I survived: a 20 hr labor- 3rd kid and the hardest

Whoever said the more kids u have the faster the labor LIED!

I’ll try to make this as short as possible.

This is my 3rd kid. Due date was 12/10.... (Already have an Almost 11yr old and just turned 9 yr old)

The labors with the other 2 were both natural and only 5 hrs from start to finish. #1 was induced on due date and #2 was a week late.

On 12/14 a little after midnight my water started leaking (Sidenote I drove down a bumpy road earlier that day so i think that’s what caused labor)

——-I just had my last dr appt in 12/12 and I was barely thinned and finally 1 cm lol. ——-

So 12/14 water started leaking. I called the hospital cuz I wasn’t sure if I should go in (water with other kids always broke in the hospital) and I really wanted to labor at hm as much as possible. Hospital said since I was already past due I should definitely come in. I was not having any contractions btw. I took a shower 🚿 finished packing the lids clothes, did my make up and called the hub who was at work an hr away.

Once hub got home we left for the hospital. Go there at around 3am. They checked me in at by 330ish I started have extremely mild contractions. I was a 2cm dilated but baby was still very high and cervix was still thick. I explained to the staff I wanted to do this as natural as possible and preferred not to get pitocin at first. Wanted to see if baby girl would come on her own.

Talked to the staff and on call dr and they asked about previous labors. Explained 5 hrs and maybe 2 pushes and they were out. No issues no problems (it honestly wasn’t bad pain wise at all with the other labors). Dr assumed I’d have a fast labor this time as well. Me my hub and my mom also thought that until the hrs started passing us by and the nurses started, stopped and restarted their shifts.

Long story short. I tried on my own till about 11am. I sat up like in a chair to labor most the time, did nipple stimulation, and a few other things to get the labor going but nothing. Contractions were there but not consistent (some 3 min apart some 6-7 min apart) and not horrible. I was still able to talk. By 11am I was only MAYBE a 3cm. And that was being nice cuz she could tel I was disappointed. So I told her we can do pitocin.

Nurse started it at a low amount and increased gradually. Finally...the contractions were consistent and much much stronger. Contractions were finally getting to be about 2 mins apart and strong where I couldn’t talk Thru them. Some hrs went by and every time I was checked (which hurt btw) I barely mad any progress.

I was feeling defeated. Throughout my 20 hr labor I would hear the sounds of women screaming then shortly after the baby screaming yet here I was making no progress.

The contractions got to the point where they were unbearable (almost lol). I didn’t want an epidural yet I was very very close to getting one. Hub was trying to tel me I had nothing to prove and everyone knows I’m strong (since I’ve done it two other times) and to just get it. I was feeling so crushed thinking I failed and that I was in fact not as strong as I thought and that I couldn’t get past the pain. I kept telling him no i don’t want it.

Finally said I’ll take Tylenol or something. Nurse kinda laughed and said she can give me it but it won’t help at all. I finally opted for something else to relax me. I forget the name of it but it helped me relax a bit even tho The intensity of the pain was still the same.

Prior to this I was trying to meditate thru the pain and give positive affirmation to cheer myself on. It worked for awhile then it stopped cuz the contractions were back to back, I have ZERO energy and when they came i was TOO focused on the pain.

Anyways got the meds and I was finally able to talk myself “off the ledge” during the contractions. The pain was exactly the same from before but it put me in a better head space to help meditate thru them. Nurse also only gave me a half a dose of the pain meds.

7pm cam and my nurse shift was over. The morning nurse popped her head in to say hi and said wow ur still here. (At this point the pain so so intense and I had no energy, I couldn’t even talk nor open my eyes)

Finally I had to push. I guess as told I pushed maybe 3 times and my baby girl was born at 8:50pm.

Now, I can FINALLY say giving birth was hands down THE hardest thing I ever had to do. (Other two kids was a walk in the park compared to this and i didn’t even think birth was THAT hard with them lol)

I was so weak (it was past 24hrs since i lasted ate at that point). My eyes were closed the entire delivery. Once she was out I told them not to put her on my cuz I was too weak to hold her. They put her on me anyways and my hub held her on me cuz I was to weak to lift my arms or even open my eyes.

They took her to her bed next to me to be cleaned and I was trying to ask my hub what she looked liked cuz still I could barely open my eyes.

The actual pushing part was a blur. I didn’t realize there was a ton of nurses in my room cuz a newer nurse was freaking out over baby’s heart rate dropping but dr had to let nurse know that’s normal during the pushing part. So other nurses took over. All I could hear was my hub voice telling me to put my chin to my chest when I pushed lol. Once she was out I heard the dr say O she has blonde hair hahah. (Funny cuz my son has red hair and older daughter had dr brown hair. I am blk/Filipino & hub is blk/belizean. Crazy how genetics 🧬 work)

Anyways here’s some pix. Thx for reading. Came out longer then I wanted.

Sidenote: I now know what the “ring of fire” is. Had no clue prior to this. Lol

Xandria Brielle (first and middle)

8lbs even 20 inches 12/14/18 @850pm

Here she is at 2weeks. And her hair is a golden blondish brown. I haven’t seen a baby with blonde hair so I’m not sure how the hair would look. She is the same skin tone as my son. My daughter is a bit darker like me.