{Oliver Cash is HERE!!!}

Oliver Cash Vinograd
Born: February 17, 2012 at 6:28 pm
6 lbs 4 oz, 19 " long

Whoa!!! That was a whirlwind of soooo much awesomeness, I can't even describe it. I have been m.i.a on here because our little guy made his arrival and I have been soaking him in ever since. I am in contact with most of the (3) people that read this blog, but I thought it would be fun to type up the story of his birth so that I don't forget anything about it. It-Was-Amazing! Here we go.....

My due date (Feb. 15th) came and went and I tried not to be too grumpy about it. I got a mani/pedi and that seemed to help. I had my 40 week appt the next day (the 16th) and she checked my cervix - dilated only to 1.5 cm. After my exam, I felt the usual crampiness, and went about my day. I got in bed around midnight that night, and woke up at 4 am to use the restroom. It occurred to me then that my water might be leaking. I got back in bed and fell back asleep (I wasn't quite sure if it just as a result of my exam the day before, or if it was something different). At 6 am, I woke up to what was almost certainly water leaking. I called the dr and she told me to come in. I hopped in the shower and at that point the contractions really became noticeable. I guess my usual "crampiness" was a little more than usual, and at this point, they were very noticeable and getting stronger. We got in the car and headed for the hospital.

Once I got there, they determined that my water was in fact leaking, and that my contractions were 30-45 seconds long and about 3 minutes apart. At this point they started to be quite painful, and I found myself breathing through them and cringing. I got admitted and they gave me my IV. They gave me some pain medicine to "take the edge off" and it definitely worked. I could still feel everything, but it was sort of tolerable.

Here I am "tolerating" the pain and getting ready for what was to come....


The doctor came in to check my dilation, and as soon as she put her hand in me, my water came pouring out. It -- felt -- weird! lol! Very warm and very weird! One interesting thing was that there was "meconium" in the water, which meant that our little guy had had a bowel movement in my womb (due to contractions and the stress of the situation), so once he was born, the NICU team was going to have to suction him really well before bringing him to me to be sure that he hadn't aspirated any of it into his lungs. It could be dangerous and cause infection. I knew we were in good hands though, so I was sure he was going to be ok.

The doctor determined that I was dilated to 4 cm at this point and that I was ready to get my epidural. "THANK GOD" I thought to myself, because at this point, I was hurting and was having a hard time staying in the moment. The doctor went out to find the anesthesiologist, only to find out that he was in the middle of a c-section and wasn't going to be able to get to me for at least an hour. AN HOUR!!!! ONE WHOLE HOUR!!!?? Now that my water had broken, my contractions were even stronger, and I could NOT fathom waiting a whole HOUR for relief. But alas, that was what I had to do....and . . . . it . . . . was . . . . ROUGH! I have never been in so much pain in my life. Honestly. I was at my wits end. I didn't even really cry because that wouldn't help. I was just miserable and wanted so badly to feel some relief. By the time the anesthesiologist came in, I felt like my head was spinning round and round. I was in AGONY! My poor sweet husband was crying for me and wished that he could take the pain away. He was super supportive and helpful and I will always be grateful for that. The anesthesiologist worked as slow as molasses unfortunately, but once I had my epidural I could take a deep breath and relax. It felt soooo much better and I was ready to bring my little guy into this world. It turned out that in the hour that we waited for the epidural to come, I had dilated from 4 cm to 8 cm. Crazy. If I never feel that intense pain again it will be WAY too soon!

I finally got to 10 cm, and it was time to push. My husband and my sister were the two people that I wanted in the room with me and thank goodness they were there. They were such a big help. They held my numb tree trunk legs and told me I was doing a good job when I felt like I was going to have to push forever.

Here is my adorable husband taking a break between contractions/pushing....
He was SO excited. I'll never forget the look on his face when Oliver's head started to come out. He thought he would be too squeamish to look, but he wasn't. He watched everything and is so glad he did....it's such a miracle.

After 1 hr and 15 minutes worth of pushing, out little guy was here....
The chord was wrapped around his neck in a bizarre figure 8 that my doctor had never seen before, so he was a little pale looking at first and had a "deer in headlights" expression on his face. Once I held him, he pinked right up.

Once he was born, I felt an immediate sense of calm and peace. Not only was he out, so I was able to take a deep breath (which I hadn't been able to do in a long time), but I felt so happy and euphoric knowing that our little guy was here with us and that our journey as parents was beginning. It was one of the best feelings that I have ever felt. Truly. Nothing compares.

Josh's mom was a nursing supervisor for years, so she was glad to know that the suctioning went well, and he would have no issues from the meconium...
And then, he came to me, and we snuggled and warmed up together....
It was INSTANT love. Instant.

Oliver is the first newborn that my husband has ever held, and he is a natural already. He is such a happy Papa....

and I am such a happy mama.

My husband is too sweet for words and got me this beautiful "push present" . . . a Tiffany & Co. "O" for Oliver....
SO pretty!

Auntie Ali was in love instantly too.....can you tell....?

and he was VERY cozy and content in her arms.

They took VERY good care of us in the hospital, but by the time Sunday came, we were definitely ready to go home. Here is our guy ready to go (of course all of the outfits I brought for him were HUGE!! This was the best we could do)...

And we were off!! :)


Oliver is settling in just fine. Here he is meeting Sadie for the first time...


He loves all of his baby gadgets so far. Here he is in his swing...

..and although he sleeps a lot, he is one wide-eyed little baby...
We have had a ton of visitors, and sooo many people have showed their love and support for us. People have sent gifts - handmade, store bought, and edible - and have been so loving. We are such a lucky little family. The word thank you is an understatement, but I will say it anyway --

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you. We are so lucky to have our new little miracle and look forward to all that this adventure has in store.

(Last 3 photos by Bubba-Loo Photography)

xo

-L