Welcome Oliver Daniel: A Birth Story

Post Birth OllieDolphin is finally here…and now sporting a new name: Oliver Daniel. He was freed from the ocean (my uterus) on his due date July 27 at 3:12 am. He clocked in a little bigger than his brother at 7lbs and 13oz and 19 in long. He looks very much like Landon except for lighter hair. One thing is for sure, I make babies with heads of hair. And for the record, I didn’t have crazy heartburn. Take that, wives’ tale.

So here is a quick run down of all the questions I get 🙂

The Birth

Oliver was born in a hurry. He came almost 3 hours on the dot from when we walked into the hospital. On top of that, completely natural.

I talked on Twitter a few weeks ago that I was thinking I might want to try that. I knew I didn’t want to be induced this time and he was so “ready” according to the doctors, I thought “what if?” I took no class. I read no book. I just thought it would be awesome if I could. My friend Jen had her 2 boys, 1 with an epidural and 1 without because of circumstance. I have always valued her opinion on this because there was never an agenda with her experience. She said the recovery was so much better without the epidural. This was my selling point. I also like to challenge myself within limits and this seemed doable. So…I did it!

At my 1:30pm OB appointment I was 3cm and having random mild contractions all day.  I then spent the afternoon hanging with Kevin walking Buy Buy Baby and getting some treats from Panera. Then somehow we had the forsight to hangout at Kevin’s parents since they were closer to the hospital. With my contractions still going, we decided to leave Landon there for the night…and we were glad we did :). I took this photo of Landon as we left and teared up kinda of knowing it was the last time I would see him as my only baby. And now I am tearing up again…damnit.

Landon Only

Kevin and I went home to watch some Breaking Bad while sitting on a ball. We finally got to bed around 10 with everything at the ready. My contractions were still really random but slowly getting a little more uncomfortable but I could at least sleep.  At 11:30 I woke up and went to pee. I laid back down to a much harder contraction that I couldn’t sleep through. I went downstairs to bounce and walk. I started timing them on my little app and uh oh…3 minutes apart.  I then got Kevin up and called the OB. Apparently when Kevin heard me tell the midwife I was 3 minutes apart, he panicked a little. They said come on in and so we jumped in the car and drove quickly to the hospital. Kevin would like to let you know we made it to Wake Med Cary from North Raleigh in 18 minutes. Impressive.

 Kevin and I before birth

When we were admitted at midnight I was 8cm with contractions 3 minutes apart.

Yeah…whoa.

My awesome nurse, Lara, was pretty impressed. She then asked about pain management. I told her what I wanted to do and she said if I had made it this far, I could do it. She was sure of it. It wouldn’t be long. Basically I had to ask for it right then or it probably wouldn’t happen because of how far I was. So I said no epidural and decided I could go with an IV pain med if needed. I also didn’t want them to break my water. All or nothing, right?

I got a bag of fluid while I bounced and walked around. I never got in that bed until the very end because I really couldn’t stand anymore. At around 2:30 ish, one big contraction led my water breaking.

Ew. Those socks got THROWN OUT.

Well that cranked shit into high gear. The cursing began…oh how it began. Kevin is still laughing at me.

I got set up on the bed and Lara checked me again…still 8cm.  I swear 2 minutes later I told them I could feel pressure…sure enough.  10 cm…go time. I started pushing before the “swat” team could even get there. I got a midwife (Jessica) from a practice joining my OB soon. While not what I pictured, she was great and I really couldn’t have asked for more. She was calm and witty. My type of lady. My contractions were right on top of one another and Kevin held one leg and Lara held the other.

Sidenote: Apparently running for 33 weeks made me have some strong legs. Not to mention basically squatting 60 extra lbs (baby plus toddler) when carrying Landon around. They had some trouble holding me. I remember the midwife saying “Dad, your job is to not let her kick me”. I think it was a task not to be taken lightly, according to Kevin.

Then..I said fuck a lot. Then I pushed a total of 3 full times over 7 minutes and out he came. Plopped on my chest and screaming his head off. Our perfect little Oliver.

Oliver

The Aftermath

This is the section some may wish to skip. I always try to bring the “real” to motherhood…like I did here after Landon’s birth. Short story, I had a small 1st degree tear which was “only skin and no muscle”. They said I had a good bit of swelling but I think a lot of it was the swelling I have had for 9 months. I will say this repair hurt a bit more than with Landon because of no epidural…but it was bearable after the ring of fire of him coming out. But then I could easily walk to the bathroom and everything with no real issues. I could have walked to my room honestly but took the chair ride. I felt great. I even spent the time setting up my heiney hoagie talking about the tattoos I want with my nurse.

I am now 4 days post baby and I have actually looked. It looks BETTER than it did in pregnancy! My doctor was right. The swelling went right down. Amazing.

Body wise I feel so much better. No crazy back pain. No real stitches pain. It feels great all things considered. To know that I pushed Oliver out that quickly with minimal damage is a true sign of how “right” natural felt. Your body knows what it is capable of…even if you don’t.

The Feeding

Oliver Eating

Breastfeeding is going well. He latched right on after birth and just starred at us. We have had the normal growing pains of getting a good latch and refresher in positions. I am sporting a crack and trying to get that better so we can’t say we are perfect yet. He is learning quickly and my milk is coming in quite nicely. He seems to be a gassy little thing. The only time he really cries seems to be gas with crinkled legs and poots (or getting his diaper changed). We haven’t figured out what the cause is yet but we will get there.

We already went to SAS for a lactation consult (yes it is the best place to work…free lactation consults…Glorious) and he has a strong suck. He is also gaining weight really well. 3 oz in a day so far. He is getting to a happy milk coma most of the time where he pops off and milk dribbles from his mouth. Oh and the burps are EPIC.

Big Brother Duty

BrothersLandon came to meet his new brother the day he was born. The initial meeting was a little standoffish. Clearly this new place was intimidating. He wanted nothing to do with the baby. We didn’t push it and he, at least, didn’t throw a fit. The second day we decided to take one of the gifts dropped off for him and say it was from Oliver (thanks Rebecca). This was the ticket. He was so excited. He immediately told Oliver thank you and gave him a kiss.  When my nurse came in later, he was telling her “my baby brother got me this Lightning McQueen”. Jackpot. The minute he came home, he wanted to show Oliver all his toys and wanted me to read them both a book.

Best thing so far is that he calls him “Oviler”. I almost melted when he was watching a movie on his phone (thanks Wake Med Wifi) and said “Oviler…you wanna watch turtles with me?” and held out his phone to him. He also shares his Thomases.  This is big stuff, Ollie. He is excited each morning to show his baby brother new toys and even DRAW HIM PICTURES!!!!!  PEOPLE! Do you remember this? Well Oliver was the answer. He has spent time alone drawing on his easel and working in his Thomas workbook. I am cursing myself aren’t I? Cue cuteness overload and a mommy high I am still not down from.

The Name

Oliver gets his name from the fact we like the name Oliver (crazy huh?) and the nickname Olie sounds so cute with Lando. Daniel comes from the fact that Kevin and I first met in Daniels Hall on the NC State campus. We spent a majority of our dating years in that building as well. It was a nice simple middle name like Thomas (Landon’s middle name) and meant something to us. Win win.

The Rest of the Story

We are finally home all together. We are trying to revolve our days around Landon’s usual schedule. We get up like usual (well no shower and such) and Kevin is taking him to daycare at the regular time. We both help tag team breakfast while Oliver sleeps in his bouncy seat. We then pick up Landon around the same time we usually do from school. Daddy is having to play the toddler entertainment most but they are having some good bonding. Landon is listening pretty well and I feel like seeing he needs to entertain himself more. We slip in little “gifts” people have left as incentive to do good listening. Last night he got new Thomas jammies (which he needed…but don’t tell him that) for listening during the bedtime routine.

Nights are getting there. We had 2 pretty good nights off the bat. He is waking every 3 hours or so to eat but he seemed to go down easily after the feeding. Last night he was pretty cranky from gas bubbles and hard to stay asleep. Also feeding him when he is frantic is pretty frustrating because he is really head strong and pushes away from me EVERY FUCKING TIME. DUDE! The goods are RIGHT THERE. Just open your damn mouth and everyone will be happier. Knock on wood, he isn’t waking Landon or at least he isn’t getting up.

Family of 4So we are a happy family of 4 thus far. Next up, Laura Case’s hospital photos of a few hours old Oliver, a hospital review and Jack comes home to ANOTHER baby…dun dun dun.

19 thoughts on “Welcome Oliver Daniel: A Birth Story

  • August 1, 2012 at 1:47 pm
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    Beautiful family & I’m so happy you had such a great birth experience. F bombs & all!

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  • August 1, 2012 at 2:18 pm
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    Congratulations! Way to go with the labor! I totally agree that your body knows just what to do. 🙂 My #2 is due in January and this post made me so happy and less nervous about it all. Your pic of Landon as the last time he will be your only baby made me tear up too! I’m so happy for you and your beautiful family. Thank you for sharing it with us and I can’t wait to hear more in the adventures of Lando and Ollie! 😉

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  • August 1, 2012 at 2:25 pm
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    Sounds like overall a great experience and I’m glad that things are going well with Landon….Also, Oliver was born on my daughter’s birthday! Congratulations!!!!

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  • August 1, 2012 at 2:39 pm
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    Congrats, congrats, congrats again! I can’t wait to meet sweet Oliver this weekend when I deliver food. Love the name and there need to be more boys with Daniel as part of their name 😉

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  • August 1, 2012 at 3:26 pm
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    Precious. I can’t wait to see Lara’s photographs! Birth stories always make me cry too, vaginas, F-bombs, and all. So right now I’m hoping no one walks down the hall and looks at me. I am so very happy for your family! And you know, the Adventures of Lando & Ollie sound like a pretty good book or show….

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  • August 1, 2012 at 4:06 pm
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    DUDE. You rule. Can’t believe how quick your labor was (although I guess technically you had been in labor for a week or so, right?) 🙂 So impressed that you went med-free. If I wasn’t done having babies, this story would have totally inspired me to give it a try! Hang in there with the nursing … it’ll get easier before you know it. So happy for you guys and can’t wait to see you soon!!

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  • August 1, 2012 at 5:18 pm
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    Such an amazing story! I love it!!! And my heart cried a little when I read about Landon. I felt the same way when we left Ava. I have the last picture we took together before we left her at my friend’s house. My heart is crying now. Sigh.

    Congratulations to you guys!

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  • August 1, 2012 at 6:22 pm
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    I wish I could hug you, you’re so amazing. Thank you for sharing your story. You give me hope for if/when we have no. 2.

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  • August 1, 2012 at 7:04 pm
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    Congratulations! He is beautiful! I am glad you are feeling/doing well! Your story makes me reminisce the birth of both my kids!

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  • August 2, 2012 at 10:15 am
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    Congrats! You are a rock star going med-free! I know exactly how you felt when you dropped Landon off. I got all teary and emotional when we left Ian with my parents before my induction the next day. Hope the breastfeeding continues to get better and so happy that your recovery has been easy!

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  • August 2, 2012 at 12:08 pm
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    Congrats! Love hearing the whole background story!

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  • August 2, 2012 at 2:03 pm
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    Just want to say, YOU ROCK! I loved reading your birth story. We are so much stronger than we ever imagine. Way to go w/o the meds!!!! And welcome beautiful baby Oliver! Enjoy your maternity leave and best wishes on nursing!

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    • August 3, 2012 at 2:00 pm
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      Thanks! Yoga breathing totally helped me. I even attempted some moves while in labor. 🙂 Thanks for that!

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  • August 2, 2012 at 9:14 pm
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    Congratulations!!

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  • August 5, 2012 at 3:03 pm
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    Congrats!! He’s so handsome and I’m glad you’re feeling so good!

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  • August 3, 2013 at 9:04 am
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    Just discovered your blog and it’s great! I love reading birth stories, so this post caught my eye. Oliver shares my birthday, and I gave birth at WakeMed a few months before where Lara was also my nurse. She’s the best!

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    • August 5, 2013 at 7:40 pm
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      That is so awesome! Thank you so much and hope you enjoy my ramblings 🙂

      Reply

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