The Beginning Of Us: Julianna’s Birth Story

Let me start off by saying: there is absolutely NOTHING more incredible than giving birth…there just isn’t. I refuse to think that there is something more remarkable than that. To be able to grow this amazing little human being inside of you for 9 months goes beyond words. To nurture your body to the best to your abilities makes you know that motherhood starts far before little one arrives.

Julianna arrived into our world June 17th, 2015, at 7 pounds 11 oz and 21 inches long at 3:02pm. Yes, she came into our world absolutely perfect.

I started getting contractions around 1 in the morning. I will never forget when I got the first one. I thought “this is it”, since it woke me up from my sleep. I woke up Carl around 1:30 AM to tell him that I was getting strong contractions. He told me to time them. In the beginning they were only 8-10 min apart. We decided to get up and get ready to go the hospital because the pain was getting worse and worse. I still managed to shower and prepare any last minute things for my hospital bag and even packed some snacks (which anyone definitely needs!). With every strong contraction, I would lean into a wall and breathe in slowly. I told Carl we had to head out as soon as possible. We arrived at the hospital around 4 AM. The contractions were definitely much stronger and were 2-3 min apart. Once they got me into a bed and hooked me up to the monitors in triage, they checked how much I was dilated: 5 centimeters. “You guys are having your baby today” said the nurse. I looked at Carl with excitement. I couldn’t believe I would be meeting my beautiful princess that day. All the emotions from the past 9 months were about to come out even more that day. I was so happy.

About 3 hours later I was moved into my delivery room. Trust me; I went into this thinking I was not going to get the epidural, but I was already so exhausted from the contractions I had gotten that I reluctantly agreed to getting it. I will never regret that decision. I just won’t! For ladies that go without it, you are my heroes! Child birth is hard as it is and to add so much pain on top of that, I admire women that go for it with no pain medication. I managed to snooze for about an hour. The nurse checked again how much I was dilated and I was 6 centimeters. Not much of a progress, but she had then told me that my water had broken and she was able to see Julianna’s head. About 2 hours later, I quickly dilated to 9 centimeters. Not long after, I was ready to start pushing! I had a burst of anxiety and excitement and I could tell Carl and I were both sharing the same emotions.

My mom and Carl had to each hold on to a leg due to the epidural (with no sensation, I wasn’t able to do so myself). Pushing was absolutely exhausting to me. My mouth felt dry and I wanted water so bad. Not to mention I didn’t feel the urge to push because I was so numb. After pushing for a bit, I could see the top of Julianna’s head coming out. I was told that after one more good push she would be out. After 30 minutes of no luck, the doctor told me she would have to take out the vacuum. Because I was pushing so much, Julianna’s heart rate was dropping every time and that worried the doctors. I refused to let them use the vacuum so the next set of pushes; I gained strength that I didn’t know I had. And it was then I heard her cry. That sweet cry. I will NEVER forget it. It has to be one of the most glorious sounds that a mother could hear.

Right after birth, I developed a hematona (A hematoma is a collection of blood that pools in the soft tissues of the vagina or vulva, which is the outer part of the vagina. It happens when nearby blood vessels break, usually due to an injury. Blood from these broken vessels can leak into surrounding tissues. You can think of it as a kind of deep bruise). I was monitored for at least 2 hours with the epidural still on and doctors coming in and out of my room. My doctor had told me that if they couldn’t stop the bleeding, surgery would have to be done. for me, it was a blur, all I remember is that the bleeding did eventually stop. I also didn’t know that the worst was yet to come. When I finally got put in my recovery room, I couldn’t move from the epidural. I had to be lifted up by my nurse and husband to my new bed. I had no sensation. Hours after having Julianna, I still hadn’t gotten up from my bed. I was monitored (down there) the whole night to check on swelling and bleeding. It wasn’t until the next day that I was finally helped to get out of my bed.

Going home was the worst part. Due to hematoma and birth, my whole body was swelled up. I couldn’t shower myself, I had a hard time getting up from the couch, bending over, and walking was difficult. What was worst is that I was in extreme pain and had massive swelliness down there due to hematoma. No numbing spray or other remedy could’ve made things better for me. I remember my mom had to help me shower for the first couple of nights. I felt hopeless. Only time made me feel better. It was bad at the beginning and I wish I would’ve known that things would eventually get better.

Going through all of this and adjusting to breastfeeding, made me develop the baby blues and I found myself constantly bringing myself down and crying out of nowhere. It wasn’t until I found a mom group online that now goes by the name of Las Mamacitas and was founded by dear friend, Ruby, that I started feeling normal again. I realized that I wasn’t alone in this journey and that I would always have the support that I needed… I simply neeed to reach out.

Through it all, Julianna came into our lives at a perfect time. No money, no clothes, no house, no job can top this moment for us. We are so blessed. Thank you God.