The day she returned home from their annual Fourth of July lake trip, Lauren Allen took a pregnancy test. “I had been so tired the past couple of weeks and just felt off,” she said, “so it made sense to take the test.”

Even so, the result was unexpected—a positive.

Unsure of home tests’ accuracy, she grabbed another one for confirmation. When that one was positive too, she and her husband Riley went to a local urgent care.

“We were flying to Tampa in less than 12 hours for a long weekend,” Lauren explained, “and I wanted to be sure. The nurse practically followed me into the room and said, ‘You’re pregnant!’”

After the nurse directed them to Walgreens to buy prenatals, they went home to get ready for their trip. As they packed, Lauren felt every emotion at once: shock, excitement, nervousness and happiness.

Lauren shared the news with her provider Hannah Dye, C.F.N.P., who is a dear friend, the next morning. “I texted her as we were taking off, and she called me as soon as we landed. She was so overjoyed and helped calm my nerves. I remember her saying, ‘Enjoy your trip! We got this!’”

Balancing Work and Pregnancy

As the Associate Director of Admissions for Out of State Recruitment at Ole Miss, Lauren’s work keeps her constantly moving. And during her pregnancy, there was no slowing down.

“I was very blessed,” Lauren said. “Besides getting tired more easily, I felt great. I was able to travel my entire second trimester, which meant things stayed as normal as they could. It was smooth sailing.”

When she became fatigued, she made sure to rest when she could, whether that was a nap in the hotel when she was traveling or taking it easy on the weekends. “I just made sure I wasn’t overdoing it and tried to take care of myself,” she said.

In the meantime, she was visiting Oxford Clinic for Women for prenatal appointments with Hannah.

“Hannah was an angel,” Lauren shared. “Having her as my provider was so special. Riley and I are older first-time parents, but still first-time parents nonetheless. She always made sure we understood what we were doing at that visit and upcoming visits. I couldn’t have imagined seeing anybody else.”

The best part of her pregnancy was sharing the news with their families. As the first grandchild on both sides, they knew it would be exciting for everyone.

They told their parents first, meeting Lauren’s parents at Harvey’s in Tupelo, where Riley had asked Lauren’s dad for permission to marry her.

They presented her parents with sonogram pictures that Ginger Kizer, Oxford Clinic for Women’s ultrasound technician, had printed out for them. Ginger, a long-time friend of the family, even personalized a picture for Lauren’s dad.

A few days later, Riley and Lauren drove to Collierville, where his parents live, to share the news the same way.

“The way we told everyone else was so fun,” she said. “Riley and I aren’t big on surprises, so we ended up finding out the gender ourselves and telling our close friends and family on Labor Day weekend. My parents helped us plan a small party in my hometown of Booneville where we surprised everyone with the news that we were pregnant and revealed the gender.”

“[Riley] felt like the baby was a girl the whole time, and he was right,” she shared. “Growing up, he had always wanted a little sister, but never had one, so a little girl—with a double name—was just what he wanted.”

The First Meeting

Lauren’s due date estimated her giving birth around Leap Day. Her husband wanted to have a Leap Day baby, whereas Lauren was completely opposed to the idea.

“This is one of the few times during our pregnancy that my husband and I have adamantly disagreed,” laughed Lauren.

They decided to schedule an induction, which was the day after her 40-week appointment. “It was nice to have a planned time because we were able to prepare ourselves and just show up at the hospital with no surprises,” she said.

Lauren was up the whole night before with contractions but because they were scheduled to go to the hospital at 5:30 the next morning, she decided to stay home until their call time.

“I just remember a flood of emotions,” she recalled. “I’m not a crier at all, but I remember getting everything in the car and then losing it. My husband tried to say something sweet, and I started crying harder. I knew everything was going to change.”

Labor for Lauren did not go quickly. “We got there at 5:30 in the morning, and she didn’t come until almost 10 o’clock at night, which made for a long day. She was just a little stubborn. Not sure where she gets that from,” laughed Lauren.

But little Ann Gibson Allen finally made her way into the world on March 6th at 9:48 p.m.

“Holding her for the first time was so surreal because she’d been there with me for 40 weeks,” Lauren said. “In an instant, I was looking at the face who had done what felt like a thousand kicks and flips inside me. It was like I’d known her forever. Then my husband held her, and she immediately opened her eyes. We knew she recognized his voice.”

As far as the childbirth experience went, Lauren trusted that the healthcare professionals would take care of her. She suggests the same to other new moms. “Trust the people and the process,” she said. “Hannah was always telling me that every experience is different, and that helped prepare me. I tried to go in with no expectations.”

Embracing Parenthood

When Riley and Lauren got home with Ann Gibson, they worked to figure out their new normal. Lauren’s mom stayed with them at the beginning, which helped, and their friends and family regularly checked up on them.

“We were all just trying to learn Ann Gibson. Like my husband says, ‘Babies don’t come with manuals.’ But having people check in on us was so meaningful.”

So often, Lauren shared, people want to ask how the baby is doing, which is sweet, but it was special when friends or family made sure she and Riley were doing okay, too.

People dropped by casseroles and takeout. “That was so helpful,” she said, “because then cooking dinner was one less thing we had to do amongst all the diaper changes, feeding, pumping and everything else.”

Recovery, for Lauren, was perhaps the hardest part. “I’m a busy body,” she said, laughing. “I’d want to get up and do this and that. I’m not one to ask for much help, so it was humbling.

“Combine that with coming home, learning your baby and adjusting to your new normal, it can be overwhelming,” she continued. “You just go through a roller coaster of emotions. Your whole life has changed in a matter of hours, and you quickly learn that you have to accept help.”

Now that some time has passed, Lauren and Riley have found confidence in parenting and their new routine.

“Being a mom is simply the best,” Lauren shared. “It’s crazy. My husband and I were just talking about how we don’t even remember life before her anymore, like what did we do with our time?