Baby Bolden Is Here

At 11:30 am on July 2nd, I woke up with pain in my stomach. I shook it off as just Braxton hicks, but as the pain increased, I knew something was up. I stood up and walked into the living room where Ernest was playing his video games. I said, "Bae, I think I am having contractions!" He advised me to lay back down and to rest and see how I felt. After I relaxed, I started to count my contractions more closely. I quickly began to contract every five minutes for one minute straight. At that moment, I knew that this was possibly the real deal.

For me, even though this is my second child, it was a completely different experience. With Aria, I had to get induced. So I did not go through the whole water breaking, contractions thing, so this was all new for me.

As the pain of my contractions increased, I knew it was time for us to go to the hospital to get checked out. My due date wasn't for another three weeks, so this was a surprise for us. I called my parents (that live in Philly) and told them I was headed to the hospital, and within the hour, they were on their way!

During the entire ride to the hospital, I was in pain. But I tried to keep as calm as possible because Aria was in the backseat and I did not want to scare her. We arrived at the hospital around 1:30 am, and I began the registration process. Barely able to stand, I got checked in and admitted. The nurse asked me a few quick questions before she did my assessment. She checked to see how far I was dilated and to our surprise, I was already 5 cm dilated, and my water had broke!!

I was so shocked because I had no idea my water had broke. Again, I was assuming I would feel a "gush" of water like you see in the movies, or what I heard other women experience, but that was not the case for me. I do remember earlier in the day, having to put on a pad because I felt that my discharge was more substantial than usual (TMI I know lol). But I put on a pad because I was trickling a lot throughout the day- little did I know that was my water breaking.

After she told me my water was broke, and that I was 5cm dilated; I knew this meant go time! I was not ready at all to have this baby. But, they don't come on our time, they come when they are ready!

At this point, it was 2:30 am, and we were headed to the labor and delivery room. I was in pain, and I knew I wanted the epidural. I told my nurse, and she said they would need to give me fluids first, which they did. I didn't realize that it would take a bit before I would be able to get the epidural. By this time, I had already escalated to 10 cm, literally within an hour!!

As much as I wanted the epidural, we didn't have any time. The nurse advised me that I would need to start pushing. I was scared as hell, nervous, and so not prepared. I desperately wanted the epidural, but that was not in my cards. Ernest whispered in my ear that it was time to become Superwomen! My body transformed, and God gave me the strength to deliver Bryce naturally without any meds. I pushed three times, and he came!

The pain, I can't quite describe it, but it was tough! It was a mixture of burning, pressure and the feeling of having to poop lol. I don't want to get into details and scare anyone, but all I can say is that we were built for this. I didn't think I could deliver naturally, and God knows I did not plan or want to, but he gave me the strength to do it!

After delivering my son naturally, it was the best feeling in the world. When the doctor placed him in my arms for the first time, all I could do was cry. I felt so proud and so strong. What got me even more emotional was seeing Ernest cry. He was more emotional this time with the birth of Bryce because he witnessed me do it naturally. I know he was scared for me because he knew this was not our plan, but to see me do it was an emotional and joyous experience.

Aria was in the waiting room with the nurse during the delivery. Once Bryce was delivered, about 10 minutes later, Ernest got Aria so that she could meet her baby brother for the first time. Seeing the excitement on her face was priceless. It warms my heart to see how much Aria adores her little brother.

I had an epidural with Aria, so comparing the two experiences are so entirely different, but I am ultimately glad I had a natural birth with Bryce. I feel like my body bounced back quicker, I felt healthier, and the after pain was not as severe.

We stayed in the hospital for the standard two days, and then I was cleared to go home. Overall, my body felt good. I was able to walk with minimal pain (but I did keep the Motrin in my system to help with the pain).

It has been one month since giving birth, and I can honestly say it has been a journey. To read more about how I am feeling one-month postpartum, check the blog tomorrow and read all about my one-month postpartum update.

I hope you enjoyed learning more about my birth story; I am excited for you to virtually meet our son Bryce Daniel Bolden, born on 7/2/2019 at 3:49 am! He is everything that we hoped and prayed for. I am so blessed to be his mom!

With Love, Passion, and STYLE,

Dayna