Olive's Birth Story (Part 2)

Olive's birth story Part 2:

My nurse warned me that oftentimes first time moms have to push for 2-3 hours before the baby arrives.  I was surprised at that number and was determined to do it faster.  I guess I am a bit stubborn :) Pushing was hard work and I wasn't really up for that marathon.  I really didn't realize how much the nurse does when you are having a baby!  She calls up to the doctor to keep her in the loop but the nurse basically does everything but deliver the baby at the very end.  I remember telling Rachel that I was fine if she delivered Olive because I was ready to have her!

Kevin, Rachel and I were inseparable for the hour or two before I delivered Olive.  She was giving us both instructions on how to breath, how to help me and what to do.  She was amazing; so kind, helpful and encouraging.  We didn't attend childbirth classes in advance so we were thankful to have such a wonderful nurse.  She talked us through everything and answered all of our first time parent questions. 

I didn't have any desire to see what was going on down there so occasionally I'd ask Kevin for an update.  He told me that our baby had dark hair!  I was thankful to hear that she had hair because I was a pretty bald baby.  I couldn't wait to meet her and it gave me extra incentive to work hard to deliver her.  I was still pushing, sweating and feeling pretty uncomfortable.  I naively thought that by having the epidural I wouldn't feel much pain.  Wrong.  My pain was dulled and but you could still feel what was going on down there.  

Rachel would give me updates and say things like, "You'll probably have her within the next 15 minutes."  I also thought that things would go faster towards the end and that they'd be calling the doctor anytime.  However, I pushed for about 40 minutes and then my doctor was called in.  I felt fortunate that my doctor worked on the 3rd floor and my room was on the 2nd floor of the hospital.  It didn't take long for her to get there once she got the call.  A whole team of people, equipment and tools came bustling into my room.  People were suiting up and I was just hanging out, having contractions and following instructions NOT to push for a few minutes.  The finish line was in sight and I was having to stall.  They were trying to get everything in place to properly greet baby Olive.

Once they were all ready, it was go time.   I continued to push and get instructions from my nurse & now my doctor.  They were so encouraging and I felt like I had a little team of cheerleaders.  Kevin kept checking in on me and giving me ice chips.  He loves going to the doctor and is interested in all things medically related so he was loving this whole, new experience.  He kept giving me ice chips and patting me with a cool wash cloth.  I kept pushing and felt like it was a personal challenge to have this baby ASAP!!

Kevin was smiling and everyone said the baby was almost here.  I was dying to meet her and for the doctor to show me my little girl.  I'd had lots of dreams leading up to this point that I actually delivered a BOY instead of the girl that we were expecting.  We were fine with having either gender and didn't have a preference but my OCD tendencies didn't like the thought of having a little boy decked out in PINK.

I kept on pushing and following instructions.  Everyone was so excited and were giving me updates of how I was doing.  Once her head was out it was just seconds before I heard her cry.  She cried right away and they put her on my chest.  Olive was surprisingly clean and not too gooey :)  She was so pretty and I was thrilled to finally see her face.  I kissed her head, got a kiss from Kevin and then we had to hand her off to a team of nurses.  The doctor, my nurse and I had some things to finish up for me and I asked Kevin to go to the other side of the room to see Olive.  I wanted him to snap some pictures because I was a little busy at the time.  He kept smiling over at me and was taking pictures as the nurses were checking her out.

Olive was doing great.  7lbs 11oz, 20 inches long but she was having a little trouble catching her breath.  So they gave her some oxygen and said she'd have to be on it for a little while.  My team of doctors/nurses were finishing up and congratulating us all the while telling me how much Olive looked like her Daddy.  I was slightly jealous that they were getting to see so much of her when I was confined to my bed.  They took her to the nursery for more monitoring and Kevin went with them.  He came back a few times to say hi and check on me.  At one point he came in and I was crying, tears of joy because I'd just been through a lot and finally had a moment to myself.  The nurses delivered flowers from my Sis and a balloon bouquet from my parents right after I delivered.  My super nurse, Rachel, brought me my dinner ASAP (exactly one hour after I'd delivered).  I was starving so I'd never been so excited to see a tray of food.

Olive responded really well and was doing great so she just had to be in the nursery for about 30 minutes.  They brought her back to my room and I was excited to get to snuggle her/check her out.  She did look like her dad and she was such a sweet little bundle to hold.  They wanted me to try and breastfeed right away so they helped me to get started.  Things went well and we were moved to our real room.  At our hospital, they play the chimey music to signify a baby being born when you are moving from the delivery room to your real room.  The nurses said they wanted the mom's to be able to hear the song for their baby.  It made me a little misty eyed to hear the song, while holding Olive as I was being wheeled in a wheelchair to my room.  It all seemed a bit surreal at this point.

To be continued...