If you read my birth story part one in last month’s issue, then you know I had a breeze of a pregnancy and a very trying labor and delivery. My second daughter was the opposite.
In February 2021, we suffered a miscarriage. Those weeks that followed were emotional. But, once we decided to try again a few months later, the five months of trying to conceive felt so long and sometimes hopeless that we’d get pregnant again.
However, in late October 2021, I finally had a positive pregnancy and couldn’t stop smiling all day. Almost immediately after the morning sickness kicked in – unlike the name would imply, though I was sick well past the morning most days.
While I felt miserable for the next three months or so, a.k.a. the first trimester, in some ways, I’m so grateful for it. Why in the world would I be happy to feel sick? Well, it was quite the distraction from the fears of another miscarriage sneaking into my mind.
I finally got past the morning sickness only to get Covid. Since Covid during pregnancy increases the risk of a smaller birth weight, I had regular ultrasounds to keep watch on her size. I loved seeing her each time in those ultrasounds. She was small, but there was nothing overly concerning; however, to be safe, they scheduled to induce me at 39 weeks. Our little rainbow baby had other plans though and came a few days before that date.
Monday, June 20th around lunchtime, I started having regular contractions, so I called my husband to come home from work, and off to the hospital we went. When I got there, they monitored my contractions, which were under five minutes apart. Although they said I was only around three centimeters dilated. After about an hour, I was still under four centimeters dilated, but since my induction was only a couple days away, they agreed to admit me.
After a few hours, my water broke. That’s when the contractions started getting more painful. Things started happening fast then. I vividly remember I kept violently shaking, which they said was likely due to the fast change in hormone levels. Soon after, I got an epidural, and thankfully that took most of the pain away.
If you read part one of this birth story series, then you know I had to push for an insane six hours. So, when our daughter arrived at 10:30 p.m. after only 30 minutes of pushing, I was in a bit of disbelief. Grateful, blissful disbelief.
It was love at first sight when we finally met our sweet rainbow baby. In that moment, I knew that journey from conception to when our eyes met, she taught me to always hope. Even in the hardest of times, it’s important to never give up hope that your dreams are always possible and might even be just around the corner.
