It was around 4:30-5ish am when I started tossing and turning from side to side in the bed. I kept feeling these long bouts of pain in my stomach and was just thinking that I was having a stomach ache. It wasn’t until around 7am that I finally got up out of the bed and went to lay in daughters room on her bed so that I could spread out. I want to say around 9 the pains were still there and starting to become a little annoying and in that moment I kind of had a feeling that I was in labor with my son. I would say that contractions started to intensify around like 11-12ish. I was so thankful to have my friends who were getting me through the contractions through FaceTime and being extremely encouraging the whole time. I also was in touch with my doula updating her with the progression of my labor.

As contractions were getting tougher I was rocking and swaying my hips as well as moving around and also bouncing on my birthing ball. I was playing praise and worship music which was calming me and reassuring that me that god was with me every step of the way. Even when the contractions started to worsen. It was around 4:30-4:45 when I was sitting on the couch and felt and intense contraction hit and then I felt a trickle just start leaking out of me. It was my water breaking. And it didn’t break like the movies where there’s a huge waterfall. It just leaked out of me basically up until I had my son. Every time a bad contraction would hit my water would continue to break. Any who once my water broke I called my doula and she said she’d be to my house in 30 minutes.

Once she go to my house I continued to labor at home like I had planned until around 6:45pm when the contractions were getting crazy and I just couldn’t take it anymore. I rode with my doula to the hospital because my husband was at home with my daughter waiting for his mom to get to my house from Youngstown to watch my daughter for us. I get to the hospital and at this point my contractions are back to back. They check my cervix for dilation and at that point I’m already 5 and a half centimeters dilated. I ended up being really dehydrated so it was hell when they were trying to get an IV in me. They tried both of my hand and blew both of them. It was nerve wrecking because when I got there and got hooked up to the monitor, I was told that I had a low grade fever and that my baby’s baseline was elevated indicating that I may have an infection called cryo or something like that.

So they were adamant that they needed to get me hooked up to fluids and that the quicker they could do that the quicker I could get my epidural. So fast forward they end up putting the epidural in the crease of my arm and getting me fluids. Fast forward to about 9:15 they move me to the room I’ll be delivering in for me to wait for my epidural. At this point the contractions are unbearable. I’m doubled over the food tray table in my room swaying my hips as hard as a can to get through each contraction. A nurse comes in and says that they need to do a covid test on me before I get my epidural. So they do that while I wait for anesthesia to come in and do my epidural. Anesthesia finally comes in around 9:25 to get me set up for my epidural which was a gift from god.

After I get my epidural they re-check my cervix for dilation and at this point I’m at 6 and a half centimeters. Thankfully I’m just feeling a bunch of pressure now and no more sharp contractions. Around 10:30 I get a myChart message notification. I check that and to my surprise am COVID positive. I was shocked ! My doula was shocked and so was my husband. But at that point there was nothing I could do about it. 2 hours later I started feeling an extreme amount of pressure so I got on all fours and tried to rock a little and knew it was time to push. My doula hit the nurse button and they came in and checked me a 3rd and final time and I was at 10cm. I pushed 3x’s and out popped my little 6lb 15oz, 17 and a half inches long babyboy with a full head of hair on 4-4-2021. Easter Sunday 🏾 What a blessing a Rainbow baby on resurrection day ! God really does keep his promises.

by: Ebony Lopez