Can’t believe I’m JUST now getting to writing this 🤦🏽‍♀️ oh well almost 6months later here I am sharing my birth story!! TMI pics ahead (and embarrassing ones lol)

Ok so I started having Braxton Hicks (practice contractions) at 30 weeks, my whole pregnancy I (not her) measured 4weeks ahead, I just knew I was going to have her early was just a gut feeling and I kept telling everyone that, there like no honey your gonna get that set in your mind and be miserable when your going over, well fast forward to 32weeks I start having preterm labor, every evening I’m having rough contractions, my husband happens to be gone at his Correctional Officer academy at this time and is only home on the weekends, I’m scared to death I’m going to go into labor while he’s gone and he won’t make it!

Since I’m having my baby at a birthing center by a midwife she couldn’t deliver her if she came before 36weeks well on the Saturday of 32week I start having rough contractions to where I’m like babe these are rough so he practically makes me go to the the hospital (i don’t like going unless I feel like I HAVE to because I don’t want to inconvenience people or go for no reason 🤷🏽‍♀️😬)

Anyways I get there and I’m at a 1 and 90% effaced and having good contractions so they keep me there for 3hrs but I never progressed any so they put me on pelvic rest and to keep my feet up until 36 weeks grrr was that horrible I hated just laying in bed alll day 😖

Well I went back to the hospital 1 more time for preterm labor starting up again at 35 weeks but was sent home again (hold on and I’ll tell you what was causing me to go into preterm labor😉)

Well 36 weeks comes and that Saturday I have a appointment with my midwife and she says I’m at a 3 and 100% effaced!! She’s like maybe she’s ready to come early go walk and bit and see if it stops or progress’s your labor so I did for 3hrs and never changed but I had my bloody show so I stayed by my birthing center (I live 2hrs away from there🤭)

Anyways the next morning (Sunday) she checks me again and I’ve progressed no more, by now I’m sick and fed up with all these contractions that are wearing me out and making me grumpy, so I go home and rest, Monday night comes and bam I’m having contractions like crazy allllll day, there killing me by 11pm that night so I’m like guys this is it, I know it is!! So I hop in the car with my mom and my husband drives his Jeep behind us Incase i don’t progressed and he’d go straight to work from the birthing center (his work is 30mins away from the center)

We’re on are way and I can barely think, I’m breathing thru the contractions and the car ride is making it so much worse, well we’re on our way there and booom out of nowhere comes a deer straight In front of us and hits the side of the car and puts a massive dint to where the cars side is dragging 😭😭 we pull over and a cop pulls up beside us (he saw the whole thing) and is like are ya’ll ok?!?! And looks over at me in the passenger side with horror cause here’s this 19yr old girl breathing heavy hunkered over in pain and my moms like my daughters in labor and we’re trying to get to the birthing center!! He’s like umm ok!! As long as ya’ll are ok!!

Fast forward 2hrs, we make it to the birthing center it’s like 1/2am and my midwife is so excited when she see’s me because I’m definitely in pain 🙄😐😂

She checks me and guess what 😐 I haven’t progressed ANY!!!!!! I start bawling and telling my midwife I know it’s different I know it is!! I promise I’m in pain it’s not just Braxton Hicks so she’s like well just sleep here and if you feel like your progressing call me (lives 12mins away) so 5am comes and she comes and checks me again and I’m still the same 😭😭 the water works were real folks!!! I’m bawling in pain because I know I’m not being a baby I have a HUGE pain tolerance!! So she sends me home to get some rest and my husband heads to work, me and my mom are about 15mins from home and Woooooosh My water breaks everywhere in the car!!!!!!!!! I’m like MOOOOM MY WATER JUST BROKE!!!!😫😫😫😫😩😩😨😨😨!!!! She’s like oh no oh no!!! So we pull over I stand up and whoosh another wave of water, she then tells me to hop back in the car and we start rushing back to the birthing center, my mom calls my husband and tells him (he thinks we’re joking at first but once he heard my wailing he knew it was legit 😂) girlsss let me tell you those contractions were noooo joke, I was barely breathing thru them!! I’m like mooom I don’t think we’re going to make it!!!! She’s like Katie we HAVE TO!! I can’t deliver this baby!! She then calls my dad (who accidentally delivered one of my sisters,long story that includes a snow storm)

He then tells my mom to calm down so she can do it if she has to!!

We finally make it to the birthing center and I can’t move think or function I’m in so much pain, my husband comes to the door to get me out and I’m like DONT TOUCH ME UNTIL THE CONTRACTION STOPS!!!

Well when the contractions actually stops he carry’s me into the birthing house from there he lays me on the bed and she checks me I’m at a 8!!!!!!! She starts filling up the tub and I’m just breathing thru them breathing thru them

Once the bath is filled I jump straight in it, I bend over in it and the world fades away I start focusing on my breathing and take my pain away by focusing on making a vibrating sound in the back of my throat, idk why but it helped me

From this position above I moved over to my back and held on to my mom and husbands arms/hands for leverage because I started pushing, well my body did Invulnerably at a certain point so I told my midwife and she said your ready and fully dilated start pushing when you want so I did and I did and I did but I was getting nowhere, I could see the look of worry cross my midwifes face after I had been pushing for 1hr and 30mins, I was pushing great, perfectly actually but she would almost come out but then go straight back in!!

At almost 2hrs I FINALLY pushed my little girl out, she had her hand in front of her face which was keeping her from coming out AND caused me preterm labor!!! Little stinker 🤨😏

If she wouldn’t have had her hand stuck in front of her face my labor would have been perfect but sadly I suffered ptsd from the experience because it was so hard and rough on me, my face was SOOO SWOLLEN!!! Sooo swollen from pushing everything I had in my body, it took everything and every ounce of my strength and soul to push her out, I didn’t tear because she took so long lol

So here’s my story!! I did it all pain med free and I’d do it all again! Below are some pictures from my birth and her at almost 6months old now!!☺️

My baby at almost 6months

Ember Rae❤️❤️

Born February 6th, at 10:11 am

Weighing 7pounds 11ounces!!

And a picture of me to show just how bad my face swelled up during birth 😬🤭

And my postpartum body ☺️