Just in case anyone out there doesn't know the story of Oliver's birth, here it is. I was due on January 25th, 2009 with out first baby and everything was going very smoothly - I was feeling good and not having too many pregnancy issues. That is, everything was going smoothly until December 17th when I went to the doctor and found out my blood pressure was high. I was also measuring too big for the dates, so I was sent for an ultrasound a few days later. I was also put on bed rest to see if that helped lower my blood pressure. We had the ultrasound done on December 19th and found out that our baby was huge! He was already over 8 pounds at 35 weeks. He was supposed to be about 5 pounds. So needless to say my blood pressure stayed high and I was told I would have to stay on bed rest until he was born. And at the rate he was going that would likely be via C-section. I was pretty stressed out by this news - particularly the extended bed rest, as I am not someone who does well sitting on the couch for too long. Luckily my Mom and two sisters came that weekend to celebrate Christmas early. My mom and Mike picked up some of the baby gear that we still needed that weekend too. I was pretty bummed that I wouldn't be able to help pick things out, as I was stuck on the couch. My sweet husband had suggested that I get a pregnancy massage after my family left, which was very relaxing! I was starting to get used to the idea of being on bedrest and trying to make the most of it - I even had a list of all the things I could do with the extra time. However, later that night at 12:45AM my water broke! Mike was pretty surprised to say the least...We hadn't packed a bag yet so we frantically grabbed some things and headed to the hospital.
The doctor said to come in right away because it had been snowing for a few days and many of the roads were closed in west seattle.We made it to the hospital and went to triage to get admitted. They hooked me up to a contraction monitor and a fetal monitor.
We were very excited to be finally meeting our little baby, but also nervous because it was 5 weeks too soon! The new father to be did an awesome job being calm and supportive during the 25 hours of labor that ensued. He even found a few minutes to get in his daily 1 mile run right after we got to the hospital!
Oliver Miles McDonell finally made his appearance at 1:26 AM on 12/23/08. They had a little difficulty getting him out seeing as how he weighed in at a whopping 8 pounds 11 ounces!
Needless to say, I was very happy to finally see my sweet baby boy and to be done with labor!
Because he was early and so big, he had some difficulty keeping his blood sugar up after birth and had to go to the NICU for a few hours. He was then transferred to the Infant Special Care Unit to make sure he was eating enough and could regulate his blood sugar on his own. We were able to stay there with him in our room and take care of him. 
They also found out that he had jaundace and he had to have light therapy before going home.
We spent Christmas in the hospital and Mike's family all came in one by one to see him and exchange presents. It was not the typical Christmas but he was the best present we could have hoped for!
We finally got to take our little bundle home on December 27th - he loves riding in the car! Luckily we had installed the car seat early...
His papa was very happy to finally have him home with us.
Since we took him home, he has been doing really well and got a clean bill of health from his pediatrician. He had gained his birth weight (and then some) back by the 2 week appointment and was doing everything he should be. Mike took 2 weeks off to be home with us and get to know his son. He has been amazing! Despite all his claims that he would not do diapers, he is now a diaper changing pro. The two of them really enjoy each other.
I have 3 months off from work and have so far been spending it sleeping whenever I can get it! He is up every 2 hours (or less!) at night and I am someone who needs sleep...We are slowly getting into a routine and getting to know each other. Oliver loves to go for walks in the sling - he goes right to sleep.
To see more photos of the little guy click here: http://picasaweb.google.com/naomi.chaytor/OliverFirstMonth?feat=directlink
Stay tuned for more updates!
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