Party of FIVE coming in so hot. I can't even believe that saying it out loud. But here I am, laying in bed next to my third child, feeling so incredibly grateful for these beautiful babies that have joined our family.
I thought this pregnancy would be the same as the other two, thinking my fluid would be low. Thinking I would have to deliver early at 38 weeks because my babies were better off being out than in with low fluid. But I was very wrong.
First, let's start off with the chaos of changing doctors at 36 weeks pregnant. Yep. Cam got a new job and our insurance changed which meant I couldn't deliver with Dr. Smith at Alta View Hospital anymore. I was devastated because I really enjoy Dr. Smith as he's always listened to me, given me all the info regarding my pregnancies, really took the time to sit with me, etc. Fortunately, I had delivered with Dr. Watts with Stockton at St. Marks and knew I enjoyed him as a Dr. as well. I quickly called to get on his schedule. The front desk receptionist booked me an appointment that was over 4 weeks out and I told her that wasn't going to work because my baby would be here at that time. It felt crazy. So they transferred me back to Rebecca who is his MA and she got me in right away.
Dr. Watts came in with a big smile and greeted me like it had been no time since I'd had Stockton. Honestly that was exactly what I needed to feel comfortable switching Dr.'s so late in the game. He's the best.
Ok so onto Willow's birth story. What a wild ride. Dr. Watts would check my fluid every week and every week it was great! 36 weeks it was a 12. 37 weeks it was a 10. And then we hit 38 weeks. My fluid was an 11 so it was still in great shape. I was dilated to a 2 and 70% effaced. He stripped my membranes as I'd been having painful contractions for two weeks prior. We also set an induction date for 2/24/22 just in case I didn't go into labor. The next day my plug came out and I thought, "ok this must be it". Maybe I won't go into labor tonight, but maybe this week! So I did all the things. I walked on a treadmill. I ate pineapple. I ate spicy food. I bounced on my kids bouncy ball. All of the things to try to get my body to progress even further. Yet. Nothing. My body just didn't want to go into labor on its own. That entire week was a whirlwind of emotions. Every night I thought, ok maybe this is it. Then the morning would come and I'd still have a big belly with aching pains everywhere. I was hurting. And it wasn't ending. I felt like I was in this long tunnel and there was no way out. Something to note is that I chose to quarantine myself from Christmas till February because Covid cases were out of control. There was a point where the case count got over 12,000 a day which was insane compared to when we thought 2,000 was a lot. I wanted to keep myself healthy for delivery and obviously was scared of what it might do to my pregnancy. So. With that in mind, I was REALLY ready to deliver this baby and get back to what felt like normal life.
I went in on a Monday and Dr. Watts came into the room, so happy again. Asked how I was and I responded with "I don't know", and immediately started to cry. I felt so unstable. I had had lots of negative emotions that morning of things like what if I didn't love this baby. What if I didn't bond with this baby. Especially since I didn't know the gender. Cam and I hadn't decided on names. I'd been sick for almost 9 months straight I was worried I'd never feel a connection even after the baby was born. And boy was I wrong. But in the moment it felt very real. Dr. Watts listened and gave me a hug. I told him how I thought my body would go into labor but it never did that week. I asked if I could come back tomorrow to get induced because I was so uncomfortable. Baby had dropped so much that there was so much pressure and it felt like she was going to fall out every time I stood up.
He was so kind and just said, "let's call labor and delivery right now and see what they have on the schedule, let's try to make it happen." He pulled out his cell right there, put them on speaker, and asked if I could get bumped up to tomorrow. They said yes. And again. The tears. I was so happy and felt so relieved! It was like 9 months of worries and pain had been lifted off of me.
Little did I know it was going to be the most crazy day the very next day. The next day was 2/22/22. A day that everyone in the world wanted to have their babies. I hadn't really thought about it until everyone was messaging me about it. They were all excited for me that my baby would have the coolest bday ever. And I was excited! The hospital told me to call in at 6am and they would give me a time to come in to be induced.
Cam and I took the kids to my moms. I asked the kids one last time what they thought baby was. Stock thought a girl, Scottie thought a boy. I kissed them goodbye and Cam and I went home and went to bed. Preparing to meet our baby so soon.
I called in at 6am and they told me they had a handful of moms come in overnight in labor so to call back at 9am. I called at 9am. They told me that they were still busy so to call back at 1pm. 1 pm rolls around and I call back and they say again, they're so busy. Moms are still in labor, I'm #1 on the list to come in next and to call back again at 5pm. Now here we are at 5pm and I'm thinking, ok this has to be it. I call in and the nurse tells me they're still very busy. They have a lot of first time laboring moms that are taking a long time as well as having two women that needed to be induced due to medical reasons. She also told me there were two others on the list before me which felt weird because I was told I was next. The entire time on the phone I felt like they were all just lying to me and that everyone was trying to get in to have their baby on 2/22/22. Granted so was I apparently. Not so much for the date, but just because I wanted baby here with us and the date was like a plus 1. The nurse told me it was very unlikely at that point that I would be able to come in and that she said they could call me at 2am or anytime in the middle of the night to bring me in. At that point it was just too much and I decided I'd just go in on 2/23/22 to have baby. She also said that 2/23 was busy as well and I may not get in but I could try. I hang up the phone and told Cam to come get my phone from me because I was so disappointed and sad. I immediately started filing off my nails because I had nothing else to do and was devastated we weren't going to meet baby.
20 minutes later my phone ring and its labor and delivery from St. Marks. I answer and a sweet nurse tells me if I come in right away, they can squeeze me in! WHAT! I was shocked. And so happy. And surprised. And ecstatic! Cam and I packed up right away...after I had hurried and put a base coat of shellac on haha. We got to the hospital 30 mins after she called and got checked in.
They checked us in, got me dressed in my gown and by 6pm we were ready to roll. I was dilated to a 3 and 80% effaced and thought maybe I'd let my body labor on its own with the pitocin to see if I'd progress faster. They started my pitocin at 7pm. The nurse was also able to get to my vein in my hand on the first attempt! I was thrilled because normally I have blown veins in both hands, wrists, arms, until they get one in my elbow. Unfortunately my body didn't progress much at all other than placement. My contractions started getting stronger at 9pm, I was still a 3, but baby had dropped which was good. The first nurse that checked me in told me that Dr. Watts wanted me to get my epidural sooner v. later because then they could break my water. For some reason my deliver nurse, Britt, told me to not worry about what he wanted and to do what I wanted. This was my labor. Which I 100% appreciated. But I was definitely feeling the stress of everyone wanting me to have baby on 2/22/22. Anyways. I made the decision to wait and got my epidural at 10pm. It was the best epidural I'd ever had. I couldn't feel my contractions but I could still feel, wiggle, and move my legs. The anesthesiologist, I think his name was Joe, was so kind and nice and talked to me like I was an old friend. The on call Dr., Dr. Hua broke my water at 10:45pm and fluid came out. That was a first for me! I'd never had extra fluid and it was something I felt excited about. Cam and I turned on a Netflix show, I ate apple juice soaked pebble ice, and we waited. My body progressed super quick after getting my water broken. By 12:15am I was a 7 and 90% effaced. Dilated to an 8 at 12:45am. At that point, my nurse had told me if I feel pressure and feel like I have to poop, to tell her. I felt it. And hit my nurse button. She came in and told me I was still an 8/9. She said she'd be back in 15 mins. So I said ok. She came back in and I asked her to check to see if I was pooping because I felt so much pressure down there. She checked and said..."oh". And immediately I thought am I pooping?! Nope. She said I was bleeding a little which meant I'd progressed and was ready to push. She checked me. I was a 10 at 1:20am, ready to roll but Dr. Watts wasn't there! She told me to cross my legs and not to push, cough, sneeze. I was so worried this baby was coming and that she or even Cam would have to catch baby!
Dr. Watts got there at 1:40am. Smiling and energetic even though it was the middle of the night. He got all gowned up and we started pushing. I pushed 5x for 10 seconds each and then. Baby was here. Born on 2/23/22. A palindrome bday. 1:45am our perfect little girl was here. I was incredibly emotional and was crying even before she came out. It felt like all the pain and sickness and struggle of the last 9 months was finally coming to an end. We had lost Cams mom. My uncle Mike. All within months of each other. Trying to navigate what this meant for me and Cam. Trying to navigate what real grief meant and how to survive it. How to be there for Cam. This pregnancy was hard. Incredibly hard not just on my body, but my mental health as well. It felt heavy.
Cam was the one to say if it was a boy or a girl. At first he couldn't tell but then shortly after said, "it's a girl!". A baby girl. I had another baby girl! And in that moment, I felt it. Bonded. I was bonded with her like I'd known her the entire time. She came out incredibly calm, didn't cry for a while, then she cried and it was the softest sound I'd heard. She stopped crying very soon after and everyone was just shocked at how calm she was. We did skin to skin and I just soaked in her warmth. She was here. Finally.
15 minutes later and I thought to try to nurse. She latched on with no issues and nursed for 30 minutes. And nurses like a champ to this day! They weighed her and she was 7 lb 3 oz. 19 1/2 inches long. One lb heavier than her brother and 2 lbs heavier than her big sis! We couldn't believe it. She was our biggest baby.
Soon after delivery, Dr. Watts asked if she had a name. Cam said "Willow!" right away. We were all kind of laughing because we hadn't even had a second to talk about it. Mari was in there taking pictures and she told me that I did apparently tell one of the nurses we liked Willow the most. I don't remember this at. all.
They moved us up to our room at 4am and Cam and I were in heaven. Our baby Willow was here. Safe. Healthy. We love her so much. Her middle name is named after Cam's mom along with her Japanese heritage. It felt important to have both. She holds a very sacred name and we're excited for her to learn all about her name. Yuzu's meaning is healthy, beauty, and pure. And she's just that. It's also a delicious lemon/orange fruit and I had the best Yuzu lemonade at Momofuku in Vegas that previous year. We'll be having that on her bday every year :)
She's two weeks in two days and I just can't even imagine our family without her. We love you so much Willow Lynne.
