boom so check it (always wanted to say that😆)

thursday 9/24

i headed to my 39 week appointment (i was officially 39w 3d) to have my membranes stripped/sweeped.

i’ve had it done for my previous pregnancies and it basically helped jumpstart the L & D process. as always, it felt like a pap smear gone wrong lol and my OB said i would prolly start cramping later that evening. i had already done my hour walk before heading to my appointment, so i relaxed at home and watched the kids play outside. i did feel slight cramping here and there, but nothing serious.

friday 9/25

4:00a - oh good morning, contraction👋🏽! i woke up to pee and felt cramping in my abdomen right away. after i laid back down, i wasn’t sleepy anymore and just focused on how much time was passing in between contractions. Sonny was still knocked out so i didn’t wake him up just yet. the contractions were uncomfortable yet very bearable and anywhere from 15-20 min apart. i tried to go back to sleep forreal but couldn’t! i was excited and anticipating the road ahead. Sonny woke up around 5ish and i told him what was happening…so he got on up to “finish” *cough* start *cough* packing his hospital bag. he then began to make sure the house was good to go while the kids were still sound asleep, so i kept texting him whenever i’d contract to watch the time.

i drew and enjoyed a warm bath before joining Sonny to get the house together and make sure the boys were on track with their online learning for the day.

each time i’d contract, i’d call it out to Sonny and he would hit the lap button on his phone timer. the hours kept passing and the contractions kept coming, just nowhere near 5 min apart yet by any means. after a pretty regular day, the contraction intensity finally increased slightly around 4pm. we told the kids to go get their bags and we all loaded up the truck and drove to Chic Fil A to grab some dinner. by 4:54pm, we were outside my brother & sister-in-law’s house to drop the kids off for the weekend as planned.

then, it happened.

5:00pm

i had a pretty intense contraction and once it subsided, i literally felt my water break right there in the passenger seat! i no longer had control over my lower body and felt my sweat pants soaking up all the fluid that just kept flowing out. i didn’t even think to bring a towel! my eyes widened immediately and i interrupted Sonny’s conversation with his brother and told him, “we gotta go, NOW.” we pulled off at 5:00pm and the contractions increased in intensity like CRAZY. they were now coming in under 3 min apart but it felt like only seconds were passing before it was time to climb the next hill. when we were just one left turn light away from the hospital lot, i felt another contraction coming on but only this time it came with a super strong urge to PUSH. Sonny told me to hold it in LOL and contemplated running the red light (totally glad he did not). i remembered my bible verses, but i just kept repeating, “God help me!” through every painful wave. i did my very best to relax and breathe and not tense up or fight the pain as practiced.

Sonny parked at exactly 5:34pm and i flung my door open, stepped out, and felt a coolness on my backside all the way down to my knees. my sweat pants were completely soaked. i waddled down the sky bridge from the parking garage to the building and contracted past some construction workers; I will never forget their faces as they backed up to one side of the hallway and let me pass lol. at the L&D check-in desk, Sonny answered as many questions as he could for me cause i wasn’t trying to hear what that woman was saying!! I was just pacing around aggressively, huffing, puffing, contracting, and just wanted to PUSH.

they finally buzzed me in, i changed into my hospital gown, and laid down on the triage bed. i was measured at 8cms dilated by the on-call Dr. and y’all…i asked if i could get an epidural cause i just wanted some relief at that point! well, the triage nurse said, ‘sure, we can see about getting you one quickly but wait— which number pregnancy is this for you? 4? oh, no, sweetie, you are too close’. at that moment i got so discouraged and didn’t think I could do it. I just didn’t know how much longer I could last from the intensity of the contractions. but what was my other choice lol!? Sonny knew i wanted to go for an unmedicated birth and later told me he was mouthing to the nurses to not give me an epidural. thanks for honoring my request, Hubs (or whatever😜). i contracted as they wheeled me into the L&D room and when each one hit i just wanted to PUSH and requested to do so outloud!! the nurse told me my cervix needed to dilate juuuust a little bit more before they would let me. my awesome OB appeared and i was turning cartwheels on the inside but couldn’t show it on the outside.

i heard her tell Sonny she decided to circle the parking lot before heading home because she knew that my 3 unanswered phone calls meant i was in labor, ha. i mangled Sonny’s hand and breathed DEEPLY through each wave while they stood over me until i finally got the green light from my doc. HALLELUJAH!!! her voice and demeanor have always been so calming and i knew she would guide me through this thing flawlessly for a 4th time. before i knew it, my legs were in the stirrups and it was GO time.

1st push, Nosi was crowning and her head came through

2nd push, her first shoulder followed (both my doctor and Sonny told me to take a look down there but i kept my eyes closed and just kept pushing lol)

3rd push, everything else!

time: 6:14pm. yet it felt like an ETERNITY from the time my water broke at 5pm!! a whole eternity. Nosi outweighed all her siblings at 7 lbs 15oz. as soon as she came out, all of the pain vanished. praise be to God it was over! just like that. i’m crazy grateful for stretching but no tearing, and ultimately no edpidural which was high on my prayer list. it would have slowed everything down and added to my postpartum recovery time for sure.

the hospital provided a special, celebratory dinner for Sonny and I; what a nice touch !Nosi even slept peacefully and we ate our yummy meal interruption free.