Living Life to the Fullest: Olivia's Birth Story

Before you read on, PLEASE note that this is going to be an in depth birth story and have gross details. I want to remember exactly all that went down! :)

It all started Monday night. Monday around 6 PM, I started having regular contractions every 5 minutes apart, but they didn't hurt very bad. I hadn't showered that day, so I decided to shower... JUST IN CASE. Well, after my shower all the contractions disappeared, so I went to sleep and slept fine. Woke up on Tuesday feeling pretty normal. I went to the bathroom, and discovered that my mucous plug decided to fall out! I came downstairs and announced to my mom that I thought I would have her by tomorrow ;)

We went about our day, and went walking through the mall. Around 5 PM, I had four contractions in a row that made me have diahrea. I called my mom, and told her I wasn't going to eat dinner (We had plans to go out to eat dinner since our husbands were working late) just in case I was going into labor!

At 6 PM, the contractions started. My mom and I started timing them, and they were coming every 5-6 minutes on the dot and lasting about a minute each. Only every 4 or so contractions were making me hurt bad though, so we just kept timing them. I got in the shower (didn't wash my hair though! ahhhh!) and got my hospital bag packed. I called the Dr, and waited to hear back from her. Dr Allen was on call (I've never met her) and she called me back around 8 PM. She asked me what pregnancy this was, and what was going on. I told her, and then she asked what I was dilated to at my last apt (3 cm). She said, "Girl, it sound like you're in labor! You need to get yourself to the hospital NOW!"

So, we called my Dad and brother who were out home teaching, and told them to get home to watch Jax now. (Greg was still at work!) On the way to the hospital, we were timing my contractions and they were about every 3-4 minutes apart and they HURT. I got to the hospital and got checked in and met my nurse Crystal, who was SO nice. I got hooked up to the monitor, and wasn't having any contractions while laying down. She checked me and I was 4 cm and 50 percent effaced. She also mentioned more than once how low the baby's head was (0 station?) and how she wasn't surprised I was in a lot of pain, since she was sitting so low!

I asked her if I could stand up, and of course she let me, and sure enough the contractions started again. So, they decided to monitor me for 2 hours, and she would check me again, and if I progressed, they would admit me. So for the next two hours I walked around the room, having contractions every 4 or so minutes, and was in A LOT of pain. It was SUPER low pain that felt like pressure and would start in my back and wrap around front. Greg got to the hospital probably around 10 PM, and went straight to sleep (haha, apparently it's hard for a man to be at the hospital at 10 PM after a long work day... and that's why women have babies! NOT MEN!) ;)

Some of the contractions were so bad, that I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom or throw up, but never did. Crystal came in at 11:30 to check me to see if I had progressed. She checked me, and I was 5 cm and 75 percent effaced. She called the on call Dr, to see what to do. I was officially admitted! Dr. Allen didn't want to speed things up though (really, what doctor wants to come in in the middle of the night for someone who isn't even her patient?) so we had me lay in bed to monitor the contractions. They were picking up while laying down this time, and were coming maybe every 5-6 minutes, and were hurting VERY bad. They had to do paper work and blood work and stuff, so by the time I asked for the epidural, it was probably 1 AM.

For some reason the epidural wasn't as easy as a process as it was with Jaxon. Right as she stuck me with it, I moved (That's not a fun thing to hear the doctor who has a needle in your back say "AH Don't move!"... oops. Then immediately after my body started shaking like crazy. They laid me down and checked my blood pressure and it was scary low, so they had to give me medicine. It took my body probably an hour or so to adjust to the epidural, but after a few doses of the medicine my body adjusted well and I felt WONDERFUL! My mom left to go home to sleep at this point.

The epidural slowed my contractions and I wasn't really having many at all. She checked me around 2 (right after I got the epidural) and I was still a 6 and 75 percent effaced. Boo. She called Dr. Allen and they decided at 5 AM they would start some pitocin to help me progress a bit. So, I laid around doing nothing, while Greg slept some more ;) (Ps. He was a HUGE help while I was shaking and freaking out after the epidural. He kept me calm and was rubbing my arm to make me feel better. And once it was fixed I totally told him to sleep! I just think it's funny that he was so tired when I was the one who was in so much pain all night hahah!)

Around 4:30 Crystal started me on the lowest dose of pitocin. It immediately started giving me contractions 1 minute apart, and so I was glad I couldn't feel them! An hour later I could feel pressure with every contraction through the epidural. I decided it was a good time to put on make up! haha. My hair was a mess, so I figured the least I could do was put on make up. Ps. have you ever put on make up using your iphone as your mirror in the dark? Not really an easy project!

She checked me at 6 AM and I was 8 cm and 100 percent effaced and baby was at station 2! They called Dr Petrovski at 6:30 and she headed to the hospital to come check on me. (I'm so glad they waited to give me pitocin so Dr Petrovski could make my delivery!) Dr Petrovski came in at 6:55 to break my water and check me, and I was dilated to a 10 and ready to push! My mom was on her way in, so we called her and she was in the elevator so we waited for her to come in. They all got gowned up and got me ready, at 7:03, I started pushing. I pushed 3 times through that contraction, and her head was crowning. The next contraction came, I pushed once, then they told me not to push, and out she was! I don't know how it was possible to be easier to push out than Jax was, but it was! I'm lucky!

Olivia Rae Downs was born at 7:07 AM on October 23rd and weighed 7.13 pounds and was 19.5 inches long.

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