Hanley's Arrival

We were scheduled to be induced the morning of Thursday, Nov 8th.  One hour before our appointment, Kaiser called us and said they didn't have a bed available and we needed to reschedule for later that day.  They were to call us by 10am to reschedule but we never received the phone call. I was already anxious about the induction so I called them at 11:15am to find out what was going on.  At that point they told us to come in at 1pm. So, Cody and I went for a morning walk and then we went out for a light lunch with my Mom and Kim prior to the induction.  I tried really hard to keep my mind off of it but I was still really emotional (A large part of me was really hoping that I went into labor naturally the night before the induction but clearly that didn't happen).

Once we made it to the hospital, I had my game face on.  It was time and I knew it.  I was ready to meet my little man and there wasn't anything I could do about the situation, this was just how it had to be. 

At 2pm, The midwife started my pitocin and inserted a cervical balloon to help dilate my cervix. The first day was uneventful. My contractions were too close together for them to up my pitocin so basically I was having a lot of unproductive contractions. We had great company with us: My Mom, my in-laws, Amie and Kramer. We killed time by playing games, watching TV and Amie even teaching me to crochet.  With no progress, we went to bed for the evening.

Friday morning at 7:30 am, I was itching to get things going and kept asking them to increase my pitocin.  The new nurse on shift was more aggressive and I appreciated it.  By 10:30 am on Friday, I had finally dilated to 3.5 cm and we were making progress with the pitocin levels.  By noon, my water spontaneously broke--That event is a whole story in itself!

Once my water broke, things started to pick up and my contractions rapidly began to increase in intensity.  Cody managed to help me through the painful contractions, keeping in mind all the tips and coping techniques we learned in baby class. Then back labor began...now that was a new level of pain.

We used the birthing tub twice.  The second time I was in it, I started to feel so much pressure and had the urge to push that the nurse wanted me to get out so the midwife could check me.  With the next contraction, I was already pushing.  This was at 9:15pm.

I pushed for over 4 hours when talk of emergency c-section began. They said Hanley was turned sunnyside up and I have a very narrow pelvic opening. Between the two, it was making things very difficult on Mommy and Baby. With each contraction, I was only able to push Hanley out enough to see the crown of his head and a little hair but when the contraction was over he was sucked right back in.  They were concerned with the amount of stress this was putting on Hanley and were keeping a close eye on his heart rate.

After 20 hours of early labor, 9 hours of active labor and over 4 hours of pushing with no pain meds, I was determined to get this kid out on my own before resulting to a c-section. So, I asked if they could use forceps or something first. They brought the Doctor in and she said she could use a vacuum suction but I still needed to get him down a little further in order for it to be effective.  She said she would give me 15 more minutes of pushing and see if we could make any progress.

When she came back, I had pushed him low enough to use the suction but there was a catch...she made it clear to us that she could only use it twice because of the amount of stress it would do to the baby.  After that, I would be going in for a c-section.  I continued to push a few more times while she prepped the vacuum and got things ready for the c-section as a back up. 

Cody cheered me on...We both knew these next two pushes had to count. My strength came from Cody's support, my belief that God was with us and my concern for Hanley's health-I knew I needed to do this for him.

With the help from the vacuum suction, I was able to fully get his head out in the two tries the Doctor gave me but she had to remove the suction.  She performed an episiotomy and let me continue to push 3 more times on my own.  On that third push, he shot out--head, shoulders and the rest followed.

After 5 hours and 8 minutes of pushing, at 2:23am on Saturday, November 10th Hanley James was born but wasn't breathing. 

They took him away and first cleared the meconium from his lungs and put him on oxygen for 4 minutes before we heard him cry for the first time. Because of his quick recovery, they said there shouldn't be any lasting effects from the difficult delivery.

I couldn't believe we did it!  Here he was, finally on my chest...such a handsome little boy. Happy, healthy and all ours.

Hanley James Olson, 7lbs 13 oz and 20.5 inches:

WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!

I can't thank Cody enough for all his support during our journey.  He was there to encourage me the whole time and fully believed in me.  I truely don't believe I could have done it without all his love and support. I think he deserves the "Best Coach" award.  I am also beyond grateful for the wonderful care we recieved at Kaiser. The nurses, midewives and Doctors were amazing.  They gave it there all and we have one cute little guy to prove it. Also, a big thank you to eveyone who waited for HOURS in the waiting area just to welcome Hanley once he made his long, drawn out entrance into this world.  We are lucky to have such great friends and family.

So, now we start a new life as a family of 3...