This is my fourth baby, 3rd induction. The day started out going to the hospital to be induced at 7am for gestational hypertension + gestational diabetes. We took the morning slow just monitoring things as they were. I was only about 2cm and 30% effaced.

Around 10am I was offered either the oral pill for softening or the balloon. I had a horrible experience with the ballon the last induction and just couldn’t go that route again so we opted for the pill. After four hours baby girl had dropped a bit but not much progressed beyond that. So we started the pitocin.

Nothing much was happening, I was having a few contractions but they were super mild. Around 5pm the nurse checked me and somehow I was 6cm dilated! I was shocked. I just knew I was a 3 at best given the nearly nonexistent pain up until that point. I was SO super pumped at the progress. I was now expecting baby to come swift and easy right? Ha!

Four hours later another check. And NOTHING had changed. I have always had non-medicated births but this delivery was already so different due to covid. I didn’t have my mom to support me and my husband (she’s a Lamaze coach) nor could we get up and walk the hallways, etc. and our room was TINY! I told my husband before they checked me that at this hour, if I was still a 6 (and I was mostly joking because I didn’t even think it was possible) that I was likely going to opt for the epidural.

Well. Epidural it was.

It was 9pm and I was exhausted and starving and just knew laboring through the night, on pitocin, for the most intense portion was not something I wanted to do. Been there. Done that. Learned my lesson. I also really wanted a calm delivery. Or at least as calm as possible. I was a bundle of anxiety for weeks leading up to induction and the day started out in uncontrollable crying from all the nerves.

So I get the epidural. The idea was to get the epidural then break my water. But baby girl was so anterior that the midwife couldn’t feel her water to break so we decided to let it be and see what naturally progressed. From there I went to sleep. And what a welcome change that was from my previous births!! I couldn’t feel anything and I could sleep?! 🙌🏼

Around 2am my water breaks. The nurse checks me again at 4am and just a 7! One cm in over 12 hours! Also, at this point I was starting to feel contractions so the doctor topped off the epidural and I went back to sleep ... I knew I had another long day ahead of me and wanted to rest up.

At around 545am the nurse comes in because the fetal monitor lost the baby’s heart beat (had been doing this all day as both baby and I moved around). I was still mostly asleep as she searched but could tell she was having a hard time finding the heartbeat. In the middle of it my IV started beeping so she went to turn it off. She started again trying to find the heart beat and pulled off my blankets.

All of a sudden I hear her shout “ummm, Anne (midwife), I’m going to need you like right now. We have a baby!”

And there she was!!! In between my (hella numb) legs, my baby girl was slowly shimmying herself along and was already fully head out!!

Y’all! This is something you only hear about happening to someones hairdressers best friends lawyers sister. But it never actually happens to YOU!

I fully recognize this could have gone very wrong if I wasn’t checked when I was, if my legs weren’t open in butterfly, if if if. But all was well and I got to have my baby in my arms with no

pain, no pushing, no nothing.

Like. What even is this sorcery!?

All I can say is this little rockstar is here to get 👏🏼 things👏🏼done👏🏼! I am already so amazed by her! Her three big brothers better watch out - she is one hell of a strong, independent little lady! 😍

Clara Rose, born 2.5.2021 at 5:46am (ish 🤷🏻‍♀️)