The stunning Kristin Shtulberg with her daughter Avielle (9 months). Kristin and her husband had planned to wait awhile after they were married to grow their family. However, she was having issues on her birth control and made the decision with her husband to stop taking it and see what happened. They jokingly cracked open the "baby making" wine they'd been gifted at their wedding, and much to their surprise, conceived first go just 3 months after their wedding day. Kristen says that she really enjoyed her pregnancy, she had morning sickness the first few months but really made the best of it. She had hired a doula and planed to have a natural birth with as few interventions as possible. Kristin pre-labored at home for the better part of a week spending a lot of time in the bath but her contractions were never close or consistent enough for her doula to come or for her to head into hospital. She was increasingly exhausted and had been advised to try Tylenol PM and then an Ambien to try to get some sleep. Nothing had allowed her to rest and finally Kristin's contractions were 3-5 minutes apart. She was in a lot of pain and was given the all clear to come in to get checked out. Her doula was at another birth so a back up doula met her at hospital. Unfortunately the cold and car ride slowed things down by time she arrived things. She was still in a great deal of pain and more than anything, absolutely exhausted. She decided to go ahead with morphine but felt no relief. She consented to a temporary epidural but things didn't go as planned. The anesthesiologist missed several times and finally she was just screaming for him to stop. By time he finished she had a large hematoma on her spine and still didn't have relief. Kristen decided that she just wanted to leave and continue to labor at home but they checked her and she was 4-5cms dilated requiring her to be admitted in active labor. Kristen was upset at having to shift gears once again but was determined to make the most of it. Her planned doula was able to join her and she decided to just exercise and do everything she could get her daughter in better position to push labor along. Kristen and her midwife decided to go ahead and try Pitocin and another epidural to see if things could progress. Just as she'd started to rest, a physician came in and pressed Kristen to allow her to break her waters and threatened a cesarean for "failure to progress". She asked for more time and made clear that she wasn't failing to progress, she was just slow to progress. She asked to have her husband present and the doctor told her there was no need. She felt very threatened but ultimately talked the doctor into leaving. Just moments after she left, Kristen's water broke on her own. Other than consenting to an internal monitor Kristen didn't face any further interventions and was able to have a vaginal delivery without complication. Avielle had to spend some time in the special care nursery due to concerns with her blood levels and fluids but she was able to be discharged with Kristen. The two were readmitted overnight for some time under the bili lights and Avielle is in great health today. Kristen experienced significant baby blues for a few weeks, she told her husband she didn't want to breastfeed baby, she didn't want to be a mother, she just wanted her old life back. Thankfully she was able to work through it with support and has settled into both motherhood and breastfeeding without issue.