*Long* Baby girl came quick and early

I’m a STM; and both my babies decided to come early.

Aurora Grace was born 36w6d; 6lbs 5oz and 17.5 inches long.

In the days leading up to her birth; I felt lots of pressure, but no *real* contractions. I had loose stool and was nauseas off and on.

In the morning I woke up and went to the restroom. I did my business and then as I stood up, I felt another trickle. I had had increased discharge for the last month, so I didn’t think much of it. I laid back down in bed for my morning snuggles with my son and felt a few more small gushes. I started to get nervous, so I called out of work and asked my husband to do the same. I got our bags together and organized sitters for my son and our dog. I called my OB to schedule a quick check-up to be sure I wasn’t peeing myself. (I tend to be a bit paranoid and I didn’t want to waste L&Ds time)

Doc chuckled when she checked me. She said she didn’t *have* to check the fluid. It was DEFINITELY amniotic, but she did it to give me the peace of mind. She checked my cervix and said I was fully effaced and dilated 3 CM. We headed right over to the hospital. (This was about 11 AM)

I sent husband home to prepare for our LO arrival. (Her bed and car seat were still in their boxes. Nesting never really set in for me 🤷🏻‍♀️) At about 12:30; my contractions were painless and sporadic. Doc started pitocin to kick things up a notch.

At four o’clock my pain went from a 1-2, to a 8 within a five minute span. The nurse checked me and said I was 5 cm. I asked for the epidural. It was placed at 4:45. Within minutes, I felt my body relax and I had a strong urge to poop. (My uterus is tilted backwards.)

At 5:15 I was checked again and the nurse says: “are you ready to have a baby?!” I had dilated from 5-10 cm in half an hour! Thank goodness my mom had the good sense to text my husband when the pain got bad, or he would not have gotten there in time. I was convinced it’d be hours before pushing; maybe even the next morning before I met my babygirl.

Everyone suited up and my LO was born at 5:58 PM. Just 9 hours after my water broke. Shortly after delivery; I had some hemorrhage complications. That was some of the scariest minutes of my life. My baby was cared for by a nurse and my visitors were kicked out of the room quite quickly.

Over the next few days, Aurora had issues with low glucose. She was so sleepy, she couldn’t quite wake up to nurse. That was really hard for me, because I wanted to exclusively breastfeed. I expressed the colostrum I could, but had to supplement with formula.

Flash forward to today; she’s 9 days old and nursing like a champ! She’s gained her weight back and she’s sleeping appropriate amounts. She’s my little princess and she’s absolutely perfect. 😍🥰❤