This was the point where I left off my last neglected blog, and for my birthday today, I want to relive the most painful, happiest day of my life: the birth of my firstborn, Keluna Celine. I have never recounted that day in my own words, and thankfully my husband recorded as much of it as he could, but I definitely thought I should write this down before the birth of baby #2 so that I don’t get the two stories mixed up in my head. So three years and four months later, here is what I can remember:
I laid in our bed at our downtown Phoenix condo on January 11, 2017. I recall the night before I was having contractions, or what felt like mild period cramps that came and went every hour or so, so I barely slept that night thinking that could be the night. That morning, I let Kit know that I think today is the day, but go to work and I would let him know. He called me during his lunch break and I told him that my cramps were getting worse and that I think he should come home now. I continued to lay in bed, and start to time how far apart my contractions were on an app. We talked on the phone as we usually do on his way home, and discussed a few things that we thought he should pick up for the hospital, like snacks at Trader Joe’s and we planned on having In-N-Out as our meal before we left for the hospital. Right then, I braced myself for the contraction that was about to come and then all of a sudden felt a POP down there and liquid uncontrollably gushing out, and I screamed OH SH*T MY WATER BROKE into the phone (lol). Kit started to panic, said he’s going straight home and I called my OB as I sat on the toilet while my water continued to release, and then I saw my mucus plug come out as well. The OB said to go to the hospital, so I quickly packed my last minute additions to my bag, made arrangements for the dog and we were out the door the moment Kit got home. I believe this was around 2:30 PM.
My contractions instantly started to intensify the moment my water broke. I remember the walk from the car to the Labor & Delivery entrance, and the elevator ride to triage felt like the longest walk of my life. We had to wait a little while before being admitted because they told us, “a lot of babies are being born today” … I really started to worry because the pain was getting worse and I was doubting if I could do this or not. We finally get into triage after what felt like forever. I get my gown to change into and I remember having to just hold on to the bathroom wall between contractions. I lay down on the hospital bed and all I could do was lay on my side in fetal position, while Kit held my hand and stroked my hair to try and comfort me. He put Friends on Netflix on his phone to try to take my mind off. I was dilating pretty quickly, but we would be in triage for about 2 and a half hours. I was suffering. My plan was to try to give birth naturally, but I ended up begging for the epidural. They kept telling me to try to hold on while they waited for a delivery room to become available because again, lots of babies were coming too. After an eternity, they said a room was ready for me but that I had to walk there because “it’s not that far.” I wanted to kill somebody. THAT was the longest walk of my life and to this day, I am still bitter that no one offered me a wheelchair or to carry me to my room (haha).
When we got to the delivery room, they told me that I was 8 cm dilated, but not far effaced. I started to panic that it was too late to get the epidural, but they said I still could. My new best friend, the anesthesiologist arrived, but having to sit up to get the epidural while having contractions was the most excruciating pain that I ever felt in my life. I was crying and screaming so hard at this point, and I think Kit started to cry too seeing me like that. However, as soon as I was done getting the shot, I started to feel instant relief. Kit says it was like night and day, and from then on he said I was a different person as if nothing happened. Thank the Lord, the epidural worked. I asked Kit for my phone and he was happy to hand it to me and to be able to just sit and relax with me while we waited and watched more Friends on TV. This was the moment that we were able to enjoy the experience and talk through our very last hours before becoming parents. We started to play my birth playlist which consisted mostly of songs from Hamilton (which we are obsessed with).
Hours were passing, and the nurses checking up on me said that I stopped progressing so they gave me something to try and speed it up. I started to uncontrollably shake or shiver, which I had no idea could happen after getting an epidural. I think it was around 10 PM that our nurse said that I was 10 cm and 100% effaced. She tells me my OB has priority to be with her c-section patients, and that she wouldn’t be able to come any time soon, but that I should start pushing.
I push… and I push… for 2 HOURS. Our amazing best friends were in the waiting room to meet her but we sent them home because she just wasn’t coming out (shoutout to them though for bringing us my favorite, Delux burger and the spicy tuna roll I requested for my first meal post birth haha best meal ever). Our hope for her being born on January 11 was gone and we were so sad for a moment because we got engaged on June 11 and married on March 11.
1 AM came and the nurses start to worry that I won’t be able to push her out because it being my first, and not having feeling due to the epidural, there was a chance it wouldn’t happen. Nausea crept in and I vomit all over myself. I’m sobbing and also fighting falling asleep because I didn’t get much, if any the night before. I had been pushing for what felt like forever, using all of the little energy I had left. My OB finally arrived around 1:45 AM and says that if I don’t get her out on this push, I would have to get an emergency c-section. Kit said that he could see her head crowning, but that she wasn’t moving and they were afraid that she couldn’t breathe. I cried and prayed the hardest I have ever prayed and pushed as hard as I could…
And then she came. January 12, 2017 at 1:50 AM, Keluna Celine Maglunog was born to “I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith. I did it. I can’t believe I did it. My beautiful baby girl was here, and my world changed forever.
This was the day I became the one thing I’ve wanted to be my whole life, a mom… the best day of my life.
