First Week at Home

It sure does take a lot of adjustments having a little one in the house. My mom came over for a couple days to help out which was really nice. She made us dinner and cleaned the house. She also hung out with Nathan for a few hours in the morning, so Steve and I could sleep. People were right when they said that we wouldn't get much sleep.

Our first week was made a little more exciting when we found out we needed to go back to the hospital on Friday, so Nathan could go under the bili lights. When we left the hospital on the Sunday after he was born, the pediatrician told us that Nathan's bilirubin was a little high and after a couple more visits to the pediatrician that week, the doctor decided he better go into the hospital overnight to bring his bilirubin levels down. My mom and aunt Debbie were visiting that day, and I was thankful they were there, because they were supportive and assured me that everything was going to be okay. We were stressed out because as new parents you want everything to be perfect, but we realized that in the scheme of things, this was not very critical and we knew Nathan would be just fine. We checked into the hospital on Friday evening and by the next morning his levels had come down enough that we were able to go home around noon on Saturday. After another night of not much sleep, we were happy to go home again, and we were thankful that Nathan was healthy and strong.

Nathan getting his first "tan"

Bringing Home Baby

Nathan had a lot of visitors in the hospital. It was awesome to have so many people come and see him, and it made the time in the hospital go by fast. We checked out of the hospital on Sunday in the early afternoon. It was so exciting to take our little guy home. We showed him his nursery and settled in for our first night together as a family. I wasn't nearly as nervous as I thought I might be with bringing home such a huge responsibility. It's crazy to think that Nathan is so dependent on me and Steve to care for his every need, but God somehow prepares us for this great responsibility and gave us the confidence to be comfortable with having a new life to take care of.

My Birth Story

My day started with going to work in the morning for a few hours. I hadn't slept well the night before and just couldn't seem to get comfortable that morning which had a few people at work convinced that I was going to go into labor soon. I had a Dr.'s appointment at 11:00. At that time I was dilated to 2 cm. I went back to work until lunch, then headed home. I was only home about an hour when I started feeling the contractions. I decided to page Steve to come home early. Even though the contractions weren't very consistent, I still didn't want to be alone. Steve got home around 4:00, and we decided to go on a walk around the neighborhood. It was nice to be out in the fresh air, and they say that walking helps to move things along when you're in labor. My mom decided that it might be better to get on a ferry and head over so she wouldn't risk missing the big event. She got to the house sometime around 7. I was so thankful to have her there, because Steve had come down with a cold and was really not feeling well at all. He ended up going upstairs and getting some rest, and my mom hung out with me, giving me back rubs, taking care of me, and telling me that yes, that is another contraction, you better start timing them. At about midnight, the contractions were coming pretty closes together, sometimes 2-3 minutes apart, so it put us all in a bit of a panic mode, hoping that we could get to the hospital fast. By the time, we got all checked into the hospital, the contractions did slow down a bit, and I was thankful to be there.

My birth experience at Swedish was wonderful. I was so thankful for an awesome L&D nurse and a great OB doctor and staff. I couldn't have asked for anything better. As you probably already read, yes, I did get the epidural and was so relieved to FINALLY get it. It took quite awhile for the anesthesiologist to arrive, so I had to breath through quite a few intense contractions. All I have to say is that epidurals are AMAZING. Not long after receiving the epidural, they checked me and said I was fully dilated and could start pushing at any time. I decided to "labor down" for about an hour. This allowed me to get a little bit of rest before I had to really push. After an hour of active pushing, Nathan made his way into this world. It puts tears in my eyes thinking about the moment that they placed Nathan on my chest. All I could think was how beautiful and perfect he was. What an awesome gift from God! I see Nathan as our little miracle and having him in our lives is an absolute joy. Steve and my mom were a great support to me through the whole process. I'm so thankful that they were both there by my side throughout the entire process. Steve and my mom made all the calls to friends and family to let them know about our little arrival. My dad was Nathan's first visitor. He got there shortly after Nathan was born while we were still in the delivery room.

Proud new Grandma Ollos

Proud new Grandpa Ollos

Joana went into labor around 3pm on Friday, and her contractions did not become consistent until midnight. We called the hospital to let them know we were on our way. We got into the birthing suite around 1am, and Joana started having really hard contractions. Her water broke around 3am, and she got an epidural around 4:30am. Nathan James came into this world at 6:37am. He was 8 pounds 4.8 ounces, and he was 21 inches long. The placenta was not as nasty as I thought.