One Thursday morning, nearly two weeks past Savannah’s “due date”, I woke up with nothing but peace in my heart.
At almost 42 weeks, let’s just say I was feeling more pregnant than ever. But I had a peace that surpassed all understanding. A peace that said, “You are making the right decision.” A peace that said “Trust me, and get excited because you will soon have your babygirl in your arms.”
You see, in that two weeks time, after a lot of doctor and midwife appointments, prayer, meditation, and intense conversations, we decided to induce labor. A decision that strayed far from our original birth plan, and came with a whole new set of concerns. But one of the biggest things we prepared for through hypnobirthing, for months leading up to labor and birth, was being open to the idea that the entire process could be full of twists and turns and being able to find peace and beauty in the unknown. I liken the calming feeling that overcame me on the day that would become our induction day to the exact same way I felt the morning of April 23, 2016. Our wedding day. Waking up in Aruba, stepping out on to the balcony of my hotel room, looking out over the island and feeling overwhelmed with joy.
Again, I had such a strong sense of security, confidence, and peace. It was like I could feel God’s arms around me.
I’m so grateful for the confirmation and gentle kiss from the Universe on two of the most important, best days of my life. Okay, so back to that gorgeous, Spring morning that would become our induction day. The sun was shining, there was a gentle breeze, everything about the day felt right. We cracked up as Julian loaded the car. You couldn’t tell if we were going to the hospital for three days or Cabo for three weeks. We were PREPARED, okay. (Read: overpacked)
We talked and laughed all the way to the hospital. As we pulled into the parking lot, Julian was already such a proud papa. Flashing his pearly whites and speaking to everyone as we walked toward the hospital, “Good Morning!”... “Hey there!”...”How’s it going?!” — If you know him, I know you can totally picture this...He was shaking all the hands and kissing all the babies haha I love him. So cute. And always so calm under pressure. Fast forward a bit, we got checked in and mom met us in the room with flowers and all my favorite treats!
A little background — Generally, I don’t do well in hospitals. I’ve always associated them with sad memories. When we decided to labor and birth in a hospital it was really important to me that we worked hard to make the room a tranquil, relaxing, happy space.
So as mom put the flowers in water, Hubby got busy unpacking all of our decorations. He dimmed the harsh overhead lights and set up our LED candles, plugged in our Himalayan salt lamp, set up our diffuser that sprayed a soft lavender mist into the room, taped up pictures from our wedding day, prepped our music playlists, and made sure our hypnobirthing affirmations were pulled up on my phone and my ear phones were by the bed.
It made all the difference. I was so happy and even more ready to meet our angel baby!
Two weeks later, we still stare at her in awe and even the most simple moments feel larger than life.
Like right now, I can’t believe I’m sitting here, in my PJs, nursing Savannah Rose, as I type this on my phone. How is this real life?!
We often joke that if we hadn’t induced I would probably still be preggo and Savvy would’ve come out at like 25 years old and would’ve been driving us home from the hospital! haha
For now, I’ve got (another) diaper to change :) but in my next post I’ll go into the induction, labor, and Savvy’s birth. The magical weekend full of laughs, love, teamwork, strength, and beautiful curveballs that changed our lives forever!