I was scheduled for induction at 39+5 due to some hypertension the last few weeks of my pregnancy. My husband and I arrived to the hospital at 8pm and got settled in our room. The hospital was having a hectic evening so it took awhile to get the induction started. At 11pm the doctor inserted the pill cytotec into my cervix. I had been 1 1/2cm dilated and 50% effaced for two weeks with no progress. The plan was to let the pill finish thinning my cervix out and to start pitocin at 5am to begin contractions. I was GBS positive so at 3am the nurse began my first dose of antibiotics (penicillin) in my IV. She asked how I was feeling and I told her I was mildly crampy but in no pain. I had been on the monitor since I arrived at the hospital so she decided to take me off until 4:30am so I could be a little more comfortable to get some rest before pitocin was started. A little after 4am, I began having contractions. The started immediately at 50 seconds each and came every one and a half minutes. There was no gradual increase of contractions it was just bam, one after the other after the other. I did my best to breath through contractions but by 5am, thought I was dying and desperately wanted an epidural. My husband called my nurse who was shocked to hear I was having contractions as she had been in less than two hours before and I had been only mildly crampy. She checked me and told me I was only 2cm dilated and I couldn’t believe it because of the amount of pain I was in. She called the anesthesiologist to order my epidural. Before the anesthesiologist arrived, I said, I have to push NOW. She’s coming now! The nurse was like no way, let me check you. She was shocked to find that in a little less than 15 minutes I went from 2cm to just about 10cm. The nurses were scrambling to get a delivery cart in the room and cancel my epidural as well as find a doctor to deliver my baby, as my doctor had left at 5am knowing I was only 2cm and thinking it would be awhile before anything happened. They kept saying don’t push yet you need to dilate just a tiny bit more. I was scared of tearing so I resisted the urge to push but baby had her own plans and literally plopped out. And when I say plopped out, I am not kidding. With one contraction came her head, she was still in her bag of waters so they broke my water and out came her body with another contraction. They placed her on my chest and I was in shock, it all felt like a crazy dream. I went from not being in labor to holding my baby girl in just over one hour. The most intense hour of my entire life. My doctor arrived to my room just after delivery and was able to deliver my placenta and check me for tears in which I had none! She said she was in her car driving home when they called and said I was about to deliver and she couldn’t believe it. She raced back to the hospital hoping to make it in time to deliver my baby but couldn’t make it, baby had already been born. My first born was an induction as well with a labor of only 7 hours, I had went from 5cm to 10cm in one hour so I thought things would progress quickly with number two but not that quickly! What an experience.

Baby Rowan Nalani was born on July 31st at 5:15am weighing 7 lbs even and 17.5 in long. She’s just a tiny little thing. My doctors had predicted she would be 8 lbs as my first born was just over 8 lbs at birth. She really fooled us all and gave the entire hospital staff, myself, and her daddy quite the surprise!

Here’s a picture of my tiny little sweetie 💞