Baby boy due: December 25, 2021

I’ve heard many different birth stories, and it’s still crazy to think that I actually have my own now. After finding out about my pregnancy, I’d decide that my ultimate goal was to keep this little man cooking until thirty-nine weeks. After research and learning more about growing a tiny human, it’s about the only goal that I decided for myself. I thought that I’d be under enough stress being pregnant so I also promised myself that I wouldn’t go down the rabbit hole of every terrible thing that could possibly happen (because as well as it is to be informed, it’s always scary to think about).

December 19, 2021

By this time, I’ve already begun my maternity leave and Jon has decided to begin his paternity leave after this little man makes his appearance in order to get his leave spent with Jo. We decided to go to my parents house, they just came back from my sister’s house with two of my oldest nieces so it’s the best time for quality time with my girls. It’s night-time so we’re playing with Uno with my dad, A & O. While we’re playing (and explaining how to play), I suddenly felt like I peed myself. I know how it is in all the movies, a huge gust of water that comes out and spills everywhere on the floor (how dramatic). Anyways, it was actually just like that but it didn’t go all over the floor. So I pretend I have to go to the restroom and RUN to my moms restroom, where she’s FaceTiming my sister (who calls multiple times to check on the girls lol). I’m not really surprised because by this time, I’m ready for this baby to come out. I’ve been taking primrose oil capsules, bouncing and drinking raspberry tea in order to induce labor. I even joked to my mom earlier this day about how I want this baby to come out by the 20th (which was tomorrow, she was laughing telling me that I’m crazy). I’m sorry, kinda off topic but let me go back into my story..

I RUN to the restroom where I tell her that I’m almost sure that my water broke, then I hear her babbling to my sister where I tell her to hang up the phone (lol). After my water broke, I decided to wait until I get contractions because that’s what my OB told me to do. While I decide to take a shower and find some clothes to wear, Jon starts the car because I think he just got excited and wasn’t sure what to do (hahah). It’s about 10ish by this time and I get a few contractions about an hour apart, I hoped that I wasn’t the mom that drove 20+ minutes away to my doctor just to not get admitted and having to go back home. I tell Jon that we should head over at about midnight so that we could see whether or not it was time or not.

December 20, 2021

We arrive at the hospital and I’m feeling nervous, anxious and just terrified honestly. I’ve never done this before so I don’t even know what to expect, which makes this moment even more… weird. But Jon tells me that we should take “our last picture of a family of 2”, so sweet and I feel so much better. We wait about 20 minutes before we get sent to a tiny room where I have to pee in a cup, (which is even harder doing ten months pregnant) it took me about 10 minutes to figure it out and they checked on me twice (lol kinda embarrassed). Then they checked if it was amniotic fluid, turns out it was and BAM! We get to our room to get all checked in, it’s all becoming so real. Yes, I know that I’ve been pregnant since March and I have been growing this little man everyday since but honestly.. sometimes I still couldn’t believe that I had been blessed with this opportunity. I’d even continued taking pregnancy tests to be sure and it wasn’t until that first ultrasound when I finally saw him with my own eyes.. that I’d truly accepted it. It was incredible. Also, I’m sorry I got sidetracked again.

I got all connected to monitors, answered the one million questions that my nurse asked about how I wanted this experience to be which went by rather quickly since I never created a birth plan. I chose not to since I’d never done this before and I didn’t want to feel obligated to stick to a plan. I got induced after getting checked in and it started my labor. Nobody tells you how hard it is to use the restroom while you’re hooked up and in the middle of contractions. I swear I had to get up multiple times to use the restroom, until a couple of hours go by and I finally decide that I’m getting an epidural.

My experience getting an epidural was very comfortable. I stayed relaxed and did my best to not move, the most painful part was the shot that you get to numb the area. Unfortunately, I didn’t react very well to the dosage. I got extremely nauseous and threw up but the best part was that I didn’t have to get up anymore to use the restroom. Except that Jo moved so much that the nurse had to constantly come in to move his monitor.

After a couple of hours, (it’s about eleven in the morning at this point) and a couple of nurses come into my room, they start to look at my monitors and suddenly tell me that Jo’s blood pressure is dropping, quickly. They tell me that they’re going to bring in another bed and that they’re going to try to move me into different positions in order to help. Within 5 minutes, they tell me that I’m going to have to go into an emergency c-section. Whatever they were trying wasn’t working and they weren’t willing to wait longer since it’d compromise Jo’s health.

The next couple of minutes were the hardest, scariest and most incredible moments of my life. My epidural was extra high which disappoints me, I was hardly awake whenever I was in surgery. I remember the pressure I could feel but I absolutely remember hearing Jo’s cry and seeing him for the first time. Also, I remember whenever Jon brought him over to me. Those are my favorite memories. Unfortunately, since my epidural was too high.. I slept a ton after Jo was born. It was hours until I could get feeling within my whole body in order to even hold him. Although, I think I was “robbed” of the whole being conscious during a c-section and soaking up all the fresh newborn cuddles by not being awake right after. Even though I wish I could’ve changed some of my birth story, I can’t thank God enough for my perfect man and family.