Hey everyone! So, the past few weeks have been crazy hectic because… I now have a ONE YEAR OLD! I am completely shocked that what I am typing is true, but nevertheless… I do have a one year old. And as I am writing this she is sleeping in the next room, and I cannot help but think back to the day my little peanut entered the world. So, I thought that it would be an awesome story to share with other women who have already had babies, other women who are expecting, or even some who plan on having their families later on in life.
I feel like as women, we always hear about the scary stories when it comes to giving birth. During my pregnancy, I was told nothing but horror stories about how painful childbirth is, how you will be in pain even after they arrive, and that your body is nothing close to how you knew it to be, and it never will be again. Nothing you really want to concentrate on, as becoming a mother is already a life-altering event. I am not sure about you all but I was excited for this chapter in my life, and all of these horror stories was not what I wanted to spend my time thinking about!
As a woman who was on the verge of going through a life-altering change, this was not exactly the positive energy I was wanting to bring with me into the delivery room.
So, I wanted to post this to get this plain and simple message out there: IT IS NOT AS BAD AS EVERYONE SAYS!
Yes, it hurts. But YESSSSS, it is BEYOND worth it! I want to be a resounding, positive voice among all of the negativity to tell you that even if you are going to give birth tomorrow, in 9 months or even 10 years down the road, YOU CAN DO IT! And don’t let someone’s negativity or scary stories bring you down. I truly believe that you get what you give, and if you send out positive vibes and energy, God and the Universe will give you nothing but good!
Now that my ranting is out of the way, let me tell you about my labor and delivery story!
It really is one of the best memories I have of my entire pregnancy. I was very blessed. Other than having a ton of sickness throughout the pregnancy, and even more food aversions (I lost 7 pounds in the beginning because I couldn’t hold ANYTHING down!). My pregnancy was pretty straight forward. I did have mood swings and heart burn, but after finding pretty easy ways to deal with those things, it was smooth sailing.
Sophie was due on July 2nd 2017. On July 1st, Josh and I had gone to pick up my wedding band and then gone out to a movie with my sister and my mom. It was a fun evening and we kept talking and wondering if Sophie would get here on time. It turned out that she would be just like her Momma! Just a little late!
So, I woke up at 4:00am on July 2nd to my very first contraction. Still incredibly sleepy, I was unsure at first if it was really what I was feeling. I stayed in bed trying to wake up as more contractions, very short and easy, came and went. I was getting them pretty frequently so I quickly grabbed my phone and began timing them around 4:30 am. They were pretty irregular, but something in me told me that this wasn’t false labor or Braxton Hicks. That this would lead up to the real thing.
Trying not to get my hopes up, I looked for ways to tell if it was false or real labor. I read that if you took a shower, and the contractions dulled down, it was false labor. And if they got stronger, well ding! Ding! Ding! Real labor it is. So, there I was, 5:00 am, jumping in the shower. And wouldn’t you know it? My contractions got stronger and more regular.
I told myself “Well, if you are having a baby today, you better get ready and clean the house!” So, contractions and all, I blow-dried my hair, washed the dishes, and picked up around the house the rest of the morning. Josh woke up around 8am, (two times before that as well, and sleepily answered my comments of “I’m having contractions” and “I think we are having a baby today” with a sleepy “That’s great baby.”). He asked me what I was doing up and while curling my hair I answered, “Nothing just curling my hair and getting contractions.” He jumped out of bed with a “WHAT?! Why didn’t you wake me up?!”
“I told you twice, you fell back asleep!” I laughed. I showed him my timer, and we agreed that they were still pretty irregular. And all I can say is that felt like they were glorified period cramps. I was still able to walk and talk through them, so not a super big deal. I was even able to take a quick nap in the morning, as I was trying to prepare myself for the marathon I would soon be enduring!
We went on the rest of the morning just hanging out, timing contractions and talking about whether or not we would be getting our new baby girl that day. We went for a few walks at the park, grabbed something to eat at Sonic, and just waited. I didn’t want anyone to freak out so we didn’t tell anyone I was having contractions until about 2pm. I didn’t want to get my hopes up and tell everyone just to find out that we had to keep on waiting. Finally, around 6:30pm the contractions were coming about every minute/ minute and a half, each lasting about 45 seconds. They were getting pretty painful, so we headed to the hospital to see if we needed to get checked in.
My mom and sister came in at about 7pm to meet us in triage, where they were monitoring my contractions and checking to see how dilated I was. I was 4 cm dilated, baby girl was in position, and the contractions were getting more powerful and closer together. So they decided to check me in around 7:30pm.
I was lucky enough to be the only one in labor, and I am not going to lie, it was amazing being waited on! LOL! Since I was the only one in labor, they asked me if I wanted to get an epidural right away, so within my first 30 minutes in my room, I got my epidural. Most women told me that it felt like a sharp pinch, almost like a bee sting. The worst thing about it was the nerves in my back kept spasming as the doctor was inserting the epidural in my back, so it was pretty nerve-wrecking having the doctor tell me to hold still because I had a giant needle in my back and obviously shouldn’t be trying to move. Thank goodness for Josh at this point! He was quite literally my rock, holding and comforting me as I was doing my best to hold still! Soon enough the epidural was in and going strong! I had my mom, sister, and Josh in the room with me most of the night, and some of Josh’s family came to check in as well. We played cards, joked around and talked as we waited for our little girl to make her arrival. I even tried to sneak a nap in, but I couldn’t since I was just so excited. Finally, I started to feel some serious pressure and asked if I was getting a contraction. My mom and Josh both assured me that I wasn’t and then at the same time both went “WHOA!” It was the biggest and the longest one by far.
I started to feel more and more pressure, and got an overwhelming feeling to push. I asked Josh to go grab the nurse and sure enough I was 10 cm dilated and ready to push!
Josh and I wanted this to be a moment just for us, so my mom and sister gave us both hugs and kisses and waited out in the waiting room with the rest of our family.
I remember being so nervous, because like I said, when you are pregnant I feel like everyone only really tells you horror stories. I was terrified that I would be there for hours, and what if something went wrong? But wouldn’t you know it, I was blessed with a quick and easy delivery. I pushed for a whopping total of about 8 minutes. I even made a joke to my nurses and Josh, since I couldn’t feel a lot due to the epidural, asking if I was even doing anything. My nurses and doctor were absolutely incredible, and Josh was the best support system I could have ever asked for.
At 5:38 am on July 3rd 2017, they placed this beautiful little miracle on my chest. My sweet Sophie. She didn’t cry, just looked right up at Josh and I. She snuggled onto my chest as I covered her up with the blanket the nurse gave us. And suddenly there we were, moments ago just two people and a baby bump, now a family of three. She weighed in at 6 lbs. 7 oz. and 19 ½ inches long. My perfect little angel.
I hope this was an encouraging story for all of the Mommas out there! When giving birth, it is already a scary and frightening thought, but to actually be going through it is something that no one can quite prepare you for. I truly believe that it is good to go in with a positive and happy mindset. It really does make the world’s biggest difference!
My very first picture of my Honey!
Sweet Sophie Girl!
Our Sophie Girl Now!
Our first day home!
Peanut, if someday you stumble across this, always know and remember that Momma loves you more than you will ever know! Always, always baby girl!
I hope you all enjoyed this beautiful memory I am so lucky to call mine, and I will talk to you all in my next post!!
quirky & caffeinated 