olsen family: birth story of laylee marie olsen!

Tyler and i woke up at 8:30 a.m. on the morning of 6/26/2010 to a sign that labor may be starting. i had a small gush of water trickle down my leg as i stood up out of bed. i didn't panic or think too much of it because i had been seen by my regular Dr.'s colleague just the day prior for the very same thing. they determined it was NOT my water bag leaking but reassured me i had done the right thing by coming in and getting checked. i had been told that if anything like this occurred again within the next 24 hours i needed to come in as soon as possible to get checked. after a small debate with my mother i decided it would be best to pack ourselves in the car and drive the 14 miles to be seen. Tyler and i weren't in any rush to get to the hospital. i wasn't having any contractions or pain.. in fact i felt better than i had in months. so we decided to take our time and enjoy a nice big breakfast in front of the t.v. watching our favorite show "scrubs." after breakfast, we hopped in the car and made the 20 minute drive to s.l.v. regional hospital. we arrived at 11:00 to labor and delivery. i changed into my hospital gown and the nurse got my vitals and started me on a baby monitor. i was a little sad because not even a week prior i had told my regular Dr. that i felt the baby might come over the weekend and she informed me she would be out of town that weekend and that Dr. wheeler would be on call. i had been seen by him before and if need be was ready to let him deliver the baby. Dr. wheeler came to examine me in no time. he took one look at me and told us that what he thought he was seeing were ruptured membranes. he ordered a quick test and it was confirmed that my water bag was leaking and we wouldn't be going anywhere. upon check in, i was dilated 3cm's and starting to efface.

Tyler was so excited by the news he got up and did a very embarrassing little dance around the delivery room. as i was being checked in, Ty reached for his phone and started calling the family to let them know i was officially in labor. i wasn't in any pain so i decided to make a few phone calls myself to share the good news.

after my nurse had started my i.v. and gotten all of my medical information Tyler and i shared a few fun precious moments of excitement together.. .

Dr. wheeler had told us that we had a four hour period to try and get things moving naturally before they would induce me with pitocin. i took advantage of the time and paced my room periodically when they had me off the monitors. i was starting to feel uneasy due to the lack of contractions. i laid back down on the bed and Tyler turned on the t.v. and together we watched "click". it was a much needed distraction from the thoughts of what was soon to come. Tyler had called his dad and asked him to bring the hospital bag down to us because we had come totally unprepared. it wasn't long at all before dad and Kylie walked through the door. it was so good to see them and we were so grateful to finally have some of what we needed.
after dad and KY had left Dr. wheeler came back in to check my progress. after 3 hours of walking, i had only dilated another 1/2 cm. i was so disappointed and i was getting tired fast. Dr. wheeler decided to order the pitocin i.v. drip. the nurse suggested that we try the birthing ball as a last resort for the remaining hour before i would have to be induced. Dr wheeler agreed and the birthing ball was brought in .

the ball was surprisingly fun. i rolled and bounced till i thought for sure i had given our daughter shaken baby syndrome. time seemed to pass so much faster than normal on that little red ball. i was distracted by the conversation i was having with my hubby about different names we liked and what we both thought she would look like. towards the end of our last hour before induction, my mom arrived with the rest of our things for the hospital stay. my legs were tired from working on the ball and all i wanted to do was rest. i crawled back into my hospital bed and got comfortable again. mom braided my hair back out of my face nice and tight.

Dr. wheeler came in once again to check me. i was now 50% effaced, but no further dilated. so my nurse Andrea hooked up my pitocin i.v. disappointed and tired, i laid down and really tried hard to just relax. Tyler had called the missionaries to let them know the baby was on the way.. and i couldn't help but feel like maybe a blessing would give me the peace i needed to sleep and prepare for birth. i had Tyler call them back and ask if they would make a special trip into Alamosa to give the baby and i a blessing. they agreed to come down and it didn't take them any more than 20 minutes to arrive at the hospital. elder baker and elder homer laid there hands on my head and gave me a blessing for comfort. no sooner did they take there hands off my head that i felt more at ease... i felt happiness and a sense that the baby would be okay no matter what happened. Tyler and i thanked them and promised to call the second the baby arrived. i slept for an hour after they left and felt my body getting back a little of the energy i knew i would need.

Andrea came back in to check my vitals and see how my contractions were coming along. they were five minutes apart and two minutes long... but still lacking in the intensity needed to move things along. Dr. wheeler ordered my i.v. drip to be increased to move things along faster. it wasn't even 30 minutes later things started to get REALLY intense. my contractions were two minutes apart, i had passed the remainder of my mucus plug and my water bag was bulging. Andrea checked my cervix and i was dilated to 6 Cm's and 100 percent effaced. Dr. wheeler wanted to break my water bag but they wanted to make me as comfortable as possible first. so Andrea paged the anesthesiologist and within 15 minutes he arrived with my epidural. i sat up and leaned over a pillow . Tyler stood in front of me and talked me through what the anesthesiologist was doing. right before the initial poke of the epidural i had an intense contraction that made me flinch. the anesthesiologist told me not to move while he tried to straighten the needle back out. it was excruciating and i struggled to get a good breath. things became fuzzy very fast and i told Tyler right away that i felt faint and that if i didn't lay down i would pass out quick. he supported my shoulders and held my weight as i tried to relax and take some deep breaths. once the epi was placed i was able to lay down. the nausea and dizziness didn't go away like the anesthesiologist had said it would. it was getting worse.. and fast. my vision went blurry and i remember Andrea turning me on my side and telling another nurse to get the doctor quick. i laid in a total haze not really sure what was going on. i saw Dr. wheeler rush in and give a few orders to the nurses. oxygen was placed over my mouth and nose. Dr. wheeler asked me if i knew my name and birth date and i was able to reply just fine. while i laid on my side and breathed in the oxygen, Andrea and Dr. wheeler walked outside to discuss what had happened.

it was determined that the anesthesiologist had accidentally overdosed my initial injection of medication causing a reaction. my heart rate had dropped really fast causing the baby to panic and try to compensate. the baby was very distressed and her heart rate had dropped dangerously low. at that point Dr. wheeler decided we had to wait until we were both more stable to break my water. i was sweating from everything my body had been through but according to poor Tyler it was freezing in the delivery room. he picked up the extra blanket i had shed off me after the epidural and wrapped himself up in it. it was good for a laugh.

an hour passed before we were able to move forward and break my water. Andrea came in and made me hold my breath for 10 second to see how i would do if i had to push. we had to more near fainting episodes before Dr. wheeler gave us the green light. he broke my water at 11:00 p.m. and informed me that there had been feces in my water bag which indicated that the baby had been under such severe stress that she pooped. if we hadn't moved forward and broken my water when we did... she could have choked on it and died. while Tyler ran down to the lobby to get an energy drink, Dr. wheeler checked me again and i was 9 and 1/2 Cm's and completely effaced. it was time to get ready to start pushing. Andrea took my vitals one last time before we got everything ready for the baby.

Tyler and i got to spend a few quiet moments together before i got ready to push.

Andrea and Tyler helped me sit up while the other nurses and Dr. wheeler made preparations for the baby. Tyler and i were so excited we could barely contain ourselves. it was almost over. we were so close to meeting our baby girl!

Dr. wheeler

once everything was ready, we decided who would be present and who would stand where. mom held my right leg and another nurse held my left, while Tyler helped hold my back when i leaned up to push. Andrea was trying to tell me when i was having contractions but the monitor kept slipping off. they cut my epidural in half so i could feel my contractions coming on and the pressure of where our baby was. i pushed for an hour and a half before our baby girl started to emerge. Tyler decided he wanted to see her come into the world. Tyler watched patiently and coached me, encouraged me. another half hour passed and i was getting exhausted. Andrea couldn't find the babies heart rate and everything started moving VERY fast. Dr wheeler changed and grabbed for the tray that was next to him. he told me they had to do an emergency episiotomy. it felt like my world was slowing down. Dr. wheeler looked straight at me and told me "you need to get her out now." terrified our baby girl wouldn't make it, i sat up and pushed with everything i had.

four pushes later i felt her being laid on my chest.

i quickly noticed she wasn't breathing. the nurses were on it and whisked her away to work on her. Tyler followed her to the baby warmer and watched them work on her while my mother stayed with me. i was hemorrhaging and Dr. wheeler was stitching me up. i looked over and watched Tyler and the nurses crowded around our little girl. they removed two big viles of fluid from her lungs and i heard her cry for the very first time. i was so relieved.