It’s so wild to think I just used these things a year ago and it seems like it was yesterday and years ago at the same time. This is Marlea, so some of my postpartum favorites may be geared towards C-section mamas.

8:00 am the lights came on. A new midwife came in and woke us up and said “I’m gonna check you”. I still have not dilated any from a 7. She recommended a cesarean. She says I should have a baby by now. She tells me she is worried about postpartum hemorrhage and infection. I tell her I am not concerned and do not want a c section. She pounds her fist on her hand like it’s her game plan, says alright we will break your water and give you Pitocin.

I spent most of the night laboring by myself, I wanted everyone to be rested and I was perfectly fine being alone. I moved back and forth from the shower to the bed all while timing my contractions. They were still pretty inconsistent at this point and never really lasted a full minute.

That night we tried to get some rest but the contractions were back to back and very painful. We called my doula and told her we thought about going to the hospital, so she came over to help knowing that I want to labor at home as long as possible. She helps me with positioning, hip squeezing, and counter pressure. We did this for hours throughout the night.

On Labor Day, my sister, cousin, and I went to La Bamba and I had a couple mojitos. I felt weird, I’ve been drunk before and I knew it was a different weird. I went home and took a pregnancy test and I saw a small line. I wasn’t completely sure though because they were cheap tests. We went to Walgreens and bought a fancier test and it was positive!!

At my first OB appointment at 8 weeks I left crying, overwhelmed and extremely scared. With PCOS you are at a higher risk for gestational diabetes (GD). The OB that I saw basically told me that I shouldn’t eat anything other than lean meats and leafy greens and if I gained any more than 16lbs or had GD I would have no choice but to have a c-section. I went into work that day and the lady I was nannying for told me about her OB and I decided to start the process to transfer my care to that practice.