Welcome to the World, O-Dub!

Introducing...


Oliver William Burcell
January 18, 2014
6:21 am
9 pounds 13 ounces
22 inches








I can't believe he's four days old already.  I can't believe he's only four days old.

On one hand, it feels like I just met him.  His newness is overpowering sometimes, like I just can't soak in this new baby fast enough.  On the other hand, this sweet boy has settled in so perfectly to our family--he's an old regular around here. He fits. :)

It's hard for me to remember the details about having Nora.  For the most part, I remember how labor was so long and drawn out.  Afterwards, I felt so drained, mentally and physically.  With Nora, it was 28 hours between the time I started feeling contractions and when she was finally delivered.  Add that to being unhealthy to start with, my epidural wearing off with a few hours to go, and the overwhelming stress of being a new mom, it's no wonder I felt so completely exhausted.  But despite the anxiety and exhaustion, I distinctly remember the feeling of peace I had when I held my new sleeping Nora.  The feeling that I was supposed to be her mom and she was supposed to be my Nora.

Except for that peaceful feeling of getting my perfect baby, Oliver's labor really couldn't have been any more different than Nora's.  And since I really wished I remembered these kinds of details about my first labor...

Friday, 1/17/14
9:15 am: I went to the clinic for my last appointment.  I was eight days overdue, and so beyond ready to meet my baby.  Three days before, I was still only dilated 1 cm and 50% effaced, so I really needed to show some progress at this appointment.  Luckily, I was 3-4 cm and 75%, so I left my appointment with the phone number of the Women's Center at the hospital in hand and instructions to call at 6 am on Saturday to find out when to go in for an induction.  I was praying and hoping to go into labor before then, but at least there was finally an end in sight.  We would meet Ollie this weekend whether he liked it or not!

10:00 pm: After a relaxing day--going out to breakfast with my family, cuddling and watching movies with TK and Nora, and enjoying an early birthday dinner at Silver Gulch, I decided to go to bed.  No signs of labor so far, and I knew I would have to get up early the next morning to call the hospital.

10:30 pm: CONTRACTIONS.  All of a sudden.  Yikes.  I'd been having Braxton Hicks for weeks, but these HURT and were so different.  I tried not to get my hopes up, but I had a feeling this could be it.

11:00 pm: I couldn't lay in bed anymore, and Taylor was still awake in the living room, so I went out and watched TV with him, trying to breath and time my contractions.  By now, they really hurt, and were already just 5 minutes apart.   It seemed like my body had been more than ready to go for awhile, it just needed the trigger to go off and get things moving.

11:30 pm: 3-4 minutes apart, I told Taylor it was go time and called my mom to come spend the night with Nora.  I couldn't believe this boy waited as long as possible to get things going on his own, like he knew we were threatening to take matters into our own hands. :)

Saturday, 1/18/14

Right after we got to the hospital, last belly pic!
41 weeks and 2 days

12:00 am: We got to the hospital, were walked up to our room, and I got changed into my super-hot hospital gown.  I was 5-6 cm and 95% effaced.  FINALLY.  It was, in fact, time to have this baby! I was so excited, but my contractions hurt so much worse than the last time.  My nurse said the anesthesiologist was already in the Women's Center, so I told her I wanted to get ready for an epidural.  It was my saving grace last time, and at this point, I was more than ready for the juice. :) (DISCLAIMER: I truly admire women who give birth without medication, but I am so not that person.  Being able to go through the hard part with little to no pain? Yes, please!)

1:30 am: My IV had been in for about an hour and I'd received enough fluids, so the anesthesiologist hooked me up to the epidural.  5 minutes later: sweet relief.  Dr. Wiegund, the doctor on call from Chief, checked me again and said I was at 7 cm, so Taylor and I both tried to get some rest.

3:00 am: I didn't think that I'd slept at all, but I must have, because 3:00 am came around really quickly! My nurse checked me, and I was at 8 cm.  Progressing fast, but not quite there yet.  Back to sleep.  This is why I loved my epidural: there is no way I would have gotten to take two naps if I had been feeling every contraction.  And after being up since 6 am Friday morning, these naps were a godsend.

5:30 am:  My nurse checked me for what would be the last time...! I was ready to push, she just had to get everything and everybody all set.  After singing some Salt n' Pepa [Push it reaaaal good!] and everybody and their mother gathering in the room, time to push!

6:21 am: Oliver William Burcell was born, and was completely perfect.  After getting cleaned up and having his lungs checked (there was meconium in the amniotic fluid, so he needed some special attention right away), I got to snuggle and kiss him for the first time.  Absolutely nothing better.

Ollie and I were both healthy, so we only spent had to spend one night in the hospital.  I loved only being away from Nora for the one night.  Though I had a lot to do to keep up with new Ollie, it was so comforting to be able to read my big girl her bedtime story on Sunday just like usual.

This sweet boy has settled in so perfectly to our family.  His sister asks me every five minutes, "Nana kiss him??" She has already established her position as Ollie's protector.  She gets really concerned if someone besides Taylor or I is holding him, and she is very defensive when Taylor calls him a stinker. :)  We're making a concerted effort to keep our days as similar as possible to before we brought Ollie home, and it has seemed to really help make the transition smooth for everyone.  Nora and I still watch cartoons together in the morning while we eat our breakfast, and then spend the morning reading and playing in her room.  Though I would kill for Nora to still be taking naps, we have kept to the no-nap schedule we've had for the past month.  This has thankfully meant that Nora is still sleeping from about 8pm-8am, and I'm only waking up to tend to one baby at night.

I was so anxious before having Oliver about how we would adjust to all the changes, how I would ever juggle taking care of two kids.  But everything about bringing Ollie into the world has gone more smoothly than I had expected, and I've loved having two babies to snuggle with these last few days.  It's so obvious that God has His hand in it all. I had prayed for months for the patience to take care of two, and a happy, healthy transition from a family of three to a family of four.

Thank you God for answered prayers.

Overdue

My last post started out: "I'm sure this will be the last post before we meet Baby Ollie, so here goes..."  Man, I was obviously counting on this chicken before he hatched.  Here I am, 2 days overdue and still typing with my laptop propped up on my bump.  Not what I was hoping for when I cheerfully reminisced over my third trimester last week.  My body feels just about the same as last week, no new cravings or weight gain or labor signs.  I am, however, in a completely different mindset.

These past few days have been a lot harder than I'd imagined they would be.  Half of the time I am caught up in feeling bad for myself.  (Taylor has been great, but must be so sick of all the whining and complaining he's had to listen to.)  The other half of the time, I feel guilty about feeling bad for myself.  I should be thankful for the fact that my body is healthy enough to carry a healthy baby to term, not complaining that I'm still pregnant two days after a day that is truly just an educated guess.  These conficting feelings have made me a big mess of tears and back aches and anxiety--not a pretty sight.

I had no idea I would feel this way when the waiting game came around this pregnancy.  With Nora, I didn't know what to expect at all.  I was unsure of just about everything, frightened about labor, anxious about being completely responsible for a tiny new life.  This time, my fears couldn't be any more different.  I've survived a labor and delivery.  I've made it through 2 1/2 years with very little sleep. I'd like to think Taylor and I have done a pretty great job with my Nora girl.  Everything I was nervous about the first time around seems insignificant today.  This time, I'm unsure of how our transition from a family of 3 to a family of 4 will go, frightened about being in the hospital and away from Nora, anxious about balancing my time between Nora and Oliver when we get home.  

This new set of emotions has me all over the place.  All I want to do is meet my baby boy.  All I want to do is relish in these last however-many days with just my baby girl.  All I want to do is make sure my house is clean and my bag is packed.  All I want to do is rest.  But as impossible as it seems, all I need to do is be patient--with Oliver and myself.  I need to understand that Oliver will be born very soon, even if that means I'm pregnant for another week.  Ultimately, I need to let God take care of my worries and anxieties.

This too shall pass.  And these waiting days will have been so worth it.

Week 39

[Alright, so overall, I have totally failed at keeping this baby blog up to date.  It's been 12 weeks since my last update, oops! So much has changed over the last three months, and I'm sure this will be the last post before we meet Baby Ollie, so here goes...]

Wowza, that's a big belly!

Days Pregnant: 273! Doesn't get a whole lot more pregnant than that!
Days Remaining: Only 7 til my due date, but I'd be perfectly fine if baby made his debut before then. :)

Total Weight Gain: Final weight gain has come in at 43 lbs.  A little more than I had wanted, but so much better than the 70 lbs. I gained with Nora. And I have noticed such a big difference this pregnancy; much less swelling in my hands, feet, and face, my blood pressure is right where it should be, and no threat of gestational diabetes has made for a much happier and healthier prego.

Maternity Clothes: This baby better come soon because even my maternity clothes are getting too small for this bump...

Best Moment This Week Trimester:  Man, have we been busy these last three months! We took Nora, dressed up as a minion from Despicable Me, Trick-or-Treating for the first time.  Thanksgiving was such a welcome break from work/school.  I had a wonderful baby shower, and have finished accumulating everything we need for baby's arrival. I survived both of my classes with A's (oh yeah!). Christmas was so good to us, and it was awesome to see Nora into everything "Chrimmis" this year.  This is the first year she's understood what was going on, and she was so excited to both get and give presents.  Lastly, Nora's half birthday was 12/28, which made me realize how grown up this little girl is!  She is such an amazing talker, and she is so loving (I've even heard, "Oh Mommy, I love yo's fo-head!").  Lately, she's been carrying around her baby dolls all the time, rocking them to sleep and putting them to bed.  Somebody must be just as ready for Oliver as I am!
Movement:  Still feeling so much movement, but as he's gotten bigger, those sweet little kicks and rolls have turned into killer punches to my rib cage and nasty head butts to my bladder.  So very uncomfortable--have I mentioned how much I want to have this baby??
Cravings: Ice! Lots of ice.  I have become somewhat of an ice connoisseur over the last couple months, and I definitely have my favorite places for getting ice (Fred Meyer has THE BEST ice in town, in case you were wondering...). I'm sure Taylor is so over having to go to out for late night ice runs, but at least it's a pretty cheap craving, compared to Ben & Jerry's and Oreos.  Maybe this has been the secret to not gaining as much weight this time around?
Aversions: I have gotten over my egg aversion, thank goodness! I had Eggs Benedict at the Cookie Jar last weekend and man, I'd missed it!

Gender: Baby boy :)
Labor Signs:  I was reading a book at the clinic a couple of days ago while I was waiting for my midwife, and I am literally showing every single labor sign except for actually going into labor.  Restless backache, nesting, Braxton Hicks contractions, etc.  Put all of these together and you have a very anxious and uncomfortable mom.  Almost every night my contractions get a little stronger, and I get my hopes up, and then...nothing.  Oh well, the midwife told me they would induce me a week past my due date, even sooner if baby is measuring big at my ultrasound next week, so I know I won't be pregnant for too much longer.
Symptoms:  All the labor signs, plus some swelling in my feet at the end of the day and some seriously achy ligaments in my hips.  Apparently, the achy ligaments are normal with second pregnancies, and it STINKS.  If I sit in the same position for more than a few minutes, I have to hobble around like an old lady when I get up. (I must make pregnancy sound so glamorous...)
Looking Forward To:  Oh, I don't know, having this baby, maybe?? :)  At this point, I'm so ready to not be pregnant that labor is not freaking me out at all.  It will probably be a different story once I'm actually in labor, but right now, I just want to get this show on the road.  Besides, I've survived labor once, and I got the most beautiful little girl out of the whole thing.  One painful day compared with all the baby snuggles I have ahead of me? So worth it!

Any prayers, good wishes, and finger crossings for this baby to be born happy and healthy (and soon!) are much appreciated. :)