It’s two years later and I’ve never shared my birth story so I really wanted to. I don’t remember all the details but I remember most. It started on Friday feb3rd 2017. I was 17. I went to my doctors appointment with my mom. I was a little over 40 weeks because I was due Jan 29. I was ready to get the baby out but I wasn’t dilated at all and not having any contractions. So the doctors said they wouldn’t induce me until Tuesday. Me and my mom left the doctors to go home and it was starting to get dark out. About 20 min from the house, her car breaks down ! It never had any issues before this! We had to pull over in a church parking lot. It was freezing outside because it was February in northern Illinois. So me and my mom end up standing outside waiting on a ride while the tow truck takes our car. We walking back and forth,bouncing up and down trying to keep warm and we wait like 20

minutes! We finally get picked up and get home. I was sleepin in my moms bed that night and I ended up waking up at about 2am with contractions. I wasn’t forsure what they were. It felt like I needed to poo and like period cramps. So I try to sleep on and off until about 7 when I can actually get my mom up and awake🤦🏽‍♀️. I tell her I’ve been having bloody stuff and contractions. So we eventually head back to my doctors/hospital which is 45 min away. We text my doula Emily to let her know what’s going on and she ends up meeting us at the hospital. We get there and they tell me that I’m 3 cm, and her bag is bulging so they let me stay. They let me walk and labor on my own alll day. My friends and family are there. They’re In and out of the room, helping me pass the time. I get to sit in the birthing tub and labor in there. I ended up having to get out of the tub because her heart rate had dropped. I had considered getting an epidural but my contractions were never really regular even though I was dilating. Finally it gets late at night and I’m exhausted so I get the epidural so I could get sleep ! It must’ve been sometime in the early morning because I was at 7 cm when I got it. When I got it, it slowed my labor down. So I had to have pitocin. I got to about 9 1/2 cm by 8am Sunday morning . and felt like I had to push ! But I still had a lip so they said I couldn’t. I sat there for an hour in so much pain just trying not to push. All I could hear was my doula counting though the contractions trying to help me concentrate. I could feel the pressure, and the epidural wasn’t working as well so I kind of felt the contractions. Finally they let me push because I couldn’t stop it. I started pushing about 10 am. I didn’t push for long because she was born at 1053am ! I had a third degree tear and felt every stitch because the numbing shot they gave me didn’t work. But baby was healthy and she got put right on my chest and everything was great ! But We got moved to a mother and baby room and when I eventually got up to try to pee, I lost a giant clot and lots of blood so I had to be given blood in an iv. She didn’t latch that well to one side so I had to supplement formula but I was able to breastfeed. We were there for like 2 days. Recovery was easy and I was healed In 4 weeks instead of 6. It was overall a great birth experience . The whole time I was contracting before the epidural I was told you couldn’t even tell cause how well I handled them 😂.And somewhere in the middle of all of it, Im not sure when she got there but my other mom made it there in time. She drove 8 hours from Tennessee ! It was the greatest blessing have her get there safe and sound in a snow storm !

Trinity Nicole was born 7 pounds 3 oz. and 19 inches long ! Now she’s a sassy 2 year old with a sibling on the way.