Let me start out by saying that my entire pregnancy and birth experience was the most incredible thing I have ever experienced. Morning sickness sucked and labor was exactly what the word implies- hard work, but I would do it again in a heartbeat

My pregnancy was a typical, very healthy one. No crazy complications just general aches, pains and discomforts. That was until my last scheduled doctors appointment at 39w6d. I had been feeling very tired, barely able to walk from one side of the house to the other before getting winded. I took it as another sign baby would be here "soon" although prior to my 39.6 appointment my doctor and I both felt he would be a week late if not more. When I arrived for my appointment the nurse took my vitals as usual, except when we got to blood pressure she took it three times "just to make sure" she said. It turns out I had slightly elevated BP along with protein in my urine. My doctor diagnosed me with mild preeclampsia and said we needed to induce labor for the safety of myself and my baby. I was (embarrassingly now that I look back on it) reluctant to proceed with induction since my heart was set on an unmedicated, intervention-free labor. However, I knew better than to risk the health of my baby or myself for a birth plan that might not be followed in the end anyway (spoiler: it wasn't 100% how I wanted, but that's okay)

We checked into the hospital at 10:30 Thursday and I took my first dose of cytotec just after midnight and another at 4am. My doctor came in to check us at 5:30am and decided we were progressing well enough to break my water. Contractions started about an hour later. They were short and mild but steady. At 8:30am the nurse started me on the dreaded pitocin. After about an hour and a half of progress my contractions were getting stronger and more steady and we entered active labor. I felt incredibly empowered by the ability to overcome each contraction. With the support of my husband and doula I felt I could do anything! Until we reached transition... My birth had progressed fairly quickly until this point [5 hours of easy labor, 3.5 hours of active labor and all in all transition lasted no more than an hour]. My contractions were nearly on top of each other at this point and were obviously painful. I knew that I had reached transition and it was too late to request an epidural because my baby would be here soon. I lost my confidence for a total of two contractions before my team was able to reassure me that this was the hardest part and I could do it.

Once we made it past transition, pushing felt like a breeze, it took me a while to get the hang of it but after about an hour and a half of pushing my baby's head started to become visible. The doctor kept saying "just one more contraction and we'll have him out". Well, after about 12 more tries my chunky baby's head finally emerged. (Just a side note I was told and read several places that once the baby's head emerged getting the rest of the body out is a breeze- That was not the case for me, unfortunately). This is where my nightmares came to play, suddenly it went from "look here's his head" to "I need you to push harder. No harder, harder. HARDER" followed by a swarm of nurses coming to grab my legs, push on my uterus and my doctor calm but urgently trying to twist and pull my baby out. It took about 3 more minutes of pushing, twisting and agonizing pain but my baby finally made his way into the world at 3:35pm on Auguse 22. He was very blue and limp but after a few seconds his color returned and he was healthy and crying. After treating my 500 tears (there were actually 6, I believe) my doctor explained to me what had happened. My son was larger than anyone had anticipated (9lbs 2oz, 22in) so on his way down the birth canal he struggled to get past my pubic bone. Once his head finally made it, his shoulder got stuck behind the pubic bone so my doctor had to manually turn him to avoid dislocating or fracturing his tiny shoulder. The on staff NP said we were very lucky because most babies in that situation do end up with some damage to their arm but thankfully our little man only suffered some minor bruising.

Leon James

8/22/18 9lbs 2oz 22in

He's nursing like a pro already

Daddy cant get enough of him

After delivery just about every nurse on the floor and at each shift change has come to congratulate us and see "the big baby". Apparently the nurses at my delivery were amazed by how well I handled the entire birthing process and the overall size of my baby. He's a little hospital celebrity and the reaction from the nurses was definitely a huge confidence boost for a struggling mommy. We are now testing and preparing to head home tomorrow.

-also any expecting moms who feel you may be experiencing normal pregnancy symptoms but also feel like they could be something worse, please consult your doctor. I am very thankful we were able to catch my diagnosis early on and that my baby was already full term but many mamas aren't so lucky. Take care of yourselves even if it risks looking too anxious.

Thank you for reading❤