So if you have read from my last blog April 5th, 2020 I was scheduled to be induced at 8pm that night. Here’s how it went….

On April 5 of 2020 we woke up the last time as a family of three! Our new normal Peyton is home with us a lot more due to this awful, terrifying virus that’s just traveling around. Reason why now people are taking affect in actual hygiene habits. Any who… the count down is on! T minus 11 hours till we have to report to the hospital. We make breakfast, and soak up the last few “only child” moments we had with P left. Surprisingly our day actually flew by fast and 5 pm came around the corner. At this point I knew it was time to hop in the shower, braid my hair and get P ready to have her first ever sleep over at my moms house.

My heart shattered having to leave Paighton. Never before have I left her for hours and hours at a time but I’ve never left her over night. Grasping on to her little body and getting one last smell of her shirt. I didn’t think I could physically leave her but I knew I needed to. As 7:30 pm rolled around both of my parents walked Peyton and I to our truck. P had no idea as to why I was crying and honestly it looked as if she was confused as to why we were leaving in such shape and fashion. While hugging her wishing I could take her with me or even just stay home my mom was reassuring me that she would be okay,As my dad gave me a bear hug. At this moment I truly understood there tears as they had to say good bye to there child who was about to give birth while this is a magical moment they knew they weren’t allowed to be in the room or even around due to the coronavirus. Leaving her was difficult as I had to leave my first born to go have my second. On our way to the hospital I hysterically cried as the next time I would see her would be 2 whole days.

As we got to the hospital the reality of giving birth started to get exciting! 40 whole weeks and today is finally the day we get this show on the road, even though I wish my body would of just gone into labor naturally everything happens for a reason even before we know the reason. My heart was full, eyes puffy, red and 40 weeks pregnant walking into the hospital.

Due to the coronavirus we had to be screened before we could enter into the labor and delivery unit. They took our temperature, asked us a series of questions like have I been around someone who’s been coughing, have I traveled out the country in the last 15 day, or been exposed to anyone already tested positive for the virus. Then we would get a grey colored wrist band put around our wrist and a mask that needed to be on our face. As a huge greys anatomy fan I am I started to make jokes to lighten up the mode. I would say something like these 17 seasons of greys anatomy prepared me for this moment as I put on the mask.

Once we entered into the labor and delivery unit I had to be checked into the front. This process took longer than I had expected, since changing my last name everything was under Middleton except for my insurance card. This only caused a problem when I needed to sign in for my induction the front office lady was confused as if I had the right date. Finally I remembered that my insurance card had my maiden name on it still and so I proceeded to give her my maiden name “faulkenberry”. At last they checked me in, gave me a room and told me to get dressed into the hospital gown.

Walking into the room 4015 where we would meet our beautiful baby girl was a whole reality check! This was actually happening! We were gonna meet our littlest Middleton soon!

About 45 minutes after we settled into the room my nurse came into the room to start the process! She asked me questions like if I’m allergic to any medications, if my pregnancy has had any complications, the normal. After that she proceeded to get me ready to insert my I.V. I hate needles with a passion, so this part was no fun for me.

The needle they used was huge, it definitely wasn’t a butterfly needle. Once they removed the needle they left a straw inside my wrist. The discomfort was agonizing with a burning sensation that kept me up and didn’t let me sleep comfortably at all. However Peyton was living the dad dream of comfort with the bed and chair they had.

The nurse put me on the monitors to monitor my contractions and the babies heart rate. Once I was on the monitors they noticed that my body was already having contractions. They weren’t painful at all and barely even noticeable. Once the nurse left we FaceTimed our friends, this was amazing because they took my mind off of the process of induction. I was already super nervous because when your induced it speeds up contractions and makes them stronger to push your body into labor. As a person who wanted to go natural I was terrified that I wouldn’t be able to handle the contractions and would have to be given a epidural. With that saying, my nurse did inform me that if I didn’t get a epidural and I needed a c-section they would have to put me under meaning I would be asleep when my baby is delivered. This was a scary situation to be between but I knew getting the epidural wasn’t in the books for me endless I truly needed it for health reasons.

We finally went to sleep and at around

2:20 AM the nurse came in to draw more blood for the knowledge of my blood type.

2:40 AM the nurse came back in to have me change positions due to Emmalynns heart rate dropped.

2:57 Am the nurse came in to put me on my back because each contraction Emmalynns heart rate drops and comes back up on its own oh and our neighbor is having her baby right now and is screaming her lungs out!

3:07 hospitals lullaby went off my neighbor had her baby

4:28 pitocin started

4:41 had my first real contraction

4:58 pumped up pitocin

My contractions weren’t painful but they were definitely noticeable now Coming in every three minutes. Thankfully I was able to just sleep through them till the morning came around.

After laying side ways with a peanut ball between my legs I finally requested a yoga ball so that I would have some comfort when the contractions got intense! Around 8:40 -9:11am my doctor came in to break my water. My last experience of breaking my water was fast and easy this time around it was much more painful due to the fact that my doctor said my water bag wasn’t “budging”. Which made it harder for her to get the tool to grasp my water bag . My nurse had to push down on my stomach to get my water bag to give some leverage as my doctor tried to find my water bag with her tool. It took my doctor a good 10 minutes I would say to finally break my water and once she did it was a gush of warm water. To our surprise Emmalynn had pooped in the womb which is very dangerous for her because of the bacteria. At this point I knew getting induced was a good thing because if I hadn’t who would of known if Emmalynn would be healthy when she was born. God truly had his hand on our baby girl and knew what needed to happen.

Getting up to pee after having my water broke was a truly weird feeling. I had the urge to pee and when I stood up I had warm amniotic fluid run down my legs as if I had already peed on myself. Once I got back into my bed the contractions were a lot stronger and closer together! I decided at that point I couldn’t sit in the bed anymore so I decided to sit on the yoga ball. This helped ease the pain but it definitely didn’t take the pain away at no means.

I kept telling my nurse that each contraction I felt like my body was naturally pushing. So she checked my cervix dilation and I had moved to six centimeters at 9:46am. My nurse told me that it’s natural but that I wasn’t anywhere close to pushing her out yet. I knew better than that because the next contraction I told her that my body was preparing to push even more. I felt a lot of pressure, these contractions were so intense my legs were going numb. My mind set was going weak I remember looking up to the ceiling and telling Peyton I couldn’t handle the pain. I was starting to doubt myself because of the intensity increased suddenly and each contraction was a minute apart lasting a minute. Through these few contractions Peyton kept reassuring me that I could do it. He reminded me that I was strong enough and he was right!

My next contraction hit and I started to feel the unbearable pain. My nurse checked me and said your 7-8 cm dilated I’ll let your doctor know. A minute later I felt my body start to push without my control and I started to shout out “I have to push, she’s coming right now”. My nurse checked me again and to her surprise she called my doctor in a hurry. I remember her panic voice as she said “she’s 10 cm and 100 percent effaced and the baby is coming”. My doctor has just left the room from breaking my water.

A whole bunch of nurses flooded my room getting everything ready. In the middle of this hectic adventure I turned to Peyton and told him to call my mom. I knew that Emmalynn was coming no matter how prepared everyone was or not. My doctor came in and she started to get her gown on. My nurse was removing the bottom half of my bed and replacing it with the equipment they use for delivery. I remember my mom picked up on the first phone call and Peyton immediately told my mom I’m pushing and put her on speaker. Even though my mom wasn’t allowed in the room I still wanted her to be apart of my birth experience even if it was through a phone. Thankfully my dad was at my moms house waiting for the call too and they both go to experience emmalynns first cry. At this moment I started to shout “please hurry up” to my doctor as she was getting the room ready for me to push. All this felt like it was a hour but in reality it was just a few minutes. Thankfully I requested a mirror before hand and was able to watch Emmalynn enter this world.

Once my nurse got me legs on the stirrups I knew that it was time for me to officially push her out. This was the moment we were about to meet our baby girl. This go around the ring of fire was intense because my doctor didn’t have time to put any lubricant. I was 100 percent natural when I was pushing Emmalynn out. I got to see her hair, and this made me push even harder at the fact that I was about to meet her. I bared down and pushed with every ounce of energy I had left. My doctor gave me good advice and told me to push when I wasn’t having a contraction so that I was in control. Those Eight whole minutes of pushing felt so much longer. Emmalynn came out and they instantly put her on my chest. I didn’t have time to get emotional or even cry because it happened so fast but My heart was full of love. I conquered my greatest fear of having a natural birth while being induced. It was not in anyway impossible because I did it but this experience will make me think twice the next time I decide if I want to go natural again.

April 6,2020 at 10:13am weighing in at 7lbs 7 oz and 20 inches long. We welcomed our littlest Middleton!

Emmalynn Olivia-Lively Middleton

I couldn’t have accomplished a difficult, emotional draining birth with out my amazing husband by my side. He may not have felt each contraction and pushed her out but he was emotionally and physically invested in each step. Emmalynns pregnancy was much different than Paightons because he got to truly see what I had to go through during the long painful nights when we were still in high school living with our parents separately. It’s not always easy to be on the side line watching your significant other be in horrifying pain. However Peyton never once stopped coaching me to the finish line. He stayed calm, and pushed me through each contraction. During this labor Peyton had a lot on his plate as he was the only family member I had. He had to be my husband, my coach, our families reporter, my advocate, my photographer and most importantly a father. Not many men in this world can handle having a baby let alone at the age of 21. And on top of it all watching your wife give birth with absolutely no pain medication all while during a pandemic!

Happy Birthday Emmalynn

Mommy loves you so much I can’t thank God enough for giving me the strength to be able to carry you for 40 weeks and 1 day and having a safe and healthy labor. You filled in a spot in my heart that I never knew was empty. I may be a young mommy but I promise you I’ll be the best mom for you. Welcome to this crazy world we live in! Your grandparents and great grandparents love you soo much already and can’t wait to hold you once this pandemic is all over!