Finally!

Baby Olivia Maree arrived last night, July 16th, a few minutes after 8 p.m. weighing 8 lbs 13 oz's and 20 1/2 inches long! She's a big baby! You can see in the photos how chubby her cheeks are and she's already got rolls on her little legs! We can't tell yet who she looks like. Her hair is light brown and she's very pink.

As I was leaving Walmart yesterday afternoon around 2:30 with a cart full groceries, my cell phone rang. It was Melissa calling to let me know that her water had broken and she was on the way to the hospital. She sounded pretty calm at first then anxiously stated that she didn't want to go! I rushed home and unpacked the groceries then headed down the road to the hospital an hour away. Dave had to go to work so he couldn't go with me. I got there in plenty of time to be a part of all the action.


Melissa decided long ago that she would have a natural birth if possible. She endured the intense labor amazingly! I was lucky enough to be able to stay in the room as part of the photography and moral support team. Also in the room were Elliott (obviously), Melanie, Sandra (a.k.a. Guh-Guh) and Julie. Julie shot video and I took still shots. Melanie served as the birthing coach which she's been able to do for a few of her friends and she did a great job! Sandra had a hard time knowing that her baby (Melissa) was in so much pain but she stayed very calm.

Melissa sees Olivia for the first time after leaving the recovery room.

We took bets with the nurse that the baby would arrive by 8 p.m. Everything was going along very well until the time came to start pushing. Unfortunately the baby's heart rate began to drop and after checking the baby's vitals with an internal monitor, the midwife quickly determined that a C-section would be necessary. The next few minutes proved a bit scary with all the hospital staff hurrying around the room getting Melissa ready for surgery as quickly as possible. We could hear the announcements over the intercom and the staff talking with each other in the hallway which heightened our anxiety. Everything happened so fast. Because Melissa had not had any drugs up to this point and because there wasn't enough time to do a spinal the anesthesiologist had to put her completely to sleep. Elliott was able to stay with Melissa until she was under but then had to step out of the operating room. All of the hospital staff were great and they acted very quickly. The baby was out in less than five minutes and we could immediately hear how strong her lungs are.

Here's Aunt Melanie staying with Olivia in the nursery so that Elliott can be with Melissa in the recovery room.

As it turns out Melissa was destined to have a C-section because the cord was wrapped around the baby's neck TWICE! We had to wait for Melissa to wake up to find out if the baby was a boy or a girl. Both Melissa and Olivia are doing great today, though Melissa is in a fair amount of pain from her surgery and says adoption sounds like a great idea for any future children. One thing is for sure: Melissa gave her mom the best birthday present ever!