Olivia's Birth Story

Being a Mom, I should learn to expect that a plan is just a nice intention...that plans don't usually work out with the exact step by step approach you hoped for...even if you have them written down and, in your head, expect that they will.

On Friday night, I was reminded of this and in my 9+ month pregnant and hormonal state, this was a very disappointing realization. As my Baby #2 Update explained, the plan was for me to go into the hospital for an induction on Friday night. So with this plan, I had my bags packed, my house clean, fresh sheets on my bed, my going to the hospital outfit on, my water bottled filled, my teeth brushed and my first baby girl at her Auntie Jill's for her first "sleepover". I was choked up saying goodbye to her knowing that the next time I saw her, my arms would be holding her baby sister and my heart would have to share the love that I had been giving to only her for the past 3 years.

After Emilia left, Jeff and I sat down in our quiet house and waited for the phone call from the hospital telling me they were ready for me to come in for my induction. They told me to expect the call around "dinner time". So we sat and looked at each other and waited. We tried to determine what time was considered "dinner time". When should I call the hospital if they don't call me? Well, once the clock hit 7:30pm, the time I had PLANNED to be laying in a hospital bed with my induction underway, we called the hospital. I talked to the charge nurse who informed me that the clinic must have sent over the wrong "orders" because she did not have me on her list to come in for an induction until Saturday night. She told me she would see what she could do and would call me back. I hung up the phone and wanted to cry. I was so, so disappointed. It wasn't long and she called me back - not with good news. There was just no room for me to come in and the best we could hope for was "room" the next morning. We would get a call around 5:3oam if there was. If not, it would be Saturday night. With the nurse still on the phone, my tears started falling and my voice shook as I tried talking to her.

Everything I had planned for was off track. I felt pathetically bad for myself, I missed Emilia, I felt bad that all the people we had involved now had to shift their plans too. I called my Mom and Dad, who were on their way from Marshfield to be here for the delivery of their 2nd granddaughter, and just like I expected, my Mom reminded me that "everything happens for a reason" and that "it's in God's hands." I knew she was right, but it sure didn't stop me from sobbing and from needing a cold washcloth on my face to try and pull it together. Wow.

So, my Mom and Dad arrived and we sat and chatted and I felt bad for myself some more. I wondered if I was going to go into labor over night and earn my ticket into the hospital despite the plans being mixed up. Yeah, right! This little girl was perfectly happy where she was and had no "plans" to come out...

We went to bed (ahhhh, fresh sheets) and I made sure the ringer on my phone was on and sitting RIGHT next to me in case a call came from the hospital the next morning. Well, at 6:15am, my phone rang. It was the charge nurse I had talked to the night before and, Praise the LORD!, they told me to come into the hospital by 8:00am to start my induction. I was THRILLED!!! I walked into my Mom and Dad's room with my eyes still feeling puffy from all the crying the night before, and told them I was going in!! I showered, put on my makeup and got dressed in the same going to the hospital outfit I had on the night before. I had 2 pieces of peanut butter toast, filled up my water bottle and smiled for a few final belly pics before getting into the car and heading to the hospital.

The ride to the hospital was very calm. We realized the video camera was in the trunk, so we pulled over to get it out so we could have a little video footage of our "drive to the hospital." We pulled into the parking ramp and unloaded our stuff from the car. I walked into the hospital with ease, carrying my bag and Boppy pillow.

8:00am - We checked into Labor and Delivery and they showed us to our room. We checked out the view and I changed into my hospital gown. We soon met our nurse, Samantha (Sam) who was just as cute as can be. I was SO happy to be there!! We knew that we would be meeting our baby girl SOON! Samantha explained that after I got my IV started, she would be starting my induction with a dose of Cytotec. Wait, Cytotec? What happened to the Cervidal that was the original "plan" to start the induction? Well, as if the last 12 hours had showed me, plans change :)

9:30am - The nurse explained that Cytotec was a ripening agent, like Cervidal, but it was a drug they were able to administrator every 4 hours to keep things progressing. The goal of the Cytotec was the same, to ripen my cervix and get me to efface so they could start Pitocin to get me dilated. She explained that I would need to stay laying down for the first hour after it was administered and then I could be free to walk around. She checked me before inserting the tiny tablet of Cervidal. I was 0 cm dilated and 50% effaced.

10:45am - After playing some Phase 10 with Jeff, we called the nurse in to hook me up with a wireless monitor which allowed me to get up and walk the hallways...something I missed out on being able to do the first time I was in labor. Walking was a great way to pass the time and also kept me very calm. We looked at the different artwork and poems placed on the walls of the Labor and Delivery floor. I felt contractions, something they told me I might experience even before the Pitocin was started. The contractions weren't too painful. I was HAPPY to be feeling them since it meant PROGRESS! My parents stopped by for a visit and brought me a nice, fluffy pink blanket to keep cozy with. They left to do a little shopping around town to pass some time until we were closer to delivery time. My dad was on board with my mom's instruction to video tape everything during labor and delivery since the details are SO hard to remember after the fact.

1:40pm - 4 hours after my Cytotec was administered, I got checked. The Cytotec had gotten me to contract and I was dilated to 2 cm and still 50% effaced. So with that progress, they were able to start the Pitocin.

2:00pm - The nurse hooked up the Pitocin to my IV. I knew the power of Pitocin since I also had this during Emilia's labor but I still wanted to experience the pain of labor before getting the epidural. Although contractions had been happening on my own before the Pitocin was started, it is the job of the Pitocin to increase the strength and frequency of my contractions. So when the Pitocin drip started, I knew the fun was really about to begin!

My pain before the Pitocin was low on the scale - very manageable. I wasn't squeezing Jeff's fingers yet. I would just stop talking, concentrate and breathe deeply. I didn't feel like I needed or wanted my epidural yet. I was really enjoying the experience of labor and my freedom to move and walk and get up and go to the bathroom as I wanted. And I was hoping that this would help to make labor and delivery move along more quickly. So, after my Pitocin was started, I did a few more laps in the hallway before coming back to the room and sitting on the birthing ball for the baby's heart rate to be monitored more continuously. The doctor assigned to me, Dr. Messina, came into the room and talked to me to see how I was doing and to see if I had any questions. I asked her how long she thought it would take for me to get to 10 cm. Did she think I would have the baby before the end of the day? She said it's hard to say, everyone is different, but she thought that she'd come before midnight.

We tried to put a movie in, but by this point, my concentration was on getting through my contractions...not the tv. Jeff quickly picked up on this and turned the movie off and turned the Jack Johnson tunes back on. Another nurse, Heather, came in and checked on me. She looked at my contraction pattern and thought it looked good. She said that if I were her patient, she wouldn't increase the "Pit"...

3:00pm - Sam came back from her lunch break, checked out my contraction pattern and decided to turn up my Pitocin to get them a little closer together. Ugg.

3:05pm - 5 minutes later, while sitting on the birthing ball, my water broke. I felt the warm "gush", looked down and said, "Oh! My water broke." Jeff looked at the towel draped over the ball that I was sitting on and I could tell by the surprised look on this face that there was Meconium in the water. I asked Sam what this meant for the baby and she replied, "It just means there will be one more person at the birthday party!" Meconium, a baby's first bowel movement in Utero, is often a sign that the baby is in distress and ready to come out. Her heart rate had been fine throughout labor so far, but it was definitely time for her to come out!

The increase in Pitocin paired with my water breaking meant a MAJOR change on the pain scale for me! Either one of these on their own really pushes labor along, but both at the same time was really tough. After getting the meconium cleaned off of me, I got back into bed and tried to manage through the contractions. I began shaking...something I expected to happen as I had experienced this during my labor with Emilia...but I felt like it was happening sooner this time. They had just checked me an hour and a half earlier and I was only 2cm dilated. I didn't think I could already be in transition...the last part of active labor. Sam asked where I was at on the pain scale and it was hard for me to answer. During contractions, I was a 9 on the scale of 10. During my breaks, I was perfectly comfortable. The increased Pitocin was causing my restful periods to be very short and then another contraction would come. I said I was ready for the epidural so Sam hooked up a bag of IV fluid that I needed to get before the epidural could be administered. During the contractions, I squeezed Jeff's hand with all my might, holding it close to me. I kept bending my arm which was keeping the bag of fluid from coming through the IV. Sam kept reminding me to straighten my arm or it would take longer for the bag of fluid to be gone, thus making the wait for the epidural longer. Once the bag was empty she called the anesthesiologist and checked my progress. I was 7cm and 100% effaced.

3:50pm - The anesthesiologist came into the room and introduced himself to me. He could see that I was in serious discomfort so he spoke very quickly about the epidural, the risks and what to expect. I nodded and said a few "um hm's" just wanting him to get on with it. I was in SERIOUS pain and getting NO breaks from it. I sat still on the edge of the bed during the contractions as he put the epidural into my back. The epidural was complete within about 10 minutes and I was told that within the next few contractions, I should feel relief. I told Jeff to call my parents and to tell them to come. I thought the epidural would give me relief soon and I would have time to take a quick nap before pushing...

The epidural helped take the edge off the pain, but I still felt extreme pain on my right side. They had me lay on my right side to try and pull the medicine that way, but it wasn't working. And when I was laying on this side, the baby's heart rate wasn't doing what they wanted it to. They had me turn to my other side and put on a mask for some oxygen. I was so overwhelmed with pain at this point that I was not wanting to be compliant. I felt like the mask smelt like maple syrup and wanted it off of me. Since the laying on the side trick didn't help the right side pain, Sam told me that if I wanted to increase the medicine in the epidural, I just needed to push the red button. I couldn't even do this. All I could do was try and focus to get through the pain of each contraction. She kept trying to hand me the device with the red button, telling me at least 3 times that I just needed to push it for more medicine. I couldn't even find it in me to grab it from her. Finally, she just handed it to Jeff and told him to push it for me. I asked Jeff how far away my parents were...I told him to call them again and to tell them to RUN when they got to the hospital parking ramp... I knew it wouldn't be long before she was born.

4:15pm - I was laying on my right side again when I felt pressure. I was scared to tell Sam because I knew that it was time and I also knew that my epidural was NOT doing its job yet... What happened to my plan to take a nap after the epidural? I knew I had to just find the strength and courage to go for it...so I just said it... "I feel pressure." Sam checked me and said, "There's no cervix". She turned away immediately and called the doctor. Jeff and I are pretty sure her head must have been coming down the birth canal because, just like that, I was 10cm dilated and ready to push. The doctors were in the room within minutes putting on all their gowns and gloves and masks. The room filled up quickly with nurses and a peds nurse.

4:20pm - My legs were put up in the stir ups and I was told to start pushing. I just kept saying, "Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh." I was feeling SO MUCH pain and I was terrified. I gave a big first push and everyone was very encouraging, telling me I was doing a great job but I didn't know if I should believe them. Jeff said that with my first push, you were able to see the top of the baby's head. I turned to Jeff, distressed that my parents weren't there. "My parents aren't here! They are going to miss it!" Jeff told me to not worry and to just focus. My mind was racing. I told him to grab the camera. It was all happening SO fast. I continued to push...about 3 long pushes during each contraction. No one counted, which I appreciated as I was able to push for longer than 10 seconds without the count. I remember the push when her head came out because I could feel the intense stretch and her shoulders resting within my pelvic bones. It was an absolutely crazy feeling. I shouted to the resident doctor, "Get her out!"

With another contraction and another push, she was out. I pushed through a total of 4 contractions (6 minutes of actual pushing) and she was born! Jeff was able to snap this AMAZING picture JUST as Olivia entered the world. She was taking her first breath. AMAZING.

4:36pm - Olivia's Birth Day Party! After the absolute whirlwind that was the previous hour, my baby girl was born! They whisked her to the warming table where the pediatric nurses made sure there was no fluid or meconium in her lungs. The had to use little tubes through her nose to suck out any fluid. She sounded wonderful and looked wonderful from what I could tell, just seeing the top of her head. They weren't able to put her on my chest right after birth because the needed to make sure the fluid was cleared out of her. I kept asking, "Can I see her?" as I watched everyone look at her and smile... I knew I would have her in my arms soon enough...but I just couldn't stand the wait!

About 5 minutes after Olivia was born, my parents entered the room. They JUST missed it. Olivia was on the warming table just to the left of my mom and she didn't even see her. She looked past her and looked at me laying in the bed, getting stitched up. I looked at my mom and just said, "It went so fast. I'm sorry..." It wasn't until I said this that my mom realized she was standing right next to second granddaughter. My mom looked at her and immediately started to cry.

The nurse took Olivia's measurements, weighed her and got her APGAR. They announced that she was 21 3/4 inches long, 8 pounds, 13 ounces and had APGAR's of 9. Her weight in grams was exactly 4000...one more gram and they said they would have had to check her blood sugar levels! Lucky for her, she was spared the poke! Jeff called his parents and sister to share the news and I was able to talk to Emilia. She asked where I was and what I was doing. I told her we were at the hospital and that she had a new baby sister :)

Finally, after everyone in the room BUT me had seen her beautiful face, they handed her to me. I held her all wrapped in her swaddle for a couple minutes before unwrapping her to see each little finger and toe and to put her brand new baby skin on mine. She laid on me for a bit before I tried to let her nurse. She took to nursing right away and did it like she had been instructed on what to do. It was a good thing, because if she was going to keep her size up, she needed to learn how to eat!

Once all of the nurses and doctors cleared out of the room, we were able to just look at Olivia and reflect on the events of her birth. I was so sorry my parents missed seeing her be born, but I was SO thankful with how smooth and quickly everything went for her and for me. Her delivery really proved to me that giving birth is something my body was made to do. Her face down position allowed her to come out without stress on her and just a "little" effort from me. What an incredible experience, all designed by God...

Happy Birthday, Olivia!! You are SO loved!