Anani Noelle’s Birth Story 💖

On March 29th I woke up with nagging contractions that I managed to nap through for the first few hours. Being 2 days overdue and a ftm, I was definitely over being pregnant but even when my contractions were 5 mins apart I wasn’t necessarily sure I was going into labor. My fiancé and I headed to l&d anyway just to be sure. When I was checked, I was 3 centimeters dilated and 75% effaced so they encouraged me to walk around to see if anything changed. Luckily, I dilated another centimeter which meant I was admitted and it was baby time! I was so set on giving birth naturally but let’s just say that after they broke my water (dr decided to do this because I had a “bulging bag”) I thought I was dying once the initial relief wore off. First, I opted for IV pain meds which made me loopy and I said some not so nice things to my man lol. The pain got stronger and stronger and I laid on my side with a peanut ball struggling through every contraction. After a while of that I decided to get the epidural. I sat with my arms around my mom, deathly still, as I got set up for it. I still don’t know how I managed to stay so still, especially through worsening contractions, but I did. The epidural instantly helped me to relax and I slept with my fiancé in the hospital bed for a good two hours. Next thing I know, the dr comes back to check me and I was 9 1/2 so it was time to start pushing. I pushed for 3 hours through immense pain and pressure as the epidural started to wear off more and more. I screamed at the top of my lungs, tried to give up, but the attending physician said something I’ll never forget “you are the only one who can do this.” For some reason that really empowered me. And with a final scream, I pushed an 8 pound 1 ounce baby into the world without a single tear. Once my daughter was placed on my chest, I was in shock. She was not only super beautiful, but she had a full head of hair. Overall, I’m so thankful for this experience. Every bit of blood, sweat, and tears was worth this precious gift from God.

Anani Noelle was born on March 30th at 5:22 AM.