My name is Tori R., and I delivered my daughter on November 16th, 2017 at AdventHealth Orlando. My pregnancy was a beautiful experience filled with a roller coaster of emotions. Since both my fiancé and I were born at AdventHealth Orlando, it was a goal of ours to have our baby there. When I found out I was pregnant, I was determined to find an OBGYN group that made me feel like I mattered and not just a number, somewhere that treated their patients with care and made them feel whole. I was fortunate enough to see the wonderful physicians and mid wives at Loch Haven OBGYN, and still to this day care for me. At 16 weeks we found out we would be expecting a baby girl around November 15th! Due to a laundry list of family health history, and a heart condition my fiancé has, we saw a maternal fetal medicine doctor as well. Luckily, everything checked out and we had a healthy baby that continued to grow!
I spent 9 months of my life stressing about delivery and what was to come. My whole pregnancy I had this birth plan and this idea of how my delivery would go. I was going to go natural and I was going to look like I was ready to walk the red carpet while doing it. Towards the end I was so ready to have my baby in my arms. After 39 weeks and 6 LONG days, and what seemed like a pregnancy that was never going to end one morning I woke up and decided it was time to head to the hospital. We arrived in triage and were promptly placed in a room. Once we got in the room I was assessed, and it wasn’t until I heard “You’re not going anywhere! You’re 6cm and having this baby TODAY!” that things got real. We were put in a different room in labor and delivery where I continued to labor. While being admitted I was properly informed and given the opportunity to make choices for how I wanted my care to be. My goal was to go natural but at 9cm I couldn’t take the pain any longer and decided it was time for an epidural. On November 16th, 2017 at 00:59 AM we welcomed our beautiful baby, Kynsley Ann, into the world.
Although we were excited to get home and start our adventure, I speak for most parents when I say the first car ride together is a scary one. I think we drove 35 mph the whole way home. No amount of internet searches or birthing classes will give you the information you need to be a parent. But trust your natural instincts, and hold your baby as much as possible because they grow fast. I will say, watching your child grow, and hit milestones is the most rewarding feeling in the world. We still have a lot to learn, but we are learning and growing together.
AdventHealth is a wonderful organization, with amazing morals and outlooks. I want to give thanks to all the staff that was there for us during our pregnancy and delivery. I especially want to give thanks to one of our nurses on the mother infant unit, Jordan, who was amazing, and we bonded over the few days she had us. Still to this day I tell people how wonderful she was! Our stay at the hospital was a pleasant one. We were surrounded by staff that really showed they cared. The compassion and love we felt was something you only see in movies. My experience moved me so much I knew I wanted to be a part of this team. I can proudly say 6 months after my delivery I started working in labor and delivery at the Winter Park Location. Even to this day I would choose and recommend AdventHealth again and again. Thank you AdventHealth for being an organization who treats their patients like family.
