Cameron's Christmas Gift

In December 1993 we went to my father in law's house for a Christmas party. My stepson, Cameron, who was only 3 at the time, climbed onto Santa's lap and promptly asked for a baby sister for Christmas. Needless to say my husband and I were quite surprised to hear this. We had just gotten married a few months ago and we hadn't really thought about expanding our family. Fast forward a few months... I was sitting in the lifeguard chair at the YMCA where I worked. It was May and in the upper 70's but for some reason I was really, really hot. That was unusual for me since I was underweight and always cold. I took a pg test and it was positive. MERRY CHRISTMAS CAMERON!

I experienced severe morning sickness the ENTIRE pregnancy. I was miserable. I lost 15 pounds, which was not a good thing since I was already underweight. I eventually gained 20 pounds (meaning I only gained 5 pounds total for the entire pregnancy). I was so tiny my whole pregnancy that I never wore maternity clothes and no one at work knew I was pregnant even though I wore a swimsuit all day. Carmen was due on Superbowl Sunday January 29th. Being new to the whole pregnancy/childbirth thing, I was quite surprise and totally unprepared when my water broke very early in the morning on the 10th. We rushed to pack our bags and head to the hospital (which was literally 2 blocks away) and then we waited. I ended up getting an epidural because I just couldn't handle the pain and wasn't dilating. They told me to rest for a few hours but in no time I started feeling nauseous and the nurse knew that it was time. Carmen was delivered a few minutes later. She was so beautiful. I couldn't believe how little and perfect she was. Eleven years later, while delivering her brother Gabe, we ran into the nurse who had helped deliver her. How cool is that!

That is the Carmen's birth story and the story of how Cameron got the best Christmas Gift ever!