She's here! Olivia Anne Pridgeon was born at 6:39 am on February 20, 2014. Here's a little about her birth (mostly for my own memory), and a lot of pictures our first day together.
Wednesday, February 19, I saw my OB early in the morning. I was already dilated to 3 cm and 50% effaced (I'd been 2 cm, 50% effaced for a few weeks already). He offered to strip my membranes to try to get labor started, but I wasn't ready for that. I planned to let him do it at my next appointment, since it would be after my due date. After the OB, I went to Bible study, and had on and off contractions for most of the morning. I kind of didn't remember what contractions felt like, so I wasn't sure if that's what was going on or not, but it was dessert day at Bible study, so there was no way I was going to miss it!
Kate and I went home and had a quick lunch, and then the guys came to install new carpet in the basement. They worked all afternoon, and somehow Kate actually took a nap with all the crazy pounding going on downstairs. I, on the other hand, did not. I was still having a few contractions here and there, but was just generally uncomfortable. As soon as the carpet guys walked out the door, Kate wanted to be in the basement and to play in her tent. We played downstairs for most of the rest of the day.
Around 6:00 pm, my contractions came back and were becoming more regular. All evening, we debated whether this was the 'real thing' or not. Both of us were hoping the contractions would stop so we could go to bed and then start again in the morning. No such luck. Around 11:00 pm, contractions got more intense, so we called the OB and started thinking about leaving. We called my mom just after midnight (she's a saint) to come and stay with Kate, and we were to OB triage between 1 and 1:30. By then, I was dilated to 5 cm and 90% effaced, so we headed up to labor and delivery. The next few hours were a sleepy blur. We walked around the floor for a while, hoping to help things progress, but I got stuck at 7 cm again (same as with Kate). My OB came in around 6:00 am and broke my water. After that, things moved pretty quickly and our sweet girl was born at 6:39 am that morning. We were relieved, tired, and so very happy. Holding a newborn again felt so strange, but so right. She was so beautiful and we were in love.
 |
| first picture:) |
 |
| little peanut! she's the exact same size I was as a baby |
 |
| yep, that's meconium all over her |
 |
| happy daddy |
 |
| sweet Olivia |
We went up to recovery around 8:00, and after a short nap, Kate came up to meet her new baby sister. When she first walked in, she was concerned that something had happened to me, but her attention quickly turned to Olivia and she wanted to hold her right away. Olivia gave Kate a present, and then headed home after a few hours of visiting. She came back after her nap to eat dinner with us - and Uncle Adam, who drove all the way from Chicago to meet our sweet girl:)
 |
| Kate meeting Olivia for the first time |
 |
| Kate wanted to hold her a lot |
 |
| family of FOUR! |
 |
| Uncle Adam drove all the way from Chicago to meet her! |
 |
Super Grandma!
She came in the middle of the night, stayed with Kate at
our house, and even brought her to the hospital for two visits |
 |
| my sweet girl |
We snuck in another quick nap, and then Tessa and Justin came to visit. Look at the smiles on their faces:) So fun to have family in town.
 |
| Aunt Tessa |
 |
| (almost) Uncle Justin |
Everyone was looking healthy, and we were very ready to leave, so on Friday afternoon, we got to go home. We were so happy to see Kate and to just be in our own space.
 |
| not loving the car seat |
 |
Welcome to the world, and to our family, Olivia Anne! We love you so much already! |
