My Labor Story
What happened and how I felt.
I'm not leaving anything out & I'm not editing anything down.
This is my story. My words.
My #labor didn't exactly start off the way I had intended, but turned out to be perfect and everything worked out just the way it was suppose to in the end.
At the beginning of my #pregnancy, I had been labeled as IGUR (Intrauterine Growth Restriction). I had to go in twice weekly to the hospital to get check ups to make sure baby girl was doing fine.
I wasn't the biggest fan of having ultrasounds and check ups every couple of days, because in my heart I knew my girl was ok.
Thankfully I did go in for those routine check ups, because they found my body wasn't producing any more amniotic fluid. If they hadn't been doing those check ups, she could have suffocated in my belly.
So, on July 31st at 12:00 p.m. I was induced!
The original plan was to start with Cervedil to get my body to dilate, then after 12 hours switch to Pitocin to start contractions.
The nurse had asked me how much pain I was in, which I responded, "Um, zero I guess."
The nurse gave me a pretty weird look and just said, "Oh, um, okay..."
My eyebrows lifted in curiosity (because obviously that can't be good with hesitation in her response!), as I blurted out, "Why? What does that mean? Is something wrong? What's wrong?"
The nurse had then begun to explain that my body was contracting nearly every 3 minutes.
Of course, only after the nurse told me I was contracting, did I feel the pain.
It felt like my labor went from 0 to 100 within an hour and boy, I was not prepared!
After 3 hours the nurses decided to take the Cervedil out, to hopefully let my body calm down. Which turned out not to be the case....
My body was still contraction every 3 minutes and I was only dilated to 2 cm!
My fiancé was amazing holding my hand with every contraction, reminding me to breath while I cut off the circulation to his fingers.
In our birthing classes, they taught us all the breathing techniques.
Truthfully, I swear it didn't matter which one I did, I just had to breath so I wouldn't pass out!
In my mind, I had planned on being up and walking around during my labor. This unfortunately did not happen.
I had an IV, a monitor on for the babies heart rate, a monitor on for my contractions, and then the stupid hospital gown that kept just falling off with every movement.
(If you know me at all, I DO NOT like to be restricted!!)
I got so pissed off with being tied up to cords. The nurses finally took the monitors off & I stripped off the gown.
Now, I was butt naked on the floor on my knees with only fuzzy pink socks.
(Please forgive me for the visual I may have just put in your head.)
After about 5 hours, my water broke naturally.
(And yes, all over my wonderful pink socks, which honestly I was kind of upset that I had to change to my blue socks).
I really did not know how long my labor was going to last for and if my body decided to hold out with contractions for another 8 hours, I really didn't know how long I could do this.
6 hours in, I broke down and asked for some pain meds.
I totally thought I was being a baby!
The pain meds thankfully let me relax for nearly two hours, I was so exhausted!
Then the contractions came back with a vengeance & it was game on.
The feeling was so extreme. I NEVER thought anything could be that bad.
I honestly didn't know how much longer I could endure the pain for.
The pain seemed almost constant and felt like there was nothing I could do!
I was about to ask for an #epidural, then I heard someone say, "They're getting ready! Look!"
The only thing that was going through my mind was, "Oh, Thank God! Ok.... I CAN do this."
My #Midwife that delivered our beautiful Skye, was so excellent and gave off such a great calming effect reminding me to push when my body felt like it needed to.
My Mind: "I've never done this before! How the hell do I know when to push?!?"
My mind didn't know, but my body knew.
The pain was so extreme with each and every push.
I honestly don't know much of the time, how many pushes, or who was saying what.
The labor seemed so long, although the entire journey seemed over within a moment.
Before I knew it, everyone was saying, "Anna, Look up!"
At 11:39 p.m., July 31st, my beautiful baby Skye was born!
No Lie. The pain IMMEDIATELY was gone.
Having that beautiful girl on my chest was the best trophy I have ever been awarded and would not change a thing.
I love that I was able to give birth naturally. That was my plan all along, but was open to other options if needed.
Yes, labor and delivery was extremely painful.
Even though, God truly did make a woman's body to endure such a journey.
I remember the pain like it happened hours ago, but I would do it all over again to be blessed with such a gift from God.
Every woman's story is different because our bodies are not the same.
Don't be ashamed for whatever you may have felt or had gone through for with your labor and delivery. You now have a beautiful blessing in your arms!
Be proud of your #labor story!
Because...
YOU, #MOMMA, ARE AMAZING!
So, share your story below, long or short, we would love to hear!