Olive G. Davis, a birth story

Leading up to the big Event:

Creating a life. A long but joyful experience, one that I had been participating in for nine long months was about to come to a close. The month of April would bring us a gift, and we could hardly wait.

Leading up to my due date surely was an adventure! Each time I went into my OB, he would do my exam, measure me, and then inform me time and time again that I was measuring small. Two weeks small in fact, and needed to keep my little girl in the cooker for as long as I could. This was a stressful task.

Two weeks before my due date I began having contractions. Brett was working in North Dakota. He was scheduled to come home a few days before my due date. I knew we had a small window of opportunity to have our little one while he was home. Two weeks early.... was not part of the plan, so with each contraction I became more and more frazzled. I would stick my head under the covers at night, and between each contraction I would softly talk to my little girl, and beg her to understand that now was not the time (ok, I knew this wouldn't make a difference, but.... a mammas gotta try!) one night my contractions had been progressing, they were five minutes apart.... and had been for the course of three hours... I was alone, I was hysterical. Thankfully with the help of a blessing, the contractions stopped, and I was able to bide myself some time.

Brett got home! and guess what? Of COURSE my contractions stopped. Zip, nadda, nothin. Days passed, and passed, and kept passing by. Nothin. My OB was happy. I was not. I kept feeling an urgency. I knew that my OB said it was in her best interest to stay put, but call it a mothers intuition.... I felt otherwise.

We tried every wives tale in the book to get my contractions to progress. Some might be shaking your head, thinking that maybe inducing labor by walking the town is a bad idea, but I knew she had to come out. And she needed to do so expediently. I drank pineapple juice, I got massive foot rubs, I went for walks, I mean the list goes on and on.... nadda, nothin, zip. Not a single contraction.

My due date came and went, and the days of having my husband home were now ticking slowly by. Brett was due to report back to North Dakota. During my whole pregnancy my blood pressure was slowly rising and consequently I was slowly swelling. The more edema, the higher the blood pressure and vice versa. We met with my OB and he finally agreed that it was in our baby's best interest to induce me.

We couldn't of been happier.

Our OB gave us a small little piece of paper, and printed on it were instructions on things to expect with and induction, and also a time and date printed on it. Our ob then smiled at us and said, "Get some sleep tonight you two, because after tomorrow, you won't be getting much. Enjoy your last night as a parentless couple." This gave Brett and I butterflies. We left there with beaming smiles. That night we laid in bed and talked about how our life was going to change, how it seemed so surreal, and how excited we were to meet our little girl. We said our prayers and went to bed. Dreaming about the future.

The BIG Event:

The morning of April 10th was an exciting one. I woke up at 4:00 am, with the excitement equivalent to a child on Christmas eve. I was giddy, I was anxious, I was nervous, I was ecstatic! I laid in bed for one more hour, staring at the ceiling fan, trying to go through what the day was going to bring. Brett and I got up, ate breakfast (pineapple, eggs, toast, strawberries) packed our hospital bag, got in the car and off we went to the hospital.

The day couldn't have been prettier. There was a gorgeous hot pink and lavender sun rise peaking over the outline of the mountains. The air was crisp against our cheeks when the wind softly blew. The birds were outside chirping with delight, and the spring flowers were in bloom. Yup! Today was the right day for a little baby girl to enter into the world.

At 7:00 am we checked into our hospital room, I got changed into my gown, I sat on my bed, and got introduced to my nurse (please pause for silence.....) ah yes.... my nurse....... enough said.

My IV was placed, My PIT was started, and off we went. About three hours into my contractions I got my epidural. I was dilating. Things were uncomfortable, but honestly, not terrible. I had a bad case of the shakes but, honestly, the contractions I had felt a week ago wore me out more that these did.

My contractions got stronger, and more intense, my shaking got more severe, and finally at 5:00 it was time to start pushing! My contractions were two and a half minutes apart, so my pushing followed suit. each time Brett would begin counting for me. I would take a deep breathe and then PUSH, as he steadily counted, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and right into another set 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and one last time 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. and then finally I could rest. Then about 60 seconds later.... we would start again. The sets of pushing seemed to go on forever! I kept asking the nurse, "am I pushing correctly?" and each time she say, "your doing it exactly right! I can feel your using the right muscles! She is just progressing slowly". So 60 second later we would push again..... and again.... and again..... about an hour and a half into it, my nurse started to give up on me! She called my OB to come check my progression, but she informed me before he came that I would most likely need a C-section. My heart sank! After all that hard work?! A c-section! I was devastated, but I kept my spirits high and continued to push until my OB came in.

My Dr. entered the room, offered some words of encouragement, swapped out my nurse (which actually helped more that anything) checked me, told me that a C-section was a likely possibility BUT if I had it in me... and if the baby continued to remain stable, he would stay there and encourage me to push! He said that if I had the energy and motivation, we still might be able to deliver her naturally. So, I chose to continue pushing. By golly, did I push, and push, and push, and push some more. You could tell Brett felt bad for me, because on some of the sets he would begin counting with 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and his counting would begin to speed up. I appreciated the sympathy. My Dr. was really good at getting me to laugh, and somehow carry on a conversation through the pushing. This helped keep my mind entertained and my spirits high.

After three and a half hours of pushing... we could finally see a head. My poor little girl's skin split on the top of her head because she had been in the birthing canal for so long. I remember feeling extreme fatigue. I have never felt so tired in my life. But on the last set I remember thinking, this is it. This is the moment that will change my life forever. I remember looking up at Brett, he had tears swelling up in his eyes, he looked like a father. I have never felt more love for him. After looking at him I knew I could do it. I knew that we were about to meet our sweet little girl. We were about to become a family. So I pushed, one last agonizingly long and painful push, and then I saw her. She was sitting in the hands of my doctor. Small and familiar. Then I heard her. Crying her welcome to the world. I have never wept with so much joy in my life. They gave her to me. She felt so warm in my hands. I looked into her eyes and it was as if she always was. It was as if she always had existed in our life. It was like being reunited with an old friend. I don't know how to explain it... other than that she was ours. She was always ours.

They weighed her (she surprised everyone, especially my Dr. with her hearty size), cleaned her, took her temperature. Due to my placenta being infected, our little girl also had an infection and had to be admitted to the NICU. My placenta was also "very mature and very fibrous" We have been told by many that we were lucky to get her here. Our lives have been blessed time and time again by having this small little wonder in our life. Brett and I have grown so much in these past few weeks. Both spiritually, physically, and emotionally. You gain a new level of love after an experience like this... you gain a new respect, and consequently and new dimension is opened up in your relationship. We have never felt more joy.

Olive G. Davis

8 lbs. 5 oz.

21" long

Born April 10th, 2012 at 8:30 pm