Taleiya // 2022
Mother to Tristan.
Taleiya, age 26, is a current member of the Air National Guard with seven years of service. She has also been assisting the wing in various tasks to include deployment cycle support, airman & family readiness, wing morale events & more. Since graduating with a bachelors in Recreational Therapy, she has worked in many populations, including pediatrics, geriatrics and community recreation. Her love for service ultimately turned her back to her military career for full-time employment. In her free time, she loves spending time with family, traveling & now embracing the journey of motherhood.
the transition.
Did your birthing experience go according to plan? How did you overcome any barriers and make peace with the detours?
My birth went the complete opposite of what I planned, which was hard for me to handle at first being that I’m a planner. I had laminated copies of my birth plan for my support people, the nursing staff & myself. But after about 14 hours of labor at the hospital, I was only 2 cm dilated and the baby’s heart rates kept dropping. My OBGYN told me to consider a C-section and to make a decision quick for the baby’s sake.
My biggest challenge was just the unknown—from one moment thinking that everything was OK to realizing the baby’s heart rate dropping and then to a major surgery. My anxiety was definitely heightened, but with prayer & reassurance, I persevered!
I prayed. I put all my worries in God’s hands and knew that my plan was not His plan, and regardless of how we got to the outcome, we just needed a healthy and happy baby. I leaned on my faith to get me through—and it did!!!
