Shavon’s Birth Story: Kyla
Posted on: June 23, 2025 | Uncategorized
It was late December when she discovered that her life would be changed forever. While on vacation in Atlanta, visiting her then-boyfriend, she had slept the day away, and her cycle was late. Shavon put 2 and 2 together and asked her boyfriend to take her to CVS to purchase a pregnancy test. Her boyfriend didn’t know the real reason for the trip to CVS, and Shavon wanted to be sure before telling him. After peeing on the pregnancy stick, two lines appeared. Shavon was unsure how to feel, after all, she had only been dating her boyfriend for six months and hadn’t even met his family yet. Shavon had always wanted to be a mother and was mostly happy, but she was also afraid of what everyone else would say or think, and more importantly, what kind of mother she would be.
Later in the evening, Shavon showed her boyfriend the positive pregnancy test. And she was so relieved that he was happy about the news. Now that the father of her child knew and was happy about it, surely everyone else would be pleased about the news, too, and they were!
We’re Having a Baby!
As the weeks passed, Shavon was eager to see her belly grow. Once she noticed her small pooch, she was excited. This gave her validation that a bit of life is being formed inside of her. Shavon began to make it a habit of placing her hands on her belly and speaking to her baby, praying over her unborn child. She would put headphones on her belly and play classical music for her little one. Shavon did extensive reading on the stages of pregnancy and the growth and development of babies. She became addicted to watching birth stories on Lifetime. Shavon experienced morning/afternoon/night sickness, fatigue, peeing every hour, and craving unhealthy foods. She tried very hard to eat healthy meals, but whenever she did, the healthy meal came right back up.
It was now her 4-month check-up. The day she had been anticipating was the day she would find out the gender, or at least she thought. The baby was very shy and didn’t want to open their legs during the ultrasound. Shavon left her appointment a bit disappointed as she was eager to find out if the baby was a boy or a girl. In her heart, she felt that she had a baby boy growing in her belly, but either way, she would be just as happy if it were to be a girl. With this pregnant belly, it was hard to put on shoes, give hugs, get in and out of bed, sleep comfortably, and even to see her hoo-ha.
Is This It?!
Is today the day?! Shavon was tired of being uncomfortable, tired of peeing every hour, tired of the back pain, tired of carrying all of this weight, just tired of being pregnant and eager to meet her little one. Shavon had been feeling something that felt like how her OB described contractions. She felt tightness along with painful cramps, but were these the real thing? Are they doing anything to my cervix? “I’ve been feeling them for hours, and they seem to be getting more intense and closer together,” she thought. To be sure, she and her boyfriend went to Labor & Delivery, and her cervix was checked in triage. She was simply 2cm, so she was sent back home. On the way back home, she was feeling very disappointed and discouraged. Hours passed, “It had to be time now,” she thought, “because these pains felt different from before and more consistent.” Off to the hospital again they went, and this time triage checked her in and allowed her to stay, but she was strongly encouraged to walk around the hospital for a bit and come back and do another cervix check. Shavon made some progress. She’s feeling relieved and more energetic because she’s so excited to meet her little one. Shavon and her boyfriend continued walking around. Back in the room and discussing her birth plans with the birth team.
Shavon knew that she wanted to have a natural birth and therefore declined the epidural or any other pain meds. Her bags of water were still intact, the baby was high, and the cervix was 4cm dilated. The OB broke her bags of water and noticed that the baby had a bowel movement, and then the nurse strongly suggested Pitocin to speed up labor. At first, labor felt like a walk in the park for Shavon, but once that Pitocin kicked in, she was crying the blues. Shavon tried her best to be a trooper, but the pain just felt like it was too much to bear. She asked for an epidural, but unfortunately, she was told that it was now too late to get an epidural, and that they could give some pain meds through an IV. Shavon didn’t hesitate to give the “OK”. With the help of the pain meds, Shavon was able to sleep for an hour and was close to start pushing. At last, 10cm dilated, and now it was time to push. Shavon was afraid that she wouldn’t know how to push her baby out. The baby was still high, so Shavon had to have the strength and willpower to push her baby down and out.
Baby is almost here!
Shavon was surrounded by support from her boyfriend, mom, dad, and stepmom, all of whom were in the room, encouraging her to push. She hung in there as long as she could. Shavon was so exhausted and needed extra help to birth her baby, so her OB told the birth team to get a vacuum to help get the baby out. Twenty-four hours in labor and 4 hours of pushing later, Shavon gave birth to her baby girl at 10:21 pm. Baby girl Kyla was 8lbs and 2oz and had to be whisked away to remove any poop that she ingested and check her vitals. Shavon’s boyfriend, mom, dad, and stepmom were all gazing at baby girl Kyla, while Shavon anxiously waited to meet her baby and get stitched up from perineal tearing and cleaned up. At last, the nurse placed the crying baby girl in her mother’s arms. As soon as she was in her mother’s arms, Kyla became quiet. The nurse positioned Kyla at her mother’s breast. Shavon began her journey into motherhood with a healthy, happy, beautiful baby girl at the age of 24.
