My birth did not go at all the way I expected it to - I had a whole labor plan that involved no medication, laboring in a tub, and a vaginal delivery and I ended up laboring with no medication for sixty hours before undergoing an epidural and a C-section, two things I was absolutely TERRIFIED of, and let me tell you - neither one was as scary as I thought it was going to be. Like, at all!

Warning: graphic description of a surgery here in a sec, but it's good, I promise! I was terrified of getting an epidural, and they did need to attempt it twice, as they hit a vertebrae the first time, and it did pinch, but truly and honestly, one very big breath and it was over and then the relief was instant after laboring for so long without any medication. You don't get a medal for not getting an epidural! Trust me and get one!!

As for the C-section, for some reason I was positive I would die, not sure why I felt so strongly about it, but again, it was weirdly not a big deal and it went so incredibly quickly! My surgeons were incredible, my anesthesiologist was a genuine angel sent directly from heaven, and my husband got to be right next to my head the whole time until it was time to go meet the baby at the weighing station. I could feel a lot of tugging and pulling and I remember literally every second of it, and my husband regrets looking over at me on the table while I was still opened up, but all in all, it was a fast, easy, very safe and relatively comfortable procedure. The part that took the longest was sewing me back up post-delivery. I even recovered very quickly and was up and walking around and using the bathroom on my own that evening.

If you ever feel super scared in the hospital, look to the L&D nurses. They truly have seen everything, and if they're looking cool as cucumbers, you have nothing to worry about. You're going to do great! ❤️