The story of Avery Marie Olsen:
Wednesday, February 18th:
4:00 p.m. 'Tis the baby's due date and I've been having very mild but regular contractions ever since this afternoon (anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes apart). This is exciting, but does not necessarily mean that baby's on her way just yet. I decided to go to the temple as planned because this will be my last chance fo
r a while. I was hoping someone would ask "when is your baby due?" just so I could smile real big and say "today!" However, that would probably have freaked out some people and I'd have gotten some serious looks for trying
to do a session on my due date. My experience at the temple was awesome and I'm glad I went.
8:30 p.m. Brian and I settle down to dinner. I was experiencing some small amounts of watery discharge which is unusual, so we thought that perhaps my water had broken at a high spot. (We learned this from our lamaze class!) After mulling over the idea and second guessing myself, we decided it'd just be best to go to the hospital to check... But only after I finished making my orange rolls and having a
taste. We took our time and even stopped at walmart on the way.
10:30 p.m. We arrive at the hospital and sure enough, my water had broken! That means we're here to stay; no leaving until after the baby arrives. That was an interesting thought to consider. Since we only have a 24-hour window to deliver the baby once the water is broken and I was only at 1.5 cm dilated, the doctor wanted me to be induced with small amounts of pitocin, increasing every half-hour.
Thursday, February 19th:
12:00 a.m. After all the paper work and setting up, they begin the pitocin (this is where the labor truly begins in my eyes). It wasn't so bad at first, but by 2:00 a.m. (in two hours), I had dilated all the way to 6 cm! Needless to say, I was super fidgety and nothing I tried soothed the constant pain. I don't even know how to describe it! So...
2:00 a.m. On with the epidural! I asked the nurse, "when is too early to get that epidural?" She said that since I'm on pitocin, the epidural won't slow anything down. Ok then, let's go! What a relief!! I had once considered doing this first one all natural, but that was out of the question by this point. My anesthesiologist was awesome with the epidural; I could even still move my legs on my own; just no contraction pains. Cool! I was able to just relax until time to push.
4:30 a.m. Pushing time. This is when I get to gloat a little because it only took me 30 minutes to push! Go momma! Just a small episiotomy was done to get her out sooner, but no tearing. They said the cord was around her neck twice so this caused a drop in her heart rate during pushing. I didn't realize this until after she was here.
4:57 a.m. Happy Birthday, Avery! She made it! She was beautiful and healthy. A good eater, even! 7 pounds, 6 ounces. 20 inches long.
Eight Days to go! OH YEAH! (Give or take a few.) I'm usually not big on countdowns, but when you're THIS close, who can resist?? So far I've gained about 35 pounds and my big belly measures at 39.5 inches around. I thought pregnancy would feel strange and unusual, but surprisingly, it just kinda grows on ya like it ain't no thing. Soon enough, you look like this and still feel like a normal person. I also thought by this point in the pregnancy I would feel nervous or apprehensive, but that's not true either. All I say now is: Bring it on, baby!
I'd like to take a moment to pay tribute to our two-year anniversary which was yesterday. You know the phrase from Buzz Light Year, "To Infinity...& Beyond!" It reminds me of embarking on marriage because it's a journey that will go forever and then some! Two years is hardly anything, but it feels like a lot because I already know this journey lasts forever. I'm so grateful for the covenant (commitment) that Brian and I have made together and am blessed to know that it will go to infinity and beyond! I love the thought of that.
I like being a New Year's Baby; it's a fun holiday to be born on. This year I'm 22... I'm now past all of the "cool years" like 16, 18, & 21 but whatever! It's a good thing that life moves forward. Besides, 22 certainly isn't something to complain about!
Here's the baby belly update. Things are going just great. We bought our graco stroller/car seat combo yesterday! Whohoo! We also now have some plastic drawers for baby stuff in our room. It's lots of fun to get ready for the baby. :)
