Jana Kramer’s Blog: The Twists and Turns of My Daughter’s Delivery
Jana Kramer is a new mom!
The 32-year-old country singer/songwriter’s song “I Got the Boy” has been certified gold, was named one of the best songs of 2015 by the New York Times, as well as Rolling Stone. Her album, thirty one, features 11 tracks including latest single “Said No One Ever.” Stream the record here.
Kramer is nominated for female vocalist of the year and breakthrough female of the year at Sunday’s American Country Countdown Awards, where she’s also presenting.
Before moving to Nashville, where she lives with her husband, former NFL tight end Michael Caussin, and their three dogs, Kramer was an actress, playing Alex on One Tree Hill and guest-starring on Friday Night Lights, Entourage and 90210.
The couple wed in Charlottesville, Virginia, in May and welcomed their first child, daughter Jolie Rae, on Jan. 31.
Kramer can be found on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @kramergirl.
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I can’t believe it has been almost three months since I gave birth to our baby girl! It honestly feels like just yesterday.
It is funny, when I first got pregnant I asked everyone who had a baby what their delivery story was. I don’t know if I asked because I was nervous about what was going to happen, or if I just wanted to be prepared. What I learned from asking though was that everyone’s story was different and I was so anxious to find out what our story was going to be.
It definitely wasn’t one of the stories I heard where everything went as planned and that no pain was felt.
RELATED: Family Photos! Jana Kramer and Daughter Jolie’s Sweetest Snapshots
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A few weeks before I had Jolie, I was having Braxton Hicks contractions and they started to get stronger so I made Michael take me to the hospital. I swore I was going into labor. Five hours later, no baby and just a lot of wasted time as we walked out of the hospital. I kept asking the doctor, “But how will I know if they are real labor contractions?” She said, “Oh, trust me, you will know.”
I didn’t know what that meant until the morning of January 31st.
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My mom flew in from Michigan on January 30th because we knew the time was near. We went to see Star Wars the night before and I remember barely being able to walk because my joints were hurting me so bad and just praying she would come soon. That night, I had contractions all night long.
When I woke up at 8 in the morning, I stood up and I remember looking at my husband saying, “Um, honey, I’m not peeing myself so I think this is my water breaking.” All of my friends that I have talked to never had their water break so I didn’t know what to expect.
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About a minute later, I had insanely crazy contractions. I started screaming because they hurt so badly, so my mom came flying down the stairs and I ran outside. I waited for about 10 minutes as my husband brushed his teeth and put on clothes; meanwhile I am outside the car screaming, yelling for him to get his butt out of the house.
It is quite the joke now but at the time, it was so not funny. I must have woken up my whole neighborhood by screaming his name to get into the car. Thirty minutes and 100mph later we were at the hospital.
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I was having contractions every two to three minutes and they were so bad that I couldn’t talk. I knew then what the doctor meant when she said “you will know.” Oh I knew, and oh boy was I ready for that epidural. I have a crazy amount of respect for women that have natural births and as much as I would like to pretend I would have wanted to, I did not at all.
By 9 a.m., I was given the epidural. I will say I was most nervous for this part because I heard it was painful, but honestly it wasn’t bad at all. It was like a small bee sting and then BANG, my contractions were gone. I will admit I wasn’t a fan of not feeling my legs. To not have control was very weird, but I would rather that over the pain I felt an hour before.
More from Jana’s PEOPLE.com blog series:
- Jana Kramer’s Blog: The Baby’s Coming Any Day Now – No Really, She Is
- Jana Kramer’s Blog: We’re in the Home Stretch
- Jana Kramer’s Blog: Focusing on the Positive (and My Pants)
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As I sat there waiting to go into labor, my best friend Kathryn came and we played cards and hung out. My doctor checked in with me a few times and I was very anxious for what was next. I was hoping for a vaginal birth, so when she came in at 3 p.m. saying I needed to have an emergency c-section, it scared the living daylights outta me.
I had a fever that kept spiking and my white cell count was a lot higher than it should have been so my doctor said for the health and safety of me and the baby, we needed to get her out immediately. Needless to say, I was scared and everything that followed happened so fast. I was wheeled back and was set up for a c-section.
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Thirty minutes later, I met my daughter Jolie. She had a fever so she spent her first two hours in the NICU with Daddy, and it wasn’t until three hours later that I got to really hold my baby girl. I wish I could explain that moment. It was the most surreal, most loving moment of my life. I never thought I could love something so much.
I love her even more than I thought was ever possible. The past three months have had their ups and downs and the first two weeks post-pregnancy were really hard for me. My emotions were everywhere. I remember my husband Mike walking into the room and I was bawling and he asked what was wrong and I had NO idea. It was very intense and would come out of nowhere.
RELATED: Jana Kramer Gets Real About Being a New Mom
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I also dealt with a lot of shame due to the fact that my milk never came in. I had a really, really hard time with that. I felt like I wasn’t a good mom because of it, but what I think hurt the worst was all of the “mommy shame” out there. At the end of the day, I myself was a formula baby and I think I turned out okay.
My baby girl has been really gassy and colicky, but now at 13 weeks she is starting to really show her adorable personality. Her smile is everything and she for sure has my dimples. She already has Mike and me wrapped around her finger 100 percent. I have never in my life been this in love.
RELATED: Check Out Jana Kramer’s Exclusive ACMs Photo Diary for PEOPLE
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The constant variable in all of this has been Mike. He has been insanely caring, reliable, and to see him with our daughter makes me melt. I can’t wait to see the relationship they build and for him to show her how a man should treat a woman.
Tour season has started and we have a baby on board! It has brought on its own set of challenges, but we are all figuring it out. She has started sleeping through the night, which has helped. But it is very tiring when I’m up with her early in the morning and then having to go on stage at 10 p.m.
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It really is 24-7 mom to singer to mom, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I am excited to see what is to come. Seeing how strong she is with her neck already, and then soon she will be rolling over, to walking … it’s amazing how time is already flying by. Stay tuned!
— Jana Kramer