I was scheduled to come into the hospital on 1/8/2018 at 12:00pm to be induced due to Chronic Hypertension and Polycystic Kidney Disease. I had a pretty normal and easy breezy pregnancy considering I was high risk.

I went into the hospital excited and ready to have this baby!

Until I got my lab results back...

My mood instantly changed, I had developed preeclampsia overnight.

That’s my “I’m tired and unamused face.” I had to be administered magnesium sulfate through an IV to help prevent complications due to the preeclampsia. This meant my birth plan was out the door.

I had to labor in bed. No birthing ball. No walking the baby out. No dancing the baby out. I couldn’t even go to the bathroom... I had the option of using a bed pan or a catheter... HELLO BEDPAN.

But good news- at the same time they started the magnesium drip, they began administering cytotec/mistoprostol.

My step daughter started to get pretty antsy and dad started to get a little tired.

Soon night came and my sweet step baby went home and hubby stayed with me.

The nurses checked me around 12:00am and I’d progressed enough to go to the next step: Folley Balloon Catheter. Boy did that thing hurt like hell going in. The physician practically forced it in.

There was blood dripping out of the other end of the catheter BUT this is considered normal.

They check me the next morning and I hadn’t made any progress. And I was upset 😡 . I was tired of eating ice chips and just drinking water.

I think the nurses saw how unhappy I was because they offered me juice and popsicles.

SO SATISFYING!

This is where I start to lose track of time but the nurses offered to check me again and I let them even though I was feeling hopeless and like my body hadn’t done much of anything.

TURNS OUT I WAS WRONG! THE FOLLEY BALLOON CATHETER GOT ME TO 6 CM DILATED! Time for pitocin.

That was my hubby and my reaction 😁

I was feeling hopeful. We were making bets with each other about what time she would be born. I was hoping she’d have a 1/9/2019 at 9:30pm birthday. He was saying she wouldn’t get here until 1am on 1/10/2019 😬 (Who do you think was closer? because we were both wrong.)

Well, I knew I was wrong because it was 9:30 and they checked me and there’d been no progress at all. I should have figured this considering I wasn’t feeling any contractions. The doctors decide to break my water and I give the okay.

Shortly after that I was looking like 👆🏽. Man did I feel those contractions now. I just breathed through them.

At 1:00am, they got super intense. I couldn’t take it anymore. GIVE ME NITROUS OXIDE (laughing gas).

Well what a joke that was, it did not help take the edge off at all. And the doctors didn’t want to check me unless I was feeling pressure....

Well 9:00am comes around and I’m still not feeling pressure but I’m feeling tons of painful contractions... GIVE ME THE EPIDURAL!

I get the epidural and am damn near crying because I had made it so far without it and wish I could have done it without it but my hubby was there reassuring me that everything was alright and that I was still strong. 💪

Oh and at this point I decided to get a catheter for my urination cause I basically had no choice considering how hard it would be to lift up to use the bedpan.

It’s still just a waiting game. My sister and husband are super bored. I’m super bored and still feeling contractions and having to breath through them. 🤦🏽‍♀️

It’s about 12:30pm so my husband ventures off to get lunch because it’s still a waiting game and I felt comfortable with him leaving.

Well the nurse comes in and asked did I want to be checked and I said, “sure, why not?”. So she checks me and BAM 💥, I’m 10cm dilated and she can feel the babies head.

She asks me if I want to start pushing and I’m like...no. My husband is getting food.

So my sister and I decide this is the perfect time for a joke. She texts my husband that I’m crowning. 😂

He’s back to the room in about 2 minutes and goes 👇🏽

Just kidding babe but I am 10cm dilated and the nurses say I can start pushing.

At this point it’s about 1:10pm on 1/10/2019.

My sister gets the camera ready. Hubby positions himself at my side where he can hold my hand, my leg, see my face and see my vagina. 😂

I felt everything including the crowning despite having the epidural.

Twenty minutes and a minor tear later....

I was passing out and my baby was in my arms. I was totally oblivious to what was going on. I didn’t even get a chance to look at my beautiful baby girls face.

They took her away to work on her. She was having a hard time breathing and we both had more complications that gave us the luxury of having an additional 3.5 day stay at the mommy and me suite in the hospital. BUT THAT’S A STORY FOR ANOTHER DAY...

Daddy was so proud.

When I finally came around, I was proud too.

We are insanely in love. And even though my labor and delivery didn’t go as planned and we had complications.... my husband was there through it all and now we have our very own beautiful baby girl.

ELLA MARIE COBURN

6LBS 19.5INCHES

JANUARY 10,2019

1:39PM

*UPDATE* 1/30/2019-

Thank you to everyone! I didn’t expect this big of a response but I hope my story helped to ease some of your nervousness if you’re expecting & if not, I hope it was at least entertaining 😅