Pomerleau Family Blog: Olivia Ann Pomerleau is here!

I am so behind in my blog but I thought I would start Olivia's birth story while I had time and it is fresh in my mind and then catch up on my other blogs. I last updated about my pregnancy during 28 weeks. The last trimester went by pretty uneventfully. I kept getting bigger and bigger and more uncomfortable but was still able to keep up with work and Brandon. I had a crazy nesting instinct going on and reorganized several rooms in my house and Sean and I made 20 frozen meals for when after Olivia came to help as we knew we would be busy. I took Brandon to the park a lot after school and we kept busy going to the zoo and other excursions a lot. I worked all the way up to 38.5 weeks as my blood pressure began to creep up.

At 36 weeks, I got checked to see my progress and I was happy to find that I was already 3 cm dilated, 70 percent effaced, and the baby was nice and low. I thought for sure that Olivia was going to be early and born in June. My doctor thought that too. I kept waiting for signs of labor but they never came. I got checked each week and I was the same, never making much progress. I hit 39 weeks and asked to have my membranes stripped in hopes of stimulating labor, nothing happened. I hit 40 weeks and asked again and again nothing happened. At 40 weeks though, I was feeling done with the pregnancy. I was beginning to sleep poorly and was up all the time having to go to the bathroom. It was hard for me to chase after Brandon. I decided to set an induction date even though I did not want to be induced. My doctor was available on July 6th for the induction or I would have had to wait all the way until July 12th, which would have been 8 days past my due date. I chose to get induced on the 6th.

At 38 weeks pregnant

38 weeks pregnant-huge belly

Before that, I tried everything I could to naturally induce labor. I ate a ton of pineapple and spicy foods. Sean and I engaged in adult relations. I drank a ton of raspberry leaf tea which is supposed to ripen your cervix. I started taking primrose oil. I walked a ton and was on my feet a lot. Nothing seemed to get labor starting. My sister flew in on July 2nd and was staying until July 8th and I was really hoping to have the baby while she was here.

As much I really wanted to go into labor naturally, I have to say it made things a lot easier having my labor scheduled for July 6th. It was a Saturday and my Dad and my mother in law Pam were able to come up and take care of Brandon freeing my mom and my sister Rachel up to be in the labor room with me. Pam came up the night before since we had to leave for the hospital at 5:30 AM. It also meant hopefully having a quicker birth and getting back to Brandon sooner. The night before my induction I did not sleep very well as I was really nervous about the birth and making sure everything was okay and Brandon would be okay. I felt really guilty for leaving Brandon to go to the hospital as he has not been away from Sean and I for a night in about a year.

Last family shot the night before Olivia was born

Brandon kissing my stomach

I got to the hospital at 6:00 AM and was promptly told that I almost got bumped due to the amount of births and lack of staffing they had the day before (it was 4th of July holiday weekend). I felt very glad that I did not get bumped because that would have really sucked. I really liked my nurse Nora she had a lot of experience and I felt comfortable with her. They hooked me up to IV and then to Pitocin and checked to see how dilated I was. I had made progress and was 4 cm dilated and 70 percent effaced and baby was nice and low. Olivia tolerated the Pitocin really well. Brandon had some decelerations in his heart rate a few times when they started it.

At around 8:00 AM Dr. Stull came in and broke my water. My mom and sister arrived by 8:30 AM. Around 9:00 AM I really began feeling the contractions. They felt like someone was stabbing my private parts. I wanted to try to labor as long as I could without an epidural. I breathed through about an hour of contractions and then decided it might be a good idea to walk to get labor going. I was able to do 2 laps around the hospital before I was in so much pain I could not barely move and my contractions were getting to be 1-2 minutes apart and were lasting a minute. I almost threw up several times during this time. I decided then that I was probably in full labor and needed an epidural. It took what seemed like forever for the anthologist to come and give me the epidural (it was really only about 20 minutes). I was in so much pain from the contractions that it was hard for me to sit still enough to get the epidural. They finally got it in and it began working at about 11:45 AM. I then was able to relax and was taking a short nap when I woke up with a jolt at around 1:15 PM with a strange urge to push and pressure down near my bottom.

Picture of Sean and I before I began pushing at around 1:45 PM

I waited another 15 minutes and then woke Sean up and then decided to call the nurse. At that time, no one had checked my progress since my water was broken at 8:00 AM. Dr. Stull came in and checked me and said that I was completely dilated and the head was very low and I was ready to push. I began pushing at 1:45 PM. The baby's head slowly made her way down. It took a while to get her down to where she was not floating back up. Then Dr. Stull was called at about 2:45 and the pediatrician. I knew then I was on the home stretch. I requested a mirror to watch the progress of my pushing which was very helpful. I kept pushing really hard. I did not throw up this time but remember having very bad heartburn and feeling like I was going to throw up. I finally was able to push Olivia out at 3:30 PM. I watched her being born in the mirror and she was immediately put on my chest for skin to skin where she remained for over an hour. I had two second degree tears and Dr. Stull had to stitch me up for over an hour.

First glimpses of Olivia

Snuggling on my chest just born

Sean cutting the umbilical cord

First shot of the three of us

When I first laid eyes on Olivia I thought she was the prettiest newborn I had ever seen. She came out pink and screaming and alert. Her eyes were a dark gray (hard to tell whether or not they will be brown or blue) and she had blond hair with a little reddish tint to it. She did not have a ton of hair. She also had the most perfectly round head. She seemed quite a bit smaller than Brandon but they had not weighed or measured her yet as she was on my chest. She snuggled right up to me and was content in my arms. We told everyone we had named her Olivia Ann Pomerleau. She was born at 3:30 PM on July 6, 2013 and weighed 8 lbs 7 ounces and was 21 inches tall.

Olivia and I doing skin to skin

Sweet baby girl being weighed

Weight

First bath

Pam and my Dad brought Brandon to see his baby sister after his nap at 5:30 PM. He was so gentle with her and got to hold her. They then transferred me to my recovery room and then my family left for the night. Brandon had some problems going home without Sean so I sent Sean home to put Brandon to bed and to get me some yummy Burgarville for dinner (the hospital food was crap). I watched HGTV shows and held Olivia while he was gone and then Sean came back and we went to bed for the night. Although we got a remodeled room, the visitor bed was still a crappy tiny chair unfortunately. We decided the next morning to leave the hospital a night early (to check out by 7:00 PM the next day as things were going well). Olivia was a champion nurser from the start (something I struggled with with Brandon early on). That was really nice.

Brandon and CeeCee at the hospital

Brandon getting a peak at Olivia

Hugging mommy

Looking at Olivia

Daddy and Brandon holding Olivia

Holding Olivia

Grammy Pammy and Olivia

Our last day in the hospital went by quickly. Our close family friends the Mowery's stopped by for a bit. Brandon and my mom and sister came by too during this time. Sean's Aunt Cindy and Grandma and his mom came by also in the afternoon. I tried to take a quick nap and then Sean went back to pick up the Subaru and get Brandon so he could pick us up and we were on our way home!