Jacob's due date & Uncle Alan's B-day!

Today, August 26th, was Jacob's original due date. It also coincides with Steph's brothers 20th birthday. Happy Birthday, Alan! And happy one week birthday to Jake! We celebrated Jacob's birthday with a new swaddle blanket. Doesn't he look cozy?

We made it!

We survived our first week of parenthood! We got to spend the first half in the hospital and got lots of great help from our wonderful nurses and the second half of the week we spent at home, and with each day (and night) things are getting better and better. Our little Jacob had a voracious appetite from birth and was having a hard time getting satisfied before Steph's milk came in. We finally had to supplement with formula on Wednesday and Thursday using a small tube attached to Steph while Jake nursed. It helped tremendously and didn't interfere with his breastfeeding. Steph's milk came in on Friday and it has been pretty smooth sailing since then!

We are so thankful for Gigi (Steph's mom, Gloria) for all of her help. We couldn't have made it through this without her. She has helped with middle of the night feedings, changings, baths and chores around the house. We are having so much fun spending time together!

Here are some pictures since we first came home on Wednesday:

First bath at home!

This is not fun!

So sleepy!

Our little blue burrito

First outing!

Mommy loves Target!

Daddy's little slugger

Happy family

Nap time with daddy

Revisiting the popcorn shop where we took maternity pictures a few weeks ago!

Bailey testing out Jake's sunglasses

Mommy and Jacob

Chillin' with the Gloworm

Bailey watching over her new favorite baby

Tummy time!

Look how long I am!

Big yawn!

This is so fun!

Nap time with Gigi after 1st trip to the mall!

Our trip home!

We were released from the hospital the evening of Wedneday, August 22nd after Steph's doctor gave her a clean bill of health. The days following the surgery she was given lots of antibiotics to prevent uterine infection and they also had to monitor her blood pressure which kept dropping very low - 74/38 was the lowest it got at one point. After spending four nights in the hospital we were all ready to go home! Here are some pictures!

All dressed up to go home!

Daddy loves Jake's little coming home outfit

Yay! I'm so glad I get to go home!

I love my car seat!

Our family ready to go!

I was such a good boy in the car

Mommy is so happy we are home

Just the 3 of us

First time in my room with mommy!

Testing out my beautiful bassinette that my great aunt Dee let us borrow!

First diaper change at home!

More pics from the hospital!

First family photo - Monday, Aug. 20th

Jacob getting his hearing checked - he passed all the tests!



Teeny tiny baby feet

Gigi and her grandson

Jacob's Birth Story

It's been a busy week, but here is the story of our little boy's birth. Enjoy!

On Saturday, August 18th at 9:50pm I was walking around the house when my water broke. Tim and I had had a pretty active day, since we were cleaning up the house for my mom's arrival the next day. I don't know if cleaning the bathtub put me into labor, but regardless, Jacob was going to be coming into the world soon! I called my doctor's voicemail and when she called back she told me to go ahead and go to the hospital so they could make sure that I was in fact in labor since I hadn't been having any contractions. I took a quick shower and packed my bags (I STILL hadn't done that yet - whoops!) and we arrived at the hospital around 11:25pm. They took me to my room, confirmed my water did break and checked my cervix. I was only 2cm dilated and 80% effaced. Not very much progress considering when your water breaks they like to deliver the baby within 24 hours to prevent infection.

My doctor thought it would be best to try to get the labor progressing so we could get the baby out within that 24 hr time frame, so I was started on Pitocin (a drug that stimulates contractions) shortly after midnight. The contractions became progressively stronger and closer together, but I wanted to work through them without pain meds for as long as I could. I labored through the night without much sleep. I was just too anxious and excited! The pain was manageable- I just had to focus on the fact that we would be holding our son by the end of Sunday!

By morning Sunday I still hadn't made any progress and my nurse began to discuss with me that if I hadn't made enough progress by 9:30pm that we would have to go in for a c-section. We decided to start me on IV pain medication (Nubain) to possibly help relax my body enough that it would dilate more. I still held out hope that my body would do what it was supposed to do so I could deliver on my own, without surgery. It seemed like 9:30pm was still so far off and I thought certainly a c-section could be avoided.

Tim left to go check on our doggies around pick my mom up from the airport around 8:30am- she had already planned on coming into town on this day anyway, but hopped on the earlier flight once she knew I was in labor. I got some good rest while he was gone, since my pain was lessened by the Nubain.

My doctor made her rounds around 10:30am and checked my cervix. She thought I was about 2.5cm and 90% effaced. It wasn'[t much, but it was some progress! It made me even more hopeful that things would continue to move along. Dr. Tricia also did a quick ultrasound to see if there was anything else that was possibly preventing me from progressing and we found that the baby had his head turned to the side instead of down. I was told that we would begin changing my positions frequently to get him to turn.

Mom and Tim got back to the hospital just before 11am. It was a nice distraction from the labor. We got to open some lovely gifts that family members had sent from NM and took lots of pictures.

By late morning they had my Pitocin all they way to 34mL/hr (the strongest dose is 36mL/hr) and the contractions were coming hard about every minute and a half to 2 min apart. I kept trying to breathe through them, but by 1:30pm I was ready for some relief. The anesthesiologist arrived and I had my epidural at 2pm. It was heaven! I had to breathe through several contractions while they were doing it, but it was well worth it. I instantly felt better and was even more hopeful that the epi would relax me enough to help me dilate more.

The rest of the day went pretty much like the first half - no progress and increasing frustration on my end. By late afternoon/ early evening I had been on the highest dose of pitocin for hours and my body was just becoming exhausted. I had to wear an oxygen mask and they were really monitoring my blood pressure since it had been dropping fairly low. I began to have a low-grade fever and by 9:30pm we knew that c-section was our only option.

I cried because I wanted so desperately to avoid that road, but I knew it was what was best for me and the baby. They prepped me quickly for surgery and wheeled me down the hall to the operating room. Tim was allowed in shortly after they had given me the local anesthesia and were ready to go. My mom had to wait outside until we were finished. I was scared to death. I kept praying and trying to calm myself down, but I had never been in a situation like that before and it was terrifying. Tim was so great and tried everything he could to calm me down.

I was shaking and crying and once I realized that they already had me open and were pulling to get the baby out I lost it. I was feeling so much pressure and a really strong pulling sensation. My body was fighting the doctor and nurses since I was so tense and they had to ask me several times if I would like to be put to sleep. I definitely wanted to be awake for Jake's arrival so I did my best to relax.

I continued to cry but just held on to Tim's hand and breathed through the pulling and the pressure. When I heard our baby boy cry it was the most incredible sound. The tears really flowed then, and at that moment everything around me was quiet and still. All I could hear was his beautiful cry. They took the baby to the side of the room to check him and clean him up. I was able to see from the operating table and Tim followed him over there to take his first photos!

The first thing Tim said was "He looks just like your brother" which was funny because our baby was due on my younger brother's birthday, so we decided his middle namesake would be Alan after his Uncle Alan. We had been considering a few different names, but it seemed natural to go with Alan.

Jacob Alan was born on August 19th at 10:22pm, weighed 7lbs 12oz, measured 21in, and scored 9/9 on his APGARS. He is so perfect and every time I look at him I still can't believe that Tim and I created him. We love him so much and are just so proud he is our son.

Hope you enjoyed our story! Sorry it took me a week to get it out!

~Steph and the boys :)

Our baby boy is here!!!

Family and Friends, the wait is finally over! Our son Jacob Alan made his way into the world on Sunday August 19th at 10:22pm. The labor didn't go quite as planned, so we had to deliver him via c-section after 24 hours of labor. The wait was worth it though! We are so thrilled to have him here with us and are quickly adjusting to life as a family of three! We are still in the hospital monitoring Steph and making sure she doesn't have or develop any sort of infection, but we are hoping to be released later tonight or tomorrow. Jacob is perfectly healthy and are so excited to show him off to you. Click the link to see slideshows from the labor and birth. We will have plenty more in the days to come and we will post a detailed story of the birth, but for now we hope this will hold you over.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AcNW7Rk2bOXZw

Thanks for all your love, support, and prayers,

The Olson Trio- Tim, Stephanie, and Jacob

I'm back!

Hello loyal blog readers of mine! Sorry for the delay on a new entry, but things have been MUY busy here in the Olson household.

First and foremost - TIM IS HOME!!!! HOORAY! He is now doing his rehab here in McKinney and will be home for the remainder of the off season. Those of you who have talked to me know how huge of a relief this is for me. I no longer have to be worried about him not being here when I go into labor!

Second, the baby and I are doing just great! I am definitely starting to slow down and waddle more and I know my complaints have become more frequent (sorry Tim!). I had my 38 week appointment yesterday where they told me that I am back to measuring right where I should be, my blood pressure is still great, and I have gained 25lbs total. Baby's heartbeat was 134 bpm and Dr. Tricia estimated he weighs about 7lbs 4oz. She thinks he will end up being an 8 pound baby - we'll just have to wait and see! For those of you interested in the nitty gritty details - I am 1cm dilated and 50% effaced. I could stay that way for weeks though, but I am happy with some progress versus no progress. My next appointment is next Tuesday and its my last before my due date! Isn't that crazy??? I still can't believe how close we are to meeting our son. The pictures shown are my belly pics from this week - 38 weeks!

Third, we have been doing some really awesome home improvements (I really shouldn't say "we" but I have been a good cheerleader!). I will reveal them all soon, so stay tuned, and to those of you STILL waiting for the living room pictures, don't worry, those will be the first to be posted! As we speak Tim is hard at work installing a new light fixture :) Can't wait to show you all!

Be sure to check back here often in the next couple weeks. We will definitely be posting labor status updates as they come! And I promise I will be a better blogger. Things are starting to wind down and we will just be in waiting mode for our little man! Hope everyone is doing great! Take care!

~Steph

P.S. I have been meaning to post congrats to our friends Nicole & Casey on their new daughter Grace, born 4th of July, and Chad & Katie who welcomed daughter Ella on July 10th! So happy for all of you and can't wait to meet your baby girls!

Happy Happy Birthday

to TIM!!! The big 2-9. Hope you had a great day honey!