The magnificent Jessica Mederos with her daughter Alana (3 months).
Jessica and her husband knew they wanted children and they had a lot of close relatives who they wanted to meet their future children so she went off of birth control right after their wedding. She was surprised to conceive within just two months. Her pregnancy went very well other than some morning sickness that lasted throughout and some swelling. She had hoped to have a mostly medication and intervention free labor and deliver but says that once she got to the hospital things quickly changed. She was told she should probably get an epidural right away and hooked up to Pitocin which led her to consent for one before long. Not much was happening but after about 24 hours she was told by a nurse she was complete and she could start pushing. She pushed for about 45 minutes before a doctor came in and told her she was only 8 cms and need to stop. Alana was ultimately born via cesarean. Breastfeeding was difficult at first but Jessica has settled into a routine of nursing, pumping and supplementing with formula that works very well for her family. She wanted to document this moment in time with her daughter and join this movement of women normalizing birth and bodies in hopes that her daughter isn't subjected to the same societal standards that she grew up with herself.