Our Little One’s Birth Story

Our little one’s birth story is one that I hoped for but I couldn’t imagine it happening the way it did.

I had been having really strong contractions for the last few weeks of the third trimester. Braxton hicks started to get bad at around 29 weeks. So much so they thought I was in early labor and I went into L&D. Laying down and water helped settle down those contractions.

Around week 35 they became more frequent and painful. I started to feel the contractions in my back and by week 37 they’d be knocking the wind out of me, leaving me gasping for air. I would time the contractions and they would be 20 minutes apart, or 7 minutes apart for an hour!

I’d say to my husband I think we should go to the hospital, but then the contractions would stop. Baby was still in my stomach so clearly, I wasn’t in labor. At my 38 week appointment, I had had 3 contractions on my 30-40 minute drive to the office and 3 more while I was at my appointment. So my OB checked to see if I was dilated.

Low and behold I was in early labor!

I was dilated to 3, she told me I could stay like that for days or weeks. Which was a bummer, because I was so ready to have her in my arms. I cried at the thought of being pregnant for a few more weeks. A lot of first time moms go past their due date, and a few of my friends who have had kids were telling me that they went 10-14 days past their due date.

But I will admit,

I felt like a bad-A, walking around still going to work and hitting my bonus for my job all while in early labor.

A week later I had my normal weekly appointment, it was June 6th and let me tell ya I was done being pregnant. I was frustrated that I was already to a 3 and my contractions were strong and frequent but not frequent enough to go to the hospital.

So I saw my OB and she was concerned with how high my blood pressure was, so she told me to go to the hospital so they could run some labs.

I head over, feeling worried and exhausted. They take my blood to run some tests and send me over to triage where they can monitor my contractions and baby.

I was still only dilated to a 3, but my contractions were picking up. They had to watch me for an hour while we waited for the blood test results. By the end of the hour mark, I had dilated to a 4 and some of my numbers were borderline to preeclampsia. My OB decided it would be best to have me admitted.

So a nurse walks in and says, well looks like you’re having a baby.

I had to ask her about 5 more times if I was really truly having this baby. FINALLY, I was in active labor. I texted my hubby who had just gotten off of work he finished packing our hospital bags and came right over.

7:00pm I was admitted and dilated to a 4.

9:00pm I was still at a 4 and the contractions are getting worse. To ease the pain I just had to listen to my body and move when I need to, breathe, and relax.

10:00pm they were talking about giving me Pitocin to speed up the contractions and help me dilate faster. I decided I wanted to go on a walk, it was my plan to go all natural. My birth plan was to keep an open mind, I really wanted to see how far I could go without meds, but I kept it as an option.

11:00pm I was at a 5. Going on that walk definitely helped me dilate a full centimeter.

2:30am The contractions were getting worse and worse and I was already exhausted and I knew that the transition phase and pushing were going to be incredibly difficult because I could barely hold myself up because of the pain and the fact that I haven’t stayed up that late in years! I really wanted to sleep, so my sweet nurse pointed out the fact that if I get an epidural I’d be able to sleep and it will be the last time I’ll get a “good nights rest” before the baby is born, and they were going to start the Pitocin soon. Which meant the contractions were going to get a lot worse and come even faster.

(Not to mention my husband was demanding the nurses cater to his needs. He sat in the corner on his phone, sleeping and I’d have to beg him to get up be with me through the most excruciating pain. I was done. I wanted what he had. I wanted to sleep. I wanted to disappear.)

I decided to get an epidural after all.

Getting the epidural wasn’t painful at all, the IV they put in when I was first admitted hurt more. And let me tell ya, it was amazing! The pain from the contractions had pretty much disappeared, and I was able to get some much-needed rest.

I was still at a 5 around 6:00am when the Dr. on call came in. I haven’t met her before so she introduced herself and let me know she was going to break my water. It took about 5 seconds to do then she left the room.

After she left I said, “It was good to meet you too!” (everyone who was in the room laughed)

Then they turned me on my right side to help me dilate faster. And I was honestly praying that I would dilate quickly. I also did a visualization technique, I visualized my cervix dilating. In about an hour it was time for a shift change so the new nurse was coming in and introducing herself. I told them I was feeling pain and pressure, I seriously felt like I was going to poop myself. They told me that’s a good sign, and checked me right away.

I had dilated to a 9!

In an hour I went from a 5 to a 9. They were all impressed and shocked that I had dilated that fast.

So they page the Dr. and around 7:30 – 7:40 they had me all set up and ready to push. It was the weirdest feeling not being able to lift up my own legs or have any control over my lower extremities. Pushing was hard, and painful even with the epidural. So in between pushes, I’d make an attempt to crack a joke. I don’t remember most of them, I remember thinking what I was saying was funny.

One of the things I said was, “I officially hate the term pop out a baby… because she ain’t popin’!”

8:15am Our sweet angel was born.

When she came out they placed her on my belly and wiped her off a bit. I’ve never seen a more perfect human❤️❤️ I was in complete awe and couldn’t take my eyes off of her. She was real and finally in my arms.