Aria's Birth Story

We all know I had my heart set on a 4th of July birthday (that I thought was actually going to happen), but having a LUCKY 7/7 birthday is pretty cool too.

So let me start off by telling you laboring during Covid can be an EXTREMELY difficult and lonely experience. My husband did everything he could to be with me and support me as much as possible, but he wasn't actually allowed into the hospital with me until I was admitted.

I've had Braxton Hicks since about half way through my pregnancy, but Thursday, July 2nd at 10pm, I started having some closer together from 30 minutes apart all the way down to 6 minutes, but they were never consistent. I did this for 24 hours. Friday, July 3rd at 10pm, instead of going to the hospital like I thought I would be doing for my 4th of July baby, the contractions completely stopped. 

So I got to spend the 4th with Roman instead.

Sunday, July 5th, I started feeling contractions again. Nothing consistent, maybe one every other hour or so. I drank raspberry leaf tea. I'm not sure if that's what actually did it, but after finishing it, my contractions came down to about 30 minutes apart. They didn't hurt, and I was so afraid of false alarming everyone again, I didn't tell anyone. Not even my husband. I was still able to sleep, so I didn't worry about timing them. I just slept.

I woke up on Monday, July 6th, and they hadn't stopped, so I got up at 6am to shower and get ready. IN MY MIND, this was the 2nd baby. Everyone says labor gets faster. I thought I would be admitted in the hospital by noon, and I could let my family know then.

I had contractions A L L  D A Y  L O N G. The closest they got was 4-5 minutes apart, so after an hour of this, I went to the hospital. It was around 10pm. I remembered leaving the house to deliver Roman, I left in tears of pain, and I wasn't feeling this way yet, so when I got to the hospital I walked outside until I was brave enough to go in and get checked. My eyes watered having to walk into the hospital by myself. My husband waited for me in the car.

When I got to triage, I was only 3cm dilated and my contractions had slowed down to 8 minutes apart. Every time I rested, my contractions slowed down. The midwife said I needed to be at 6cm in order to be admitted. SHOCKER since I was only 4cm when I was admitted with Roman. So I left the hospital to labor at home. I walked nonstop.

Tuesday, July 7th 12:30am, I had very painful contractions that got pretty difficult to walk through. I just focused on my breathing. Some were 1-2 minutes apart. I let them go on for an hour before we drove back to the hospital. Again, my contractions slowed in the car. I walked outside the hospital. At about 2am, I finally went back in. I was checked by the same nurse, and was only at 4cm. The midwife said I could try walking there if I wanted to. SO I DID. By myself. For an hour. In an empty hallway. Wearing a face mask. Listening to my headphones. Breathing through contractions. They were down to 4 minutes, and I felt so EXHAUSTED. I sat down, and they slowed to 10 minutes apart resting. I was released again at 5:15am. We went home, and I crawled into bed.

At 8am, I woke up in pain. The contractions were too close for me to keep track of, 1 minute, maybe 2 minutes apart. After 5 of them, I needed to go back. I got up, but couldn't walk. My husband had to help me walk to the bathroom and brush my teeth. Then we were off. The nurse that was outside insisted on taking me in on a wheel chair. I really didn't want to. When I got upstairs there was a new hospital staff. I explained I had been there twice already and was sent to a room to be checked again. I had a really bad contraction in the hallway. I didn't know at the time, but it was a midwife who stopped to help me breathe through it. She told the nurse to admit me if I was anything more than 4. I was FINALLY 6cm.

By then, it was around 9:30am. I was immediately tested for Covid. It was negative, and I still  had to wear a mask the whole time. My husband was finally called up. By the time he got in, I had WALKED to the delivery room. My contractions never really regulated. They were still about 8-10 minutes apart resting.

Around 1:30pm, I started feeling a pain in my abdomen. I had an epidural, so I felt pressure the whole time, but now I was feeling a pain. I even asked the nurse to move the baby's heart monitor because that was the exact spot where it was hurting. After about 30 minutes of that pain, the nurse decided to check me. There were 2 midwives that had just happened to walk in at that exact moment. The nurse lifted the sheets, and their jaws just about hit the floor. They said IT WAS TIME. I didn't have much time to think. I just heard they could see her forehead! I didn't think I had an urge to push before this. I just knew I felt a lot of pressure during my contractions, but I was most distracted by the pain I was feeling in my abdomen. They instantly raised my bed, laid me back, and said push. I pushed twice and nothing. So I took a deep BREATH, thought to myself "you know how to do this," pushed a third time, and she was out. She practically fell out. I immediately saw her and all I wanted to do was kiss her, but I had a stupid mask on. Then I was grateful just to have her, hold her on my chest and in my arms.
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Aria Ryann Munoz was born on July 7th, 2020, at 2:02pm, weighing 8lbs 13oz and 21 inches long. She came 3 days early and is loved so much by Dad, Mom, and big brother Roman.

Our last photo as a family of T H R E E.

L O V E at FIRST SIGHT
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