Ok, so here it goes.

My due date was Friday, November 4th. That day, while I was at work, I started seeing flashing lights in my eyes, and my ears became red and hot to the touch. I called my doctor and they told me to go to the hospital to labor and delivery. Now, up to that point, I had not had any issues with my blood pressure, never any protein in my urine, nothing. My feet had started swelling bad in the past few weeks, but my doctor wasn't overly concerned, since most pregnant women do swell at some point, and I was on my feet a lot. So I was fairly optimistic that I would be checked out and go home.

The nurse took my vitals, and my blood pressure was elevated, but not enough for the doctor to admit me for induction. I was still only 1cm dilated. So they had me hang out for about an hour to see how things were. My daughter's heart rate was good, and I was getting ready to go home. But when the nurse took my last set of vitals, my blood pressure was even more elevated, and my doctor admitted for an induction the next day.

I was scared, because this was not what I had planned, but I had no idea how much my "plan" was gonna change.

They started me on pitocin at 6am that Saturday morning, at a rate of 2. By 11am, they had upped it to 6, and broke my waters. That's when I could actually feel the contractions. I labored for most of the day, with dilation only going to 3cm.

My doctor told me that if I could not dilate and progress more, I would have to have a c section, considering my blood pressure. Because I was so stressed and scared, I knew I couldn't relax my body to do what it needed to do. So, I decided to get an epidural. I had went into this with the intention of not getting one, simply because I am terrified of needles. But I needed to do what was best to get my daughter her safely.

After bawling my eyes out at this turn of events, I got my epidural. After about an hour, I was checked again, and since I had progressed to 4cm, I was allowed to continue to labor instead of going in for a c section. It didn't completely numb the top of my abdomen, so the anesthesiologist gave me a bolus dose to help. Unfortunately, it was too much, and after napping, I woke up to not being able to feel myself breathe. I had a panic attack, and had to be set straight up for the epidural to drain down. Of course, this allowed me to feel my abdomen again.

I was determined to continue with it, and not get another bolus. But the contractions became so intense, I had to request another bolus. I didn't know at the time, but I was actually in transition. I also did not know that my nurse had been upping my pitocin without telling me, from 6 to 8, then 12, 14 and finally 16.

The nurse came in the check me again around 10pm, and I was completely dilated. I cried with relief, because I didn't want a c section. I thought the end was near.

About twenty minutes after the nurse checked me, she and two others came flying into the room, put me on oxygen and started pulling and and pushing me onto my sides. My daughter's heart rate had started dropping, and they were trying to get her repositioned. After a few tense minutes, everything was fine. I was surprised I stayed as calm as I did.

My doctor came in for me to push some to try and move my daughter down the birth canal around 11pm Saturday night. I must say, not being able to feel anything and trying to push in the "right" places is incredibly difficult. The doctor didn't want me to wear myself out, so after about half an hour, she had me rest. I sat elevated and positioned in a way to hopefully facilitate my daughter dropping the rest of the way.

Around 2am Sunday morning, November 6th, I began pushing. I could feel some of my contractions, which made it easier to push this time. My daughter began crowning, and my doctor told me I could touch her. I couldn't believe that she was almost here. After about 4 pushes, my darling daughter was born at 2:22am. But since it was daylight savings, her time of birth was actually 1:22am.

I cried when I saw her, and I cried when I got skin to skin with her. She had a large caput on her head from where she tried so hard to come through when I was 3cm. But it was gone by the next day.

The doctor had to give me a small episiotomy because she was coming so fast, my vagina couldn't stretch enough. I also had a large tear in the right wall. But it was all worth it for my beautiful baby girl.

So that's my birth story. Not what I had planned or "wanted", but in the end, my daughter was born healthy, safely, and that is all that matters.

Since you made it this far, thank you and here's a picture of my baby girl. Keziah Jade Burch, 7lbs 14oz, and 20.25 inches long.