Olivia Rebecca Hughes, our precious little girl, arrived on Monday, August 1, 2011 at 37 weeks 0 days weighing in at 5 lb. 15 oz. and 20 in. long

July 31, 2011 and August 1, 2011 are two days I will never forget as long as I live. The boys were still in Wilmington at their Mimi's house so Aaron and I were taking full advantage of having a break. We woke up Sunday morning and did yard work.... and yes.. I somehow convinced him to let me cut the front yard.. I jokingly said that I was sure it would put me into labor... After the yard work we decided to go get some lunch and then to get a few more things "just in case" Olivia decided to come early.... Once we got home that afternoon it was walking time... I had been making Aaron walk miles and miles with me the whole time the boys were gone... so off to the golf course we went.. and we walked, and walked, and walked.... a total of 5 miles... We got back into the house around 8:00 p.m and surprisingly I wasn't tired... and so at around 9:15 my tummy started getting a little tight every so often... Aaron and I were watching The Proposal on t.v. and at around 10:15 the tightness in my tummy was still coming every 7 to 9 minutes but now it was starting to hurt a little. I remember telling Aaron to start recording the times because they seemed to come a little quicker and last a little longer... At around midnight they were coming every 5-7 minutes and they were full blown period cramps. I took a shower to see if that would make them go away but NOPE.. They were still coming. At 1 a.m I told Aaron that if he was planning on getting any sleep he better do it now because if I was still getting contractions by 3 am we were headed to the hospital... I snapped a picture at around 2:15 of a contraction that made my stomach look like Mt. Rushmore... It was huge.. (see for yourself)

so at 3 a.m I woke him up because they were getting painful and the contractions were coming every 5 minutes.. So I called the doctor and he said to head on in to the hospital....so we got our bags together and got in the car... It was 3:17 a.m. when we loaded up...

At this point I think we were both still numb at the thought that this could be "it!" After all, I had never gone into labor on my own. I was induced with both boys so I had NO clue what it felt like to go into labor...and neither did Aaron... I think we were waiting for my water to just break and gush everywhere or for me to wake up in horrific pain to where I would make him drive like a bat out of hell to get me to the hospital in time... but that isn't how it happened at all.

We joked the whole way to the hospital while still tracking my contractions; because even though they didn't feel good, I wasn't dying either... Once we got to the hospital we went upstairs and checked in. They then got me into a triag room where they quickly hooked me up to monitors. One for Olivia's heartbeat and the other one for my contractions. At this point the contractions were every 3 minutes but still not unnbearable. I could still talk through them atleast. The nurse came in and checked me at around 4:45 a.m and I was at 1 1/2 cm which isn't much change from the doctor the Friday before when I was 1 cm. So the conclusion was to have me walk the halls for an hour since my contractions were still coming every 3 minutes. After my walk if there was change, I would be admitted and put in a delivery room.

So walking we went at around 5:15 am.... and let me tell you.. walking for an hour in a hospital seems alot longer than walking for an hour at home... It was boring, I had on a nightgown that I swear is meant for women who weigh 500 pounds, and I had to constantly smell that hospital smell... Eeewwww... My contractions were still coming every 3 minutes but walking seemed to ease the pain almost to the point of me not even realizing I was having contractions... This made me nervous because at this point I didn't want to go home. I was already at the hospital so I didn't want them to check me after my walk and say that I was in "false labor" and then send me back home...

After our walk I was really anxious and nervous... I didn't feel any different other than my contractions were still coming on a consistant basis. When I got back to my room in the triag unit and laid down, the contractions started HURTING... like a 5 on a scale 1-10... I remember telling Aaron that there was no way in hell I was going back home in this pain.. this HAD to be labor... Either that or I was a wuss when it came to pain.. At around 6:30 the nurse came back in and checked me again... the moment of truth.. Was I was wuss or was I actually in labor at 37 weeks 0 days??

I WAS IN LABOR!! I was a full 3 cm and I was 70% effaced. This meant we weren't leaving. We would be staying until little Olivia was born. So we called our parents to let them know what was going on all while we were still in a state of shock that this was actually it.. We were going to be holding our little girl at some point today.

Monday had to have been baby day at the hospital because we weren't placed in a delivery room until after 11 am. The girl in the room beside me in the triag unit actually delivered in the triag unit in her clothes... yeap... it was crazy.. there were nurses running around everywhere.. I kept envisioning giving birth without an epidural in the triag unit and I cringed everytime my mind went there... NO THANK YOU!!

At around noon the doctor came in and I was at 5 cm 80%effaced so he broke my water. At this point I still hadn't gotten the epidural because I was scared if I got it too early it would wear off... (I learned that lesson with Evan.) so I held off as long as I could... I got the epidural at 1:15 p.m.

By 2:00 I hadn't changed so they were going to send the doctor in to check me at 3:00. At 3:00 there was still no change so we decided to start a little pitocin... and let me tell you... a little pitocin goes a LONG way.. I ended up not getting the pitocin until around 5:50 because there was an emergency situation in a room down the hall that somehow required the assistance of every damn nurse in the building... I wasn't too happy about that because that meant 2 more hours of NO progress for me which meant two more hours of the epidural wearing off.....and texting....and goofing off....and facebook...

Finally.. at 5:55 the pitocin started dripping in my I.V. By 6:15 (a measily 20 minutes) I told the nurse that I had to push... She looked like a deer in headlights... so she came to check me and sure enough I had gone from 5cm to 9 1/2 cm in less than half an hour.. She told me NOT to push because she had to get everything set up along with getting my doctor in the room... so through every contraction from that point on I was directed to "just breathe" through it... Ummm... yeah.. not so easy to do when you feel like a watermelon is trying to escape from your crotch...

but I somehow managed to do it and at 6:29 my doctor walked through the door.. Thank you Lord.. They quickly got me prepped to push and told me on my next contraction to push... A minute went by and the next contraction started so I told them I was going to push. As I took the breath in to push the doctor said to stop and just relax... (Huh?? Why don't I need to push??) Then all I remember Aaron saying is her head was out.. I didn't believe him until I looked down and there she was.. Our precious little girl was here... She was really here..

Olivia Rebecca Hughes welcomed the world on Monday, August 1, 2011 at 6:34 p.m weighing in at 5 lb. 15 oz and 20 inches long.

I just fell in love all over again. Words can't even begin to describe the overwhelming joy when she was placed in my arms for the first time. It was an instant love that I will hold close and dear to my heart forever. It is somehow a different love than I felt with my boys. Not a deeper love by any means, but just different. Almost as if she is more fragile and needs more delicate care and attention.

We were blessed to have some family share in our joyous day and thankful to God that they were able to see little Olivia as she not only warmed our hearts but also expanded our hearts a little more!!

After delivery, things stayed smooth sailing thank goodness. We were taken to our recovery room around 10 pm where I was finally able to eat.... and then we got some sleep. I wasn't planning on Olivia sleeping in our room the first night but she did... I'm a sucker... plus I'm breast feeding and with her being so small to begin with she needed all the food she could get.. Much to my surprise, she slept for almost 6 hours straight... The nurse had to come in and wake us both up so she could eat..

Then it was time for the boys to meet their sister. They came home the next day and much to my surprise Landon was more fascinated with her than Evan was. I think Evan was scared that he would hurt her because she is so little. Landon on the other hand just loved on her the whole time he was there... It was precious and so sweet!!

Then it was time to go home!!! Yah!!! What an exciting time!! After over 48 hours in a hospital from start to finish I was beyond ready to go home and sleep in my own bed..(on my belly too!!) So after Olivia got all dolled up and we got our discharge papers, we headed home!!!

I had to take a picture of Aaron driving home because I SWEAR to you this will be the one and only time that I catch him driving 60 miles an hour on the interstate.. He says it's because he had precious cargo in the car....but he never drives that "safe" with just me in the car.. hehe!!

Now that we have been home for two days, it seems like my life is ALOT more hectic. I'm so thankful Aaron's mom was here to help, that his sister is still here helping out with the boys and housework, and that my mom is coming today!! Yah!! Although little Olivia is sleeping like a champ for her mommy, life as we knew it is over. There are now 5 of us, my two boys still need their mommy, my husband still needs his wife, Olivia depends on me alone, and quite honestly it is a bit overwhelming. I love every second of it and I wouldn't change any of it (well maybe the after pains, the back ache, the sore boobs, etc...) but I am extremely blessed to have been given the chance to be the mommy to three beautiful children, have an amazing husband, and to have such great family and friends.
I am hoping that the time will slow down a little so that I can enjoy this baby stage with my little girl. It makes me cry every time I think about her growing up so fast. This is it for us so I don't really care if I hold her too much, let her sleep in my bed too often, or just stare into her eyes for hours at a time. This precious thing called life amazes me and I am going to soak it all in.

I do have to brag just a little about my sweet gal. We had her newborn pictures made on Thursday and I have to tell you that she is just a natural in front of the camera..hehe!! I am sure the pictures are going to turn out just beautiful and the photographer was nice enough to send us a sneak peak... take a look for yourself.. Isn't she just beautiful?? You would have never known from the picture that we were in the studio for over 5 hours.... and my husband didn't complain one time.. Afterwards we both laughed that she has got him wrapped around her little finger already because under no other circumstances would he have EVER lasted in a photographer's studio for over 5 hours....

Here are some other pictures of us and our sweet little girl..After all, there can never be too many pictures of little miss Olivia Rebecca!!

I'm going to end this post with a sweet reminder that I got this morning as I was feeding Olivia in her rocking chair... It was around 5 a.m. (yes, she slept from 11pm-5am without waking up once!!) and as I was feeding her my mind drifted off to my grandma and how proud she would be not only of me but at the fact that she had a great granddaughter.. As my eyes filled up with tears and they streamed down my face, I noticed something on Olivia's door. I didn't pay it much attention until we were walking out of the door after her feeding. It was then that I realized what it was. I just closed my eyes, said thank you to God, and I blew my grandma a kiss. I haven't been able to find this little ladybug all day, but I did take a picture of her and I know that it was my grandma's gentle way of telling me that she was here and that she loved us all... Sweet Dreams Pretty Girl!!