I was due on October 7th. Well, due date came and went and there were no signs that baby girl was going to make an appearance. So that night we decided to have sex to induce labor. The next morning (Tuesday) I woke up and felt a pop and had fluid and a little blood running down my legs. As I stood in the bathroom, a pool of fluid formed under me and kept coming. I called the doctor and told them I think my water broke and they said to come in. I called my husband and told him to come home from work. We got to the doctor’s office around 9am and they did an ultrasound first. The tech said my water didn’t break. They then did the test for amniotic fluid and it came back negative. The doctor said I must have just had a really big bloody show. The doctor also said my cervix wasn’t dilated at all. They hooked me up to the non stress test and said I was having contractions. They told me I was officially in labor because they were 5 minutes apart. I started to feel them and they were getting more and more painful with each one. They sent me home because they weren’t that strong yet and told me to walk around. My husband and I went to breakfast and then walked around the neighborhood. By the afternoon, the contractions had stopped. I was only feeling them once every hour. So we went to bed that night not knowing what the morning would bring.

Well, my husband woke me up at 2:45am because I was moaning in my sleep. I woke up in so much pain! The contractions were getting super painful and were anywhere from 2 minutes to 7 minutes apart. By 4:45am, my husband said we should call the doctor. They told me to take a shower and come in. I was in so much pain trying to shower and get ready. We get in the car and thankfully it only took us 20 minutes to get to the hospital. I had 5 major contractions during that time though. We get up to the maternity ward and get all checked in. They check my cervix and I’m only 1cm dilated. 🤯 They were going to send me home but my contractions were so severe and so close together that I don’t think I could have even walked to the elevator let alone get in a car. The contractions were off the charts on the monitor. They finally wheeled me into a room (I don’t remember this because I was in so much pain) and get me in a sitting position in the hopes that the contractions would calm down a bit and my cervix would open up. At this point the contractions are back to back with little to no break in between. They check me and I’m only at 2cm! So even though it was super early, they said I couldn’t labor like that. So after 6 hours of nonstop intense contractions, they give me the epidural and started pitocin. The epidural was a godsend. I instantly felt better and was able to relax.

As the day goes on, I was dilating super slowly and I also developed a fever. They give me antibiotics and it wouldn’t come down. Then the baby’s heart rate started dropping. So they moved me and it went back up. At 7:30pm (I’ve now been in labor for over 34 hours) they come in to check me and I’m only at 8cm. They also realize that the baby has turned face up. So the doctor said that I would probably need a c-section but said if I wanted to, I could wait an hour and see if she turns and if I dilate more. I was so upset. Through tears, I discussed it with me husband and we decided to give the baby one more chance to come out on her own. Well, an hour goes by and the doctor said nothing had changed and that we had to do a c-section. After laboring for almost 36 hours, I was devastated. As they wheeled me to the OR, I was hysterically crying. I told the nurses that I was sad because I had done all of this work and I’m not going to be the first person to hold her. Obviously I knew we needed to get the baby out safely, but I wanted that skin to skin moment.

So I get to the OR, and just can’t believe this is happening. I also kept asking where my husband was and they said they would bring him in after they prepped me. I told them they better not forget. 😂 So he comes in and I’m still crying. Before we know it, our baby girl comes out! She was huge! They told me she would probably be around 7 and a half pounds. She was 8 pounds, 13 ounces! They also said she was wedged in my pelvic bone and there was no way she was going to come out on her own.

I remember instantly falling in love with her as I saw her through my blurry, tear filled eyes. They cleaned her up and handed her to my husband. It was the best feeling in the world to meet her!

They closed me up and moved me to the recovery area. I nursed her and she latched on right away. They wheeled us to our room and I started to get sick. I threw up 7 times within an hour that night. But I remember looking at my baby knowing it was all worth it!

The next morning, they brought her in to feed and noticed she was breathing strangely. So they brought her to the NICU and said she had fluid on her lungs and a fever. We were so upset! She stayed there for 7 days while they gave her antibiotics and monitored her. It was the hardest thing to see people leave with their babies and we didn’t get to do that. Thankfully enough, the hospital had free rooms to stay in so we were able to stay there the entire time. When the doctor said she could be released, I burst into tears. I was crying when we put her in the car seat and was so relieved this was all over and she was going home.

She is now almost 12 weeks old and is almost 14 pounds! She has been sleeping through the night since she was 7 weeks old and started smiling and laughing at 4 weeks. She is the best little girl and we couldn’t be happier!!

Raelynn Noreen

Born: Wednesday, October 9th at 9:11pm 💗

Here she is today!