Dear Livy Girl,
On the morning of Tuesday November 13th, Dr. Thackeray stripped my membranes in hopes of having you arrive before the week of Thanksgiving. I was nearly 39 weeks and had never carried a baby so long until then. I was more than ready to meet you Little Livy, so long as you were healthy and ready to come!
Photo taken at 39 weeks and 3 days
Tuesday was a normal day, so I assumed the procedure didn't work. The only change was some of the mucous plug gradually discharging throughout the day. By Wednesday evening, my Braxton Hicks became more regular and slightly intensified. I have Braxton Hicks numerous times throughout the day from about 17 weeks on, but these were more consistent. By about 10:15 PM, I told Jon it would be wise for us to both get some sleep in case tonight was the night I went into labor. I was particularly worried about your Daddy and his blood shot eyes, he was exhausted because both of us received little sleep the night before!
By 1:15 AM, the contractions that woke me up were different from Braxton Hicks. They felt more powerful and involved more of my lower body. I finally got out of bed at 1:30 and decided to start timing them. They were coming every 4-5 minutes and lasting about 30 seconds long. After timing them for about an hour, I decided to do my hair and makeup so I would look alive for our first pictures with you! I also finished packing my hospital bag that I had started weeks ago and got some last minute things ready for Nana to come stay with your older sisters.
By about 3:15 AM I decided to make a video clip and talk to you for your movie, which made me pretty emotional! At 3:30 Amberly woke up to use the bathroom and she had a chance to talk to you in our movie too which I thought was so sweet. Your sisters adore you, Livy!
I planned to pack Jon's bag for him in silence, I knew there was a long haul ahead of us and I really wanted your Daddy to get as much sleep as possible before your arrival! But he had heard Amberly talking and woke up a few minutes after 3:30, asking me what was going on. I asked him if he wanted me to pack his hospital bag with a huge smile on my face, and he jolted out of bed.
Looking back we laugh at ourselves: Jon asked if he had time to take a quick shower and I said yes. Then he asked if he had time to do a quick workout on the elliptical and I said maybe not. After he took a shower, Jon gave me a Priesthood blessing for your labor and delivery and in the blessing he mentioned that my labor would be "swift". We decided we better pick up our pace after that and get to the hospital!
We left just before 5:00 AM, and my water broke on the way there! Luckily I was prepared so there was no mess all over the passenger seat...I am super proud of myself on that one. My water broke with Amberly so I always considered it a possibility. Jon and I were excited and giddy and I'm glad he thought to take a fun video clip in the hospital parking lot!
At the admission desk, I got a little emotional answering the staff's questions. It hit me I was about to have a baby! The nurses admitted me right away since my water had broken or as they call it " my waters had ruptured". By then the contractions were intensifying and my nurses were not happy with how high your heart rate was. Jon and I and my nurse agreed that an epidural would help me relax and hopefully your heartbeat would calm down too. The monitoring of baby's heart rate always stresses me out during labor, as with every one of my babies it has been too high or too low throughout the laboring process.
The epidural is a painful procedure (I think!) when it is being placed, but so worth it once it's all in and functioning. Twenty minutes went by, and I could still wiggle my toes and feel every part of every contraction. Cue the panic button...I must have been dilated to a 5 or 6 by then and I was struggling through those contractions. I remember hanging on to the railings of the bed for dear life every time they would surge through my body, and moaning through my exhales to work through them. One thing that was very helpful was some visualization I learned from my Hypnobirthing classes 5 years ago: I imagined my abdomen was a balloon and I had to inflate it and deflate it with every contraction. It really helped me with my breathing during those intense moments. My nurse, Daphne, was extraordinary. She obviously has helped a lot of women with unmedicated births, because she knew right where to push on my legs to give me counter pressure and she knew what to say to me to help me work through every contraction. They were lasting just about one minute or longer and were coming every 3 to 4 minutes. I had to go somewhere I have never gone mentally just to work through them, and this lasted about 30 minutes. It takes time to place an epidural and our anesthesiologist was busy with other patients. (Side note: when he was placing my first one that didn't work, I heard a nurse call for him on his speaker phone for another woman who was dilated to a 7. I could hear that laboring Mama working through her pains and she sounded so miserable and in so much pain, I felt bad he was with me and not with her! Child bearing is
not for wimps.)
It was a major relief to see the anesthesiologist return to my room, and an even greater relief to my body when the second epidural that he placed worked! Immediately I felt my toes and legs and then lower body go numb, and I felt like I was getting a massage throughout my muscles which was amazing! I had been so tense and now, I could come back to the present situation. I could actually be there mentally and emotionally with Jon and laugh and have a conversation. Epidurals are truly a godsend for me!
Yes please give me all your warm blankets.
I always get the adrenaline tremors when I'm laboring!
By 7 AM I was dilated to a 7, and I was crossing my fingers my wonderful Doctor Thackeray would make it on time if I went from a 7 to a 10 super quickly. Your Daddy, as usual, was my rock. Any time I was worried about your heart rate, or the epidural being too strong that I wouldn't be able to push as efficiently, he would just calmly reassure me that everything would be okay. He was just as excited to meet you as the rest of us were! He adores each of his girls.
Around 7:30 AM or so, Dr. Thackeray arrived and I was so glad to see him! He has such a calming, soothing influence and I felt more relaxed as soon as he walked in the room with a smile on his face. He was very happy with how we were progressing and said he would be back soon.
He returned around 8:15 AM to check me, and calmly told me I was complete! Daddy was in the middle of sending an email to his work when Dr. Thackeray said it was time to push, so that email ended quite abruptly! I had requested a mirror for the pushing phase, as it helped me immensely for my other babies. By 8:20 or a few minutes after, I began pushing and as soon as I saw your dark hair on your head, I was motivated to have you in my arms! The only problem at that point was, I felt super hot and I kept wondering if I was going to pass out with the pushing. So my nurse counted out loud for 8 seconds instead of 10. Luckily, I didn't pass out! I didn't believe my nurses or doctor when they told me I pushed you out in just about ten minutes - it felt longer than that to me. You were born at 8:33 AM and placed in my arms. My beautiful, calm, angel baby girl - you cried out a little bit but we could soothe you right away. You knew the sound of your mama's and daddy's voices and I was
elated to finally have you in my arms.
That moment of standstill perfection...
Daddy calls it a reunion because we knew you before this life.
You are my biggest baby so far at 7 lbs. 6 oz. and 20 inches long! We were shocked you were that big. Daddy and I both thought you would be in the 6's because of my doctor guessing just two days before. We both had fevers when you were born but they went away quickly for which I am grateful. My fever explains why I kept almost passing out with the pushing. They had to do a few extra tests on you but you didn't have any sort of infection causing the fever and you are perfect and healthy and beautiful!
Daddy and I especially love and appreciate how easy it is to calm you down.
You are such a sweetheart.
I have had a rough recovery this time around! Maybe my body is angry doing this a third time? I thought it was a great idea to push you out so fast but maybe it makes the recovery more painful later on. Regardless, you are more that worth it and we are all completely smitten with you. Olivia Pearl, you are a complete angel. Your Mommy, Daddy, and older sisters 100% adore and love you.
Olivia Pearl, we feel so blessed to have you join our forever family!
With Love,
Mom
