A Baby Story - Welcome baby Olivia

Tuesday night my parents invited us to go to the BYU basketball game. It was very last minute, they had offered the tickets to any of the kids at Sunday dinner, and we had declined, hoping to have had a baby by then. Dan was going to go, but had too much homework. My dad called letting us know they were available since we hadn't had the baby.

I think the walk up to the Marriott Center and the walk down is what put things into motion. I remember breathing hard because we were walking so fast, and uphill on our way there. That night my contractions began. I was so excited to FINALLY have them, and timed them all night. They were 15- 20 minutes apart from 11-1. And then I slept some. Then from 2-3 they progressed to 10 minutes apart and then from 4-5 more like 6-7.

I kept thinking, oh man it's going to be so funny when we show up for our induction early because I went into labor on my own. And how crazy it was that I would start going into labor on the exact day that my doctor planned the induction. My contractions didn't get close enough before the hospital called to let me know they were ready for us.

We got to the hospital around 6:15. We checked in, got situated and then by 8:00 the nurse was tracking my own contractions. They were there, but not fast enough or hard enough so at 8:30 they started me on pitocin. My parents showed up at 8:45 and then my Dad and Bob were able to give me a blessing. It was so nice to start the day out with a nice peaceful calm feeling, knowing we were being watched over.

Contractions came hard and fast soon after. I began the morning dilated to a 3, and quickly made it to a 4. The doctor came in and checked me and then broke my water. He recommended that I get my epidural right then, if I wanted one because things were progressing quickly. My contractions started to get pretty painful. I had made a goal previously to wait until I was a 5 or a 6, because I didn't want my labor to stall. But my Mom suggested I do as the doctor said and I went for it. Slowly my right foot went numb and then I got nervous because my left was not. I was laying on my side, so we flipped sides and then my other leg went numb. But then we ran into another problem... I was numb everywhere except my pelvic region where the contractions were pounding my body. And these were some of the worst. I would clench onto the railing on the side of the bed and breathe really loud. My mom and the nurse knew something was up and finally got the anesthesiologist to come back. He then added a new drug to the mix which he uses with his c-section patients. This numbed up my pelvic region after a few contractions and I was good to go.

Bob, my Mom, and I hung out and talked in between checks, nurses visits, and dr. visits. Throughout the afternoon my numbness would wear off and I would start feeling contractions and cramping. At 2:00 the anesthesiologist came back and re numbed me. At 2:30 I was complete and ready to go, which was only a small problem because I was completely numb again. But I was so happy to know that we were getting close to meeting our baby girl.

I pushed from 2:50 - 3:20. Before I started pushing I made a goal to be done by 3:30, which is the time my kids at school get done with the day, haha. Dr. Nance was a great coach, and he had me look at the contraction lines on the machine to show me my wimpy pushes. I promise I was trying my best, I kept telling him that. I was so tired from having to hold my numb thighs back. I had help from the nurse and Bob, which was nice. I was surprised at how quickly we were able to meet our baby girl. You always hear how first time mom's can push for hours. What a special and unique experience that was. Bob was teary eyed as he followed her around the room to get cleaned up. The first cry brought me to tears and I couldn't believe that our little miracle baby was finally here. Being 5 days over due, I was pleasantly surprised that she weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces, and was 20 inches long.

My Mom and Ayrika were waiting outside while I pushed and were soon welcomed in to the room to meet baby Olivia. My Dad arrived a little later. It was so fun to see my parents holding baby Olivia and meeting their first grandchild.

This was a big day for the Hales side of my family. It was my Grandma Hales' birthday and my cousin Kellie also had a baby girl earlier in the morning. When I called to wish my grandma a happy birthday, she was so excited to have 2 new great-granddaughters to share her day with.

The first time I got to hold Olivia, loved this bonding experience. (Ignore the 8 chins, I just had a baby!)

Bath time, so glad Bob was able to be there and take pictures for me to look back on. 

Grandma and Grandpa Hales. So fun to say that. 

All cleaned up, she was so alert and it was so fun to see her little personality.