Kambrie Janae Butterworth

I think it's time I announced the birth of our sweet baby girl.

The day was Sunday, October 17th. By this time I was 8 days over due & was showing absolutely zero signs of labor starting on it's own. My anxieties getting the better of me, I had all but begged my doctor to enduce me AS SOON AS POSSIBLE at my last doctor's appointment. But he was going out of town for the weekend. So he scheduled me for Monday & assured me that if he ended up staying home he would call me & get things rolling.

As he promised, Dr Strebel called Saturday night & asked if I still "thought" I wanted to have a baby that weekend. Of course I did! What woman in my position wouldn't!?! So bright & early Sunday morning we were off to the hospital. We arrived at about 8 & they immediately started my I.V. with the pitocin, as well as an anti-biotic for strep B (So when you look at the pictures of me, just think of all that extra fluid being pumped into my body).

Then it was more waiting. Trav & I watched a movie & some NFL pregame show. At about 10 a.m. they broke my water, & the doctor wanted a monitor to be placed on the baby to watch her heart rate more easily. Long story short I was still only dialated to a 2, so they opted to wait until a little later in the day.

When 10:30 rolled around, one of our neighbors gave birth naturally to a healthy baby. Lets just say Trav was running to close the door to our room & I was in tears. I have all new respect for women who choose not to use any pain relief because this was the first time I ever truly felt afraid of what the next couple of hours could bring. The next time my nurse came in to check on me we asked when we could get the epidural.

So about 11:30 I got my epidural. Dr Skabelund was wonderful. Travis told me later that he had no idea I had super-human strength. I was holding his hands while the doctor prepped me, etc & I was completely unaware of how tight my grip was.

Once that was behind us, we both felt a lot better. However, our room was FREEZING!!! Actually, the nurses had offered to move us to another room at one point. I can't remember now why we hadn't accepted, but we didn't.



I got plenty of warm blankets so it wasn't all bad.

But poor Travis was as cold as my Popsicles.



My mom & sister, Jamie, came & went throughout the afternoon so Jamie made sure he got a jacket.

The rest of the afternoon was spent watching contractions on the monitor, football on TV & waiting. It's actually really cool to have the epidural because when I had the contractions, I could still feel them, the pain was just gone. This was especially intriguing to Travis & my dad when he stopped by. My dad stood watching the monitor for a good 15 minutes while he was there, letting me know when I was having a really strong one. So helpful;)

The Doctor came to see me about 4 to check my progress & I was at about a 5. At this point he told us the slow part was over & things would really start to pick up now. At 5:30 the nurse came in, checked & told us she would be back in 15 minutes to prep the room for delivery.



Our last photo as a family of 2!

I started pushing at 6 p.m. Watching the Washington Red Skins play the Indianapolis Colts between contractions (still loving the epidural). The doctor returned about 6:45 & they started giving me oxygen because they were concerned about my "old" placenta & whether or not the baby was getting enough oxygen. At 7:07 p.m. our beautiful baby arrived & started screaming immediately. She weighed in at 8 lbs 1 oz and measured 21 inches long.



Introducing Baby Girl Butterworth! Travis only hesitated a second to leave me, because he was so excited to get closer to her & take her first pictures.

I think the first thing out of my mouth was, "Oh, she's so big." The nurse came & gave her to me the first time & all I could think about was how big she was. Was this really the same baby that had been inside me all this time? She cried & whimpered for the entire first hour of her life but I loved to hear her cry. It was so sad & sweet that I could only apologize to her, she was having such a bad day after all.





One Proud Daddy! I was one of those silly wives who wondered if the whole birth experience would totally gross my husband out. Safe to say my husband thought it was the coolest thing ever. He was totally fascinated by it all. Just one more thing that made it such an incredible experience.

In the end we have a perfectly healthy baby & I felt pretty good too, with no complications I was on the road to recovery right away. During the first hour of her life she was welcomed by ALL of our immediate family members. My parents were at the hospital waiting for her. Steve & Lorie came from Idaho Falls to meet her, knowing they wouldn't have another chance until Saturday. Their timing couldn't have been better, they arrived just after she was born.

The nurses were so patient. I loved my nurse. Deanne couldn't believe we would rather watch football than baseball (it was playoff season after all). She was my only nurse. I was so worried she would have to leave before the baby came. Her shift ended at 7 & she assured me that I would have a baby by then. She was pretty much right & she made sure everything was all taken care of before she left. I told her at one point that I thought she was an angel. She just smiled & said that she had the best job in the world, "who else gets to come to work & have a birthday party every day."



This will always be my favorite way to cuddle her :)

At about 8:30 we were settled into our room on the mother baby floor. The baby got her first bath, & then it was off to the nursery for a few minutes. Travis & I finally had a chance to talk just the 2 of us & the first item on the agenda was "what on earth are we going to name her?" For weeks we had gone to bed each night discussing this very topic & we never really came to a decision. Now after seeing her... we really weren't any closer.

I wish I had taken a picture of her that night when she came back from the nursery. She looked so peaceful & beautiful with a cute little pink & brown bow the nurse put on her head. And I felt bad that our poor baby still didn't have a name.

It was a long night, even though we had sent the baby to the nursery so we could sleep. Poor Travis was so tired & already worried about the upcoming week. That morning I woke up long before he did, thinking about a name, waiting for them to bring the baby back. By the time the nurse came in with the babe, I had decided. Travis woke up & asked me which one I was thinking about that morning. I told him Kambrie Janae (had to call my sister to look up different spellings for Janae, so we could decide which one we liked the best). Then I asked him what he was thinking... he was still thinking Emmri... but had no objections with my name. I think he was just relieved that I was willing to make the decision myself. Usually he just wants whatever I want. Maybe he'll name the next baby ;)

In a nutshell, it was the most incredible experience I have ever had. My sister-in-law Tashie told me later how strong the spirit was when she & Tyler came into the room to meet Kambrie the first time. I feel so incredibly blessed we had such a beautiful, healthy baby to bring home with us. I'm grateful everyday that I get to be a mother & a wife. I have always been grateful for my eternal family, but now that I have a family of my own I understand why it was so important for Travis & I to go to the temple. Late at night when I look at her sweet face, I'm grateful to know that she is ours forever. That any separation we may experience in this life is only temporary.

I don't mean to be cheesy but I feel pretty comfortable saying things like that because I know my audience includes only my closest family & friends. I have a testimony of Jesus Christ. I know my Heavenly Father loves me. I know he has sent a choice spirit to our home. I pray I will be able to teach her, as my parents taught me, to do what is right & endure to the end. I hope that Travis & I will always be good examples to her, but I know that she has so many other great examples around her also.



We were so excited & amazed that she had hair!



On our way home! I love how tiny she looks in her carseat.



For now, Kambrie has to share her room with her dad's very messy desk. Trav often faces the dilemma of wanting to spend his time at home with her & getting his homework done... sometimes he does both:)



Kind of a grumpy face but pictures with her eyes open are precious.