Olivia's birth story:
Well after my last post.. the contractions kept coming. Not very painful but regular. I called Josh (he was on his way home from work and picking up supper) and told him to hurry home and then called Mom. Mom and Jim came over and helped out while I took a bath and laid down. Finally I decided to call the doctor around 7:30 pm and my doctor.. Dr. Goodwin was on call! She said "Come on in, I'll see you in an hour". Josh took a shower, I dried my hair and dressed, and Mom got our stuff together and packed bags for the boys. I did have the baby's bag already packed!
We headed up to Asheville and got to the hospital a little after 9 pm. They hooked me to the monitor and the contractions were coming.. not very strong but regular. The nurse checked me and called Dr. Goodwin. When she checked she said I was 4 cm and still 50% effaced. She said we could either go on home and wait it out or she would go ahead and admit me. Since I had Group B strep and needed Vanctamycin and benedryl before my water broke I thought it was best to go ahead and stay.
We headed up to Labor and Delivery and got admitted into our room. The nurse was great and got my IV started on the first try. They started the Vanctamycin after the benedryl had time to work... it took around 1/2-2 hrs to get in because it's such a strong antibiotic. We added pitocin to speed up my labor around 2 am. Josh was dozing on the couch and I was resting for the next few hours. Around 4 Dr. Goodwin came in and we ordered the epidural (that went great!) and then she broke my water. When she checked me I was already at 6 cm and 80% effaced. An hour later my epidural started to wear off so they came back in and added another dose which helped and when the nurse checked me the baby's head was right there! She called Dr. Goodwin and my Mom arrived right in time. I pushed 3 pushes and baby was out! We decided to name her Olivia Jane. Jane is after my sister, Audra Jane and my sweet Aunt Jane; two wonderful women whom I love dearly. Olivia was just because we liked the name.
She had the cord wrapped around her neck and my doctor had to clamp it and cut it off before she was fully out. When they pulled her out she wasn't crying but after suctioning she started grunting. I got to hold her briefly before the took her over to try to get the fluid out of her lungs. She was still grunting and her heart rate was elevated so they called the NICU team to come evaluate. They came down and called her pediatrician and he said to send her to NICU for observation. The observation time was 4 hours and so I was pretty bummed out not having my sweet new daughter to hold. Eli and Isaac came in to see me. Josh went with the baby to the NICU.
I was able to go up to the NICU and see our sweet baby. She was doing great... her oxygen was normal, heart rate normal and she wasn't grunting. Josh's parents took Eli home after a while because he was ready for a nap, Jim and Isaac went to get lunch, Mom stayed with the baby in the NICU, and they transferred me to my mother-baby room. After a brief nap, we got a call saying they were bringing Olivia down to me. Her blood work had come back normal and she was doing great. As soon as they brought her to me she knew exactly what to do and latched on and started nursing like a champ.
We had several visitors.. Isaac and Eli of course...Josh's parents, my Mom, Jim, Audra, Sonja, Allie, Gabe, Tim, Chris, Jan, Bryce, Braedon, Pam, Amber and Mark, and Heather.
Isaac is in love with his new little sister. He didn't want to leave her and stayed in the NICU with her for a while. Eli wasn't able to see her until the evening. When he came in she was getting her bath and she was crying. He said "Why baby sissy crying?" He did give her a little kiss before he left.
Josh and I are so thankful for our sweet, healthy daughter. God has blessed us with another wonderful addition to our family.
she is absolutely beautiful...and so alert!
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