My Unexpected Birth Story: When Nothing Went as Planned

Ahhh, I cannot believe I’m about to write this blog post, but in honor of my son's recent birthday, I feel like it's the perfect time for more motherhood content. 

I feel like I’ve been sharing so much more online lately, about myself, marriage, motherhood, and balance… and honestly, that level of vulnerability is not easy for me. I am naturally a private person, but I know God has me sharing my experiences and stories for a reason. The things we experience and go through are often meant to help someone else, encourage them, and hopefully inspire someone to pick up their Bible.

Okay… so here we go.

I had the best pregnancy. I didn’t have any morning sickness at all. In fact, I only had pregnancy symptoms for one day, and that was the day I knew something wasn’t right. Chicken is my favorite food, but suddenly I couldn’t stand the smell of it. For some reason, I immediately knew.

I took a pregnancy test and found out I was pregnant.

What’s funny is that while my heart knew instantly, my mind was still catching up lol. I literally couldn’t believe I was pregnant.

Anyway, this blog isn’t about that. It’s about my birth story.

So let’s fast forward a bit. I was 34 weeks pregnant when I went in for my weekly check-up, and the doctor told me my blood pressure was really high. She said it hadn’t been that elevated the entire pregnancy and asked how I felt about going to the hospital. At the time, I told her I didn’t want to go since this was the first major spike.

Although I had been diagnosed with gestational hypertension, I had managed my blood pressure pretty well throughout my pregnancy. The doctor told me that if I came back the following week and it was still high, I would need to be induced.

I went back the next week.

Still high.

That’s when they scheduled my induction. I was 35 weeks at that point, with the induction planned for 36 weeks. At my 35-week appointment, they also checked to see if I had dilated at all. I hadn’t.

I got to the hospital, they checked me in, brought me to a room, and hooked me up to all the monitors. The nurses came in and explained the induction process. They told me there’s no way to predict how quickly induction will work. For some women, the first method is successful. For others, multiple methods are needed.

When they told me that, I just knew I’d be one of the women where the first method worked 😂

Basically, there are about 4–5 different induction methods.

The first thing we tried was medication in pill form — Cervidil and Cytotec. Those didn’t work. If I recall correctly, each round took about 24–48 hours since it involved a series of pills.

During those long 24–48 hours, there were about three moments when doctors came rushing into the room because my baby’s heart rate had dropped. Each time, they instructed me to lie back instead of leaning forward, explaining that leaning caused the monitor to shift and made it harder to capture the heart rate.

At the time, I didn’t think much of it. I had never been in labor before, so I assumed this was normal. The pills didn’t work, by the way.

Next, we tried the balloon catheter, a membrane sweep, breaking my water, and Pitocin.

NONE of those worked. Well…the balloon catheter helped some. I was able to dilate to about 5 cm. For reference, you need to reach 10 cm to push.

Now, my birthing plan was to have a natural labor. I had a doula, and my husband and I took private birthing classes to make sure we were fully prepared. When the doctors tried Pitocin, they were very confident it would work. I went through two bags of Pitocin, and still no active labor. The doctors told me it’s very rare to see someone not progress with Pitocin.

Both the doctors and my doula asked if I had a high pain tolerance because Pitocin typically increases pain significantly. Which I already knew thanks to my online research 😂. By this point, we were on day five of induction.

The doctor came in and suggested I get an epidural to help my body relax and allow the baby to descend. Honestly, I was exhausted. I had been there for six days, and none of the induction methods were working.

I was over it.

So I went against my original birthing plan and said, “Okay, I’ll get the epidural.” When I tell you that was both the best and worst decision I ever made…

Whew.

Once the epidural kicked in, I started experiencing back labor. Thanks to TikTok, I at least knew what back labor was. Prior to pregnancy, I had no clue some women labored primarily in their back. Well. I was one of them.

I went from no pain to excruciating, indescribable back pain. I cannot even begin to describe how intense it was. And it was in that moment…I knew something was wrong. It was nothing but the Holy Spirit. I looked at my mom and said, “I think I want a C-section.” Something I never originally wanted.

At that point, my entire birthing plan was out the window anyway. I told the doctor I wanted a C-section. She said okay and called down to the OR. When she came back, she said the OR was available and we could go immediately.

They gave my husband a smock (or whatever it’s called 😂) to enter the surgery room. I remember hearing the doctor say, “Well, the good thing is, this isn’t an emergency C-section.”

But deep down…I knew something wasn’t right.

We got to the OR, and although the procedure only took about 20–30 minutes, it felt like hours. I was anxious, restless, and ready for it to be over. I had been in the hospital for seven days at that point.

Then the doctor said, “His cord was wrapped twice.” My husband immediately said, “Did you hear what they just said?” I sat there in silence. So many thoughts ran through my mind, but the only thing I could say was:

“Why isn’t he crying?”

And then…

That cry 

Instant relief.

Right after that, I experienced the after-birth shakes. I was shivering uncontrollably. Thank God for sisterhood because one of my best friends had warned me this might happen. The heated blanket helped tremendously.

Once we got to the recovery room, they told me I’d need to stay there for an hour or two. They brought my son in, and my husband and I were talking about how crazy the entire experience had been. We were just so happy he was here and safe.

Then a nurse walked in with colostrum I had pumped earlier. She took my son from my arms and said, “I’ll be back.” My husband and I looked at each other like…What just happened? About five minutes later, she returned and said, “Homebody was turning blue.” Those were her exact words. When I tell you my stomach DROPPED…WHAT??? To us, he looked fine. But thank God for professionals.

From that point on, it became a waiting game. We knew he was in the NICU and were told someone would call with updates. They didn’t call fast enough for me. So I called them.

Thankfully, they gave us an update and told us we’d be able to see him later that night.

None of this was what I expected...

Not my birth plan going out the window.

Not my son losing oxygen.

Not giving him his first bath in the NICU.

While waiting to see him, everything started replaying in my mind. The fact that the induction methods weren’t working. The fact that his heart rate would drop when I moved a certain way. The signs were there that something wasn’t right, and nobody checked deeper.

Nobody said, “Let’s try a sonogram.” Nobody paused to investigate further when his heart rate kept dropping. We were in the hospital for nearly 10 days before I was finally able to go home.

And through it all, I thank God.

For allowing me to listen to my body.

For reminding me that it’s okay to change plans.

Because sometimes changing plans can literally save a life.

Had I refused the epidural…Had I stubbornly stuck to my original plan…Who knows what would have happened? Would my son be here today? With his cord wrapped twice, would he have made it through delivery? What if I hadn’t pumped colostrum? Would that nurse have come in at that exact moment?

I had so many thoughts running through my mind. My birthing story was only the beginning. After giving birth, I had several emergency room visits because my blood pressure wouldn’t go down, and I was on the verge of eclampsia.  

Here is what you can learn from this story:

• Advocate for yourself.

• If you sense something is wrong with your body, speak up.

• It’s okay to change plans; don’t be so locked into one vision that you miss a better outcome.

• Thank God for the things He protects you from, even when it doesn’t look like protection.

• Have a support system if you can. I had my husband, my mom, and my doula.

• Appreciate life. You truly never know how fragile moments can be.

• And moms…all superheroes don’t wear capes. Whether you gave birth, adopted, or became a guardian, it all counts. We go through so much as women, physically, mentally, and emotionally.