Here's the story: Last Tuesday, my water broke at 9 p.m. It had been quite a lively day for us, including a long walk in the morning, doctor's appointment (he didn't expect the baby to come too soon), mini golf in Lehi, and Dominos for dinner. I was exhausted and we had decided to get ready for bed when my water broke... and kept coming. So, we grabbed our packed bag and headed to the hospital. Chris still wasn't convinced we would be staying so he didn't even grab our stuff as we walked in. But they did admit us and we were going to be having our baby. I was dilated to about a 2 1/2 so we had a ways to go.
We decided to try to get some rest after the long day. Chris slept and I tried to sleep. The contractions were making it a little difficult to do so. My pain during contractions, throughout labor, was mostly all in my back. We had decided we wanted to do this without an epidural. Sometime in the morning, the pain was pretty severe. The nurse suggested some pain medication through my IV to help me be able to relax a bit. We decided to do so because I would need some strength and energy to get through labor. So, she gave me half a dose. Honestly, I still felt the contractions the same. The pain was still there. The medicine did, however, help me be able to relax in between which helped me conserve some of my energy. I had been progressing in dilation, but after staying at a 6 for quite a while we decided to try a little pitocin to get things rolling a bit faster.
By this time, things were getting tough. To help with the pain in my back, our fabulous nurse suggested a variety of positions. I sat on a birthing ball, was on my hands and knees, etc. They moved around the fancy bed to try these different things. That was one reason why I didn't want an epidural. I wanted to be able to move around. I truly could not have made it through this without Chris. He was a champ and used lots of counter pressure to help ease some of the back pain. He got quite the workout as he would push on my knees while I sat. He talked me through each contraction. I just focused on his eyes and words of encouragement. Chris is the best! I'm so grateful to have had such a supportive and helpful coach throughout labor and delivery.
Finally, we had arrived at the time to push. It was hard work, but nice to have a change and be getting closer to our goal. I just have to give a shout out to our amazing nurse. She was seriously the best. Throughout, especially while I was pushing, she told me I was doing great, what was going on, and what I needed to do. Thank you Kellie!! After about an hour of pushing, Oliver had arrived! He was born at 1:59 p.m. on Wednesday, September 4th. It was all together a 17 hour labor. So, it was long but we had done it. We were so grateful things had gone smoothly and that Oliver was a trooper throughout. It was so fun to have my parents and Chris' mom here to see our little miracle. I was exhausted, but he was so beautiful. There truly is nothing like it.We are tremendously grateful for the bundle of joy in our home. We stayed two days in the hospital and then got to bring this little man home. Our hospital experience was great. We delivered at Alta View and everyone was so fabulous. We were so impressed with our nurses and everyone.
Oliver Jose Lopez was 7 lbs 2 oz, 19 inches. He is doing so great. He has been healthy and doing everything he needs to. He eats like a champ, and is even already back to his birth weight. I'm adjusting to breastfeeding and he just loves to eat. He has beautiful brown hair and perfect little features. His eyes are pretty dark right now, but we're hoping they'll turn out olive green for our Oliver. He is just delicious, and we love him so much. We're loving the life of parents, maybe a little sleep deprived but very happy. Today is my due date, and we're so happy we have already had him here with us for one week. We are fully entertained by this teeny little man. We just watch him in adoration as he sneezes, hiccups, pulls funny faces, loves his hands, wiggles, sleeps, sucks, and squeals. Oh baby Oliver how we love you.
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| They gave us a fancy dinner the night before we left in celebration. |
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| all ready to go home! |
Grandma and Grandpa Boyce came down to see our Oliver. Grandma's reaction to him has been our favorite. She just stood there speechless for a minute. She thinks he's so beautiful, and of course we agree.
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| we sure love grandma Jan. Oliver is looking a little cross-eyed. He's still figuring out how to work his little eyes :) |
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| after bath time |
So that is our baby Oliver, our little bundle of joy.
