My birth story & the day I became a mother!

Today I’m going to share with all you my birth story and the events that led to me to become a mother. I will share all the raw details with you and hope that my experience can give you some insight on what you can expect. What I don’t want you to do is start comparing your journey to mine because everyone has different experiences and everyone’s body is different. 

Now before I was even pregnant I did want to share that I never really viewed labor & delivery in a positive way. It was something I was always scared about because of movies/shows or  I heard about all these crazy stories from other people. 

Once I found out I was pregnant I knew that it was going to be the most challenging thing I had ever done in my life. Shortly after I announced I was pregnant a company called the Positive Birthing company sent me their Hypnobirthing course. It was really early on and I’m so thankful they did because it allowed me to change my entire perspective. I’ll link their website HERE so you can go check it out yourself! 

Well I know you came here for all the details, so here is the start of my birth story and the day I became a mother! 

Tuesday September 24, 2019 

Tuesday Morning:

Now Tuesday was just like any other normal day. I woke up made myself breakfast and prepared to finish setting up Emma’s nursery. One of my friends was going to come over and we we’re going to shop for last minute items. Before she came I decided to jump on Instagram and give a little update on how I was feeling since I was getting that question so much. 

Summary of the update: 

I was feeling great and I was still running around doing things as I normally would. I mentioned that I started packing my hospital bag and even talked about my due date. Yes, Emma could come early but that I didn’t view her due date as a deadline as that can cause anxiety.  My due date was October 8^th just for your reference. Many also were wondering if I was experiencing Braxton Hicks and I was but it was nothing that was uncomfortable. If you’re not sure what Braxton Hicks they are contractions that cause your stomach to tighten and they come and go. They call these false contractions because it’s just getting your body for the real deal. They also are more sporadic and do not cause the cervix to open/dilate. 

Tuesday Afternoon:

My friend finally came over and we literally went all over town to try and find some items for the nursery. We actually didn’t end up finding anything but we went to 4 different stores. I felt the Braxton Hicks the whole day but I just continued to breathe through them and go about my day. It didn’t cause me to stop in my tracks and I could talk through them with no problem. 

Tuesday Evening:

After we were done styling the nursery I decided to go to my older brother’s house for some dinner. While I was there I wanted to ask my Sister-In-Law about the Braxton Hicks since she had experience having my two nephews. I was starting to get worried because they were persistent and present all day. It was uncomfortable and my belly would get really tight. I couldn’t really compare the pain to anything so I wasn’t sure how to rate the pain. It was definitely bearable since I continued shopping and acting like I was fine. 

Anyway so she said that I would know the difference and it would feel different. She also felt my belly when it would get really tight and we both concluded that my body was just getting ready. 

Tuesday Night:

Cesar came home and I let him know that I felt like he needed to come home earlier now because I felt like it could happen at any moment. 

I was still experiencing the Braxton Hicks but we just laid down and watched Look who’s talking together. It definitely helped take my mind off things because I absolutely love that movie. 

As we were sitting there watching the movie I told Cesar let’s start some group text messages with family so when it happens it’s easier to communicate instead of having to text everyone. I wanted him to be the one to talk to everyone so I wasn’t distracted answering questions. 

The text message he sent to our family: 

Hi everyone, this is Emma’s Dad. I wanted to start a group text message to keep you all in the loop of Elizabeth baby delivery progress. 

I’ll keep you updated when she starts to have contractions, when her water breaks, and when we are on our way to the hospital. 

Once were at the hospital I’ll update you on how far she is dilated and when she is ready to start pushing. 

When Baby Emma is here, the first hour will be us bonding. After that we will be transferred to a room where family can come up. 

As of right now Elizabeth is only having Braxton Hicks, so Emma is not ready to come out yet. 

We’re so excited and can’t wait for you all to meet baby Emma.

How crazy is it that we decided to send that text message out? Cesar thought it was too early but I just wanted to be prepared. 

Tuesday Late night:

Anyway, after the movie was over I told Cesar I was going to start timing them. I used the Freja app to time the contractions and see if I could notice a pattern. If there was a pattern and they were more consistent then it was a sign that it was real labor and not just Braxton Hicks. I started to notice that there was definitely a pattern and they were about 8-9 minutes apart. 

While I was timing them I would also get random ones that definitely didn’t exhibit a pattern. So again I was so confused. 

Throughout the night I also felt the urge to keep using the restroom. Yes, this is TMI but it’s important to note. I used the restroom at least like 6-9 times that night because I kept feeling the need to poop. 

 So throughout the entire pregnancy I would always research everything. So I started to look up what it could mean about me needing to poop so much. It said that it was my body’s way of clearing out your system and getting ready. So I started thinking could this really be it? I also had lentils for dinner what if it was just what I ate LOL.

 I was also reading more up on “false contractions,” and it definitely said they should be random. 

So I kept second guessing myself and I just wasn’t sure. I told Cesar I was worried if these were Braxton Hicks and if I was going to experience them for another two weeks because the thought of that sounded so exhausting. 

Eventually Cesar fell asleep around 11pm and I decided I was going to stop timing them. I felt I couldn’t rest if I kept pushing the button and I wanted to see if I could just sleep them off.  

Wednesday September 25, 2019

1:00 AM

At around 1 am I woke Cesar up and I let him know they were definitely not going away. He stayed up with me, helped with the heating pad I was putting on my belly to ease the pain, and we started to try and time them again. 

We noticed the contractions were closer together now and were now like 6-7 minutes apart. My doctor told me that if I was experiencing contractions 5 minutes apart 1 minute in length and for at least 1 hour that I should go in. 

I honestly felt like I was in denial this whole time and I was like this isn’t real labor. I was like my water didn’t break, I didn’t lose my mucus plug or even experience the bloody show. 

So I stayed in bed and kept timing/breathing through my contractions and Cesar started to clean around the house. 

We decided we were going to go in at around 4am which is when we started packing. I didn’t even want to pack everything because I was like they’re just going to send us home. Cesar of course was like “No, we need to pack everything.” 

5:00 AM

We arrived at the hospital and we we’re waiting for them to check me to see whether I would stay or go home. At this point Cesar sent out a message to the group and let them know I was at the hospital. I was not happy about this because it was before they even checked me. What if they just sent me home? I was so upset but I got over it after they checked me and they said I was dilated to about 3-4 centimeters which meant I was staying. 

They transferred me to the room where I was going to deliver and Cesar and I got settled in. He put on a John Legend playlist and we asked them to dim all the lights completely. 

I also wanted to make sure I had cordless monitoring for Emma because I wanted to make sure I could move around and they were able to accommodate that for me. I also had a closed saline pick, I think that’s what it’s called. They needed to make sure they had access in case I needed an IV but they wouldn’t hook me up unless I needed it. Again I did not want to be constricted and wanted the freedom to move around. 

6:00 AM

After we were settled the nurses pretty much left us alone and only checked in to see if we needed anything. It was just Cesar and I getting through contractions on our own. 

I decided I wanted something to cover my eyes because even though the lighting was dim I still wanted it to be even more dark. 

During my contractions (or surges which is just a more positive way to think of contractions) I found that the most comfortable position for me was laying on my side. I tried standing up, sitting down and nothing was really comfortable for me beside lying on my side. 

When a surge would come Cesar would apply pressure on my hips to alleviate the pain. We learned some techniques that would help during surges from my brother and sister-in-law the week before. So we had a little bit of practice before the real deal. 

Now this next part is weird but during every surge I made a bicycle motion with my legs. If you’re confused what that means, just picture the movement you make when riding a bike which is exactly what I was doing. It was a form of relief for me that I could redirect the energy to something else. I also told Cesar to repeat this line to me, “Every surge brings us closer to meeting baby Emma.” It was my form of motivation and helped get me through every surge. 

We also practiced a traffic light system which was our way of communicating with each other. This is something that we learned from my hypnobirthing course.

Traffic Light System:

This system was a guide for us throughout the labor process. Green represented relaxation, yellow represented tension in the body and red was panic. The idea was to stay within green & yellow and not go to red. Red represented my body tensing up and possibly allowing adrenaline to take over. Allowing adrenaline to take over could slow down the dilation process and I didn’t want that to happen.

After my surge Cesar would say ok let’s get you back to green. We knew what that meant and we had a couple relaxation techniques to get me to relax. Basically just light touch massages, encouraging words, and constantly giving me water to keep me hydrated. 

8:30 AM

The nurses came back to do another cervical check to see how I was progressing. At this point I was already dilated to a 7 ½. I was making great progress and the nurses kept saying how fast I progressing. 

Now even though I was really close to being fully dilated, I was hurting. I felt like the surges were lasting forever and they were so close together. My rest breaks were getting shorter and this transitional part of labor really got to me. 

I told Cesar I wanted the epidural and he told me we could do whatever I wanted. I kept telling myself that epidural or not it would still be an amazing birth story. I still believe that to be true but I just knew that deep down I wanted to do without it. I didn’t want to deal with the possible long term time effects since I feel like I already have back problems. 

The nurses heard me and let me know that the anesthesiologist was going into a C-section and he would not be able to get to me for about another 40 minutes-1 hour. I remember telling Cesar, ask again maybe he can come sooner. At that point they had to give me fluids to prepare me for the epidural. They also came in and made me sign all this paperwork for the epidural. 

The nurses let me know that in the meantime they could give me nubain which could help take the edge off but not take the pain away necessarily. I decided to that and hope that it would help. 

9:45 AM

After they gave me Nubain I was able to relax a little bit more in between surges but still felt the pain. The nurses came back in and did another cervical check. Now I was at 9 centimeters dilated. 

Once I we saw how close I was everyone encouraged me to go without the epidural. We were so close and they let me know that by the time it goes into effect it may be too late. I also needed to be able to sit still which I don’t think I could have done either. 

Basically the consensus was this is what you wanted and you’re so close. I decided to push through and go without it. They let me know they could also break my water to move the process along. 

When they broke my water I really felt such an awesome relief. The water was so warm and after that I was ready to start pushing. 

I would push every time I felt a surge and I would hold each push for 10 seconds + repeat that 3 times. 

I did this for 15-20 minutes and then they called the doctor in. The nurses all told me that this was it, I was going to meet my baby. They only call the doctors when you’re about to give birth. 

At this point I took off the cloth that was covering my eyes since I was getting ready to meet Emma. I remember kissing Cesar a million times because I was just so excited that the moment we had been waiting for was finally here. 

We repeated the process and kept pushing at every surge. 

10:28 AM

Finally, Wednesday September 25^th at 10:28 am, I became a mother. Emma weighed 6 lbs 11 oz and was 19.25 inches long. In one of those last pushes Emma’s head came out and then the rest of her body pretty much gushed out right after. Cesar instantly started crying and the adrenaline had hit me I was so darn excited. I shouted, “I did it guys I did it.” 

We instantly did skin to skin and I felt complete. The warmth of Emma’s body was sitting on my chest and Cesar was right by my side kissing the both of us. The most perfect moment for our new family of three that I will never forget. 

They let her stay on my chest for over an hour and I loved every single minute of it. When they finally measured/weighed her they swaddled her up and handed her over to Cesar. He was the first person to hold her after me and we were able to catch this amazing moment. A father holding his daughter for the first time and me watching this all happen was so emotionally overwhelming for me. 

I had waited for this moment for as long as I could remember and I would just picture Cesar holding our future baby. Well it was better than I thought and that moment made me so emotional. 

My birth Story:

Well guys that about concludes my entire birth story and I hope you enjoyed reading it. I loved reading other birth stories when I was pregnant and I think it’s important to see how different everyone’s story is. No two stories are alike and that makes your own story that much more special.

Every birth story is a blessing because at the end of the day you brought a new life into this world. To all the moms out there I just want to say You guys are the real MVP’S! Our bodies go through so much and it truly is so amazing what we’re capable of. 

If you are pregnant and reading this, please know that you are strong and you too will have a beautiful birth story to share very soon. 

The next blog post that I will be sharing is : Post-Partum REALNESS, What helped me get through pregnancy, and a month update on my journey into becoming a mother. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me or message me! 

As usual, thank you for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed my birth story. 

It’s been real. 

Xoxo, 

Liz-Laugh-Love