I had my mom call the OB floor and ask the nurse if I should come in or not. She suggested taking a bath and rocking back and forth because it could be the position of the baby making my back hurt so bad. After trying that and still being in A LOT of pain, I decided to go in.
When I got there, my heart rate was very high and so was Callie's. It was over 200, which is not good for the baby. I had a temperature and some lower abdominal pain as well and so they decided to do some tests to see where the infection is, thinking it was probably a UTI. Turns out I had acute chorioamnionitis, an infection in the amniotic fluid. The Dr. that was on call that night was thinking I may need to have a C-Section due to the infection and having previously broke my tailbone while in labor with Parker. I was really scared to have any type of surgery. The Dr. was going off shift that morning, but said he would see what all the tests said and then go from there. When the next Dr. came in, he said it was up to me if I wanted to have the C-Section or not, and that the risks were about the same with both. I decided against the C-section.
Finally around 10:00, I got the epidural and they hung Pitocin and really got things going. At 1:45, Callie Dee arrived. I only had to push about 7 times for about 15 minutes. This labor experience was MUCH easier than Parker's and so far, the recovery has been a thousand times easier.
Callie was taken to the NICU for evaluation due to her high heart rate and fever. She also had a pretty bad rash all over her body. The Dr.'s decided she would need antibiotics through an IV for a couple days, but that she could stay in the room with me! The NICU nurses came and got her once a day and once during the night for a couple hours to give her the meds and then she got to come back. All her blood cultures and lab work came back normal. When we left the hospital, her rash was pretty much gone and she was weighing in around 5 pounds, 6 ounces. Not bad!!
Now she is at home with us and things are going great! The first night was a big adjustment for all of us and no one really slept. The past two nights have gone great with Callie sleeping 4-4.5 hours at a time! I laugh because I get up with Parker more than Callie!! She so beautiful though and was so worth any amount of bedrest, dr. visits, or medications.
Cory and I want to thank everyone who helped us out over the past few months, especially my parents who let us turn their home upside down by moving in while on bedrest. I seriously don't know what I would have done without them. I can't imagine how early I would have ended up having Callie if I didn't have their support! Also, Cory's grandma, Lucy, who helped us out during a really low time and helped with chores at home while I couldn't be there. All our family members have been so amazing and we really don't think this pregnancy would have been so successful if it weren't for them. We know how blessed we really are and can't believe God gave us even one more miracle.
I will try and keep updating with new Callie moments! Getting on the computer has been hard...so busy these days!


First family photo...Don't know I was looking so annoyed! LOL!


Parker meeting Callie. He thinks she's pretty cute!


Me and Callie Dee


Papa and his new baby girl



Making her debut!