In case you don't know who I am, my name is Alex Schlindwein and I am the marketing director for Kiefer Jewelers but I'm also and more importantly the daughter of David and Wendy Hevia, owner's of Kiefer Jewelers. I found out right before the Covid-19 shut down that I was expecting my first child and the first grand baby for my parents. I knew I wanted to share my birth story and the story of my push present, not because it's really all that special but because I know that others would identify with some of the struggles that I went through. I also get questions from customers all the time about push presents so I thought what could be a better way to explain the meaning of the push present than by sharing my story. It's almost my daughter's first birthday and I can't believe it's taken me an entire year to write this blog post! But every time I have tried to sit down and write this, I end up in happy tears and I get lost in all the pictures of my baby girl. So here it goes and I'm sorry in advance for the gory and emotional details!
My Birth Story
It was Monday November 16th and our baby girl was officially 9 days late! Every morning I woke up wondering if this would be the day that we would be going to the hospital. I went into my OB/GYN office for a check-up and I started having some minor contractions while I was there. The contractions were too small and too irregular to get excited about so we scheduled to be induced on Tuesday night, November 17th. Well, late Monday night my contractions started getting more intense. They were getting more frequent so I started tracking them. The contractions would get as close as 5 minutes apart for 30 minutes at a time but then they would drop back to an irregular frequency again. I called my doctor around 5am and she suggested that we go ahead and come in and start the induction process now.
The check-in process at the hospital was not at all what I imagined. In the movies, you see women being rushed into the labor and delivery unit in wheelchairs and lots of people running around yelling stat stat! Since I wasn’t in active labor yet, I was pretty calm and I was shocked that there were no pregnant women being rushed around at all. I was amazed at how sweet all the nurses were as we got settled into our delivery room, almost as if we were being checked into a resort. Things started out very slow! My contractions were still very irregular and I was dilated 2 cm so we had a ways to go. They went ahead and gave me pitocin to try to speed things up. My contractions started getting really intense and I still wasn’t dilating very quickly so we went ahead and got the epidural. After that I felt great!
Since this was all going on during the pandemic, sadly I was only allowed one guest in the room with me so my mom was not able to be there. I was telling the nurse how disappointed I was about not being able to have my mom there and in response the nurse joked about how we were on the first floor with a large window so they could totally watch from the parking lot! The nurse didn’t realize that my family is actually crazy enough to do something like that so I immediately texted my family. Within 30 minutes, my parents and my in-laws were outside our window! As it started to get darker outside, we couldn’t see them through the window because of the glare of the lights inside the room reflecting off the window. Every nurse that came into our room tried to close the blinds and we would yell at them “No! Our family is out there watching!” The soon to be grandparents were using their phones to illuminate their faces while giving a wave to the nurses to make their presence known. It added some much needed comedy to the day and I’m still surprised that no one else had attempted this during the pandemic!
My mom outside of our hospital window
After about an hour, I was fully dilated and ready to push! Unfortunately, this is where things took a turn for the worse. This may be a little more info that some want to know so please keep scrolling if you are not interested in the gory details. I was losing large amounts of blood with each push which caused a concerned look on the nurses faces. They decided to remove the pad from under me to weigh the blood that I had lost. I tried to keep my cool as they quickly called the doctor after reading the number on the scale. The doctor empathetically explained that we could keep pushing and see what happens but if I were his wife, he would tell me to get a c-section. While my pregnancy had been nothing short of uncomfortable, baby Mia was as healthy as could be the entire time she was growing inside my belly. So the thought of having a c-section really never crossed my mind. I didn’t know what was involved with the procedure or the recovery whatsoever. I broke down in tears from the thought of being faced with this decision in what seemed like the home stretch. It felt like I was failing my first mission as a mom. Like I was quitting something that I had no control over. I called my mom, who was still standing on the other side of the window and explained what was happening, which she had already inferred from the body language of everyone in the room. She assured me that it was going to be okay and that she thought that I should take the doctor’s advice and go ahead with the c-section. The prep and procedure took about 30 minutes all together and next thing you know, I heard the sound of my beautiful baby girl's cry for the first time.
What Is a Push Present and When Did It Become a Thing?
Let’s take a break from the story to give some more back story on the push present. The name might feel a little crass but a push present is basically a gift usually given from husband to wife on the arrival of a child. Push presents can also be given from other family members, like the women’s parents, as a thank you for making them grandparents. The idea of a push present might seem like just a newly created Hallmark occasion but believe it or not, push presents go back hundreds of years. It was thought to have started in India with a ritual called Godh Bharai, where the expectant mother was showered with gifts to pamper herself before her new arrival. The push present gained attention in 2011 when Rachael Zoe received a 10 carat diamond ring as a push present from her husband on the arrival of their first son.
My Push Present
This day was nothing short of the roller coaster ride of emotions that you would expect on the arrival of a child and my husband found the perfect moment to give me my push present. We had just gotten settled in our hospital room, all the nurses had finally finished checking on us, and we were alone for the first time as a family of three. He sheepishly said that he had something for me and went to his overnight bag. He pulled out a beautiful round velvet jewelry box with two pairs of diamond stud earrings, one for me and one for our baby girl. As he presented the gift, he told me that watching me go through this process just proved that I was tougher than diamonds and he thanked me for all the sacrifices I had made to bring him this beautiful baby girl. My husband is not much for sentimental words so this meant the world to me to hear and I’ll never forget this moment. I put the earrings in immediately and as corny as it sounds, I did feel like this symbolized all that I had just been through. I realized having the c-section didn't make me a failure at all. It was the test to prove my hardness. At that moment, I felt unbreakable and radiant, just like a diamond.
What is a Typical Push Present?
Push presents can really be of any value and can be any type of item ranging from store bought to homemade. Typically, push presents are some kind of jewelry as usually jewelry is an item that people cherish and use for a lifetime. As you just read, my push present was diamond stud earrings which was a perfect gift for me. I also loved this idea because now we have Mia’s ears pierced also and I can’t resist matching her whenever possible! Also, she can’t grab stud earrings so I don’t have to worry about her ripping them out of my ear because we all know she would try if she could! Click to shop our diamond stud earrings.
14KW 2.00CTW "GOOD" Diamond Stud Earrings $8,999
14KW .14CTW Diamond Stud Earrings for baby $369
When searching for a push present that speaks volumes without saying a word, the infinity heart necklace is a stunning choice. This elegant piece blends two powerful symbols—the infinity sign and the heart—into one timeless design that celebrates the unbreakable bond between a mother and her child.
10K Diamond Infinity Frame Heart 3-Way Insert Enhancer Pendant with chain $859 or $54/month
If this isn’t your first child, I love our Roberto Coin diamond initial necklaces because they can be layered together so easily! They each come with an adjuster on the back of the chain so that you can wear it anywhere from 16-18” to layer with other pieces. Click to shop our initial jewelry. 
Roberto Coin 18Ky Letter "G" Diamond Initial Necklace $910 or $57/month
Another great option for a push present would be a piece of jewelry in the baby's birthstone. Click to shop our birthstone jewelry.
14KY Emerald and Diamond Bezel Set Milgrain Stackable Band for a May baby $569 or $52/month
And if you aren't loving any of those ideas, we can always make something custom as well! I am actually currently working on this custom piece that is a push present for the arrival of my customer's second baby! Click to start a custom design.
I hope you enjoyed my birth story and learning more about the push present!