Jen’s Birth Story
Disclaimer: I’m not really one to give disclaimers, but I do want to give one here before we dive into the story of my fourth baby’s birth. Please know that my heart in sharing this with you is honestly just that- to share a story with you. What works for me or the plan I had in place is most likely NOT the plan someone else chose and I honor and respect that!
When I found out I was expecting Wyatt, AKA baby #4, I headed to my first appointment and I personally assumed that my due date would be around May 22nd, however, the documented due date was May 29th. I have also carried all of my babies to 40 weeks or more so I just started to mentally plan for the end of May.
I headed to my 39 week appointment on May 20th and I was MAYBE 2 cm with no other signs of labor- like NOTHING, ya’ll. I called Erin shortly after that appointment and jokingly told her that I would probably be pregnant until June.
To give a little backstory, my. husband had JUST opened his private counseling practice on April 1st and we were both kind of planning on the end of May. Our kiddos last day of school was on May 21st and I was also hoping to get past that, too. My husband came home on the 21st and jokingly said “Hey listen, I have a PACKED schedule tomorrow and Thursday, so don’t go into labor” to which I replied “ don’t worry, I’ll probably be pregnant until June”
NOT THE CASE. HA.
I filmed a reel as a joke later that day that my good friend Tomeka dared me to do. It’s embarrassing ya’ll. It’s me super pregnant dancing to “to the windows…to the walls…til the...” well you know the rest. For your viewing pleasure, I’ll link here. Later that evening, after I got the kiddos to bed, I called my mom and made another joke about the full moon and how people always say it brings on the babies.
I KID you not. At 3:54 AM, I texted Erin with “ I think I’m having contractions”. The crazy thing is, there was NOTHING going on that I noticed prior to this. It all started at 3:54 AM and I knew in my gut that we were about to have a baby. So, I woke up and started putting on some makeup- the rational thing to do when one is going into labor- HA! I woke up my husband and I told him that I thought maybe we needed to go to the hospital. So he got up, showered, all the things at 4:30 AM and I just had a feeling that this was going to be super fast. Contractions were ALREADY under 5 minutes a part. I found out later he didn’t really think I was in labor since my water hadn’t broke and he truly thought we would be sent home.
I called my mom to come over and she did. I was waiting by the car and asked her to PLEASE tell my husband to HURRY. We live in Gulfport and I deliver at Singing River in Ocean Springs and to be honest, I was REALLY worried we wouldn’t make it. So we get in the car and drive VERY fast to the hospital. I stepped foot in the parking lot at 5:43 and headed in to the ER entrance. Ya’ll I’m not kidding. I was probably 10 cm at this point and they asked to take my temp and do my blood pressure and I said, “Listen.. I can’t… I gotta go.”
Then, they asked if I would sit in a wheel chair and I literally said, “ I can not. I can not sit. I’m about to have this baby” and so I literally half stood in this wheel chair while the sweet tech RAN me to the L+D floor. I still think my husband maybe thought this still wasn’t the real thing at this point. We get to L+ D and all of the rooms are full so we get into the antepartum room (AKA a teeny tiny room that is not intended for delivery) and thankfully the nurses are INCREDIBLE and fully believed me when I said “we are doing this like.. now”. I can not RAVE enough about the L+ D team at Singing River Ocean Springs and if ya’ll are reading this- just know you are the MVPs!
I got situated and sure enough, it was go time and Doc came running in JUST in time. My water never did break so I am certainly glad I didn’t wait around at home for that -HA! After just a few minutes of pushing, he was here! He was born at 6:19 AM - just 30 minutes after stepping into the parking lot. I still think my husband is processing the chain of events. To be honest, I am, too. It was SO fast. BUT at the end of the day, I was so happy. My personal goal was to have a completely unmedicated birth with 0 intervention (another disclaimer- this doesn’t have to be everyone’s goal and it certainly wasn’t mine the first 2 times! respect to everyone’s story) and we did it- admittedly a little faster than I anticipated- but we did it.
I’ll never forget the story of my fourth baby coming into the world. It was wild and felt like a scene out of a movie. I’m thankful for the love, laughter, and memory of the most unpredictable morning of my entire life. And I’m so happy to be a family of 6. I feel blessed to be their mama.
I truly believe that our birth stories hold such a special place in our hearts. I just want you all to know that your story IS SPECIAL. You are super woman. No matter how we choose to do it, what a powerful blessing it is to bring little humans into the world.
Thanks for reading <3
I also want to give a shout out to my best friend and business partner, Erin! She approaches birth and labor differently than I do and NOT ONCE did she ever make me feel less than. She did nothing but cheer me on in what I felt was right for me! We live in a world where moms feel so much pressure in EVERYTHING we do and I’m so thankful for friends that support me, my decisions, and help me achieve my goals. Thank you, Erin! You’ll never know what it means to me to constantly have your support as a business partner, friend, and most importantly- as a mama.
