Dedicated to Karina Luna Navarrete- the little lady that made me a mom.

Born on November 17 @ 8:07 PM (7 lbs & 13 oz)

To answer the first question: Yes, I would do it again.

It’s crazy to think that this life-changing event happened just 3 weeks ago.

Here it goes:

Week 37: Had my first cervical exam- I was already a half centimeter dilated-I did not expect the exam to be so uncomfortable!

Week 38: My doctor did another cervical exam and I was already at 2.5 centimeters dilated! This exam was so uncomfortable and painful! I literally grabbed my doctors hand and said STOP! LOL. My mucus plug came out a few days after my cervical exam so I was positive that labor was nearby.

Week 39: Mom arrived November 5th and the following day I had my first “false alarm”. While being in the kitchen, I experienced what I thought was my water breaking. A LOT of discharge and fluid came out and I was certain this was it! I immediately called Chris and we made our way to the hospital. I can’t explain the nerves and excitement I felt. Sadly, it wasn’t my water breaking. So on my 39th week app my doctor stripped my membranes in hopes to get things going. Unfortunately this didn’t start any contractions either! I was calm for the whole pregnancy but once the last 2-3 weeks hit, I started getting very nervous and anxious.

So flash-forward to November 14, my due date. By this time I was already 5 CM dilated but had not started any contractions. So if you don’t know, you cannot have a vaginal birth without contractions. I walked into that appointment thinking that my doctor would keep me but instead she said “Okay, you are already 5 CM and we need to get that baby out- choose the day”. I honestly turned red because I was nervous and didn’t feel ready. She told me that we could schedule it for the next day-Friday, but I didn’t feel prepared. I know, sounds dumb- I had 9 months to prepare yet I wasn’t ready to deliver this baby! So my doctor suggested we wait 3 days to see if my body would do it on it’s own. So we agreed on Sunday.

Side note-we chose Sunday because Chris and I were both born on a Sunday, so we wanted our baby girl to also enter this world on Sunday (queues CLOSED ON SUNDAY by Kanye).

So the true waiting game began. Doctor suggested to walk a lot and try some squats. Guys, I tried EVERYTHING and contractions never started. I just kept having a lot of pressure and light cramps but that’s it. This was a good thing though because it gave my whole family a chance to make it to town. So on Saturday night we huddled and prayed over the baby and delivery as a family. It was such a sweet time.

So Sunday came and…

It was honestly one of the best days of my life! I get so sentimental thinking of how quickly it went by!

I have to let you know that I am extremely terrified of needles. I get super sweaty and pale. I sometimes can’t even speak but surprisingly I was very calm. I kept telling myself that this is something I had to do and that so many other women had gone through this. I was very blessed because my Induction Nurse was amazing! Just in case you didn’t catch it, I was induced- meaning I was given Pitocin to start labor. The hormone helps start contractions and get things going. Is it weird that the IV was the one thing that was really giving me anxiety?! However, the nurse did such a great job in keeping me calm and one second later, the needle was in and it was go time.

In short-

8:30 AM Arrived

9:30 AM IV with fluids started

10:30 AM Pitocin started

At around 11:00 AM my back started to really get uncomfortable so I decided to labor standing up next to my bed. I spent these next few hours with family. My whole family made it: Mom, Dad, Sister, Sister-in Law, Brother, nephews, Father in law and Mother in Law. So everyone besides my nephews kept rotating and kept waiting for the contractions to start but still nothing. About this time is when I asked for a snack so the nurse brought me a popsicle.

Oh and let me tell you that everyone told me that I wouldn’t be hungry but I was STARVING! So this is where I tell you about one of my favorite moments during labor. My mom knew that I was hungry so she took a quick break and when she got back she said “ Here, I brought you something..”- SHE BROUGHT ME A COOKIE! Yes, she snuck it in LOL. I inhaled that cookie ( you are not supposed to eat while in labor). That will forever be such a sweet moment for me.

3:30 PM- I slowly started getting contractions and then after a stonger one- my water broke on it’s own while standing by the bed. This was such an exciting moment because until then nothing was really happening. Then contractions got stronger. Soon I was hovering over the bed and in so much pain that my tears were coming out. Despite the pain, I had always wondered what it would feel like so it was an experience for me.

At this point I knew I wanted to get my epidural, so I knew I had to go to the bathroom soon since I would have to stay in bed. Then, I got such a strong urge to POOP! I asked Chris to walk me over to the bathroom and made it there between contractions. I sat and then just started pooping… and pooping… with Chris right next to me helping me breathe between contractions… while pooping… LOL. So my mother in law and Chris just watched me- this was probably the most vulnerable I’ve ever been.

The anesthesiologist arrived and I had to somehow get to the bed between contractions and pooping. The nurse kept telling me to hurry but I couldn’t stop the pain or the poop LOL. Finally got a few seconds and rushed to the bed. At this point Chris was helping me breathe through contractions and had to hold my arms tight so that I wouldn’t move. I am going to be honest, the epidural was very very uncomfortable and I guess I could say it was painful. I could feel everything happening and I even told him that it was hurting. It’s hard to use the word painful because the contractions were worse and the nurse kept telling me that I would feel better. I REALLY didn’t like how it felt but I just kept telling myself that I could do it and that it would be over soon. If you are going to have one don’t worry, you can do it! I am deathly afraid of needles and I did it! I am happy that I got it and I did feel better after like 10-15 minutes. I do recommend not waiting until contractions get bad- they WILL get bad. (After the epidural I was not able to eat-only ice chips).

6:00 PM After being in pain from about 3-5:45- I was finally relaxed and in bed and the nurse finally checked to see if I had dilated more and I had only gone up to 6! 1 centimeters in 3 days! At this point I just laid back and thought that it would be a while. I had uncontrollable shaking at this point but no pain. While checking my dilation the nurse noticed I had a little sac of water that needed to bursted/popped. She popped the rest and told me that if I felt any pressure or the urge to push or poop to let them know because it could be time to push.

For the next hour I just spent time with my mom ,mother in law, sister in law and Chris. I had Kanye playing and Phil Wickham. People told me that I was not going to remember a playlist- and I did. I am happy I had a playlist. I kept telling them over and over that I wanted the room to be positive and for us to all be happy and enjoy this special day and that’s what we did.

7:00 PM ish- I got a strong urge to push, I really thought I had to poop. So I told my support team that I really felt I needed to poop and the nurse came in and said” IT’S TIME, she’s in the canal!” I was soooo overwhelmed with emotion and excitement at this moment. I was so happy and nervous and felt every emotion.

Minutes later my nurse told me that it was time to push. The sensation was weird because I wasn’t sure how to push at first but my midwife placed her finger near my perineum (place between your vagina and bum) and helped me focus the pushing. At first, I felt like I wasn’t making any progress but then I really felt her there. I got this extreme urge to push- it felt like I had to poop. And well, I actually did poop. I pooped the WHOLE time while pushing. I could feel the poop coming out and I could feel my mom wiping me over and over. Then I heard my family say WE SEE HER! I thought they were lying because I felt like I wasn’t pushing hard enough. Then Chris said he saw the baby and I just kept focused. I kept asking for ice chips too. I was incredibly thirsty! I have to admit that I was nervous that it was going to hurt at some point but it never did. It just felt like pressure and something there- very similar to pooing. Then, in less than an hour of pushing my baby, she came out! It was a mix of me pushing her out and my midwife helping her get out. She quickly placed her on me and I could see all the moisture on her body but I immediately wanted to feel her and all I could feel was her softness. I couldn’t believe she was finally here! Although, I waited for her cry, she didn’t because transition shocked her, so Chris had to immediately cut her umbilical chord so that she could be observed.

She was quickly rushed to her table to be examined and my midwife helped me deliver the placenta-which felt very squishy and soft- this happened less than 15 minutes after. It didn’t take much pushing to get it out. Once that was out I had to ask. Yes, I asked if I had ripped. She quickly let me know that I did not rip but did get some scraps on the sides so I had to get stitched. Luckily, it was very minor and normal but the stitches were a little painful even though she gave me numbing shots.

At this point, I still hadn’t seen my baby’s face. I had only felt her because they quickly took her from me. So I eagerly waited for them to pass her to me. Then finally they placed her on me and I immediately cuddled her and tried to see if she would latch. I cannot explain to you how much my heart melted when she latched on and I saw her beautiful little eyes.

Here’s my word of advice if you are expecting- Positivity and optimism got me through one of the most challenging and exciting events of my life. Don’t let anyone scare you or make you think that you won’t be able to do it. You can do it and you can prepare however you feel you need to. Yes, things may not go 100% your way but it doesn’t hurt to plan it the way you want it to be. I do believe that the birthing classes, doing the maternity tour, bringing the exercise ball, having a playlist, squats, walking and doing prenatal yoga really helped. I really felt emotional and physically prepared. I didn’t have any surprises and I felt very well informed. The nurses and my support team really understood the environment I needed to deliver my chid and we all worked to together to keep the mood positive and happy. I want to encourage anyone out there that is feeling nervous or anxious about delivery to stay calm, get that manicure and pedicure, spend time with loved ones and eat that donut. Do whatever makes you feel prepared. Stay positive and be optimistic and don’t let other people’s stories scare you. You are going to have YOUR OWN experience. I realized that though labor is physically challenging, your mental state will make a HUGE difference-staying mentally strong and positive is key!

YOU CAN DO IT!

(I will be writing about pregnancy and postpartum in the days to come, stay tuned).

Id love to hear YOUR story! Feel free to share it below.

I’d also like to hear about your fears regards to labor, questions about pregnancy, or anything else related. Please share in the comments.