[vc_row unlock_row_content=”yes” row_height_percent=”0″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”3″ column_width_percent=”100″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″][vc_column column_width_percent=”100″ back_color=”color-xsdn” overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”3″ medium_width=”0″ mobile_width=”0″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ shadow=”std”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner column_width_percent=”100″ position_vertical=”middle” align_horizontal=”align_center” gutter_size=”3″ overlay_alpha=”50″ medium_width=”0″ mobile_width=”0″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ width=”1/1″][vc_custom_heading heading_semantic=”h1″ text_size=”h1″ text_space=”fontspace-210350″ text_font=”font-377884″ text_weight=”100″ text_transform=”uppercase” separator=”under” separator_color=”yes” mobile_visibility=”yes” subheading=”OCTOBER 30th, 2019″]The Birth of Scarlette[/vc_custom_heading][vc_custom_heading heading_semantic=”h1″ text_size=”h1″ text_font=”font-377884″ text_weight=”100″ text_transform=”uppercase” separator=”under” separator_color=”yes” desktop_visibility=”yes” medium_visibility=”yes” subheading=”OCTOBER 30th, 2019″]The Birth of Scarlette[/vc_custom_heading][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner row_inner_height_percent=”0″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”3″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″][vc_column_inner column_width_percent=”100″ align_horizontal=”align_center” gutter_size=”3″ overlay_color=”color-114360″ overlay_alpha=”50″ border_color=”color-114360″ border_style=”solid” medium_width=”0″ mobile_width=”0″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ width=”1/1″ css=”.vc_custom_1568175208000{border-top-width: 1px !important;border-right-width: 1px !important;border-bottom-width: 1px !important;border-left-width: 1px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;}”][vc_column_text el_class=”normal-size”]Welcome to our Birth Story Blogs where mamas from our community share their birth stories! Interested in sharing your birth story? Email april@apriltrettel.com for a chance to be featured on the blog!
Your story is important. You are important. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a mom. When I met my husband, I was 20 (almost 21) years old. We had an amazing relationship lasting 3 years before getting engaged, and then another 2.5 years before getting married. Almost immediately after getting married, we found out that I was pregnant. We were beyond excited about this new chapter in our life, and couldn’t wait to be parents! We praised God for gifting us with something so special and miraculous.
I didn’t have the easiest pregnancy, but it was a cake walk compared to others. I dealt with “all-day sickness” throughout the entire pregnancy, acid reflux, had a ton of pain, and couldn’t wait to just be able to lay on my back without feeling like I couldn’t breathe! As my pregnancy neared its end, I found out from my doctor that I wasn’t making much progress on my own. My baby was still very high up and I was “stuck” at 1-2cm dilated from week 37 to week 40. My doctor decided that I would be induced at week 41.
I went into the hospital on the afternoon of September 16th, and was still 2cm dilated (surprise, surprise). I began taking Cytotec at 5:30pm, and was prepared to take it every 2 hours until labor progressed. For what felt like an eternity, we waited…Watching a football game, talking with family, napping, and scrolling through social media definitely didn’t make the time pass any faster. If anything, I was becoming more and more impatient for my baby to come. My contractions became extremely painful. My husband was an incredible coach and partner though. He was always checking on me to see if I needed anything, making sure I was comfortable, rubbing my back, and helping me readjust my positioning the whole time. He was so supportive, and kept encouraging me that we would be holding our baby soon.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner column_width_percent=”100″ align_horizontal=”align_center” gutter_size=”3″ back_color=”color-lxmt” overlay_alpha=”50″ border_color=”color-uydo” border_style=”solid” medium_width=”0″ mobile_width=”0″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ width=”1/1″ css=”.vc_custom_1568175184500{padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;}”][vc_icon position=”left” icon=”fa fa-quote” icon_color=”color-wvjs” size=”fa-3x” text_lead=”yes”]It was beyond frustrating. I felt like my body wasn’t doing what it
was supposed to be doing[/vc_icon][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]I was offered an epidural (I can’t even remember how far into labor I was), and took full advantage of it. After 22 hours from when I began taking Cytotec, I had only progressed to 4cm dilated and my baby was still very “high” up. It was beyond frustrating. I felt like my body wasn’t doing what it was supposed to be doing, even with the help of Cytotec and Pitocin (which they had also given me by that point). My doctor told me that if I didn’t progress at least 2cm in the next 2 hours, he was going to perform a c-section. I was floored. This was not what I wanted to do AT ALL. I was terrified of what could go wrong, the complications that could arise, and the struggles of recovery. My heart sank. My husband and I sat together and cried for fear of what may happen during this major operation. At that moment, we asked that everyone leave the room. We wanted a moment alone to be with each other in prayer. Our prayer, oddly enough, wasn’t that I dilate though; our prayer was, instead, for a healthy surgery, for skillful doctors and nurses, and for a safe c-section delivery.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner column_width_percent=”100″ align_horizontal=”align_center” gutter_size=”3″ back_color=”color-lxmt” overlay_alpha=”50″ border_color=”color-uydo” border_style=”solid” medium_width=”0″ mobile_width=”0″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ width=”1/1″ css=”.vc_custom_1568175184500{padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;}”][vc_icon position=”left” icon=”fa fa-quote” icon_color=”color-wvjs” size=”fa-3x” text_lead=”yes”]With a confused look on her face, she said “That’s weird. I don’t feel anything.”[/vc_icon][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]After 2 hours of trying a certain position that was recommended by the charge nurse who swore that it was a miracle position (it was essentially just laying on my side/borderline my stomach), my other nurse came in to check me again. With a confused look on her face, she said “That’s weird. I don’t feel anything.” I immediately thought she meant that she wasn’t able to feel any change, and that I was still at 4cm dilated. I was prepared for a c-section, with no hope of a vaginal birth. I tried to stay calm and not let anxiety take over. She told us that she wanted the charge nurse to come in and double check. The charge nurse came in, checked me, and almost immediately said “You’re a 10!” Huh? A 10?! A 10 what?! Surely not 10cm. “Are you ready to push?” I immediately said “NO!” How could this be? I was mentally prepared for a c-section, not for pushing. In 2 hours, I progressed from 4cm to 10cm?! I couldn’t believe it! My husband and I sat together, crying and praising God for what happened. Soon enough, there I was, in my stirrups with my oxygen mask, pushing, and singing Katy Perry’s “Eye of the Tiger” (don’t ask me why!) between contractions. After about 90 minutes of pushing, my beautiful Scarlette Noelle was born at 6:54pm on September 17, 2019 at 7lbs, 9oz and 20in long!
“Grateful” doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt towards my husband, my doctor, our nurses, my family, our birth photographer, and (most of all) God. I was healthy, Scarlette was healthy, and my delivery went as smooth as I could’ve hoped for. It was the hardest, most draining, most beautiful, rawest, most perfect experience of my life.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner column_width_percent=”100″ position_vertical=”middle” align_horizontal=”align_center” gutter_size=”3″ overlay_alpha=”50″ medium_width=”0″ mobile_width=”0″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ width=”1/1″][vc_custom_heading heading_semantic=”h3″ text_size=”h3″ text_transform=”uppercase” text_italic=”yes” separator=”yes” separator_color=”yes” sub_reduced=”yes”]Written by Jessica[/vc_custom_heading][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]