Does anyone else absolutely love telling their birth story?!? I don’t know why but whenever someone asks I light up and instantly go into detail. So I’m going to share it with you!
July 1st – 8 more days till my due date , I could last 8 more days its not so bad. Ive done 39 weeks already whats a few more days. I walk outside for a minute into the disgusting humid weather 90 degrees at 9am, walk back inside and tell matt “this baby needs to get out Im not lasting 8 more days.” We ended up spending the day at our friends new apartment. The guys were hanging out drinking and getting the apartment together and I on the other hand took my usual spot in the corner section of the couch, feet up, food on my belly. Fast forward a few hours and we decide to grab dinner at this Italian tapas restaurant called Spuntino. Great spot and the food is amazing! The amount of food I ate that night was insane, even pregnant I had a limit but that night I just kept eating like it was my last meal. On the way home I was so uncomfortable, I felt like I had indigestion which I kinda expected at that point but it felt different. Once I got home I took some tums, drank some seltzer and called it a night. Around 2am I woke up to contractions, Ive had some braxton hicks in the prior weeks but this was different and I knew it was the real thing. I started timing my contractions so I could get an idea where I was at ,they were lasting for about a minute to a minute a half every 5-10 minutes. Way too early to go to the hospital so I labored at home, I walked around the apartment a bit, used my yoga ball, and took a bath. This entire time matt is asleep and has no idea his little girl was on the way!
At 630am I woke him up and told him everything, his response was “are you sure?, i don’t think its time”. I laughed and said get in the shower and be ready to leave in a bit and pack your shit because we aren’t coming back here. I got to my 39 week check up and told my doctor what was going on, she checked me and sure enough I was 2cm dilated and 30% effaced BUT my blood pressure was extremely high 160/100. The last few weeks I was having high blood pressure every doctor visit and they would send me to hospital to be monitored for 3 hours and once it was back to normal I went home. That was extremely scary for me especially because matt was working crazy hours, he wasn’t home a lot at night which made me nervous. We get to the hospital at 830am and before heading upstair to labor and delivery I made a quick run to the cafe and got a bagel because I had no idea how this day would turn out and when I would eat again! Trying to eat my bagel and breathe through the contractions was something I never thought I’d be doing but there I was in the corner table of Au Bon Pain. I was admitted at 9:30am, I swear I lucked out, my labor and delivery nurse was the sweetest and her name was Nicole Marie! Once I was settled in I called my parents and told them to head over, I had dilated to 4cm and 70% effaced in the matter of an hour and a half. I had a feeling everything was going to go very fast. As my contractions started to increase Gianna’s heart rate would drop each time I had one. I made it to 6cm and thats when I told matt to get the nurse Im ready for an epidural, 12 hours of labor I was proud of myself but I was also exhausted. Getting the epidural was so intense, I had to sit up on the side of the bed while they inject a needle into my spine BUT at the same time I have to work through my contractions and not make a move otherwise something could go wrong. And what sucks even more is they make your husband leave the room, so you’re going through this experience with two total strangers in the room with you. It was over pretty fast and before I knew it my pain was gone and I decided I was going to try and take a nap, only problem was my only comfortable position(on my side) wasn’t good because they couldn’t monitor the baby. As I’m laying in bed watching friends without sound because they couldn’t find the remote – my husband is eating his Chinese food that his parents brought for him cause you know he was starving, I started to feel a lot of pressure. It took me a few minutes to figure out what was happening so my mother in law went to get my nurse and doctor, 3:45pm my doctors exact words “oh wow she’s right here.” I was in shock, I just got my epidural wasn’t I supposed to take a nap? doesn’t the epidural slow down the process? In the matter of 30 seconds my room filled with nurses and doctors, my bed transformed, and I was being told exactly how to breathe and what to do. It was so surreal, I always imagined what it would be like, how nerve wracking it would be, but it wasn’t at all I was extremely calm and ready to do this.
Three pushes and 15 mins later Gianna Rose was born at exactly 4:00pm weighing 5lbs 4oz and 19 inches long.
From start to finish my birth experience was amazing and I know you don’t hear that too often, I went in there expecting the absolute worst because of stories I’ve heard from others and when I tell my story to some they look at me like I’m crazy. Im extremely grateful to have had such a wonderful pregnancy as well as labor and delivery, but I know its not like that for everyone. Either way we go through this journey and our bodies go through hell and back but at the end all we want is for our babies to be healthy.
Snuggles and Struggles 