My birth story:

The day before we ate sushi 😍❤️. I started to feel sick around 2 am, i had to go to the bathroom a few times... so i thought it was the sushi, that it was food poisoning. The stomach pain was every 30 to 20 minutes... My husband got up and asked me: Are you having contractions? And i'm like nooo are you crazy? It was the sushi don't worry go back to sleep. At 3 / 4 am it was the same... a stomach pain every 20 minutes so my husband told me OK YOU'RE IN LABOR. And again i'm saying NO I'M NOT.... but inside me, i thought it could be a possibility since my due date was 4 days after that day 😂so i started to clean the house and to straighten my hair "just in case" 😂(Also i wasn't in too much pain... that's why i thought it was the food).

So anyway, we went to the hospital "just in case again" 😅 at 8 am, with "contractions" every 15-20 minutes.

Turns out, yes! I was in labor 😇(always listen to your husband). Upon arrival at the hospital, by chance, we crossed paths with my OBGYN. Seeing that I wasn't in too much distress, he said he didn't think i was in labor because i "looked too comfortable." He was wrong. At that very moment i was 5 cm dilated!

They admitted us into the room where i'd later give birth. There we waited. I said i wanted an epidural, and shortly after i was 7 cm the anesthesiologist administered it.

This part is from my husband's point of view:

As the epidural was being administered, Laura was praying. She offered her pain up to God for many intentions: for the health of the baby, for the unborn and mothers in crisis, for the Church, for her family... She said to God that her body is not her own, but His... Her courage and fortitude moved me and fills me with indescribable pride.

Seconds after the epidural was administered, Laura had an adverse reaction: her blood pressure nosedived and she lost consciousness. I was terrified. I saw her fight to stay awake but she faded. I prayed very much for her. I felt the prayers of everyone who loves us, and I felt the ongoing work of both girls' guardian angels.

It took 47 minutes for Laura to stabilize. 47 sorrowful minutes that I could only undertake through the grace of the prayers of those who were praying for us.

After her blood pressure returned to normal, it took another hour for the baby to make her way down. Laura pushed her out into the world so quickly that it barely allowed the OBGYN to arrive to catch her.

When I first saw the girl I felt my head and chest fill up like a balloon, the room spinning and the ground shifting under my feet. I had only eyes for my two girls.

After a very short labor for a first-time mom (we arrived at 9am and she was born by 2:30pm), Laura recovered very quickly: she was able to stand in an hour and the nurses said she 'was made for this', to which we responded good, because we want to have many!

Baby and Mom are very healthy. Thank you for your prayers.