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Beatrice (Bee) Olivia

Susan • Sat, May 23

Hi everyone! I'm a little late posting my birth story. Baby Bee was born on her due date of May 7th at 6:32pm. My labor ended up being very different than I thought it would be. I was terrified about labor and delivery, convinced that I had a low pain tolerance. I was envisioning a long, painful delivery where I would not be the cool and collected person that I usually am and end up saying not so nice things to my husband ;)

On the morning of the 7th, I had an early appt with my doctor around 7:45am. She examined me and said that I was 6cm dilated, saying that I was in labor and walked me over to the hospital. My mucus plug never fell out, my water didn't break, and I didn't feel any contractions so I wasn't sure that it was actually happening. It only became real when they hooked me up to the monitors and I saw the peaks for my contractions since I didn't feel anything. It was all so surreal. My doctor and nurse were impressed by my pain tolerance and encouraged me to have a natural birth. I was so unsure of myself that I ended up getting an epidural around 9cm because it was always part of my plan. The doctor actually turned it off when I was pushing because I was too numb. I was in labor for about 10 hours before Bee arrived. I am extremely thankful that my labor and delivery ended up being relatively smooth (I actually threw up and passed out twice after the delivery) and quick, especially since Bee is my first child. I do wish in hindsight that I trusted my doctor, nurse, and myself to do it naturally, but I'm extremely happy to have a healthy baby. Now, if I can only figure out how to get her to sleep without holding her...

Thanks for letting me share!