The birth of our sixth child

On Wednesday, January 7, 1981, I wrote in my journal, "Claudia finished reading Camilla, the biography of Sister Kimball, which we received as a Christmas gift. I finished the book during the holidays while I was sick. If our new baby is a girl, we will probably name her Camilla."

We had actually made that decision a month earlier. During December Claudia and I had been at the Missionary Department Christmas dinner on the 26th Floor of the Church Office Building. President Spencer W. Kimball and his wife Camilla also attended, and we sat at the same table with them. Claudia was expecting our sixth child. She was about three months along, and we decided that evening if our baby was a boy we would name him Spencer and if a girl we would name her Camilla.

It would be another six months before we knew which one was coming.

Monday, June 15, 1981, was Claudia's parents' 32nd wedding anniversary. It was also three days after the due date of our sixth child. Early that day, about 3:30 in the morning, Claudia woke me up to say she was going to have a baby. Her contractions had started about 2:45, so she got up, washed two loads of clothes, showered, and washed her hair so she'd be ready to go to the hospital. We arrived there about 5:00, and Dr. Lewis delivered our sixth child and fourth daughter at 5:37. She weighed 8 pounds 8 ounces and was 21 inches long—our biggest baby thus far.

Dr. Lewis, who was leaving at 7:00 for a fishing trip in Alaska, said it was fortunate the delivery was fast. The baby was posterior, which made the very end of labor harder for Claudia. Also, because of the little one's position, the cord was pinched every time Claudia had a contraction. When Camilla was born, she was all purple and initially had a hard time getting her breathing started. Claudia was put on an IV before delivery but still bled heavily afterward. We were grateful for the blessings of modern medicine which the Lord has provided.

Claudia and Camilla were in the hospital until Thursday morning, June 18. I went to visit her early each morning, and the rest of the family came to see her and the baby each afternoon and evening. On one of those visits, six-year-old Rebecca gave Claudia a note:

I love you Mom. And Camilla. I like both of you. I think both of you are sweet. Here is a poem:

I like
Being in the hospital
With a babby.
The end.

Grandma and Grandpa Lange were in town visiting from California when Camilla was born. Grandpa and I were putting a new roof on our house.

The morning Camilla came home from Lakeview Hospital, all of the children were quite excited. We had a birthday party with gifts for each of the children: a soccer ball for Michael, roller skates for Rebecca, a dump truck for Talmage, and a doll for Anna.

Three weeks later, on Sunday morning, July 5, 1981, I blessed Camilla and gave her her name in the fast and testimony meeting of the Bountiful Twentieth Ward:

"Our Heavenly Father, in a spirit of gratitude and love we take this baby in our arms this morning to give her a name and a blessing. We do it by the power and authority of the Melchizedek Priest­hood and in the name of Thy Son. The name we give her is Camilla Cleverly.

"Now, Camilla, we bless you, having come so recently from the presence of our Heavenly Father, that you will grow and develop and have strength of mind and body and every blessing you will need here in mortality as a child born in the covenant, an heir to all the promises and blessings given to those who belong to the household of faith.

"We bless you that you will obtain your full maturity and that you will fulfill the mis­sion for which you were sent here to this earth. We bless you that your growth and develop­ment and health will be normal and that your life will be well pleasing to your parents and family, your friends and loved ones, and most of all to your Heavenly Father. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen."