Happy Birthday Little Bear

It was a cold and blustery December day in Spokane, Washington. We had a couple of inches of snow on the ground and more was coming. The Talbert kids were anxious and excited about celebrating the birth of two babies. The house was decorated with stockings, an advent wreath and lit up Christmas tree.

Chris and I just returned from my last ob appointment and a lunch date at Perkins. That afternoon Chris had to go back to the office in the upstairs bedroom to work. I was tired, sore, and sick and tired of being pregnant. Even though, I did not gain a lot of weight this fifth time around, it was tough. At age 32, I felt too old to go through with having another baby, but I was optimistic because I knew this would be my last.

I remember sitting on the couch as the sun was sinking in the late winter sky the afternoon of December 17, 2010. I had heartburn from lunch and the painful contractions had begun. My due date was January 1. But, all of my babies were early so I knew this one was going to be early too. The contractions lasted for about 2-1/2 hours. By 5;30 I couldn’t stand the pain anymore and they were nearly 3 minutes apart. My past labors had always been quick. By this time I was worried that he was going to be born in the car on the way to the hospital. I made Chris hurry downstairs. It was time to go.

Around 6pm I was ushered into a room at Deaconess Hospital in Spokane. My contractions were 3 minutes apart and I was already dilated 4 centimeters. The doctor came in and had some concerns. My last baby was born via C-section because he was breach. I wanted to have a natural birth with this one but the doctor said it would be too risky and he wanted to do a C-section before my labor progressed any further. I signed the paperwork and within a half an hour I was prepped for another C-section.

Shortly after 8pm on December 17, 2010, Chris and I welcomed our fifth child, a beautiful, tiny, but healthy baby boy.

He weighed 5lbs 12oz. His tiny head fit in the palm of my hand. He was beautiful and it was love at first sight.

For nearly 2 days he was known as “Talbert, Baby Boy.” Chris and I knew we had to come up with a name for our new baby before I left the hospital. Looking through all the baby boy names that began with “C” we finally chose a name that we both liked, Camrin David. We chose the American spelling because Cameron is too common and I don’t care for that spelling. On this blog he is known as “Little Bear.” At home we call him Camrin or Cam.

Happy Birthday, Little Bear!