This pregnancy was so different, with Nico, just because of the pandemic. My Dr and I assumed I would be high risk again, having to deal with GD, just like I did with my first. Coincidentally, the week I was supposed to get my glucose test, was the week that the US really started to change and everyone was freaking out. I was scheduled to go to a random lab to get the test done, but I declined because I just wasn’t comfortable going to an office I had never been to during such a confusing time. Instead, my Dr suggested I tested my blood, 4-5 times a day, like I had done with Luca for the last 10 weeks of my pregnancy. I did this for a week and my numbers were always under control-so I really lucked out and they decided I didn’t need to see a high risk dr and was NOT considered to have GD! I still continued to test myself once a day or more, just to be safe.

However, since I was induced with Luca at 39 weeks due to GD and his size, they suggested I also do the same with Nico. As he was measuring large as well. I was totally fine with that because those last weeks of pregnancy are exhausting and I was ready to get him out!

With Luca, I was so terrified to be induced but ended up having a really great experience with it. So with Nico, this time I wasn’t scared at all, but I really wanted my body to be able to do it on it’s own. I had high hopes that my body would go into labor naturally and I wouldn’t have to be induced at all.

Of course, I tried ALL the tricks to try and help my body along. I was, after all, on a time limit since my induction date was fast approaching. About a week out, I really started to panic. Curb walking all day, bouncing on the ball, spicy food…my husband declined the sex option. (After a scary incident trying to get Luca out at 38 weeks, he had no intention of trying that again).

One of my friends, who is also a nurse, encouraged me to try primrose oil. So I tried that for almost a week…nothing happened. After being checked at my dr and walking around 5cm but not really having contractions, I had given up hope. Friday, June 5th, I decided to stop trying to “force it” and just deal with the fact that I would be induced on June 8th. I wanted to enjoy my last weekend before being a mom of two, so on Saturday afternoon, I decided to treat myself to a pedicure. RC was honestly not thrilled about me going out in public so close to giving birth and being around people we didn’t know…but I was hard headed and didn’t want nasty feet giving birth. I drove to my favorite nail salon and the guy asked me when I was due. I said well, he will be here on Monday or so, but if you want to push ALL the pressure points to help things along, that would be amazing.

WOW.

That was the best pedicure of my life and I’m not kidding when I say, he pushed ALL the pressure points. My pedicure was at 3pm on Saturday June 6th.

I went to bed that night just like any other night. At 3am, I was woken up to a contraction. It was pretty uncomfortable but I had had many Braxton hicks over the last few weeks, so I really thought nothing of it. Unfortunately, they kept me up all night! From 3am-6am, I sat on my phone and timed them out. They started at 20 minutes and went to 15, to 17 to 12, to 15 to 10 minutes apart…just all over the place.

At 6am, RC woke up and I told him what was going on. He immediately jumped up and said ok lets go to the hospital. I said no it’s probably nothing. My family was planning to come over that afternoon to hang out and keep my calm before being induced the next day, so I got up and started to curl my hair like normal. I did start bugging my friend with questions though, just to be safe.

As I was curling my hair, my contractions went from manageable to extremely painful and down to 5 minutes apart. So we called RC’s mom to come over and sit with Luca. I guess we were going to the hospital! She got there and my contractions were 3-4 minutes apart.

I immediately got very emotional and started to cry as I went to Luca’s room to give him a kiss goodbye. He could definitely tell something was going on. We told him I was going to the Dr and we would see him the next day. I cried so hard when I hugged him and kissed him goodbye. This was the last time he would be our only child. That hit us both really hard.

RC and I got in the car and started driving to the hospital. Well, if we weren’t cutting it close enough, we may have taken a “wrong turn” on the way. In our defense, we hadn’t left the house in months and there had been so much construction on the highway and they changed the exits! So the exit for the hospital, was all of a sudden the exit for the toll road…which would have been a long detour. So I told RC to slam on the breaks and back up the car, on the ramp. Haha! He was freaked out but it was 8:30am on a Sunday morning and there was no one on the road. We were very careful, I promise! I just did NOT want to have this baby in the car on the highway.

As we pulled up to the hospital, it was that full movie moment I always wanted. Fully in labor, running in saying, “we’re having a baby!!” Kind of. He pulled up to valet, and I tried to get out but couldn’t move bc my contractions were so painful. RC grabbed me and the security brought out a wheelchair. They quickly rolled me into triage and the nurses promptly undressed me. They checked me and I was 7cm and full effaced. The nurse said, “why did you wait so long?!” I told her I was doing my hair and they all laughed. :)

The funniest thing to me about being in labor and at the hospital, they are literally asking you questions while you’re trying to just breathe through the pain. Obviously they need answers but this isn’t the time! ;)

Anyways. As soon as RC got back to me with the bags, they wheeled us up to our delivery room and gave me the epidural. For awhile there, I honestly thought about going without one. I had already done the majority of the hard labor at home and in the car. But that didn’t take my nerves away about how painful the actual delivery would be. So epidural it was!

Once that was in, we just sat in the room and rested for a couple hours.

By 11:30am, they checked me for the last time. It was time to push!

Just a few pushes and 7 minutes later, our little babe was out.

Our midwife called him a stargazer. He was face up when he came out, which she said is a much harder way to get them out. But he was face up and eyes open, and ready to be here. I love that she called him a stargazer, bc his room theme is stars and the moon. It just fit so perfectly.

We did the delayed cord clamping again and then it was time to cut. RC had the biggest smile on his face as Nico was on my chest. It’s such a hectic moment, to have so many things going on all at once with a room full of nurses and your legs spread wide open…to be completely transparent. But all of that fades away when your baby is finally on your skin.