Olivia's Birthday!

As planned, we started calling everyone this morning at 5:00 am to let them know we were at the hospital. A few were upset we hadn't called last night, but really there was not much they were going to do. My contractions hadn't started yet, so we were just waiting and trying to get some rest ourselves. At 5:00 am, my contractions had started but were not really that strong. I actually indicated to my Mom, Dina, Shell, etc. that they could take their time coming in cause I felt it was going to be a long day. Although, little did I know that once that petocin kicked it, it was going a lot faster than expected. It didn't take long for me to dilate and we were well on our way. By the time people started arriving, I was having contractions and they were starting to get a little more painful. Angie arrived at about 7:00 or so, and she indicated right away that if I wanted an epidural, I needed to get it quickly cause the anesthisiologist was getting ready for another surgery, and he may not be able to get out for a few hours. So, the clock was ticking. I was dialted to about a 5 or 6 and was simply waiting for him to arrive. I could tell Angie was getting nervous that she wasn't going to be able to get him to come in, although she was trying extremely hard. The pain was pretty terrible at this point, and unfortunately Shell arrived just at that time. She was having a hard time watching me in pain, as was everyone else. I didn't want to be one of those women who was crying and screaming in pain, but I sure felt like I could. There were times when I wanted Shane to be close and hold my hand or apply pressure to my back, and then there were times when I pushed him away. I remember pushing my Mom's hand away too...sorry about that! I really was just trying to get through each contraction, and it was starting to become unbearable. I just tried to tell myself it would all be over soon...and well worth all the pain. Finally, almost two hours later, the doctor was able to give me the epidural, and it couldn't have come at a better time. He was a god send, and I could have given him a hug right then and there! I had been so worried about the epidural itself, but at that time, it didn't matter. The pain I was having was far worse than any needle could have caused! Once I received that, I was much better...and a lot better company to be around! After that, I progressed pretty quickly and before we knew it, it was time to push. Everyone had to go outside and it was just Shane, Angie and I for the next three hours. We started pushing around 1:15. Shane was wonderful, and he did better than I could have ever asked. It was also extremely nice to have one of my best friends there to help out. She was able to know exactly what I was thinking just by looking at me, and I didn't have to say a word. She could tell after three hours that I was ready to have this baby, and did all she could to get Dr. Mueller there. In fact, I think she called about 3 or 4 times to get him to come to the hospital. Little did we know he was at the office trying to get some last minute work done. When he finally arrived, he was able to do the episiotomy pretty quickly and we had our little Olivia. What an emotional experience! Shane was able to get pictures right away, and the first time we saw her, she was bright eyed and looking right at us. It was amazing...words cannot describe it. They took her to the table to get her cleaned up, and Shane went with her. Angie kept telling me to look at Shane, cause that it about the time he got emotional as well. It was awesome to see how happy he was! She was born at 4:13 pm and weighed 6 pounds 15 ounces and was 19 3/4 inches long. She had quite a bit of dark brown hair and was very bright eyed. Everyone commented on her color, cause it was amazing as well. We knew everyone was waiting outside to hear her cry for the first time...the pictures are proof of that. Not to mention during the course of the three hours, they asked if they could come in numerous times! :-) Unfortunately, they had to wait....but not too long! The grandmas were the first to come in to see her, and it wasn't long before the aunts filed in next! However, Daddy didn't want to give her up, and they looked but weren't able to hold her...Daddy was too proud! Shortly afterwards, we indicated the rest of the troops to come in, so we had quite a filled room! It was nice to have everyone around, and they couldn't stop smiling. I, on the other hand, was an emotional mess and couldn't stop crying! In fact, I was able to talk to my Dad and Scott on the phone and was pretty emotional! I couldn't believe I actually did it, and got through it! Once it was all over, they needed to move us to another room, and after everyone left, we were able to move. It was a little more difficult for me at first than I thought it would be, but we managed. As we were being rolled down the hall, Uncle Tim arrived. We had quite a few visitors that day and night, and it is somewhat of a blur, but what a day!!! We were able to get some sleep that night, and every time they brought her in to eat, she did wonderful. It didn't take her long to catch on, and she became a pro. After she ate, they took her back to the nursery so we could get some rest. However, that was pretty tough to do...I didn't want her to leave! But, we knew we needed some sleep as well. I had to wake Daddy up each time she came in cause he was out of it most of the time, but was excited to see her and didn't want to miss out! All in all a very beautiful day and we cannot believe she is finally here!!