This is long! Sorry, but I don't want to forget the details! =) Feel free to skim!
Olive's birth was {SO} different from Isaiah's. With Isaiah my water broke at barely 37 weeks, I was in labor for 15 hours, I pushed for 2 1/2 hours, and I didn't have an epidural or any other pain medication. It was a rough birth! I broke the blood vessels in my eyes from pushing so long and hard (I looked pretty scary let me tell ya), I could barely enjoy him right after he was born because I was in so much pain, and I could barely walk (or sit!) for weeks after his birth.
Naturally, I was a little bit nervous to do THAT again! Thankfully, though, Olive's birth was almost 100 times better! And I am so thankful!
On April 1st, I went in and had my doctor strip my membranes. I had an induction scheduled for the next morning, but I was hoping maybe I could avoid an induction and see if stripping my membranes would cause things to start on their own. Immediately after she stripped me I started contracting and cramping. The entire evening and all through the night I had irregular but quite painful contractions. I was able to get some sleep that night but the contractions woke me up a few times. I had to concentrate on breathing through the strong ones. They definately weren't labor contractions but I knew that my body was getting ready to do what it was supposed to!
We made it through that night with no baby and got up around 4 the next morning to get ready to make it to the hospital by 6 a.m. A few days prior I had scheduled this induction after much hesitation and deliberation. Although I was 40 weeks 4 days pregnant, I did not want to be induced. I believe that most babies come when they're ready and that, as long as mom and baby are doing well, baby should be allowed to stay inside until they come out on their own. I know there are many medical and other reasons why women are induced or schedule c-sections but there are also many moms who do it simply out of convenience. And I'm not a big fan of that.
I was still very comfortable and content in my pregnancy. I had had a strong feeling from the beginning that baby was going to be an April baby so I was not surprised when my due date came and went and I was still pregnant. I actually wanted baby to be born on 4-4-14 because I thought that would be a cool birthday. ;) But, after much thought and prayer we decided to schedule an induction for me on April 2nd because Drew was flying to Arizona on April 6th and we absoluately wanted to make sure he was here for baby's birth and a few days afterwards.
My main hesitation with being induced was that I did NOT want to be given pitocin. Yet I knew that if we couldn't get labor to start another way, I would have to use pitocin to speed things up. My doctor was very understanding and we agreeed that she would start with breaking my water to see if that would put me into labor without the use of any other drugs.
So at 5 a.m. on April 2nd our wonderful babysitter, Kelsey, came over and soon after Drew and I left for the hospital! It was so weird to know that we would be having a baby that day. It was so different from Isaiah who came so early and so unexpectadly. This time we were actually planning our baby's birthday. A strange feeling!
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| Heading to the hospital! |
At the hospital we got settled into our room and I got hooked up to an I.V., got my blood drawn, and other tests done. I was still having painful contractions and the nurse checked me. I was a 3.5 and 80% effaced. Almost in active labor!
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| Smiling and ready to have a baby!!! |
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| And then a contraction hit! |
My sister came a little after 8 and I was so glad she made it there before things really started to happen fast! My doctor came in at 8:30 a.m. and broke my water. Immediately my contractions started picking up and becoming more intense. They were extremely close together and lasting a long time. I was planning to get an epidural this time and I told the nurse that I was ready for it as soon as I could have it!!!! =)
The anesthesiologist came some time around 9:30 and put my epidural in. It was quick and painless! And when that sweet lady left my room I told her she was my favorite person in the whole hospital! The epidural was great. It made a world of difference from Isaiah's birth. I was completely out of it with Isaiah's birth because I was in so much pain. With the epidural I was talking and laughing with Katelyn and Drew and we were watching HGTV on the television! What a stark contrast!
I progressed so quickly. Each time the nurse would check I was a centimeter more. I couldn't feel the contractions so I was relaxed and comfortable and my body did what it knew it was supposed to. We had a few scary moments because the baby's heart rate kept dropping. At one point the nurse rushed in and quickly flipped me over to my left side and said baby's heart rate had dropped down to 60 for 3 minutes! For the next hour I kept having to flip from side to side and eventually ended up on my hands and knees on the bed to keep the baby's heart rate from dropping. It was a bit scary but the same thing had actually happend during Isaiah's birth and almost resulted in me needing a c-section. I may have needed one with Olive too but we were able to keep her heart rate up by me changing positions so thankfully it didn't come to that. When she was born the cord was wrapped around her neck which may have caused her frequent heart rate droppings.
A little after 11 a.m I was on my hands and knees and started feeling like I had to push. It was a new feeling for me because I never once felt the urge to push with Isaiah! Usually it's the opposite... women can feel when to push when they {don't} have an epidural and have a harder time knowing when to push when they do have one! But with Isaiah I had to be told when to push. I {never} felt like I had to.With Olive I started telling the nurses that I NEEDED TO PUSH {NOW}! She checked me and sure enough I was a 10. My doctor came in and I was allowed to start pushing. This was around 11:30.
I pushed so differently this time because I could feel when and how to push! And I think it made a world of difference becausse I only had to push for a little less than half an hour as opposed to 2 1/2 hours with Isaiah! It didn't seem like long after I started that my doctor said that she could see the baby's head!!! She said, "Oh my word, this baby has tons of blonde hair!!" In between pushing I even had time to crack a joke and asked her if it looked like a boy head or a girl head!!! =) She replied that she didn't know but that whatever it was it was getting a barrette in it!! Lol! I think I may have even laughed a little in between contractions. ;)
A few pushes later the baby's head came out a little further and my doctor said that she thought the baby was face up instead of face down. I was able to ask her what that meant as far as my labor but I don't remember what she said, Later I found out that babies that come out face up usually cause the mom alot more pain during birth and that many babies aren't even able to bend the opposite way to get out of the birth canal that way. Many moms end up with a c-section because their babies get stuck! I am glad I didn't know all that at the time. I just kept pushing with all my might!
And sure enough, a few minutes later Baby Hutcheson came on out! And then came that moment that I'd been waiting for for 9 whole months. The
"It's a BOY!" or
"It's a GIRL!" moment!!! Drew was planning to be the one to tell me {but} because Olive came out face up, when the doctor lifted her up I could immediately see for myself! IT'S A GIRL!!! I think it was Olive's way of saying, "Hey mom, you've waited long enough. I'm gonna show you right away what I am!" =) I don't remember if anyone else even said "It's a girl!" because immediately I yelled it out and brought Olive to my chest. I kept saying, "It's a girl! It's a girl! Oh my goodness, it's a girl! You're a girl! I knew you were a girl! I knew it!" Lol! I think everyone was probably sick of me saying it but I just couldn't get over the shock that I now knew what my baby was after waiting and wondering for so long! It was such an amazing feeling!
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| Just minutes old. |
Later I'm planning to write down in more detail my thoughts on being "team green" but for now I know you're wondering, "Was it worth the wait!?!?!" I would have to say that YES it was worth the wait. It was so amazing to see my baby and to say, "It's a girl!" right after her birth. It was an incredible high. But would I do it again? I don't know! It was hard! I'm still processing it all and will write more on this later. =)
Olive Kay Hutcheson was born on April 2nd at 11:59 a.m. just 3 1/2 hours after my doctor broke my water! She weighed in at 8 lbs, 11 oz, 22 inches long! She was born with a head full of very blonde hair and squishy cheeks just like her daddy when he was a baby.
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| Sweet baby girl. |
Unfortunately, I was only able to hold Olive for less than 5 minutes before the nurses took her away to the nursery. She was turning blue and unable to breath. She had fluid in her lungs either as a result of coming out face up and/or as a result of my short labor which didn't allow her enough time in the birth canal to get the fluid squeezed out of her lungs.
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| Hooked up to all sorts of monitors. |
She spent 3 hours in the nursery under an oxygen mask which almost broke our hearts. More than anything I wanted her skin to skin with me immediately after birth and I wanted to begin breastfeeding her right away. But more importantly we had to make sure that she could breath and swallow on her own before she was brought back to our room. As a result she spent several hours in the nursery and was fed a bottle as her first meal to make sure that she could swallow without choking. I wish that wouldn't have been the case but I am thankful for a great hospital and staff who took care of my baby when she needed it!
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| Daddy got to do the first feeding! |
I am also thankful that, since I had such a short labor, I felt relatively good after giving birth and was able to get up almost immediately afterwards and go see Olive in the nursery. I am grateful for that. And it wasn't long before she was brought back into our room and doing just fine. She latched on and breastfed like a champ her very first time and has had no issues since!
Right after I had her Drew went out and got me a vente, extra hot, white chocolate mocha with skim milk and decaf coffee. And I drank it while eating a raspberry, cream cheese scone from the Great Harvest bread company. Ahhhh...... I was done.... and so happy!!!!! =)
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| Finally had my baby girl in my arms after 3 hours in the nursery. |
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| Snuggling on daddy. |
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| So in love with this girl's hair!! |
Our pediatricion didn't want anyone but us to hold Olive her first day so that she could just focus on breathing and swallowing. As a result we weren't able to have Isaiah and Eloise visit until the next day. But when they came they were SO sweet when they saw her and have continued to be SO sweet with her since we've been home.
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| Seeing their baby sister for the very first time. |
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| Giving Olive the gift they brought for her. |
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| Eloise opening her gift from Baby Olive. |
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| Clearly she was more interested in the real baby than her new baby doll. |
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| Isaiah opening up his gift from Olive (it was a huge dinosaur). |
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| Such a proud big sister. |
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| My three little loves. <3 |
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| Sisters |
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| So much love in this picture! |
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| She loves to kiss her baby!! |
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| Melts my heart! |
We were able to leave the hospital on the evening of the 3rd and it was
good to get home! We are all adjusting well and I honestly don't think
things could go any smoother! Isaiah and Eloise have not been jealous
and have not been acting out. So far they seem to be adjusting very well
and boy do they LOVE their baby sister! I need to post a video of them
loving on her. It is so sweet.
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| Heading home from the hospital. |
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| Two excited kids were waiting to greet Olive when we arrived home! |
Drew left for Arizona last Sunday but his parents are here visiting from
Florida so I have great help while he is gone! I'm sending him pictures
of his baby girl every day so he can see how much she changes with each
passing day. It's amazing!
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| Hugs for baby. |
I've been having fun buying some girl clothes and other stuff that Olive needs. There are so many things I didn't want to get until I knew whether baby was a boy or a girl so I'm having fun buying the girly things that I want. =) Yet today I packed up the baby boy clothes that I had washed of Isaiah's and put them away in a box and felt a little sad! Maybe some day I will get to use those too! ;)
So that's the birth story of our sweet Olive Kay! I'm planning to write another post soon about what her name means and what a very very dear and special meaning her name has been to us these last couple of months. More to come soon, I promise!!!
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| Sweet girl on her first outing at just 2 days old! |
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| Love this little face so much. |
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| Already teaching her how to pray. ;) |
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| Making silly faces. |
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| And just like that my heart grew three sizes and all my babies now fit perfectly inside. <3 |
