By Stephanie Schmitt, as told to Olivia DeLong

My entire pregnancy was uneventful, maybe the most uneventful in the history of pregnancies — and I feel so lucky to be able to say that. But that should have been my first warning that my delivery experience would be a little bit different — and that it was. 

My labor was long, but pretty routine 

We didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl which was really exciting. I was low risk, and since there weren't any red flags, my 20-week anatomy scan was my last ultrasound I had for the rest of my pregnancy. 

At my 37-week appointment, my provider did a cervical check and I was 70% effaced and 2 centimeters dilated. I thought I would go into labor soon  —  but I didn't. There was no change or progression at my 38, 39 and even my due date appointment, so after my 41 week appointment, I was induced.

My hospital bag had been packed for two and a half months at that point because I thought for sure I'd go into labor before my due date. 

When I got to the hospital, I was immediately  hooked up to an IV with Pitocin, so things got started right away: contractions were steady and we were off to the races. Then, my doctor came in and broke my water. I automatically thought, wow, this is what people are talking about when they're in labor and experiencing contractions. 

I got an epidural and instantaneously felt so much better — I felt like I could run a marathon. I slept, chatted with my husband and texted family and friends. I was feeling really good while still feeling like something was happening, but I had no pain whatsoever, which was nice. That was around 1 p.m. and then it wasn't until around 7 p.m. thatI was told to start pushing, and I was so excited. I was ready to go! But that got old really quick. 

I've never felt exhaustion like that in my life, and I just kept thinking, how much longer can this possibly go on? After about two hours of pushing, my son finally made his grand entrance into the world. But then came the most surprising part of all. 

The moment we found out our son weighed 11 lbs, 14 oz 

As the doctors were holding our son up, my husband and I looked at each other and we were like, "my God, it's our son, it’s Lochlan." I remember being half conscious, just really tired and hearing all of these voices of the nurses and a bunch of commotion. 

They were saying he was easily nine pounds. And then I could hear, in my half conscious state, somebody else say, "no way, he has to be ten pounds." I thought to myself, no, it can't be ten. That's humongous!  

Then my husband came over and said, "Steph, the baby is 11 pounds, 14 ounces and 28 inches long." And I said, "You have to be… that is incorrect." It turns out, he was 23 inches long (which is still large!) but the weight was correct – 11 pounds, 14 ounces. 

So at that point, I just lost my mind. I couldn't believe it and I was worried. Is he okay? Did we go too long? Was my due date off? 

The nurses took him away to clean him up and to weigh him — and then I didn't get him back. The pediatrician came over and said that because he was so big he was probably going to need to go to the NICU. I was devastated because all I wanted in that moment was to cuddle him and get to know him and count his fingers, count his toes, that kind of thing. I remember crying. 

He was away from us for about an hour and a half to two hours, which just felt like an eternity. Luckily, the nurse came back and said there wasn't a single thing wrong with our baby. His blood sugar was fantastic and he was fine and there was no need for him to go to the NICU. He was perfect and just a lot more to love than we had anticipated! 

I ended up losing a liter and a half of blood and had a third degree tear, but you really have to trust your doctors because I honestly felt really great after — and I'm sure that was largely in part due to the pain management and the medication. Despite the tearing and blood loss, I healed really quickly and by eight weeks I was cleared for running and my other regular activities. 

Looking back on my surprising birth story 

I look back and laugh about it all now because I know that everything is fine and I had a very healthy baby. But nobody knows how or why he was so big! I remember just wanting answers and wondered how my doctors didn't know he was going to be so big. There was not a single red flag so I tried to just let it be and know that it was out of my control.

I'm not afraid to be pregnant again — and hopefully, if I do, my pregnancy will be just as smooth as my first. However, I've already asked my OB/GYN if I'm destined to have another nearly 12 pound baby or if there is anything we can do differently. They've confirmed that I will certainly have more third trimester ultrasounds the second time around and that I might also have a Cesarean section, but that is okay with me! 

While my birth did not go how I thought it would and I had to take time to process that, I'm now raising a beautiful little boy. He is almost six months old now and just this delicious butter ball that I cannot get enough of and would not change for anything. Every single day I learn a little bit more and get a little bit more confident – and it really does all come naturally.