*Drum roll*.... DELIVERY!!

Yes, as with every delivery story, please note that everyone's experience is different. Just because our situations sound similar does not mean that our delivery's will be the same. I kind of hate my delivery experience. Sometimes I get upset thinking about it. BUT, in the grand scheme of things, it really is just like you close your eyes, and it's over ... well, aside from the 26 hours you're in it! Looking back, it's nothing. Living it, it sucks. Just know that you'll get through it, just like I did.

Because of my gestational diabetes and (undiagnosed) preeclampsyia, they decided to start induction when I was at 38 weeks. Again, your induction could be very different from mine, but this is how mine went. Part of why I even started this blog is because I could find the medical stories of induction, but I could never find any personal stories from the mom's point of view. I went in on a Monday night, and things didn't really get going until the next morning. The night before, I was really just there for "cervix ripening". Basically, I was given 1/4 of a pill, every few hours (can't remember the name of the drug). I had to be in the hospital and hooked up to a fetal monitor just in case my baby went into any distress as a result. If you've ever had those belly bands hooked up to you (and some of you are lucky enough to now have had to deal with them up until this point), you'll know that baby jumps on and off the monitor all the time- or at least my little pain in the butt did (she used to swat and kick at it, even). So, imagine keeping a baby on a monitor, while she's in your stomach, while trying to sleep, while nurses are checking on you every 2 hours (even more when the baby jumps off the monitor). Needless to day, this was the beginning of my entire week without sleep!

The next morning my amazing midwife came to really get things going. To help with dilation, she inserted a small balloon into my cervix and then inflated it. She put a small, light weight on the end and it slowly pulled the balloon out and when she was done, I was dilated to 3 cm. It was a bit uncomfortable, about the equivalent of the uncomfortableness of them checking your cervix, but overall no big deal. Then my midwife broke my water with a hook similar to this :

Again, sounds wayyyyy worse than it is! A little uncomfortable and then a gush of grossness between your legs and you're done. Then, they started pitocin which brings on major contractions. I knew I wanted an epidural from the beginning. So, she was done around 10 am, and I asked for my epidural then. Now, unfortunately for me, I was at one of the most mismanaged hospitals I could ever imagine. It took until around 2 pm for the first epidural attempt. A "trainee" came (supervised) to do my epidural. He tried twice and I thought we were good. Well, about 2 minutes after he left I discovered that we were not good. I then had to wait 2 more hours until I got an epidural that actually took.

So, from about 4pm-10pm, all was good for me. After 10, either the intensity of the contractions got kicked up A LOT, or the epidural was wearing off (or needed to be altered), or both. BUT, my awesome labor and delivery nurse was off on an emergency c-section and I was left with... no one (well, my poor husband, but no medical personnel that could up my pain meds). It was an awful feeling. No nurse would help me of take responsibility of me as a patient.

Around 11:15, I felt a ton of pressure and thought it was time to push! A nurse checked me, and it was time. She called my midwife and my midwife asked the nurse to start pushing with me while she was on her way. The nurse refused to push with me because she had too many other patients to take care of. Then, her and another nurse sat in my room for 20 minutes talking about what food they wanted from Checkers! It was pretty infuriating. Fortunately, my midwife arrived around 11:40 pm and my good nurse came back from her c-section shortly after. By this point, I could feel everything! So not only did I have an epidural and not get to say that I was an awesome mom who delivered naturally, I still felt everything! My beautiful baby girl, Madison Jennifer was born at 12:04 am on August 13th (a Wednesday- 2 days after my initial hospital arrival, technically). Now, people talk about a stitch here and there afterwards (perineal). BUT, they don't talk about 16 stitches after and that you can feel absolutely all of those stitches. So, after an agonizing (for me- worse than child birth) 10 minutes, the whole thing was over.

When I was living it, it seemed to take forever. Looking back, it's like I blinked, and it was over, and I was left with the most beautiful little girl that I could have ever asked for. Sure, I wish I researched my hospital a bit better. Yes, I was miserable for 30 hours. But, it was absolutely, totally worth it. Even if I knew I had to go through that again, of course I would. Because, in the end, I got the best gift of all- my daughter.

Ah, pregnancy...

Yes, I am almost 4 months postpartum, but I definitely want to share a little bit about my pregnancy- partially so that I remember it! My pregnancy was not an easy one. From the beginning, it was clear that it would be a long, difficult one. Being overweight proved to cause tons of problems for me. That being said, I am definitely on a journey to get healthy before I become pregnant again.

When I first found out I was pregnant, I was so happy and excited. Like most couples, we rushed to schedule an appointment to confirm the pregnancy so that the celebrations could really begin. Well, I tried to go to my normal OB, and she didn't take pregnant patients anymore, so I was referred to someone else in her practice. I still remember sitting in the waiting room for nearly an hour (and it felt like so much longer). We got called back and before we even saw a Doctor, the nurse did the normal pee in a cup, take your weight kind of stuff. She sat us down and told me that the Doctor didn't take "high-risk" pregnancies. They don't take patients that weight over 250 lbs (and I was around 260). I wouldn't be seen by a Doctor that day. She said that they did the urine test and that I was "probably" pregnant, and sent me on my way. I was a mess. Why someone would treat a newly pregnant woman that way is beyond me. Oh, but the sliver lining... This sent me on a search to find a new Doctor. That search led me to the best midwife I could ever ask for (Nicole Navarette). My midwife is actually the cousin of my best friend (and the sister of a very close friend in high school). I am so thankful that I found her because it was so valuable for me to find someone that I felt comfortable talking to and asking questions.

Throughout my pregnancy, I was plagued with constant nausea and vomiting. Once I threw up 19 times in one day and I took my butt to the ER for IV fluids. That had nothing to do with my weight or being high-risk. But my little one sure did love doing somersaults in my stomach (when she was delivered there was a huge knot in her umbilical chord- but more on that later).

Anyways, the "high-risk" was apparently my weight, coupled with gestational diabetes and possible (never fully-diagnosed) preeclampsia. For me, gestational diabetes was no big deal. As long as I ate *balanced* meals (carbs + protein + veggie), my sugar never really spiked, even if I had my sandwich on bread, or dessert. The big pain in the butt was visits to specialists. Towards the end of my pregnancy, I had to go EVERY WEEK to a specialist (plus every other week to my midwife), for a long appointment of an ultrasound and non-stress test. I got to the point where the goo from ultrasounds gave me anxiety, caused my blood pressure to rise (because I hate Doctors anyways) and then they started thinking I had preeclampsia. BUT, blood pressure was the only symptom of that that I ever had, and the two times they sent me to the hospital to be monitored, my BP was already down by the time I got in to be seen- go figure? The only plus side to all of the specialist visits? I got to see my baby a lot!

Anyways, it was all worth it. But I definitely want to be healthier next time around to save myself from all of the hassle. 

A little bit about me!

My name is Jessica. Before I was a mom, I was a manager at a horse stables that provides trail rides, pony rides, and farm tours to the public. Workplace drama aside, it was a great job. I love working with animals, and in that aspect, it was the perfect job for me. But, long before I became pregnant, I knew that once I had a baby, I would want to stay at home.

My parents both had to work hard to keep a roof over our heads, but as a result, they only played a part in the process of raising me. Many times I felt closer to my grandmother than my own parents. While I love them and respect what they had to do, I knew I didn't want this to be the case with my own children. I am so thankful to have a hard-working husband that makes it possible for me to stay home and raise our daughter. I know many parents don't get this luxury, but I wouldn't trade this experience for anything in the world!

My beautiful baby girl, Madison, was born on August 13, 2014 at 12:04 am. As a new stay-at-home mom, I don't do much communicating aside from with my husband, and my 3-month old daughter who doesn't have much to say back. So- I took to the internet! I hope you will enjoy my adventures (or mis-adventures) as a first-time-mom without a clue!

Thanks for reading, and enjoy!