Friday, February 26, 2010

Oliver Meets His Family

This may be more than some of you want to know so feel free to skip down to the pictures. I just wanted to be sure our little family has a record of all of this.

Of course after my doctor set my induction date, and we were feeling like we had time to prepare ourselves, I started having contractions Saturday night. They were really irregular until Sunday night, then they came every 15 minutes. We debated about what to do because we didn't want to wake up friends in the middle of the night to watch Creed if we didn't have to so we decided to ask Scott and Whitney to come over and watch Creed around 8 pm so we could head to the hospital, and I could be checked. We were fairly certain that I would be sent home, but then we would have a better idea of where I was, and if we would have to come back in the middle of the night. Creed was perfectly content to let us go.
After walking around and being checked, my contractions were every 6 - 7 minutes apart and they sent me home with directions to come back after they are about every five minutes apart for at least an hour. That was a little frustrating.

We went home, settled Creed in bed around midnight and Larry fell asleep with him. My contractions continued all night, getting stronger and they did get to every five minutes apart so after an hour, I tried to wake Larry and he was completely out. I decided to wait a little longer and let things progress a little further, and my contractions went back to every 7 minutes. Ahhh! I finally crawled into bed around five and tried to get a little sleep, but got back up by 7:00 because it hurt too much to sleep.

By the time Larry got up, I was back to contractions every fifteen minutes so I told Larry to go ahead and go in to work for the morning. All day Monday and late into the night I had contractions every fifteen minutes. I finally fell asleep around 2:30 in the morning, only to wake up by 5:00 because the contractions were too much to handle. From 5 am to 10 am, I was back to contractions every ten minutes. They weren't getting any closer together, but they were incredibly painful. I tried everything I could think of to get through them, but each one still brought tears. By 11:00 I called my Dr's office and explained it had been three days of regular contractions, they weren't getting any closer together, but they were incredibly painful, and I didn't know what to do. They said, "Three days? Go to the hospital immediately!"

We sent Creed to a neighbor's and we got to the hospital around 11:30. They were doubtful that I was ready to stay but checked me before they were ready to send me home. Then I got a strange look. The nurse said, "Uh, you are not having contractions every ten minutes; you are having contractions every two minutes, but you have monster contractions every ten minutes, and that's what you are counting." They gave me an ultrasound to find out what was going on and the baby was head down, but facing the wrong way, causing back labor. After that, everyone who came to check on me mentioned how that made the pain feel so much worse and that made me feel like a little less of a wimp.

We went into a room and started antibiotics for strep and let those run long enough to get into the baby's system. After three attempts at an epidural, I got one that worked and then they started the pitocin. I was at a six at that point, but within half an hour I was ready to push. Then the baby's heart rate was decelerating and things got a little scary with lots of people rushing into the room. They called for forceps and my doctor thought he was going to have to yank the baby out so he told me to push as hard as I possibly could and with the help of an episiotomy, he was out after three pushes. I pushed for over two hours with Creed so that rate amazed me and Larry.

The baby came out very purple, but after some rubbing, he finally started to breathe only to stop again as soon as they handed him to me. After more rubbing and warming and oxygen, he was ok and we were relieved.

He weighed in at 6 lbs. 12 oz. and we named him Oliver (Although the middle name is still pending).
He also has a head full of hair that sticks up all over the place.
Maybe he still has some drugs in his system, but he is so very calm compared to Creed. Even the pediatrician commented on what a calm little guy he seems to be so far. He snorts like a pig quite often, and Larry and I both think it's adorable. It's so nice to finally have a chance to get to know him better.
Larry was incredibly supportive, and going through experiences like this just makes me love him even more.


In honor of the Olympics, one of the nurses gave Ollie this little hat that she made, and he looks so cute in it!
More updates to come soon, I promise!

56 comments:

Solstice Mama said...

Beautiful! Congratulations and welcome Oliver!

Alissa said...

Congrats! We had our baby on the 24th and named her Libby!

He's seriously cute!

Reba said...

yay! Congratulations. He's so beautiful. You look great, too!

TX Girl said...

Congratulations. He is beautiful. LOVE the middle name.

KIC said...

I'm so sorry you had back labor. That is no fun at all! Congrats on another adorable little boy. Oliver is a cutie! :)

Steph said...

Congratulations!! He is darling!

Heather said...

What a miracle! So glad he even has a name. You all look so happy together. I miss you all.

Wish I could be there with you!

Kim said...

So glad he is finally here and that all went well. I'm glad I was able to visit with Creed soon after Oliver was born.

Creed and I have had a blast together. So hopefully, he didn't miss you too much.

Can't wait to hold little Ollie again. See you soon!

susan said...

Congratulations!

L.R.L said...

i love all of you.

Kate said...

Love that name!!! He is beautiful and you look amazing for just having gone through three days of labor! Congrats!

Malinovka said...

Ahh! He is SOOO adorable!!! I'm sorry the labor was so bad; and THREE times to get the epidural right?! It took two with Jolie and it was horrible! You're such a trooper. What beautiful pictures! Congrats, congrats!

Adrian said...

Congratulations on your new little one!!! He's precious. Love the name.

I am Laura said...

Congratulations. Oliver is so handsome. What a lucky boy to be born into your family. Hope mommy, baby, brother, and daddy are all doing well.

Jen said...

Congrats, Ford Family!! Love the name choice! I hope he lets you guys get a fair amount of sleep :) Enjoy your boys!

Melissa said...

Congrats! He looks darling!

Krista Hansen said...

Congratulations!!! He is so beautiful and you look great in the pictures. Wishing you happiness with your beautiful boys.

Elisa said...

He is here!! So exciting!! He is darling.

I can't believe you went through 3 days of contractions...amazing.

Both my kids were turned the wrong way, I hope this one slips in the right way...8 weeks to go.

lisa h. said...

congrats!! i'm sorry you were in pain for 3 days. but i am glad you didn't push long! oliver is a cute name! i hope you recover quickly!

Carlye said...

Congrats Steph! He is SO cute. I love the pictures. I can't wait to meet him! Call me! We'd love to have Creed come over and play (and you can take a nap).

Valerie said...

Congratulations, what a handsome little man he is! I hope he continues to be calm for you!

Larry said...

How come Steph looks great in the pictures, and I look like the one who went through labor?

J.R. and Meg +3 said...

Oh Steph!! He looks absolutley wonderful! What a champ you are to go through such pain for so long. You do look fabulous and so content. Enjoy your darling family and get some rest. Miss yoy guys!

Laurel said...

I saw this on your mom's blog earlier this morning! Congratulations!

Danielle said...

congrats! he is so handsome and i'm in love with his name. I'm pretty sure my husband would insist we use the name 'Danger' now that he's seen somebody else use it. lol. 'Danger is my middle name!' so great!

And you are a champion for handling 3 days of back labor-i can't even imagine!

Hillary said...

Congratulations! Hope you and baby are doing well!

I named my first Oliver and we get compliments on it all the time. He'll be five this June and we don't run into all that many :)

Anonymous said...

Congratulations and welcome to Oliver!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations and you are sooo sweeeeet and cuuuuuuttttteeee dear Oliver!

ali monson said...

Congrats! He is absolutely beautiful! What an experience. Glad everything went well.

Amber said...

How fun to have a new baby! Two boys close in age--get ready for an interesting ride. I could identify with the birth story--I pushed for less than 5 min. w/ my second when it took almost 2 hours w/ the first. And in case you have more, I haven't had to push at any other births!

Thimbleanna said...

Oh Stephanie! CONGRATULATIONS to you and Larry and Creed! Oliver (love the name!) is just beautiful.

Your blog is one of my very favorites and I'm so looking forward to reading the continued adventures of your new little family of four!

Sara said...

Congrats Stephanie! He is so darling! What a lucky little boy!

Mom said...

He is beautiful! Welcome Oliver - and congratulatios to Creed, Stephanie & Larry. Wish you weren't so far away....hugs to all. Gramma Cat

Kristin said...

What a beautiful baby! I am so happy for you and wish you all the best. P.S. LOVE the name! It's perfect.

Denise said...

what a beautiful baby! Congrats.

Eva / Sycamore Street Press said...

Wow! I had no idea that you were having contractions for so long. Congratulations! He's beautiful. And Steph - I am so impressed with how tough you are.

Camala said...

Congratulations! You have an adorable family:)

lish said...

Steph (and Larry too),

He. Is. Beautiful. A good close second to Max. :)

I have been thinking of you for days and am so proud of you! You are one tough lady.

And I just love, love, love the name Oliver.

I need to come see you!

Rob said...

What a cute, cute baby boy! And I say you stick with the middle name, it is perfect and a great reminder of all that happened. Diedre Gray

Taunya said...

Oh! So sweet! Welcome to Baby O! You are such a trooper!!

taniawillis said...

welcome to the world oliver! steph, he's soooo adorable! you look so incredibly beautiful & happy. :)

Kellie said...

You are so strong! Three days of labor, OUCH! I He looks like such a sweet baby boy!!! Congrats.

Nikki said...

You all look amazing and Ollie we are SO happy that you are here!!! Love to all four of you!

Nikki

P.S. - Steph, you're incredibly strong!

Johnson Fam said...

Steph-congratulations on baby #2! So excited for you and glad everything went somewhat smoothly. :) Lost track of you for quite a while but I'm back on board now. Hope you are recovering well and enjoying life as a mother of 2.

Shar said...

He is adorable. I love his tiny little face. So cute. And his name is so cute. Danger is a big middle name favorite in our family. I think it's awesome!

By the way - back labor is no fun at all! I can't believe you were able to do it for so many hours. I had back labor with both girls and it was tough. Way to go, Steph! And you look beautiful in your pics :)

Garna said...

He's beautiful! So glad all is well. Congratulations to your sweet family.

Anonymous said...

Oh my! What an adventure. I'm glad that mother and baby are doing well. Congratualtions.

Anna said...

goodness, 3 days of contractions...I'll hope to avoid that.

So glad he's here and healthy. And I love the name Oliver.

Congrats.

Megan C said...

Congrats Steph and Larry!!

malia said...

congratulations steph! oliver is such a cute name and definitely fits into your family. you look so great!

Anonymous said...

I love his middle name! Congrats :)

Storeyshop said...

Congratulations!! He looks adorable :)

jaY said...

WOW...congrats! Welcome to the two baby club. Its pretty rough, I won't lie, but its quadruple the fun! Hope u and baby r doing good!

Serendipity said...

Love the name...
Oliver is such an adorable little guy...Your pictures are so sweet..


Hoping Creed is adjusting well...and you are getting some sleep! Congrats to you all...

Shauna said...

Congrats Steph and Larry! Love the name (have you finalized the middle name?)! Totally feel your pain - all three of mine have been sunny side up and back labor sucks! You look fantastic Steph and Oliver is adorable.

Kelly L said...

Larry and Steph--CONGRATS! What a cute little boy, I can't wait to meet him in person. I had that terrible back labor with McKenna and was throwing up all over the nurses because of the pain, so definitely don't feel bad--you are a champ!