Olivia's Birth Story

As the boys and I said goodbye to Alan as he went to work on Wednesday morning, I had a painful-ish contraction. I told Alan about it, but neither of us really thought anything of it. I had been having these contractions for about a month. In fact, that morning, I just felt so done with being pregnant.

I posted this on Facebook at 7:30am:

39 Weeks Today! Ready to evict this little resident whenever she is ready :)


At around 8:30, I started writing down my contractions (not the first time I had done this, but they had always tapered off before):

They were mostly 4-8 minutes apart this entire time. They gradually got closer to 4 minutes consistently.

 

 

About an hour in, I called Alan and told him this might be the real thing, but it might not be. I fed the boys breakfast & ate some myself, then threw the boys in the bathtub and took a shower myself. I wanted to be clean if I had to go to the hospital. Then I started finishing up packing my hospital bag. All this time I was becoming more and more uncomfortable. I talked to my doula about 2 hours in, still not sure if this was the real thing. I also talked to Virginia, and had to stop during a contraction. You'd think by now I would know for sure... but I have a hard time reading my body when it comes to labor. Plus I didn't want to get my hopes up.

 

Alan had already called his mom, but I texted both Grandmas, "I might be in early labor". And both decided to come on over ;) There was one contraction right before Alan's mom got there, that I  leaned over the TV stand and breathed until it ended. Matthew was so concerned. He said, "Mommy's tummy hurt?" It was the sweetest, most tender thing. I told him Mommy's tummy did hurt, and Granny Bee and Nana were coming over. I wanted Alan with me now. We had talked a few times, and first he said he could come at lunch time, and I said that would be fine... maybe. Then I texted.. leave as soon as you can. Then he called the home phone and my mom answered. She relayed the message that I wanted him here NOW. I was in pain, and wanted my hubby with me!

 

 

Alan arrived at 11:30, and I told him we needed to leave NOW. I didn't feel I was going to deliver imminently or anything, but I didn't want to be driving with my contractions just getting more and more intense. While he got a few things together, I started walking to the car between contractions. I had 3 good contractions on the way to the hospital. Not pleasant, being stuck in a seat belt, but thankfully the drive was only 15-20 min. We valet parked the car, and Alan pushed me in a wheelchair to L&D (that was a long ride too!).

 

I felt like we were in a movie when we got to L&D, since I was kind of moaning through my contractions by this point. It was pretty obvious I was in labor, so they hurried me to the "triage" room & checked me... I was already 8cm dilated! 

 

I asked for a tub room, and they took me there. (The tub room being an L&D room where the bed had been replaced with a giant tub). My nurse, Becky, had already started filling the tub, and I got right in. The water was warm and felt fantastic. I was so happy that I could "relax" and labor here now, instead of while packing for the hospital, while tending to two toddlers, while driving, or while riding in a wheelchair. I could finally "enjoy" my labor.

In between contractions

 

Shortly after we arrived in the tub room my doula Tonya arrived. She immediately started putting cool washcloths on my forehead and neck, and it felt great. She also did some counter pressure on my lower back, and also showed Alan how to do that. Tonya definitely has that gentle but firm touch that works out really well for labor. I felt so well taken care of by her, Alan and Becky... and that was before my awesome midwife Kathleen got there!

 

My nurse Becky didn't have time to go over all of the admission questions right when I got there (thank you Becky, for not asking me any questions during my contractions!!) So she would casually ask the most important ones throughout my labor. My favorite moment was when she asked, "Would you like apple juice, Krystal? (no, thanks) "Okay, and did you have chicken pox as a child?" It made me laugh, and I told her that was going in my birth story.

 

Some of my favorite things for the pain of labor were:

Holding onto someone's hand, tight.

Cool Washcloths on my face/neck

Being told I was doing a good job

Lower back counter pressure

Being in the water

Having a supportive and encouraging husband and birth team

 

I loved watching Alan's expression. He never seemed anxious or worried at all, and that made me feel good. I remember thinking he was so handsome while I labored, out of his element in a female world ;)

 

 

My midwife and doula worked together so well. I am thankful I got a doula that works almost exclusively with this group of midwives, and they all know her and love working with her.

 

 

 



I believe my doula, Tonya is going to give me a time table of my labor. At that point, I will probably revise some of this, since I may be getting the order of things wrong.

 

When Kathleen arrived, she helped me labor in the water for a little while, then I got out and went to the bed so she could check my progress. She said I just had a tiny lip of cervix all the way around. So I went back to the tub to labor more. After a while with no urge to push, I got out of the tub again to have Kathleen break my water, but on the way to the bed, my water broke on it's own. At this point I was fully dilated, so I got back in the water to push.

 

This was my least favorite part. I wasn't feeling any different (no urge to push or anything), but I tried anyway. Really tried. I just wasn't "feeling it". And I felt I wasn't being effective at all. I just wanted to rest, but also didn't want to let down my birth team, since everyone seemed to think something should be happening. I remarked a few times, "this is hard", because I was getting tired, and frustrated. Eventually I asked if I could rest for a few contractions, since I wasn't feeling an urge to push. (I never felt an urge with the boys either... but I did have an epidural).

 

We went back to the bed to see if a different position would help me "labor down". The baby was at a 0 or +1 station at this point, the same as before I did some pushing. So really, I hadn't done anything! They were about to have me get up to empty my bladder, when suddenly, something HURT. I remember a sharp pain in my lower left abdomen. And I started shaking. Tonya told me the shaking was exactly what she wanted to see, it meant something was happening. Suddenly Kathleen looked at me and yelled, "PUSH!" Now I wanted to push! I pushed hard through the contraction, and the next one or two. Then Alan looked at me and said, "I see hair". I was so happy! It was actually happening!

 

Then Kathleen looked into my eyes and said, "When I say to look at me, look at me in the eyes and do exactly what I say." I thought, whoa... she means business. So as I was pushing the head out, Kathleen looked at me and coached me through when to push and when to stop so that I wouldn't tear. Then she had Alan help pull the body out. It wasn't at all as painful as I thought it would be. The most painful part was right before I started to really push, but I never felt the "ring of fire" that I hear some women talk about.

 

As soon as she was born, Kathleen put her on my chest. She had a nice healthy little cry. I was so happy she was here and healthy and so happy I was done with labor. (I temporarily forgot about the placenta, but that was nothing.) And not tearing, yay! Tonya was busy taking pictures, I told her it was so important to me to document the birth and Olivia's first moments on me. She said "You did it!"

 

She was absolutely gorgeous and perfect. I could not believe she was here! She was born at 3:14pm, a little less than 7 hours after I had started timing my contractions that morning.

 

I love you Olivia Ruth :)

My amazing birth team. Kathleen, midwife (far left), Becky, nurse (middle left), and Tonya, doula (right)

Olivia is here!

Olivia Ruth made her arrival!
Born Wednesday, June 5 at 3:14pm. Weighing 6 lbs, 7 ozs. 19 1/4 inches long.

Right after she was born and placed on my chest.

Adam meeting his baby sister. He kept saying, "Olivia come out"

Matthew - so excited!

Our beautiful daughter

Mom & daughter :)

I will post the birth story once I have it all written!

Final Stretch

36 Weeks

 At my 37 week, 6 day ultrasound, Olivia weighed 6 lbs 10 ozs, which is only the 38th percentile (previously she had been measuring 47th and 46th percentiles). The doctor didn't seem to mind, and that weight is 100% fine with me. I always assumed I would grow a small to average sized baby. And I really don't want to push a 10 pounder out! We got some good pictures of her face, toes and fingers. (5 fingers and toes, for the record. Yay!)

37 Weeks

Since hitting 38 weeks, I have started to really focus on when Olivia is going to get here, and how I will know I am going into labor. Every pain or symptom warrants a trip to the internet to see if labor is imminent. I usually get the same answer.... my body is preparing for labor; it could be days or weeks. Thanks a lot internet; I guess I should know that labor is "close" since I'll be 39 weeks in 2 days. I just want to know exactly how close ;) And exactly how I will feel as it's happening to me :) (Having the twins didn't help with this part... I never had to wait for them. I went to my 36 week doctor appointment, was told I was in labor & was sent to L&D, then delivered about 12 hours later. I wasn't feeling all of my contractions, only about 1/3 of them.)

38 Weeks

 Today was my last scheduled day of work. I was having contractions (some painful) all throughout the day. But then I have been having painful contractions for weeks now, so I don't think much of them. But having to wait until a contraction passes to stand up is not always fun at work. Thankfully (although I was exahusted by the end of the day) my coworkers are soo nice when I am pregnant. I still loved to cuddle with my boys before we put them to bed though. They are the sweetest sons I could ask for. They do try my patience often, and between them & my pregnancy... it is extremely hard to keep the house clean. But I wouldn't trade it for anything. As I type this I am having another painful contraction. I hope all of these contractions are making something happen! I have them daily, but never consistently. Now I just need to figure out if I should go back to work PRN or quit after my maternity leave??

38 Week belly - wow!


Happy Mother's Day/ Cloth Diapers

On Mother's Day this year, I was scheduled to work, and was very bummed about it. Alan had fun plan to take the boys to breakfast with his whole family and then the zoo. I love taking the boys, and I've been doing it less often because of the third trimester pregnancy fatigue.

 

 

That brings us to Mother's Day morning. I dragged myself out of bed at 5:05am, then checked my phone (charging next to our sink). Missed call & voicemail from work! They put me "on call".... so unexpected! Thank you interns at work that made this possible :) I tried really, really hard to go back to sleep, but at 5:40am I decided to do some dishes, laundry, and pack for the zoo. So no sleeping in this year, but at least I got to spend it with my family!

 

We took Superman (Matthew) and Batman (Adam) to the zoo. Capes and all.

The two moms of the group (me and Alan's mom) with the kiddos.

Adam & Matthew are so excited about babies. Here they are hugging a baby gorilla statue.

Superman cuddling with his mommy while sipping his milk. Even Superman needs some TLC :)

Feeding the giraffes with Daddy.

35 Week pregnant belly. (I am 36 weeks today)

And my Mother's Day present came today! Happy Mother's Day to me!! Alan gave me money to spend on cloth diapers. This is huge. Alan is actually very anti cloth diapers, so I have had a hard time buying all the supplies I need. With my "allowance" I bought:

• 2 Size 2 Thirsties Duo Wrap Covers
• 2 Sustainablebabyish One Size Snapless Fitted Cloth Diapers, Bamboo/Cotton (fits 10-35 lbs) These come with 2 bamboo/cotton inserts each.
• 2 toddler size Snappis
• 200 flushable liners

The covers and fitted diapers are for night time use. I wanted bamboo for night time, but didn't want to have to buy one of every size (they are not cheap). I finally found these one size bamboo fitted diapers... they are so versatile because they don't have snaps at all.. you secure them with the snappis and cover (or pins, but I am not brave enough to use pins). I plan to use them for the boys overnight until they potty train at night, which I am hoping will coincide with when Olivia grows into them/needs them. The flushable liners can be washed and reused until they are soiled, which is awesome.

I really think we are set on our cloth diaper supply now! In addition to these supplies We have:

• 3 Newborn Covers & plenty of newborn prefolds (all borrowed from my sister-in-law) to get us through day & night during the first 3 months
• 15 One Size Smartipants Pocket Diapers (for day time use (or night if she is still waking up frequently) for 3 mos-potty training)
• Cloth Wipes/Spray bottles
• 1 huge wet bag (gift from my sister-in-law :P)
• 2 travel wet bags

Excited for Olivia to get here!!

35 Weeks with Olivia (Singleton vs. Twin Pregnancy)

Weight Gain so far: 18 lbs.  If my weight gain stays on track I should gain about 23 pounds this pregnancy. I gained 50 last pregnancy!

Comfort Level:  I am WAY less uncomfortable than when I was pregnant with twins. I had to take off work at 34 weeks during the twin pregnancy because it hurt to stand up and hurt to walk. I was doing cares on the babies sitting in a rolling chair instead of standing up (especially the ones in the isolettes). I am now a little over 35 weeks, and I worked a 12 hour shift today. It was exhausting, but I wasn't uncomfortable at all. Of course I still have 5 weeks to get bigger, but hopefully I won't be giving birth to a 10+ pound baby, so I should still be smaller! I think it would have been way harder to have a singleton first, and then take care of that one while being pregnant with twins!

On the other hand, I do miss sleeping in, especially after my 12 hour shifts. Looking back on my blog, I am reminded that I could sleep in until noon after I worked. Ohh, those were the days :) Sometimes we just take the mornings a little slower, and then I am usually okay. At least until Alan gets home.. :)

Kicks: A lot of people have asked me if I feel less movement with this pregnancy since there's "only one". Actually I feel MORE. And the kicks sometimes knock the breath out of me, and are more painful than the boys' movements ever were. I think there are 2 reasons for this. She has more room to really get those kicks and punches ready, and she doesn't have anyone else to kick besides Mommy. Matthew would kick Adam in the head (while Adam would put his hands up to defend himself). I saw this on several different ultrasounds, and it made me sad :( This time, all the kicking is aimed at Mom! She has a favorite spot to kick on my right lower side. My mom actually said that is where I liked to "elbow" her as well when she was pregnant with me.

Doctor's Appointments: Olivia has consistently measured about 2 weeks behind on the fundal measurements. But on her ultrasounds she has been right at 46-47th percentile for size. (I get monthly ultrasounds because of my hypothyroidism, which I got after the boys were born.) So I think she is growing perfectly! About a month ago by T4 level came back low, although my TSH level was fine, so they increased my armour thyroid from 30mg to 60mg.

It has been a concern that she was transverse, and then that she may be breech at my last appointment (They were not sure if that was her head or butt sticking up). However after they scared me about the breech thing, I had an ultrasound right after that, and she was actually head down! Yay! Hopefully she stays that way! She also had her legs completely stretched into my right side. Her knees weren't bent at all.. little stinker.

Other thoughts: I get the comment, "I bet you're so ready for her to be here!" Yes and no. This is the last baby we plan to have, so this is my last 4.5 weeks of pregnancy EVER. I don't want to wish it away. I also know how much work babies are on the outside, so even though I am really excited to meet my daughter, I am enjoying the last few weeks of our family of 4.. I am not so uncomfortable that she has to come out right now. Also my hubby and I are celebrating our 5 year anniversary next week. 2 days completely kid free! Alan has all but threatened me not to give birth before this :) As my due date gets closer though, I am getting more and more excited to meet our daughter!

Time is Flying

Today is May 1st. The first day of the last month before my "due month." This pregnancy has gone SO much faster than my twin pregnancy. Not because the twin pregnancy was hard, but because I am so busy this time. Busy chasing these two adorable, energetic, trying, silly toddler boys:

 Busy trying to cook healthy meals for our family of 4 (and 1/2.. can't forget my extra food for Olivia!) Busy cleaning up after them, doing laundry, dishes, vacuuming. Busy responding to two 2 year olds who need their mommy to "watch this," "kiss it" (when they have "owies") and really just pay attention to them and take them to the park, the zoo, the library.

I love my family!

Busy working my one 12 hour shift a week in the NICU. The actual shift is not bad, but it is taking me longer and longer the next day to recover from it, without being able to sleep in and now being 34 weeks pregnant. Monday, after I worked, I was soo tired and I was letting the boys watch TV. My dad sent me a message that he was working from home that day, and I quickly told him he was welcome to play with my boys :) They love their Papa!

Busy getting Olivia's nursery ready. We are almost completely done now. Here is the diaper changing station. It has both a cloth diaper and disposable diaper trash. The hair accessory area is filling up :)

 Extra storage area for diaper supplies, etc. It isn't quite set up:

 12 Smartipants cloth diapers I recently ordered. Woohoo!

32 Weeks pregnant

33 Weeks Pregnant

Busy making sure the boys get lots of bubble baths!

 Busy snuggling with my family! :) (I love this picture! This is Adam with his Daddy)

Tricycles

The boys have had these tricycles for over a year, but couldn't get the hang of them until this last week. Adam learned a few days ago, and Matthew picked it up just yesterday. They ride around the tiled kitchen/entry way saying "fuunn!" We decided to let them pedal themselves to our neighborhood park this afternoon :)

 They were very dedicated.

The only problem was the hill just before the park. Matthew went full speed down, and Adam stopped every few feet to slow down. It made me a little nervous! It was also really hard to get back up, especially since Matthew didn't want ANY help. (Since he's all grown up now :P)

Adam in yellow. Matthew in blue.

When they are having so much fun learning new skills, it makes me feel better about having another baby in a couple of months. It makes me think maybe we will be okay. Nothing scares me more than multiple babies at one time... but this time, it will just be one baby, and two "big boys" :)

Matthew had so much fun it was hard to get him inside. He threw a fit, but was disciplined for it. Everyone was in a good mood and worn out for bed time!