My name is Taija, I'm 18, engaged, and this is my labor story. November 7th, at 2:00 AM, one week…

My name is Taija, I'm 18, engaged, and this is my labor story.

November 7th, at 2:00 AM, one week before my due date, I had heavy bleeding with cramping. I wasn't sure whether or not it was labor, I actually thought I was losing her. After waiting about 10 minutes, seeing if the bleeding would stop, I told my partner we needed to go to the ER. I said that I am either losing her or going to have her. I was so scared. There was enough blood to soak through my underwear and my pants. My fiancé and I picked up my mom and headed to the hospital. Anthony (my fiancé) isn't religious at all. But he told me that all he did on the way to the hospital was pray for our baby girl to be okay. We got there and they hooked me up to the contraction monitor and to the monitor to hear her heartbeat. When I heard it was still beating, I started crying with how relieved I was. I was so worried I was losing her. The nurse then checked my cervix, and I was already dilated to a 4. This was around 3:30 AM. My contractions got worse, and she checked again later. Within an hour, I was dilated to an 8. I forget when exactly my water broke. I thought I had peed but the nurse told me it was indeed my water. They moved me to a different room and hooked me up to antibiotics because I was carrying the strep B, and they didn't want it to transfer to the baby when she came out. The contractions were awful, and I had almost abandoned the plan to do a natural birth when I had the urge to push. And when I say I wanted to push, it was this purely physical need. For all the moms who have done natural, I'm sure you know exactly what I'm talking about, lol. So anyways, I yelled that I wanted to push, and the nurse checked me. I was only at a 9, so she told me that I needed to try to relax and wait, because baby wasn't ready yet. So I held in the urge, hoping the doctor on call would be there soon. The nurse checked again when I said I needed to push again, and I was at a 10. Perfect timing, the doctor came in. She said that when I feel the urge once more, to bear down and push. My mom held one of my legs up for me, and my partner held the other. The doctor said we were going to do what is called a 10-push. 10 pushes being our goal for her to come out. My little girl came out after 4 pushes. They told me she had pooped inside of me, and while I was in between pushes, I joked with them that I missed her first poop. They thought it was great that I could joke while being in so much pain. Anyways, she came out at 5:40 AM, and cried for a little bit, but when they put her on my chest, she started sucking her thumb and was as quiet as ever. I had to ask if something was wrong, and they said she was fine. That not all babies stay crying when they come out. I am so glad I pulled through and did it natural. I got to feel everything and even though it felt like I was dying, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Well, that's my story of how my blessing, Charlene, came into this world.