Baby R’s Birth Story | Lifestyle Newborn Photography in Northern Virginia

“I can’t do it anymore!!! It hurts… It hurts a lot!!!” were the words that I said as I was pushing while wearing a mask on July 9th a few minutes before 4:29 PM. Yes, you read that right. I was wearing a mask while I was in labor and as I was pushing. That’s what it was like to give birth during a pandemic.

Let’s back up to a few hours earlier.

————————————————

My husband and I arrived at Reston Town Center a few minutes before 6:30 AM which is when I was scheduled to be induced. Baby R’s due date was July 5th but he wanted to stay in my belly as long as he could; of course, he can’t. That’s why my doctor scheduled an induction on July 9th. I was very worried that something will go wrong because in my mind he is still not ready to come out. And I’ve always been a strong believer of “What’s meant to happen, will happen; and what isn’t meant to happen, will not.” But my doctor said it’s not good for him to stay longer, so I listened and went ahead with her plan.

My first dose of Pitocin was administered around 8:00 AM. A few minutes later, nothing. My nurse had been increasing the dose every 30 minutes. But I still wasn’t feeling any pain. 4 hours after I was given my first dose of Pitocin, there was still no pain. The only thing I felt was the tightening of my belly; but I wasn’t in any pain at all. I was just there laying on the hospital bed, trying to take a nap but I couldn’t because my daughter kept on calling me on FaceTime to see if the baby has arrived yet.

Around lunch time, my doctor decided to break my water to speed things up. And that surely did it! Shortly after that, I was in excruciating pain. The familiar pain I felt when I was in labor with my 2 kids. This is it! I got really excited!

I asked for Epidural. Shortly after they have given me my Epidural, it was time to push.

Let’s go back to where we started.

————————————————

I was crying. I was ready to quit. I literally wanted my doctor to cut me open to deliver the baby because I was in so much pain!!! You’re probably thinking “But delivering a baby is really supposed to hurt like hell”. I’ve given birth twice but the pain was so much but never did I want to quit in the middle of pushing. It was the most painful delivery I ever had. And they say you’re supposed to forget how much pain you had during childbirth which makes you want to have more babies in the future. I swear… as I am writing this, over 2 months later, I can still remember how much pain I was in during that day in the delivery room.

But my doctor, the nurses, and my husband were very encouraging. My doctor said “Give me one big push.” with a look that says “you can do it”. Hesitant, I gave it my all. I pushed like there’s no tomorrow.

A few seconds later, I was holding Baby R. He was so warm, so precious, and so perfect even though he pooped on his way out.

As he was laying on top of me, I was looking at him completely in awe of my sweet baby boy. I cannot believe he’s mine.

Finally holding him in my arms, it made all the pain and discomfort worth it. But not enough to make me forget. Haha!

Here are some of our first pictures together as a family.

If you enjoyed this post, you might also like DIY Maternity Session.