Birth Story: Erica at Aiming for August

Happy Friday and Happy Birth Story day!!! I’m about a month out from my due date and reading all these birth stories is really helping me get into birth mindset! It’s crazy to me how different each birth can be and how we have little to no control over many of the circumstances that come along with a birth!

Today’s birth story is from Erica, another Mama that I “met” online. I’m so in love with her blog, her Instagram feed and her gorgeous baby, E!

August 24, 2015
My last appointment was on a Monday. I was 39 weeks and 1 day. I was already dilated 3cm and about 80% effaced. I was having BH contractions steadily throughout the week but nothing major I guess. I worked my last day the Sunday before my appointment so I felt ready. Each appointment, the doctor would say “I’m sure that the next time I see you, you’re going to be having a baby!” Why do they do this?! I was really expecting to have a baby before each appointment! My doctor told me that I was SO close to 4cm but not quite enough. He then asked if I wanted to schedule an induction date so that he could be there. He basically said they would just admit me (since I was so close) and they’d take it from there! I reluctantly agreed that I would come in on August 31st at 7 am.

August 29
My due date… Full of contractions and fatigue but no baby yet

August 30
Jonathan and I went to our fave Tex-Mex restaurant and celebrated our last night as just us two. We dropped out dog off at his parents and headed home. We packed our bags and got all of our outfits ready for the next day. We felt incredibly prepared and decided to go to bed early since we’d have no clue about how long labor would last.

August 31
I hadn’t been sleeping well for about a week straight now. Baby E became outrageously active between the hours 1-4 am and the pain/discomfort always kept me awake (oh hey, Netflix marathons). This morning around 2am, I couldn’t sleep because of the pain, my bladder, and most likely my anxiety! I went to use the restroom and waddled back to the bed. As I laid down, I heard a pop noise… And my entire lower body was soaked. Instead of being excited or nervous, I almost cried from embarrassment, haha. I cried, “babe, I think my water broke” (2:30am) and J shot up instantly questioned my sanity. I  had previously told him the statistic of women whose water actually breaks without medical assistance prior to delivery… It’s not actually very common. Needless to say, we were both shocked. Thankfully, we mentally prepared ourselves for her to be born on this day, so everything was ready to go! I took a super-fast shower- to clean my amniotic fluids off of my thighs (not really even comprehending how disgusting I would be during labor). Jonathan decided to eat a bowl of cereal, which annoyed me to no end at the time because my contractions were somewhat starting and I have ZERO patience. Jonathan (who sprained his ankle and was in a walking boot and crutches at the time) walked our bags to the car (which was parked in our apartment parking garage about a 4 minute walk away… if you’re not on crutches). He finally pulled the car around and picked me up and we arrived to the hospital around 315am! We get checked in… which took a while. Then they took me to a room to check and make sure that I was in active labor! At 345ish, a doctor confirmed that I was in active labor and 4 cm.

Then, the contractions began… while the nurse us starting the IV and I am freaking out. I was being really weird initially because it was a strange pain at first. They were about 3-4 minutes apart. Jonathan came to the back after about 15 mins with the nurse. After she put the IV in, came the annoying admission questions. I think this took about 20 minutes but I began to feel crazy pain and begged the nurse for the epidural. My face was hot. My contractions were about 2 minutes apart. I guess I’m a sissy but that pain was terrible. Suddenly I couldn’t take the pain anymore and asked (yelled) when I was going to be out of triage and into a room… The nurse said soon and when I was in more active labor. Note: she also laughed after I asked and said, if you think you’re in pain, just wait”. Real reassuring haha. After she said that, I told her that I was in awful pain and asked if she could assess me and she didn’t. Then I told her I felt the urge to push and that lit a fire underneath her. She checked me and I was 7 cm. it was about 440am.

So they put me into a labor room and finally got me all checked in. I asked for an epidural AGAIN. And they said soon… The next hour is a blur. My IV got ripped out because I was spazzing in the bed. Note: I had no medication AT ALL during all of this. The nurse had to leave the room several times. I was screaming through contractions so people kept coming in to check on me. (I was so embarrassing). I made Jonathan fan me because I was burning up. He checks again at about 515 and I’m 9 cm. STILL NO EPIDURAL OR IV. and I’m crying. At about 540, he checks again and tells me it’s time to start pushing. And I was like HOLD. UP. I need an epidural. They tell me I’m too far along and basically too out of control. And I freaked out. After putting up a fight and convincing them that I’d be still and good, I got my epidural… At 630ish… At 10 cm. I also finally got my IV. Several things could have gone wrong during this time but thankfully nothing did. After that epidural, I was soooo relaxed and happy and just feeling the moment. I wasn’t scared anymore! I asked Jonathan to get me my makeup so I could start freshening up (yes, I’m one of those people…) and then they tell me it’s time to push! This was all happening so fast that we barely had time to text our families so instead of getting cute, we focused on letting everyone know what was going on.

After pushing for about 45 minutes, little baby girl was born at 730am! She was 7 lbs 5.8 ounces and 20.5 inches long. She was so clean compared to most new babies.  The epidural was so good that I didn’t even feel it. Jonathan had to tell me that she was out. She didn’t come out crying. She was very silent and they immediately put her on the warmer for stimulation. I knew that these things happen so to distract myself, I awkwardly asked to look at my placenta… So weird but it was pretty cool.  She finally cries and they give her a wipe down and place her on my chest! We took out first family picture and I instantly started nursing. After an hour or so, we moved to the postpartum unit where we waited for our parents!

Baby E’s birth was very fast and sort of a blur. For a first time mom, everyone kept telling me that my labor was incredibly short (especially without any medication- i.e. Pitocin). It was only about 5.5 hours! Fortunately, we had a lot of things ready because we anticipated that she would be born on that date! But as much as we wanted to have it all planned, it was completely out of my hands. I told myself that I didn’t want an epidural and a bunch of other things but at the end of my experience, I have no regrets! We were so blessed to have a smooth, uncomplicated delivery and a healthy baby girl!

About Erica:

Hi! I’m Erica. I’m a 20-something mother of 1 beautiful baby girl. The world of “Mom Life” was completely unknown to me so I’m exploring that and being in my mid-twenties pretty blindly. It’s been an adventure but extremely fun along the way. I’m also a Registered Nurse working in Mother/Baby and working towards my Lactation Consultant certification. I love being outdoors with my family and basically document our time as much as possible.

I blog over at Aiming for August. You can follow our daily journeys on Instagram!

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If you would like to share your birth story on this blog, please email at thegloriousmundane@gmail.com.

To view other published birth stories, click here: Birth Stories