Now that my little babe is 5 weeks old, I guess it’s time to share my story 🤷🏼‍♀️

Her original due date was 12/5/18. On October 25th, I went to my 34 week appointment and my blood pressure was sky high. They sent me to labor & delivery to be monitored and have labs done. That night I was diagnosed with preeclampsia, teetering between mild and severe. They were going to keep me overnight at my hospital and then the next day send me to the major hospital in our area and keep me for the next 3 weeks, or until my girl was ready to come. The next day my blood pressures had gotten a lot better, so they let me go home for the remaining 3 weeks, but I was going for non-stress tests, blood pressure checks and blood work 2-3 times a week. On November 14th, at 37 weeks, I arrived at the hospital at 6:30 am. They checked me, and I was 70% effaced. I was immediately started on pitocin and my contractions started instantly being 2-3 minutes apart, but not at all painful. All day Wednesday I played on my boyfriends Nintendo switch and watched tv comfortably. 8pm that night they check me again, I was 80% effaced and a fingertip dilated. They took me off pitocin for the night and gave me sleeping medication because they guaranteed I was having a baby the next day. Thursday morning around 8 am, I was checked again. 100% effaced and 3 cm dilated, they broke my water.I was going to start pitocin again, but they wanted a nurse by my side at all times, so I wasn’t started on it until about 12:30pm. Around 1, my contractions started to get real. I was 4 cm at this point, and just breathing through my contractions silently. Around 3:20pm, my body started naturally pushing, I told my nurse, Hannah. She checked me and insisted that I was at a 6, and nothing was happening. This continued for another 15 minutes or so and I insisted that I was having a baby. She told me Again I wasn’t ready, so I asked the epidural. The anesthesiologists was outside of my room when I told Hannah it was happening. She called my doctor in to check me, just in case. My doctor came in and checked, looks at me and says “you’re at a 10.. plus 3. You’re ready to go.”

This is when shit got real. I felt like I pushed for years, but realistically it was only 15 minutes. I don’t know how some women do it for hours. My mom, boyfriend and best friend held my legs while I pushed out my tiny 5 pound 14.6 ounce girl, Harper.