At 35 weeks pregnant with my fifth baby, I thought I knew the signs to look out for. I thought I knew what to expect because I had been through it four times already. I will never forget a conversation I had with my husband and sister in the hospital when I told them that, for the first time, I didn’t feel nervous about giving birth.
That comment still haunts me because of how quickly everything changed. I was on blood pressure medication during the pregnancy, but at 35 weeks, my levels were still elevated. I also developed a severe headache that even Tylenol didn’t seem to touch.
Given that I was in my third trimester, I decided it was best to go to the hospital and get checked out. When doctors measured my blood pressure, it was, terrifyingly, around 170 mm HG systolic, which was of immediate concern. That night, I was diagnosed with preeclampsia and had to be admitted.
In fact, the situation was significant enough that I had to be induced. Everything happened so quickly that night. I wasn’t even five centimeters dilated when my waters had to be broken just before 2 a.m., and then I received my epidural around 20 minutes later.
Active labor was extremely fast and incredibly easy. I didn’t even make one full push, and by 2:54 a.m. on August 26, 2026, my daughter Whitley was born. She weighed just over 5lbs, and there was a sense of calm as soon as she was delivered.
When she was finally in my arms, I felt incredibly happy and relieved. She was premature, so just having her there safely and seeing that she was OK meant everything. I was holding her, smiling, taking pictures and enjoying those first few moments with her.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
