Olivia’s Birth Story

I feel very fortunate to be able to say I have given birth to three healthy, beautiful babies without any type of medical or pain intervention. I’ve had three vaginal deliveries with no pain meds. After Maggie’s birth, I wondered if my other two would be easier, but there’s really no way to not feel the pain. If anyone says “it doesn’t hurt” they’re lying to you or they had some great pain meds. Every time it hurt. A LOT. But in the midst of the pain there are so many beautiful moments that really moved me.

For those who do not know, my husband and I suffered a miscarriage before Maggie was born. On top of that, we struggled with infertility for two years. So when we got pregnant each time it felt like a bit of a miracle. Olivia was the first baby we conceived NATURALLY (besides our first baby that we lost). I had hoped we wouldn’t need any sort of medication to get pregnant with her and while it was a COMPLETE SURPRISE that we were pregnant, it was also such a blessing to know I didn’t have to deal with any of the fertility stuff to get pregnant with her.

With each one of my kids I had songs picked for them. It started with Maggie because I wanted to sing a song to her after she was born and I didn’t want it to be just any old song that popped into my head. For each of my kids there was a special moment when I heard the song and just felt like it was for them or in their honor. With Olivia, I was driving in the car on the way to a wedding when the song came on my Amazon Music station that played songs I might like. The song had me from the very first words and all I could think of was how thankful I am for all of my babies. There was a time I wasn’t sure I would every have children, and now I have three beautiful babies.

All my words fall short
I’ve got nothing new

How I could I express all my gratitude?

I seriously just began to weep in the car. The song continued playing and it just became such a profound time of worship. It’s really hard to explain the emotions that I was feeling. I had always hoped I would have three children and now I was in a place where I was just a couple of months short of bringing our Olivia into the world. Gratitude was DEFINITELY the way my heart felt. It was the perfect word and I knew that this was Olivia’s song.

Birth Story

The day after my due date I went into my OBGYN for a regular check to make sure everything was good. I had really hoped I wouldn’t even go to that appointment. I was 11 days late with Maggie and 1 day early with Isaac, so I hoped I would be early this time around too…but no luck. They asked if I wanted to go into labor naturally and because I had such a good induction experience with Maggie I told them I was down for whatever! So, they put me on the list for induction and told me they would probably call today or tomorrow if I hadn’t gone into labor already.

Jordan and I went out to lunch since my mom was already watching the kids and we got the phone call! We were just starting to eat our lunch and they told me I could come in at whatever time. So, we finished up our lunch, went to the store to get some presents for our older kiddos “from Olivia”, and we were off to have a baby!

When we got to the hospital we found out a longtime friend of ours, who Jordan and I both grew up with in church, wife was working in the maternity wing and wanted to know if we wanted to have her as our nurse. WE WERE THRILLED! She was our nurse when I was in the hospital for Maggie, but Maggie came a few hours after her shift ended and we were so bummed. So, I was determined to give birth to this baby before her shift ended.

I was already about 3.5cm dilated before I was given the induction meds. So, I was already headed in the right direction. After a couple of hours I started to feel the contractions and I listened to worship music as Jordan used a massager on my lower back. He did this for the duration of my labor and it was GREAT. I have lots of back labor so this was a huge help. I cried so much during this labor and it wasn’t all because of the pain. A lot of the tears were because of so much joy and thankfulness I felt. It was another time of worship for me as I waited for our little Olivia.

If you haven’t read my other birth stories you should know that my labors tend to go quickly. I was only in labor for a couple of hours. We found out once we got to the hospital that one of our moms could be there and we were so happy! Both of our moms were there for Maggie and Isaac’s births, so I was really sad when I thought they couldn’t be there for Olivia. We weren’t able to have Jordan’s mom in the room with us, but it was nice to have my mom there to help. She gave me lots of ice, which was really helpful because my mouth was dry A LOT during this birth.

I gave birth to my other two kids lying on the bed and I had some minor issues with Isaac getting a little stuck. So, I really wanted to try a different birth position this time. I was able to get on the floor on a mat. I basically gave birth like an animal would! ha! I was down on all fours and leaning on a ball. I really learned my own strength because I wasn’t lying on a bed this time. I was supporting all of my own weight and each contraction and push was really tough.

After lots of strong contractions I really felt like I needed to push and my nurses and midwife were really great about letting me do what I felt like my body needed to do. Honestly, everyone in the room was incredibly encouraging and they all really helped me get through the pain. After a couple of pushes they were telling me her head was out! They could actually hear her beginning to cry before the rest of her body was out, which was just so crazy to me. You may think the head is the worst part of the delivery, but the shoulders are a whole different kind of pain. Once her head was out I thought I was done, but I still had to push her shoulders out! I swear her shoulders were huge!

One last push and she was FINALLY OUT! Then I had SO MANY TEARS of thankfulness and gratitude, because I am pretty sure I won’t be going through any of that again! We’re pretty sure Olivia is the last of our babies, so there was a huge relief when I realized I would never have to feel that pain again!

I just held her in my arms and my friend was there with me too. Her song was playing just before she was born too. It felt so right.

(My friend Alehson was able to be there with me and experience this beauty with me)

(Me worshiping and so filled with gratitude)

(Holding Mama’s finger)

All of my kids’ births were different, special, scary, and beautiful in their own ways. I am so in awe of the miracle of pregnancy and birth every single time and I am in awe as I snuggle with my 2.5 month old as I type this story right now. God is so good. Thank you Lord for these children you have entrusted to me. I don’t deserve it and I am so thankful you gave them to me. I could never fully express my gratitude.

Here is the rest of Olivia’s Song. If you have ever experienced this type of Gratitude, I’m not sure you will be able to listen to this song without it being a worshipful experience for you.

Gratitude by Brandon Lake

All my words fall short
I got nothing new
How could I express
All my gratitude?

I could sing these songs
As I often do
But every song must end
And You never do

So I throw up my hands
And praise You again and again
‘Cause all that I have is a hallelujah
Hallelujah

And I know it’s not much
But I’ve nothing else fit for a King
Except for a heart singing hallelujah
Hallelujah

I’ve got one response
I’ve got just one move
With my arm stretched wide
I will worship You

So I throw up my hands
And praise You again and again
‘Cause all that I have is a hallelujah
Hallelujah

And I know it’s not much
But I’ve nothing else fit for a King
Except for a heart singing hallelujah
Hallelujah

So come on, my soul
Oh, don’t you get shy on me
Lift up your song
‘Cause you’ve got a lion inside of those lungs
Get up and praise the Lord

Come on, my soul
Oh, don’t you get shy on me
Lift up your song
‘Cause you’ve got a lion inside of those lungs
Get up and praise the Lord

Praise the Lord
Praise the Lord

Praise the Lord

So I throw up my hands
Praise You again and again
‘Cause all that I have is a hallelujah
Hallelujah

And I know it’s not much
But I’ve nothing else fit for a King
Except for a heart singing hallelujah
Hallelujah