Angel Baby

Oliver Hinckley Prickett came on March 4, 2013. He was delivered at 11:32 pm and weighed 3 lbs 3 oz and was 15.5 inches long. I wish that this could be a joyous post with stories of delivery and how life has changed since our bundle of joy came into our lives. However, this is not the case. Our sweet baby boy has returned to heaven. When Oliver was born the umbilical cord was wrapped tightly around his neck two times. We also found out later that there was part of the cord wrapped around one of his ankles as well. A few days before his delivery, I noticed that I was not feeling movement from him. At first, I pushed this away, thinking I was just a paranoid first time mother and I should just wait 5 more days till my appointment. As the days continued, I realized that I was definitely not feeling any movement and I decided it was time to go see the doctor. Early that morning after taking Navie to school, I went to the hospital. The nurse was going to hook me up to the monitor to check on baby boy and it was then that I knew something was wrong for sure. She placed the monitor on my stomach and nothing. She moved all around and we could pick up nothing but my own pulse. Oliver’s heartbeat had always been easy to find. I knew this was not good. The doctor came in and tried to find the heartbeat as well and he had no luck either so an ultrasound was ordered. We waited for the tech to arrive and seconds after she placed the thing-a-ma-jig on my stomach I could see on the doctor’s face that something was most assuredly wrong. He then told me that he could see the baby’s heart and there was no movement from his heart. Now you would think that at this moment, I would be hysterical. Here is where the beauty comes into this sad story. The night before I went to the hospital, I was a mess. But ultimately before falling asleep, I knew everything would be okay. I was filled with peace. Jason and I said a prayer together and I listened to some Mo-Tab to clear my head. I heard the song, “I Feel My Savior’s Love” and in that moment I most certainly did and I haven’t lost that feeling (much) since that night. After hearing from the doctor that our baby was gone, I had to pass the news on to Jason. He was at Bartow Hospital for his first day of residency at that location. He was able to come right home and it was time to figure out what to do with Navie for the night and the next day. One of Jason’s best friends lives about 2 hours from us with his new wife so we called him and he came and picked Navie up. It was wonderful to know that she was well taken care of so that I didn’t have to worry about her. I called my parents and they were ready to get on a plane the next morning. Then it was time for Jason and I to go back to the hospital and deliver our baby. I didn’t know what in the world I was going to do. My birthing classes were supposed to start three days after Oliver was delivered. I was terrified about how long I might be in labor since I was obviously going to be induced and this was my first baby. We checked in just before 6:00 pm and my IV began to drip, oh and I was already dilated to a 2. The first 2 hours, we just sat in the hospital room. Neither of us knew what to think or do. The nurse was telling me that I was having contractions but I didn’t really feel any pain, just a tightening in my stomach. Then it was time for “The Bachelor.” So Jason endured the episode with me as my contractions became for painful and I made constant trips to the “potty.” Shortly after the Bachelor ended, I decided that I could feel pain now with my contractions. So I informed the nurse that I was ready to try some pain relief. I was dilated to almost 5 at this point and she said it would probably be best to get the epidural now so that it could be most effective for later. As we had this conversation, the pain just got worse and worse and by the time they brought in the anesthesiologist (like 10 minutes later) I was very pleased with my decision to have the epidural. As I’m getting the epidural I was in the most pain of the whole process. By the time the epidural was placed I had the feeling that I wanted to push so I said this out loud. The nurse immediately decides to check me and sure enough I was a 10. It was time to push. I couldn’t believe this. In less than an hour I dilated 5 cm. The big moment had arrived whether I was ready or not. I got a small dose of medicine in my epidural and the doc was there to deliver the babe. About 4 or 5 pushes later, Oliver was out and I was beaming because I had given birth and I was minutes away from seeing and holding our tiny boy who I had waited months for. Oliver got a bath and then we got to spend the next 2 hours with him before I was just too exhausted. Oliver had a full head of dark hair and the most perfect little nose, fingers, and toes and he had perfect little ears. Holding Oliver was just what we needed. Although we were devastated that this beautiful baby was no longer coming home with us, we were filled with peace snuggling him in our arms. We spent the majority of the next day with Oliver and finally came up with the name and we introduced him to my parents. There is also a wonderful company of volunteers who take pictures for families in this situation and a photographer came to document our short time with Oliver. She did a fabulous job and now we can have those precious moments to see and remember for a lifetime. I don’t know exactly how all the details of the plan work entirely but I know that we will be reunited one day. I look forward with hope to raising my baby…someday. Heavenly Father loves me and the prayers of our family and friends have blessed me with strength to carry on. We appreciate all the love and support that we have received throughout this whole process.