WE HAVE A BABY!!! WHAT!!!
Y’all, I have wanted to be a Mom since I was a little girl. My mother killed it at making raising kids look not only easy but fun and the most rewarding thing life has to offer. I obviously wanted that same purpose, but also knew I needed to make sure I waited for the right life partner because though it is fulfilling it isn’t easy!!! THANK GOD I found my Ben when I did and it didn’t take him long to get on the “lets make a baby and start our family train.” We started trying for a baby the night of our honeymoon and kept trying for a few more months until I saw that faint (VERY faint) but visible second line. It was official…..we were going to be parents!
Each trimester had its mental and physical difficulties and required an immense amount of FAITH! It is SOOOO hard to trust that everything is going to be okay and that your body will do its thing and keep that baby safe! I remember just waiting in anticipation for those doctor visits to hear her heart still pumping strong, and then that transitioned into feeling her movements throughout the day. Then we finally made it to the third trimester! The HOME STRETCH!! Anticipation growing as fast as my belly!
It was finally here! My “DUE DATE” (June 21st) haha yes I put in quotes because of how rare it is to actually go into labor on your due date. Each day after was just another day until Sunday the 24th hit and I finally started having contractions. The things everyone said “Oh honey, you’ll just know when you have them” Well they were right! You do definitely know haha. Well, they picked up during the evening and continued throughout the night and when I decided to finally try to rest and got a 20 minute nap they stopped 🙁 nooooooooooo…. It felt super defeating, but I knew my body was doing what it needed to. Ben went ahead and had started his paternity leave because we weren’t anticipated them to stop, but man was I so thankful he was home with me for the next day! So, Monday the contractions were random and not as intense and seemed to slow down the more things I tried (breast pump, walking, teas, stimulation…etc.). This led me to having a full nights sleep Monday night and prepare for my 41 week appointment Tuesday morning.
Tuesday morning rolls around and after a full night of sleep, I woke up to consistent contractions again! Ben and I loaded up in the car and headed to Baylor hospital to see my AMAZING Doctor.
(My doctor is Kamilia Smith, who I have known for over 4 years. I was the nanny to her and her husbands 3 amazing children and they are as close as family. So it was a pretty amazing experience to have her take care of me and walk me through pregnancy and labor/delivery. So shout out to the most amazing doctor and woman I know!)
During my appointment we found out I had dialed to almost 4 cm during my laboring Sunday and she went ahead and swept my membranes. I was getting mentally exhausted and physical exhaustion was well on its way. With that, we decided as a team that if my body didn’t kick it into gear and go into labor naturally that day that I would come in for an induction the next morning. This gave me an end game in sight and that helped me mentally SO MUCH!! haha there was an end to pregnancy soon either way and we would get to meet our baby girl!!!
Well, things naturally progressed! I labored at home and then while on the toilet I heard a pop sound. I thought it was Ava engaging her head (tucking her chin) but MAN… did that change things! Little did I know that was actually my water breaking haha. Things got intense right after that! I could no longer talk or communicate. The contractions were bringing tears to my eyes and were about 2mins apart and I had to stay in the zone. Ben stepped up to the plate…called my mom and sister to come back (they were making a target trip) and called my Doctor. It was time to go to the hospital! I was terrified I was going to give birth at home but also terrified to have to get in the jeep and go to the hospital during back to back contractions. Lord help me haha…….WE got to the hospital and I’ll let the following pictures tell the story until it was laughing gas time….
IT WAS INTENSE! They were afraid I was too far along for an epidural which to me was the worse news I could think of at the time because all I wanted was a break from the pain. After they examined my progress they were shocked to see I was only at 5cm. Hearing this I immediately asked for the epidural because I had hit my limit. Ava was back to being stuck in my pelvis and my body was working to get her in a proper position which would take time…..and I had no desire to do things naturally haha. The epidural would take some time, so I begged for some sort of relief….which was the laughing gas ………HORRIBLE IDEA! My body did not respond well to it and it caused me to get extremely high and hallucinate. This might sound fun to some people but not me during labor lol. I was tripping out and was convinced this was the end of my life. This was the moment I was truly being tested for my love in God and I had to choose him over what I imagined to be the happiest day of my life and what I had looked forward to the most….that would be becoming a mother with the man of my dreams and having my own family. HAHAHAHA I’m telling y’all it was INTENSE! I finally made my choice and accepted I had an incredible life……incredible parens and family…..the man of my dreams….great jobs…..find my passion in life….and eve though I may never have a baby I had a good life to be thankful for….. SO… in that moment I took the gas off and said okay and passed out!!!! I had literally thought I was giving in to death NO JOKE……(don’t do drugs kids) … Well, this freaked everyone out and they finally got me to come out of it and the anesthesiologist was there to give me the epidural. At this point I didn’t trust anyone in the room and was pretty scared so I locked eyes with Ben and didn’t say a word or make a move….
After some convincing I trusted everyone that the epidural was going to work and that I wouldn’t feel the pain anymore and FINALLY took the gas off and started to come back to reality!!! Guys …..THANK GOD FOR EPIDURALS!!!! haha you can seriously see the fear in my eyes thinking it wasn’t going to work! Good news….it did and everything was incredible following it!
I had gone from a 5-9cm during that time but Ava was still pretty high and my Boyd needed to get her down so Doctor told me to take a 2 hour nap and then it could be pushing time! With a peanut ball placed between my knees and NO pain, Ben and I got to rest for the next couple hours and then it was BABY TIME!!!
TIME TO PUSH!!!! After 6 Contractions Ava was coming and Dr. Kamilia quickly turned to Ben and asked if he wanted to deliver Ava. Which he QUICKLY said YAH! So he scrubbed up and I’ll let the next few pictures do the talking once again!!!!!
In that moment we both became parents and a family of 3. Overwhelmed and with our hearts exploding we just stared at her! She was finally out and she was perfect! It all happened so fast looking back that it’s insane. In that moment all the pain and fear disappeared and Love was the only emotion. I knew in that moment she was literally Ben and I’s soul and we would protect her to the ends of the earth.
Ava Lynne Tesmer you are LOVED
AND Thank you to my Mom and Sister who were right by my side the whole time! My mom helped with positioning (she is a doula) and my sister took all the pictures so we could look back on the experience!
Last but NOT LEAST a very special thank you to my Amazing Doctor and friend Kamilia Smith who was incredible and beyond amazing at what she does! Not only was she on call the whole night before this but this was her one night off before being on call the next night, but that didn’t stop her! I’ve worked for her and know first hand that she has a heart of gold, is an incredible parent and wife. It was an honor and privilege to have her bring Ava into this world. She was there for me like she promised and was such a comfort to me during delivery. I am forever grateful to you KT!!!
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BUT WAIT…..THERE’S MORE!!!! (said in an infomercial voice)
Here is my favorite picture from the whole experience. Literally priceless! Ben delivering Ava’s head…….(no you can’t see anything inappropriate)
And that’s a wrap!