Hi Everyone!
We are already a little over three months since Rory’s arrival which is surreal. To all of you that have reached out to us since his birth thank you so much it means more than you will ever know. Honestly I have been enjoying soaking up every second of motherhood with him and daily reflecting on just how wonderful this gift of life is that we now have in our lives. On June 19th, 2021 at 11:54 PM Rory was born and front the moment I held him I have never felt a more profound love. Maternity leave is truly flying by but now that I am not so hormonally emotional I figured I would be able to finally tell Rory’s birth story without sobbing my eyes out haha. Today is a special day because it is the day we transferred Rory at Boston IVF. On October 2nd, 2020 I remember the day so vividly. It was gorgeous out and Andy and I went for a walk right before my transfer so I could have a clear mind. The procedure takes maybe 20 minutes, I did acupuncture right after and then ten days later you go in for a blood test to see if you are pregnant.
I still cannot believe we have another member of our family every time I look at him. To think he was three years in the making really is a miracle. He is perfect and such an incredible blessing.
As for his birth story I feel like towards the very end of my pregnancy it was a whirlwind and time stood still yet flew by at the same time.
Like many woman towards the end of my pregnancy I didn’t think I could make it much longer. Overnight my feet had blown up and my hands and face got super swollen but honestly up until that point my pregnancy had been a dream and after what it took to get pregnant I never complained because I just felt so lucky to even be at this place. With that being said it was getting more uncomfortable daily and I listened to all of the wives tales I could to see what I could do to get this labor into motion. At one of my last OB checkups I did have my membrane swept which can help to kick labor into motion. I will spare you the nitty gritty details here but essentially it can get things moving naturally. I was hoping this would do the trick and I had a feeling it would because they did have me scheduled to come into to get induced but in the back of my mind I knew this baby of mine would come just in time and I was right.
Sure enough in the early morning of June 19th, which was Rory’s actual due date my water broke around 1 AM but I didn’t think anything of it. It didn’t break dramatically like you picture it happening from scenes you have seen in the movies or anything. Quite honestly at first my initial reaction was “did I spill water on myself?” haha because it was so subtle. Then when I woke up more water was slowly coming out Andy noticed and goes “yeah I think your water just broke” and that is when I called the on call doctor at our hospital and she agreed it was time for me to come in. At this point it was around 6:45 AM. The whole time I was so calm it was funny I wasn’t rushing around or freaking out about getting my hospital bag. I hadn’t felt any contractions so I knew we had time and that I wasn’t going to go into labor or anything as we drove to the hospital.
The funniest part about all of this was that we didn’t leave the house in a dramatic way at all. In fact we dropped Sofia off at track practice came home, and then I had Andy telling me from upstairs while I was on the phone with my best friend that he needed to make sure his Adidas shoes had matching Adidas socks. Clearly he wanted to impress his new son/daughter. Haha you really cannot make that one up.
Shortly after we arrived at the hospital I went into triage and they asked me a slew of intake questions. I think the funniest most unexpected part of childbirth is that what you see in the movies is so far from reality in most cases. Labor takes a while none of it is instantaneous so a lot of questions and examining goes on before you actually are admitted to a labor and delivery room. What was great about our delivery with Rory was that all of the labor an delivery nurses that I was use to seeing during my weekly checkups were also on call so they all knew me when they came into our room to check on me. After a few tests and exams sure enough my water had broken and as soon as that was confirmed I knew more than likely we would meet our baby that day.
It started to feel real once we went into our labor and delivery room. Upon entering their was a whiteboard with our nurses name, my name, and that we didn’t know the gender of the baby so under the sex it said “surprise”. I am still so happy we didn’t find out the gender it made it so fun! As soon as I met the nurse that was assigned to me I knew we would click instantly she was such an amazing person. She explained everything to me so thoroughly and I felt so comfortable with her. Before I started any of the medication I was bouncing away on the yoga ball they give you in the room and was walking around a lot because I knew once I started the medication I would be glued to the hospital bed. Before long I started getting more and more contractions.
I knew something was up though because I started getting the chills and they told me that his heartbeat was increasing and that I had an infection in my placenta from my water breaking which is very common so they told me twice that I may have to have a C section. At this point when they first came into my room upon arrival I was only 3CM dilated well within two hours miraculously I went from 3CM to 10CM. The resident looked at me and said “Oh my gosh you are a ready to go let’s do this”. I knew I was ready to start pushing.
When it is go time it feels like a rush of people enter the hospital room. All of the doctors and nurses I had were woman and I have to tell you it felt SO BADASS to have them all walk in when it was time for Rory to come they got right down to business and let me tell you this guy must have been ready to enter this world because it only took an hour of active labor and he was here! The nurses and doctors were so impressed and to be honest I also couldn’t believe how quick it went. Honestly it was SO exhilarating and exciting.
I will never forget that moment when the doctor held up Rory and Andy clipped his umbilical cord. From the moment he was born he has been SO incredibly alert. It is like he cannot miss a beat haha. Here is a photo below of him at birth looking up at Andy:) Andy was so so proud and happy he was texting and calling them as soon as he arrived and then during my contractions he was updating everyone too. Could NOT contain his excitement. Our nurse stayed an hour + after her shift was over to see Rory’s birth and made sure we had everything we needed.
The most special moments were facetiming family and friends from the hospital because we weren’t allowed to have visitors at our hospital. When we arrived home Sofia was over the moon and so incredibly proud to meet her brother. The bond she has with him already is just so special and makes me cry happy tears.
We are all adjusting very well to this new part of our family and while some days feel like a whirlwind I soak in the crazy because I know just how quickly time slips away. I am so BEYOND thankful everyday to be Rory’s mom and cannot wait to see his personality grow with him as he gets bigger but for now I love being able to hold him in my arms and enjoy this baby stage because it is one that goes by within the blink of an eye.
