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May 2014 Moms
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Olive's Birth Story

keeummkeeumm member
in May 2014 Moms
I know that everyone else had their babies forever ago, but Olive was born on May 31st, so here we are, fashionably late to the birth story party. 

Short version: 
Olive Rose was born at 6:15 on Saturday, May 31st at 40w 4d. She was 8 lbs, 7 oz, 21 and 3/4 inches long. She was born vaginally with an epidural. 60+ total hours of labor, 18 hours active labor, 13 hours of epidural bliss, 1 hour of pushing. No tearing. IVF baby, first cycle. FTM. Released from hospital on Monday, June 2nd. 

Long version: 
I felt no signs of labor prior to Thursday, May 29th. I had had an OB appointment on my due date, May 27th, and I was 2 cm, 70% effaced. I was scheduled for an induction on Monday, June 2nd, in case if Olive didn't make an appearance before then. I felt fine, waddled a lot, had swollen feet, but otherwise had no inclination that Olive was ever going to get out. 

On Thursday at 3:00am, I woke up because I thought that my water had broke. I was very wet under my belly and on my thighs, and the bed/body pillow were wet. I went to the bathroom, and immediately started having what I realized were contractions. I came back to bed and told DH, who started timing them for me. They were about 6-10 mins apart, and lasted between 30-45 seconds. We called the doctor when the OB office opened, who said to come in to the office to check things out. I went in, and the doctor confirmed that I was in early labor, but that I was still only at a 2. I was sent home to continue timing, and if they got worse, I needed to call back again. 

Thursday was spent walking around the house, walking around the neighborhood, walking around the backyard, drinking tea and gallons of water, and stopping every 6 minutes to wait out another contraction. Thursday night we went to triage, who did a NST, confirmed that I was still in early labor, that I was still at a 2, and sent me home with my exactly 6 minutes apart contractions. Thursday night I did not sleep because of the increase in pain and frequency. Friday morning I had a NST scheduled for my OB, which showed 5 min contractions, but I was still only at a 2. The doctor sent me for a BPP at the hospital which showed that Olive had moved in permanently and was doing so well that she never planned on leaving. 

The rest of the day Friday was a blur, and I honestly don't remember too much of it. Contractions every 4-6 mins, lasting 45-90 seconds. Tons of back labor. I tried desperately to drink and lay on my side, but nothing helped. By now I was going on no sleep since Wednesday, very little food, and contractions that would make me pass out in between. I tried to go to bed on Friday night, but promptly threw up. At that point, DH was out of bed, getting his shoes on and calling the doctor, who said to come in immediately. 

We arrived at the hospital, where triage told us the best news ever: I was a 4, and I was a "keeper." Good thing, too, or Bruce would have sat in the parking lot until they finally admitted me. We were admitted to L&D, where I received the best epidural ever created, and finally felt relief. I slept from 3:00 am Saturday until pushing started around 5:00, and would wake up only when the nurses/doctor came into the room. The doctor broke my water at 4:30am. I was checked every 2 hours for dilation, which showed that I was progressing at approximately 1 cm/2 hours. I had no intention of speeding things along, and thankfully, neither did my doctor, who let me progress completely on my own. 

At 5:00 pm, the doctor announced that I was a 10 and could push if I was ready. I had never taken a birthing class and figured that when the time came, the doctors and my body would know what to do. I am so glad that this was the route I took! The doctor and nurses were phenomenal, and as DH put it, it was like a birthday party with so much excitement before Olive even came. I felt completely confident and ready, and used the handles to help pushing. 

At 6:15 pm, Olive was born. They put her on my chest immediately, but then moved her to the warmer because her cord had been slightly around her neck. Everything was okay, though, and Olive came back to be in my arms after just a few minutes. She had a conehead, which added an extra .75 inches to her length. I was fine after delivering. The doctor said that she had to do an episiotomy, but was only giving me one stitch because it turned out to be nothing. She said that I didn't tear, which was great for a FTM and baby the size of Olive. 

We were moved to the family center after about 2 hours. The epidural wore off, and I was able to walk from the bed to the bathroom. My hospital does couplet care, which meant that Olive was in the room with us 24 hours/day, rather than going to the nursery. We loved that, because we were able to be with her all the time and learn about our new baby. 

Since coming home, Olive has lost 13% of her body weight, so we had to start supplementing. She also had jaundice. Everything is much better now, and the ped has given us the okay to wait until the 2 week check to bring her back again. We are in love with our little one, and love watching her grow and change each day! 
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