OK so I think this going to be long lol sorry. but I hope you still enjoy :) I really enjoyed my birth experience. 😊 I was due with my little girl on Thursday Sept 21. I was originally diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes, I was borderline on the tests, so they did out of precaution. My numbers were all normal and diet controlled. But with that diagnosis, weekly ultrasounds & nonstress tests (fetal monitoring) were part of the prenatal care at 35wks to make sure baby didn't get too big and was ok. So every week my husband and I would go up to labor & delivery for our tests. It was nice bc we got to know the nursing staff ahead of time. My husband is a joker, the nurses all loved him and were all hoping we'd deliver on their shift bc we'd be fun to have. Wk 39 at my appt my Dr checks me and I am 2cm dilated 70% effaced! Yay, things are starting! Then that night I believe I had my bloody show. But then the blood continued. So much I went through a pad, and put on a diaper. I called L&D; to report it since after office hours. They wanted me to come in to get checked since the bleeding was more than normal. All was fine, my cervix is just sensitive, and the exam earlier just caused me to bleed. we go back home and wait to see when baby will come.  A few times throughout the next week I'd have really intense contractions, time them, they'd get to 5mins apart over an hour, then go away completely.

Now at my 40wk appt we see one of the other doctors at the practice. He exams me....1cm dilated. "whoa wait it's supposed to increase not go down!" I was disappointed, was hoping I would have progressed over the week. We talked about induction options, and for non medical reasons we chose to plan induction that Monday morning. I could decide exact course of action that morning, including to choose against induction.

Well I didn't want to be hooked up to an IV for potentially days, so I tried every natural labor inducing hack that's out there. Bounced on a ball all day at work, went for long walks, ate spicy food, drank lots of Red raspberry leaf tea, had sex with my husband (the nurses actually "prescribed" this to us lol), drove down bumpy roads, and nothing worked.

Monday came, no cervical change, so I got a dose of the pill at 830am. (I can't remember the name now, it's been a month. I'm sleep deprived, and I'm writing this during a midnight feed 😂). The pill you can take up to 5x, in 4hr increments. I geared up for the long haul. 

The day before I made cookies and brought them with us for the nurses & drs. I recommend this. it'll get you on their good side lol They loved them! We became the room to be in lol (there were two other women in labor also getting induced, we joked it was a race) A couple of the nurses we got friendly with ended up being my delivery nurse, which we discovered they grew up down the street from my husband, and where we live now! So we had a little small town reunion. Helped time go by quick. 

So after first 4 hrs dr came in check me, he says "you're 3cm, I'm breaking your water now and we'll start petocin." much quicker than I expected and I thought I'd be on the petocin for a while before that happened. An hour later I started to feel intense pain in my hip bones, not my uterus. Like it felt like they were cracking apart!!! So time for an epidural. 2hours, 6 sticks, 3 rounds of meds, and 3 anestesiologists, they finally got the epidural in correctly and giving me relief. 

By then I was 6cm dilated, my water emptied while putting in the epidural. 2hrs later I got checked again. The nurse says "Ok your cervix is gone, you can push when you want." um..what? "you're fully dilated, you can start pushing now." "oh we're having a baby!" I said to my husband and started to cry. I didn't have the urge to push for another hour and a half. Once I started, my husband held one leg up, and a doula held my other. The nurse kept checking baby's movement and changing the pad under me, which I thought was due to fluid/blood coming out of my vagina. no-one let it be known to me at the time, but my husband told me afterwards that it was actually because I kept pooping over and over and over and over again. 😳 

The epidural helped, I only felt pressure, but I was running out of breath pushing so much. They wanted 3 pushes with each contraction. I pushed for 1.5hrs, then it was time for the Dr to come catch! By now I was gassed out, I was telling the nurse my medical wishes. I truly thought I was going to pass out and they'd have to intervene somehow to get her out of me. I had nothing left. Then the last 3 contractions came and I felt EVERYTHING! I was screaming! Like bloody murder! Ever see Knocked up? Watch the last scene where she gives birth and they tell her to quiet down. That was me. They told me to stop talking/making noise and hold my breath. I replied screaming "IT BURNNNSSS!!!!!!!"  as the doctor reached in and pulled my daughter's head out, and I felt the ring of fire! 🔥 I could feel myself tear. One more push and the rest of her came out. 👶 

The most incredible feeling, the instant love you feel is indescribable! 

Her cone was off to the side surrounded by a massive bruise on her head. She was slightly turned when she came out, so that caused the cone to be off center. And we think that positioning caused her head to be pushing into my pelvic bone, which was that feeling before the epidural, and what caused her bruise. Poor girl! 

But she was absolutely beautiful, perfect, and healthy. 😍 we couldn't be happier and more in love! 💓

Emma Rose

Monday 9/25/17

6lbs 7.5oz 19in

12hrs labor 8:59pm (and FYI...we won the "race" by one minute!)