My Body, My Journey

Nine months sounds like such a long time, but somehow, my pregnancy flew by. My original due date was December 16th, but my daughter had other plans. I ended up going in for an induction on December 22nd at 6:00 a.m., and by 3:30 a.m. the following morning, I was holding my baby girl in my arms.

Looking back, it’s hard to explain how surreal the entire experience felt. Even throughout my pregnancy, I never fully felt like it was real. I knew there was a baby growing inside of me, but somehow, becoming a mom still felt like something that was far away. Even sitting in that hospital room, waiting for the Pitocin to work, I still didn’t have that “this is really happening” feeling.

It wasn’t until they placed my daughter in my arms that everything suddenly became real.

All the emotions I had been holding in for nine months came rushing in at once.

My labor was surprisingly calm and, honestly, much easier than I expected. I feel incredibly blessed to have had such an easy pregnancy and delivery. I barely experienced any sickness or nausea during pregnancy, and even throughout labor, I was taking naps, watching movies, and just enjoying the quiet moments with my partner, my mom, and my partner’s mom.

There were definitely moments that made me nervous. At one point, I noticed the right side of my face felt tired and slightly droopy, so I told my doctor. They monitored me closely because there was a small possibility it could have been Bell’s palsy. Thankfully, everything turned out to be okay.

As the hours went by, I slowly progressed. They eventually broke my water to help things move along, and I made it to about 7½ centimeters. The contractions were getting stronger, and eventually, I decided it was time for an epidural.

I was honestly more scared of the needle than I was of giving birth.

The anesthesiologist explained everything to me, including the possible complications, which definitely made me nervous. Afterward, my right side became much more numb than my left, but somehow, it worked out in my favor. I could still feel enough of the contractions to know when it was time to push.

Then came the moment I had been waiting for.

The nurse calmly said, “Let’s practice pushing.”

As a first-time mom, I had no idea that those “practice pushes” were actually getting me ready to meet my baby.

I kept reminding myself to stay calm. You’re here now. There’s no backing out. The only way through this is to push through it.

I focused on listening to the nurses, staying calm, and doing everything I could to make the process as smooth as possible for my baby. I even remember picking a spot in the room to stare at while I pushed, trying to block everything else out.

After a while, the doctor checked me and said, “Wow, 9 centimeters. It’s showtime.”

And just like that, everything changed.

I pushed for less than five minutes, and then suddenly—she was here.

My daughter.

The moment they placed her on me, I can't even put into words what I felt. It was like every emotion I had been waiting nine months to feel came crashing over me all at once. The moment that had never quite felt real suddenly became the most real thing in the world.

There she was. The little girl I had carried, dreamed about, and waited so long to meet.

People always warned me about how hard labor would be, but for me, labor wasn't the hardest part. 

What surprised me most was everything that came afterward.

Breastfeeding was harder than I expected. Recovery was harder than I expected. The stitches, the bleeding, the exhaustion, and learning how to take care of a tiny human while your own body is still healing—it was a lot.

But somehow, every difficult moment was still worth it.

If I could give one piece of advice to another new mom, it would be this: give yourself grace. Whether it’s labor, breastfeeding, recovery, or simply figuring out motherhood, you are learning as you go. And if breastfeeding is something you truly want to do, don’t give up on yourself too quickly. It takes time, patience, and so much more perseverance than people realize.

Motherhood didn’t become real to me until I held her for the first time.

And in that moment, I realized that the nine months that felt like they flew by had led me to the most beautiful moment of my life.

The moment I finally met my daughter. 

--Daisy, YUP! Young Parent and YAC member