On Wednesday, August 5, we got the call to come to Rose Medical Center for an induction. We already knew Isabella might be arriving a little earlier than expected. My kidneys had been swollen throughout pregnancy, I also had kidney stones, and her abdomen was measuring a little small, so our doctors felt it was safest to bring her into the world early.

We arrived around 9 p.m., and they gave me an oral medication to begin the induction. It started working right away, and I began having contractions within the hour.

The next morning, things slowly began moving forward. I had an IV placed so they could start Pitocin and help progress labor. What we didn’t know at the time was that the IV had slipped out of my vein. Instead of going into my bloodstream, the Pitocin was filling my right hand.

We tried different positions and spent hours trying to help labor progress, but I wasn’t dilating much at all.

Eventually, the nurses realized what was happening after seeing how swollen and purple my hand had become. It was easily three times its normal size. They had the anesthesiologist move the IV to my left hand because no one could find my veins through all the swelling. Almost immediately, things changed. The Pitocin finally started working, and labor began progressing much more quickly.

They gave me a warm compress to help bring the swelling down in my right hand while we continued through the next several hours.

There were a few moments when Isabella’s heart rate suddenly dropped, and the nurses rushed in to monitor her and put me into different positions to try to stimulate her heart rate. We also discovered that my water hadn’t completely broken the way we initially thought. There was only a small leak at the top, which was making it difficult for labor to progress. They fully broke my water, and I finally made it to 6 centimeters.

And then I stayed there for an entire day.

As the hours passed, the nurses became increasingly concerned about Isabella’s heart rate continuing to drop. There were also concerns about the risks to me if we continued waiting, including hemorrhaging and internal bleeding. After talking with our doctors and weighing our options, we all agreed that the safest thing for both of us was to move forward with a C-section.

It wasn’t the birth I had hoped for, and my birth plan went out the window very quickly. I had really wanted to deliver her naturally, and making that decision was not easy. But by that point, the only thing that mattered was getting Isabella here safely.

I was also having incredibly painful contractions, even after five rounds of fentanyl, so we decided it was time for an epidural. I had been so nervous about getting one, but it was virtually painless. Honestly, it didn’t hurt at all. The placement was surprisingly easy, and it finally gave me a much-needed break. I could still feel some breakthrough pain here and there, but the nurses were wonderful about helping me manage it.

Because my water had been broken for so long, I also developed an infection in my uterus and needed antibiotics. Isabella had been surrounded by that fluid, which made getting her out even more important.

Around that time, they also inserted a small tube that ran alongside Isabella so they could more accurately monitor and measure the fluid in my uterus. They used the tube to refill my amniotic fluid in hopes of giving Isabella more room and helping to untangle her. Unfortunately, none of it worked.

Once I signed the consent for the C-section, everything happened incredibly fast.

Suddenly, we were being taken into the operating room. The bright lights, the unfamiliar room, and not being able to see what was happening on the other side of the curtain made the whole experience a little scary.

But the surgery itself went really well.

I wasn’t expecting the amount of pressure I would feel on my abdomen. I felt no pain, but they were pushing on my stomach so much harder than I expected. I was extremely nauseous during the procedure and ended up vomiting through much of it. Every time they pushed on my stomach, I would immediately get sick.

Afterward, I started shaking so badly that I wasn’t able to hold Isabella right away.

So Ben got to have the very first skin-to-skin.

He held our baby girl against his chest and gave Izzy her first bottle while the doctors finished taking care of me. As hard as it was not to be the one holding her first, knowing she was safe with her dad made it a little easier.

When Isabella was born, the doctors had to clear her lungs and give her some oxygen, which was incredibly nerve-racking after everything we’d already been through. But the doctors and nurses were amazing, and before long, we knew she was okay.

After everything—the long induction, the stubborn 6 centimeters, the IV mishap, the heart rate scares, the infection, and the unexpected C-section, she was finally here.

Not the birth we planned. Not the way we imagined meeting her.

But somehow, after everything it took to get her here, the moment we finally knew she was safe was all that mattered.