December 5th, 2011

Camilla Fidelis Mullen arrived at 7:34 p.m. on 12-5-11, exactly 14 months after Elspeth's birth. The doctor wanted to have her induced and so I intentionally planned her birthdate for the 5th so that my girls would share the same day of the month. A little cheesy but I'm the sentimental type.

Camilla's stats:

7 lbs. 13 oz.

19 inches long

14 inch head circumference

It may sound crazy, but I had a great labor with Camilla. I felt relatively calm and I didn't experience too much pain. We opted out of the doula this time, but Ryan stepped up and proved to be a great coach. We arrived at the hospital about 6:30 in the morning and she was born about 10 hours after my water was broken. Our nurse for the day, Jayne, is a little extra special to our family. Jayne is in our stake at church, and she was the primary nurse that took care of us when Elspeth was born. Jayne was the last person to hold Elspeth in the hospital as she carried her away for organ donation. A couple of days before we headed into the hospital for Camilla's delivery, I was talking to the nurse educator for labor and delivery. I asked if Jayne was working on our induction day. She said that Jayne was scheduled for a vacation day but that she would find me another really great nurse. I agreed but was a little dissapointed. On the 5th, Ryan pulled up to the hospital entrance to drop me off to check in. I turned around as I got out of the car and there was Jayne coming into work. She pulled me into a hug and said "I wouldn't have missed this day for anything!". I later found out that Jayne had switched her day off and traded around days so that she could be there to see Camilla born. Jayne even stayed late on her shift to be there for the big moment.

Our first family photo

Nona and Camilla

Grandmas and Camilla

When Camilla was being born Ryan kept saying "she has black hair!" over and over again. I think we both couldn't have believed we would have a baby with such dark hair, and so much of it! Holding Camilla in my arms for the first time I found myself overwhelmed with several emotions, gratitude, joy, disbelief to name a few. I told Camilla that I had been waiting for her for a very long time. It's been worth the wait.

A huge thank you to my most dear friend Celeste for taking photos to capture this wonderful day. Also, thank you to our family who waited anxiously by their phones all day to hear of Camilla's arrival and came to the hospital to see her. To our family that were too far away to come, please know that you were missed and thought of on this special day.