Welcome back to No Manual on Momcast, where we're
here just to tell real stories of real motherhood,
to laugh, cry together, make you feel like you're
not alone in this crazy journey. In today's episode,
we're welcoming the new member of the crew. Cruz,
Laura's new baby boy. And she's going to tell
us all about the story to get him here. And you
were definitely going to hear lots of baby grunts.
Lots of baby grunts. Maybe two little babies.
A few cries here and there. So we're excited
to hear Laura's story. I actually haven't. I
mean, you've told me bits and pieces, but I haven't
heard it. So this will be the first time for
me hearing it, too. Yep. Do you want to start
with your mom moment of the week? I would love
to. So actually I'm going to go back to like
the week of giving birth and I was going to tell
this mom moment in the story of birth story but
I want to share it because I'll share it earlier.
But whenever it was time for me to go to the
hospital we talked on your episode, Erica of
Zeta's birth story about like putting Lloyd down
to sleep for like the last time as an only child.
And so that is the mom moment I want to talk
about. And so I was induced. And so I'll talk
more about that. But putting Colt down for like
his last nap as an only child was so emotional.
I Wasn't expecting it to like I think it'd be
a little bit emotional But yeah as we were leaving
for the hospital and I was like putting Lloyd
down Stewart has pictures and I'm just like full
-on ugly crying. Oh my gosh I wish I wish we
would have like taken pictures or something of
the moment because it is something so special
that I'll hold on to but it also was like the
saddest moment for me so we like we put Colt
down and obviously he has no clue what's going
on right and Michael and I usually don't put
him down for a nap together gotcha, but like
we decided to put him down for his nap together
and both Michael and I are just like full on
I'm like ugly crying and Michael's like we're
doing like his prayer before his nap to put him
down and I could tell like Michael's like choking
on his words and yep and Colts like what the
heck is even happening and it was just so So
emotional and Colt, yeah Colt's like, okay guys,
like I'm gonna take my nap. See you later Deuces.
Yeah, and I'm just like crying and like holding
Michael and holding Colt and it was a whole thing,
but it was so sweet and so special and so sad
and Like I just want to hold on to it forever.
But yeah, that's my mom moment. What about you?
Um, so mine's more of like a funny mom moment.
So Stuart usually handles bath time and somehow
he's becomes, I mean, not that I'm surprised,
but he's super dad and he can bathe both kids
at the same time. I don't know how he does it.
I haven't attempted it yet, but he does it every
time you have bath time. Yeah. And so usually
while he does that, like I help him get them
ready and then he gets them in the bath and I
go and like tidy the house or take like 30 seconds
myself, whatever. So the other day it's bath
time. I'm like downstairs tidying and then I
just hear Stuart yell and Lloyd start like sobbing
and So I like obviously perk up and then I can
tell like okay, nothing like everyone's okay
So I'm gonna like finish what I'm doing and then
after I do Lloyd's still crying somebody should
probably check in make sure everyone's okay,
and I like walk upstairs and I'm like walking
up to the bathroom and just hear Stuart say Lloyd
buddy I like I know this is a bummer but I just
told you you can't play with Zeta's poop water
so Zeta had pooped in the bath and Lloyd wanted
to play with the poop water and obviously Stuart's
not gonna let that happen so this is more of
his moment but just like walking up and hearing
that was maybe the funniest thing way I could
have learned about what happened. Cause Lloyd
was still like full on crying. Cause I'm sure
it was just like it startled him that Stewart
yelled at him. Stewart's like a very calm, cool,
collected, like he doesn't yell. So yes, that
was it. That's hilarious. Lloyd couldn't play
with the poop water and Zeta pooped in the bath.
That's like kind of a double whammy right there.
Yeah. Oh my gosh. Well, you know, two kids is
quite the journey. And we'll talk about that
on another podcast. Yes, we have that ready to
go. Yeah. So where do you want to start with
your birth story for? So I probably want to start
like my pregnancy really was fairly smooth. I'm
so grateful for that. And were you surprised?
We might have talked about this already, but
were you surprised finding out you're pregnant
this time? Yes. Oh, yeah. Very surprised since.
with our infertility journey, we just didn't
know if we could get pregnant naturally, which
this time it was natural. And so we were very
surprised, very happy, but we were not planning
on having kids this close in age. But obviously,
God has a plan for everything and it works out
the way it's supposed to work out. And we're
so, so grateful. So I'm super thankful for a
smooth pregnancy. Obviously, it's been exhausting
with or it was exhausting with Colts being anywhere
from he was 11 months whenever we got pregnant,
and then he's now 20 months. So he's just a terror
in a good way. Right. It's that tough stage.
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah running it all around wanting
to jump off everything So i'm so grateful for
a smooth pregnancy, especially for that reason
chasing a toddler around But really i'll jump
ahead to my 39 week appointment is when things
kind of started to change So I went in for my
39 week appointment they at this point checked
my blood pressure like they do at every appointment
and It was a little more elevated than it had
been. So it was like 130 something over, I think
it was like 90. Okay. Yeah. And so they were
like, you know, that's kind of a red flag to
us a little bit that like things are starting
to get a little bit higher, which either means
like, okay, labor's like going to happen about
to start. Yeah. Or you could be preeclampsic.
So you may have preeclampsia. That's not a scary
thing to hear at all. Yeah, right. I know. So
my doctor, she said, let's go down and have you
get some labs, and then we'll take a look at
those labs. And so I went and did that, got the
results back within 24 hours. So this was on,
I think it was on a Monday or something. OK.
And is this after? We had talked and you thought
maybe you were in labor. Was this before or after
that? This is after, after that, yeah. I thought
I was in labor multiple times, had contractions
that would be pretty consistent and then they
would just stop. And they weren't super painful
where I was like, okay, I need to go to the hospital
right now. So we just monitored things at home.
And then they would just stop out of nowhere.
Which is almost more annoying. Yeah, yeah. And
so I think this was, yeah, like on a Monday or
a Tuesday that I had this appointment, got the
labs within 24 hours. And there was definitely
some numbers that were kind of alarming, like
the protein in my urine was, I think it's supposed
to be under 200 and it was like 744. So it sounded
pretty high to me. And there was a few other
things like with preeclampsia, They want to look
at, oh gosh, it was, I forget the name of it,
but there was another number that was super high.
And then obviously my blood pressure was something
that was alarming as well. The weird part though
was, so I called when I got the results, I was
like, okay, that looks a little off. And I hadn't
heard from my doctor yet. So I called the advice
nurse and then no, just no one called me back.
And so I was like, okay, yeah, does this not
matter? The other thing at my appointment was
like, okay, you need to get a blood pressure
cuff and start taking your blood pressure every
day at home. If it gets over 140 over 90, you
need to call us. And so mine was like right below
that at my appointment. I did not have a blood
pressure cuff. And so it was actually not until
Saturday of that week. My mom flew into town
knowing that she was coming to help us with Colt.
She was going to watch him if I happened to go
into labor while she was in town and then also
help us with the baby whenever the baby got here.
And it just so happened she brought her blood
pressure cuff. I actually had asked her to. So
she got there and that was like the first thing
I did when she arrived was take my blood pressure.
And it was 140 over 92 or something like that.
And I was like, oh crap, okay. She was like,
you need to call your doctor. And so I did, I
called the advice nurse and then the OB called
me back. pretty quickly actually. It was like
within 10 minutes. Yeah, which is also like you
never want a doctor to call you and you never
want them to call you back quickly. Yeah. That's
always scary. So when I got on the phone with
the doctor, she was like, okay, let me look at
your labs that you got and then your blood pressure
was was this. And as she looked at my lab, she
was like, yeah, you need to put your bags in
the car and you guys need to come in and you're
not you're not going to leave the hospital until
you have a baby. And I was like, oh, all right,
cool, that's scary. And so I just like all of
a sudden was like in shock of like, oh, this
is happening. Like this is not happening how
I wanted it to happen. Obviously I wanted to
go into labor naturally, but this is gonna happen
today or tomorrow pretty much. And so that's
when we like, thankfully my mom got there. had
just arrived. So she was ready to take care of
Colt for us. And we had our bags packed and it
was like just about nap time. So I was like,
okay, I want to put Colt down for his nap one
last time as an only child. So we did that. I
took a shower. So I was like, I don't want to
go to the hospital, like feeling totally disgusting,
even though I'm going to feel totally disgusting.
Yeah. You want to start from a fresh place. Yeah.
And so we did that. got in the car and we were
like, oh crap, this is really happening, got
to the hospital, checked in. And being induced
is like, I feel like, I mean, it's so much different
than like going into labor naturally and going
to the hospital. We kind of took our time a little
bit to get to the hospital when they check you
in. It's like, they're not really rushing to
get you in a room or anything like that. It seemed
like they were not super busy, even though they
said they were super busy, but they got me back
into vitals really quick, had labs redone to
just confirm everything that they were thinking
was happening. And it was. So they were like,
yeah, you have preeclampsia and it would actually
be malpractice if we sent you home. And so you're
going to have a baby today or tomorrow. I was
like, okay, well. That wasn't the plan, but here
we are. And so they got me back to a room and
started me on Potosun, which is like totally
not what I wanted to do. I was like, is there
any other option than Potosun? And she was like,
no, they were going to do the Cytotec, which
is like. What they kind of did for you, right?
But they said something about, um, the preeclampsia,
like you can't take cytotech. There's some kind
of like negative effect or something like that.
Yeah. I don't know if it has to do with the blood
pressure or what. And so they started me on pitocin
pretty quickly. Like they got me in a room within,
I don't know, probably within 30 minutes to an
hour of getting to the hospital. Got the IV in.
got the pitocin started. They say you can get
up to like a level 20. I don't know what our
dosage of 20. I don't know what it means. I don't
know what any of that, but they start you on
one and then like escalate or up it one or two
every 30 minutes to an hour just to like slowly
bring on the contractions and not just like,
I don't know, set you into full on death before.
Yeah. But for me, so they They started me on
one and they were like, you probably won't really
feel contractions for, for a little bit. Like
it could be like we could get all the way up
to like four and yeah. And you may not even feel
anything yet. But one, like I started feeling
contractions within like maybe 20 minutes, 30
minutes. And they were like kind of significant.
And I don't know if maybe, maybe I just have
a low pain tolerance. I don't know. I mean, I
know Pitocin. Or at least what I have been told
is that pitocin makes contractions more intense
because it's essentially your body releases oxytocin
when you're in labor. So it like you get happy
hits every time you have a contraction. Yeah.
Pitocin is a synthetic version of that. So your
brain isn't giving you the happy hits. It's just
giving you the contractions. So like your body
isn't compensating for the pain. It's just like
experiencing the pain. That is what I have heard.
That totally makes sense. Yeah. The other thing
is like with the pitocin contractions, they like
plateau for a bit and then they come down. I
think with like natural contractions, it's like
it hits the peak and then comes down right away
with the pitocin contractions. It's like at the
peak for a while and then it comes down. So I
felt them significantly pretty quickly. And then
the other thing that they did So they checked
my cervix to see how dilated I was and at my
39 week appointment I was still a centimeter
like one and a half centimeters and So they checked
me again at the beginning and I was still at
like one and a half And so they actually inserted
a balloon Yep, I've heard of that. Yeah. And
it's really, it's actually two balloons. Okay.
And one goes like fully in your uterus and one's
in your cervix. Gotcha. And basically what it
does, so they fill up the balloons with saline
or something to, it's approximately like four
centimeters. Got it. And the balloons are supposed
to naturally fall out when you reach like four
or five centimeters. And so that's how it's supposed
to like push your cervix open. a little bit more
rather than just letting the contractions do
their thing. Okay. But it's supposed to just
like help with that dilation. But man, that was
so painful, like getting the balloons inserted.
I mean, it doesn't sound like a fun experience.
No. And like they don't inflate the balloons
with the saline until it's they're in you. But
like it's still uncomfortable getting them inserted
because they're like I mean, they're pushing
them up there. Yeah. And especially if you're
already having contractions, having anything
going on down there is not a good time. And they
were like, you know, it could take you a couple
of hours to get to four centimeters and have
them fall out on their own. And they were like,
every 30 ish minutes, just give like, give them
a little tug to see if they're going to come
out on their own. And I was like, don't like
that. I was like, could maybe you guys do that?
I don't really want to do that to myself. And
they were like, yeah, you need to like kind of
pull it kind of hard to see if they'll just come
out naturally. So that was really fun. I've heard
of the balloons. I've never heard that part.
Yeah, yeah. So that all happened. This was probably
around, I don't know, four p .m. ish. So we like
when we went into the hospital around one and
this was probably around four, I think. It kind
of is all a blur. And then the other thing I
asked for, I was like, is your guys' tub working?
Because I wanted to go and labor in there. I
wanted to labor in the tub. I was like, I know
that that can help relieve the contraction pain
a bit. And so it was funny to me because they
didn't even really. Think about that until I
asked and then the nurse was like, let me see
if it's working like running like it I was like,
does no one really use this? I mean we gave birth
at the same hospital and I did yeah, it was Definitely
open and then like it's like no way. Yeah like
that one It did take them a while to like get
it all set up for me I think they had to clean
it and okay. Yeah, but so it was probably I don't
know 530 that I actually got to go in the tub,
which that helped significantly. It's crazy how
much the water helps. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And I just,
I mean, I didn't get to experience that with
Colt because they were like remodeling the tub
or remodeling that room. And so I didn't get
to experience that the first time. So this second
labor. I was like, this makes a huge difference.
Makes a huge difference. I absolutely understand
water births now. It's like, oh, if you just
stayed in there until you gave birth, I get why
you do that for the relief of it, for sure. So
I probably stayed in the tub for, I think I was
in there for like two hours or something. And
I was like, I don't know how long people stay
in here for, but I'm pretty happy being in here.
And if it's helping? Yeah. And at that point,
I was like, OK, the balloon thing was still there.
So I was like, I'm still not at four centimeters,
which is frustrating. So I was like, I'm just
going to stay in here for a bit. So I was in
there till like seven thirty ish. The balloon
was still inserted. And I was like, I probably
need to eat some food soon because once you.
get the epidural, which I was like, I had every
intention to get an epidural. So I was like,
once I get an epidural, I can't really eat anymore.
Right. Um, you can't get out of bed. And so I
was like, it's getting kind of late. So let's
go back door dash some food and then teriyaki
madness. Okay. Yeah. It's pretty good. It's just
like chicken and rice and veggies. And so I was
like, I need some like protein and Yeah, and
carbs to get me through this next little bit.
For sure. And at that point, like getting out
of the water, I think they'd upped my pitocin.
I think I was probably at like four or six at
this point. Okay. Contractions were very painful
out of the water. And I was so frustrated that
this stupid balloon thing was still inserted.
And with Cole, I only got to four centimeters
before like things just stopped. Okay. And so
that was a fear in my head of like, My body's
not even going to get to four centimeters. This
balloon thing's not even going to come out on
its own. They're going to have to force it out.
I'm going to have to have a c -section again,
blah, blah, blah. It was shortly after dinner
that they pulled the balloon and it finally did
come out, thankfully, which that is the weirdest
feeling. I won't even explain it, but it's like
two balloons coming out. So that was very weird.
Yeah. Again, this whole thing does not sound
like a good time. No, no. But I was so grateful
because then the doctor was like, OK, that means
you're like, you're at least at four centimeters.
You could be a five. And they're like, we could
do a cervical check, but or we could just let
things continue. And I was like, let's just let
things continue. So I was like, that means I'm
at least at that. So that's good. And positive.
That feels like a relief, especially with your
history. Yeah. And so this was, I don't know,
probably 8 or 9 p .m. And at this point they
were like, let's just keep upping your pitocin
every little bit and then we'll do a cervical
check in a little bit and see where you're at.
And I'm like on the ground, like laboring for
a bit, using like their exercise ball thing to
like lean over. The counter pressure, which is
like the hip pushing, did not feel good. Oh,
that didn't help you? No. That was like my saving
grace for both labors. It was for the first labor,
but this time it just was like so irritating
for my body. Like I didn't want anyone to touch
me. I didn't want anyone to like touch my back
or anything. It just, everything was so painful.
I just wanted to like, I didn't even want to
talk during contractions. I was like, nobody
talked to me. And like, so my best friend was
in the delivery room too. Her name is Kimber
and my husband too was there. They're just like
having a great time too. They're obviously super
helpful as well, but during contractions I'm
like, can you guys shut up? Yeah, like I need
to focus on this contraction and every little
thing annoys you Yeah, at least in my experience.
It's like there's something that you don't want
to be happening Normally you're like, this is
irritating but during contractions you're like,
I will kill you. Yes Oh my gosh, and I was like,
please don't talk to me. Please don't talk about
anything fun because I just need to focus on
this contraction right now. So I just needed
to focus on every single contraction and everything
that was going on. And at this point, yeah, it
was like 9 p .m.-ish, and we're like, let's try
to get some rest. I don't think I slept all night
long. It's so hard. Sleeping during labor while
you're having contractions is almost impossible.
Midnight, I think it was, I was like, okay, I'm
ready for the epidural because I just was in
so much pain. Contractions were happening like
every minute and a half, two minutes. And you
just like, you can't really recover in that time.
You can breathe for a few seconds and then like,
it starts again. Yeah. Yeah, I asked for the
epidural. They did a cervical check and they
were like, you're at like seven centimeters.
And so I was so proud of myself to even get that
far because I wasn't sure if my body was progressing.
I just wasn't sure if it was because of my labor
with Colt. Yeah, I was super proud of myself
for even making it that far. And that's almost
as late as you can get an epidural, right? Yeah,
I think so. Yeah, I know there's a limit, but
I don't remember what that is. Yeah. Just because
then it may not kick in in time or whatever.
And so, yeah, I think it was around midnight.
I got the epidural. When they came in for the
epidural, I was super nervous just because I
knew I remembered it clearly from first labor.
This time they let Michael sit in front of me.
Last time they had him sit on the couch because
they weren't sure if he was going to pass out
or something. But this time they actually asked
him to sit in front of me and hold my hands and
make sure I didn't Jerk my body and stuff and
it takes them I mean it took her a little bit
so I'm like having a couple contractions in the
time that like she's like Sterilizing everything
she's like taping everything up like actually
doing the epidural and she's like you need to
stay super still and When you're like full -blown
contraction, you're like, have you ever had a
baby, right? Yeah, it was wild but Once the epidural
actually was inserted, I felt relief pretty quick,
probably within 20 minutes -ish. And the weird
part about it, I mean, it makes you pretty numb
all down there. And then my legs were super tingly.
And then they were saying, if you lean to one
side, the epidural is going to go towards that
side. So then my left leg would be super numb,
but not my right. And so I'd try to shift a little
bit even it out and it's just an interesting
feeling. Once the epidural, so the problem with
Colt and why I had a c -section with him was
because once I got the epidural, his heart rate
started to drop every single time I had. a contraction,
which I couldn't feel the contractions at that
point. Right. But his heart rate was dropping,
which meant he was stressed out for some reason.
With Cruz, he started to do the same thing with
each contraction, but it wasn't to like the level
that it was for Colt. But to me that, I mean,
I just got kind of nervous because I was like,
crap, like this is the same thing is happening
right now. And I don't know if it's my body.
I don't know if it's genetics or what. But it
was interesting. So like the OB that was on call,
she like she never mentioned a C -section, which
was so great. That's super nice. Which is funny
because she's the one who did my C -section with
Colt. It just like happened that she was the
same doctor on call. That was encouraging because
they just like instead of jumping to a C -section
knowing that I'd already had one. they just kept
repositioning me. So they, they noticed if they
repositioned me. So they'd like turn me on my
right side, then my left side, then my, then
I'd be on my back for a bit. Then I'd be like
flipped over on the bed for a bit. They noticed
that he would, Cruz would be comfortable for
like 20, 20ish minutes. And then things would,
his heart rate would do the same thing again.
And so this was all throughout the night. This
was Ever since getting epidural at like 1230
or whatever time that was until like 730 in the
morning, they would flip me or reposition me
every 20 ish minutes, which meant I did not sleep
at all. Yeah. Yeah. I was grateful. Like Michael
was able to sleep for a bit. And then my best
friend, Kimber, who was there, they were both
able to sleep in that time. and I'm just like
up, I'm just like scrolling Instagram. I'm not
really feeling contractions much at this point,
like I can feel the pressure of them, but I'm
not feeling them to the point where I'm in pain.
It's really more just the annoying part was being
repositioned so much. Yeah, around 7 .30, the
doctor came in, the OB, same OB. came in and
did another cervical check. And I think I was
at like eight and a half or nine centimeters
at this point. So she was like, you're really
close. And then things just kind of like slowed
down for the next two hours. And then they checked
me again. I think it was like nine ish. And they're
like, you're at like nine and a half. You have
like a little bit more, but we're not going to
have you push yet. And then it was, I think like
nine 30. They checked me again. She's like, I
think I might be able to just stretch you to
a 10, which I'm like, okay. That sounds delightful.
Yeah. Thankfully I had an epidural because I
can't imagine how that probably felt without,
but she was like, she was like, I'm just going
to stretch you to a 10. And so she did. Then
she was like, okay, we're going to start, you're
going to start pushing. And this to me was so,
I was so excited and also so terrified because
I, Never gotten to do this before I didn't even
get to push with coal like I had a c -section
so like Obviously my goal was a v -back And so
it was so cool to get to this point Yeah, this
was like nine nine thirty ish. I think maybe
I don't know, you know, it's all blur started
to push with each contraction and so they had
me like push for ten seconds three times and
every contraction and that is crazy because they're
like, I mean, I never really like looked up how
to like push or anything like that. Yeah. And
they kind of just tell you like, you should know
what you're doing. Yeah. And you kind of do,
I guess. And she explained it to me like, just
push like you're pooping, really. And did you
ever feel the urge to put it like, like your
body was like, this is what we're doing right
now. Yes. Yeah. So that was another thing before
I started pushing at like nine ish or something.
I was like, I just feel like I need to push.
Like it feels like the pressure is right there.
Like I have to push soon. And that's when they
like checked me and stretched me to a 10. And
she was like, yeah, you're right. You're ready.
What was interesting to me too, is like, I expected
like Okay, when it's time to push like all these
doctors are going to come in and all these nurses
It was literally just my nurse and like kimber
and michael. Yeah there and I was like, oh This
is interesting. I'm like either that they know
this is going to take a long time Or like they're
just so nonchalant about this because they deliver
babies every day, right? Yeah, I pushed for like
an hour a little over an hour And I did ask for
the mirror Which I don't know if you did that.
I haven't done that. No. I like, it's one of
those things where I have mixed feelings. I'm
like, I do understand. I also still don't think
I want to see it. Yeah. Yeah. That was, I mean,
I will never not unsee what I saw. Do you feel
like it helped you though? Yes. It helped me
understand how I should push. Gotcha. Because
you can see, I could see the difference of like,
if I push correctly or not. Sure. And so the
mirror was really cool. So I pushed for, yeah,
a little over an hour before, like, crowning
happened. And at that point when they were like,
okay, we think his head's gonna come out soon,
which is crazy because I could see, like, I could
see his... Like the top of his head and like
the hair on his head, which is that encouraging?
Yes. Yeah. Cause I was like, oh my gosh, she's
almost here. Like I can do this. And they were
like, you're going to feel the ring of fire.
And I was like, okay, this was the point where
I asked them to take the mirror away because
I was terrified to see myself tear. Okay. And
I was like, I do not want to see that at all.
Yeah. Yeah. So I asked them to take the mirror
away. The other thing I want to mention too is
like Kimber and Michael are, so they're both
holding my legs at this point. And you're on
your back. I'm on my back. Yeah. They just were
so encouraging and so like, like you got this,
like you're doing, you know, you're doing it
right. You're, they just were so great in the,
in that time, um, which I knew they would be.
And Michael was just, like between every contraction,
he was like, I'm so proud of you. You're doing
so good. You're doing so good. And that was super
encouraging and the best feeling of like, okay,
I am doing this. Like I'm accomplishing this.
And so yeah, when, whenever they're like, Hey,
you're going to feel the ring of fire soon. You
still feel it with epidural. I mean, probably
not to the extent of without, but then it was,
yeah, I had them take the mirror away and then
It was like one contraction that they were like,
okay, you're going to do four. We want you to
do four pushes for eight seconds each. And so
we did that. And then on that last, that fourth
push is when his head came out and he, I just
was surprised. They basically just like pulled
him out after that. Yeah. Once the head's out,
then it's just like, yeah, let's get him out.
But then I heard like the doctor mentioned like,
oh, his umbilical cords wrapped around his neck.
Twice. So they like, they unwrapped that really
quickly and then put him on my chest. That moment
was, I mean, like none other than I could even
describe. I'm just in like full on tears. Michael's
crying. My best friend Kimber's crying. He was
not crying yet, which was scary. And so I, I'm
like crying, but I'm also in shock. of like,
okay, buddy, like, I think I was saying like,
okay, buddy, you got to breathe, buddy, breathe,
buddy, breathe. Come on, give us a cry. And you
can hear the doctor saying, I mean, she's not
panicking or anything, but she's like, let's
hear that cry, buddy. Let's come on. And they're
like rubbing on his back really, really hard
to try to get him to cry. And I mean, it was
probably the longest 30 seconds of my life. Right.
Yeah. Cause that's scary when you're like waiting
for a breath or something. Yeah. One, fun fact,
which is not really a fun fact, but I guess in
Colorado, because the elevation is so high, a
lot of babies come out not breathing. Interesting.
I mean, I guess that makes sense. Yeah. Yeah.
Cause they're like adjusting to the elevation
or something like that. And so finally he starts
breathing and starts crying. And then as he is
right now, he's just made sure we know he's got
it. Then we just, I like, was surprised that
they did not take him from me right away. They
like let me, I think I held him for like, I mean,
I even nursed him. It was probably like an hour
before they like took him to like measure him
and weigh him and all the things. Yeah, that
was, I think it was at least an hour for me too,
where my parents were... at the hospital and
my mom was like waiting. She was like, I want
to know like how much the baby weighs and blah,
blah, blah. And then after like probably 45 minutes,
she was like, you can just text us. I was like,
yes, I don't. And no one was coming in. So I
don't know if that's how it was for you to where
they kind of just like leave you alone a little
bit, which is like honestly so special, so special,
which was not my experience with Cole with the
C -section. They like take him right away. And
then I held him for a second. after up towards
my head, you know? But with Cruz, yeah, it was
so, so special of just like getting to nurse
him for like 30 minutes, 30, 45 minutes and just
hold him. And they obviously like listened to
his heart and stuff like that as I'm holding
him, but they didn't try to take him from me
for a while, which I just was not expecting.
I mean, that's pretty much like, the entire birth
story. I mean, our experience in the hospital
after that was very smooth. Like with Colt, I
was in the hospital for five days. With Cruz,
after he was born, we left within 24 hours. I
mean, Cruz was, he was born at 10 .25 in the
morning on March 23rd. So he's almost a month
old now, which is crazy as we're recording this.
And he was seven pounds, 10 ounces and 20 inches.
So pretty like average sized baby, which Colt
was super, he was super small. He was like six
pounds. So it was just interesting to have like
a baby that was bigger already than I expected.
Yeah, the rest of our experience in the hospital
was really smooth. nurses didn't really check
on us often. It was like every four hours. I
feel like I was surprised by that too this time
around. Especially in the night, like they just
kind of let us do our thing. Obviously we could
like call them if need be, but we just like got
to bond as a family. Then it was the next morning.
So he was born on a Sunday. So on Monday morning,
Michael went and picked up our other son Colt
and brought him to the hospital. And he got to
come meet Cruz at the hospital. And that moment
was so, so sweet. Did he like, do you feel like
he understood what was happening at all? I do.
He like kept pointing to Cruz and being like,
baby, baby. And we had, we did the whole thing
where like Colt had a gift for Cruz and Cruz
had a gift for Colt. And so they got to like
exchange gifts and we had Cruz give Colt a book.
It's called Trash Truck, which is like Colt was,
it was one of his favorite shows at the time.
He is obsessed with that book. And then we had
Colt give Cruz like a little stuffed animal.
A little whale stuffed animal, because Cruz is
named after Santa Cruz, which is one of Michael
and my favorite places to go. So we got him like
a little whale stuffed animal. And so it was
really sweet. They got to meet each other. Colt
got to like kind of hold Cruz and And then we
got to pack up and leave the hospital together,
which was really, which was really, really sweet.
Um, and Colt got to like help carry the car seat
out of the hospital. Your video is so cute. Thanks.
Yeah. I'll have to post that video on the no
manual page. But it just was like, I don't know.
I mean, it was a, it was a dream. Like all of
it was a dream. My labor was so redemptive. Like
that was one thing I prayed for was just like,
this delivery of Cruz would just be so different
than it was with Cole and that I would just have
such a different perspective. And so that's what
I asked for from the Lord and that's what I got.
And I was so, so grateful. Yeah. And now we're,
I mean, we're adjusting as a family of four and
it's wild and we're going to talk about it on
our other podcast, but it's just, I mean, this
has been everything I could have asked for and
more. That's so great. Yeah. What is something
you think you'd tell someone who wants a VBAC?
Like, is there anything you did to prepare or?
I think it was all like a mental shift for me
of like, yes, this is what I want. I want a VBAC
so badly, but it's OK if it doesn't happen. And
being OK with that, like I went into the hospital
knowing like, okay, this could end up in a C
-section again. And yeah, it could suck. And
that could kind of suck. But I have to be okay
with like, I just want a healthy baby. And so
there really wasn't a ton of preparation. I mean,
I did all the things like eating the dates and
raspberry leaf tea and like bouncing on the exercise
ball, all the things like that. But Other than
that, it was just like a mental preparation for
me. Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah, yeah. Well,
is there anything else you want to share before
we wrap up? I don't think so. Yeah, just super
grateful at all. I don't know if for you, like
all of it seems kind of surreal to me now, like
you do kind of forget about it. It's such a blur.
Yeah, you don't remember the pain. It's like
you see your baby and all of a sudden the pain,
you're like, oh, what pain? Mm -hmm. Oh, yeah.
Ten more babies. Yes. Yeah, just I think the
fact that it was such a redemptive delivery for
me in my head, I'm like, oh, yeah, I want to
do this again. No, like there's no question about
it. Like, yeah, heck yeah. Yeah. Let's do it
again. So, you know, we'll see you when baby
number three comes home. You know, that could
happen. And hopefully if that does happen, it's
it's great like this time, too. Yeah. Yeah. Well,
thanks for sharing your story. Of course. I love
hearing it, and I am so glad that it's redemptive.
I know when you texted us that you were going
into the hospital because you were being induced,
we just prayed for you guys. I hope she doesn't
have to have a C -section. Again, ultimately,
healthy baby, yes, but there is so much more
to birth than just having a healthy baby. I think
as I was thinking about it, this seems like such
a silly analogy but it's like if someone went
out to a restaurant and had like a horrible horrible
experience and you're like but you got your food
that's why you went out to eat everyone would
be like that's such a crazy way to say it but
i feel like that's how we treat birth where it's
like your baby was healthy so like that's all
that matters like Well, yeah, I want my baby
to be healthy, but there's so many more pieces
to it that matter too. So yeah, I'm glad that
was redemptive for you. I hope everyone has a
redemptive story like you. Me too. Yeah, it just
makes me... I have a lot of friends, pretty close
friends that have had C -sections within the
last two -ish years, which is crazy and weird
coincidence, but I just pray for a few of my
friends are pregnant again. and they're hoping
for V -backs or just different like experiences.
And I just like, I really am hoping that for
them because it is seriously so redemptive. And
I just hope that they can experience that because
it is so beautiful. I mean, all labor is beautiful.
When it's not as traumatic, it really is such
a beautiful experience. So I hope that for them.
Well, do you want to wrap up with our mom wins
of the week? I do. Yes. Do you want to go first?
Sure. Um, so one of the things, obviously we're
also adjusting to being a family of four and
Lloyd has been like a super sweet big brother.
Um, and he clearly like observes the things that
we do. So he's learned to give Zeta her pacifier
when she's crying and like at first it would
just be like she'd be in her swing or like on
her mat on the floor or whatever. And he just
like, get the pacifier near her but he started
putting her pacifier in her mouth and it's it
doesn't always work but it's super sweet and
it's clear that he's like trying to actually
help her out and like he thinks this is gonna
calm her down that's so cute it's super cute
oh i love that what about you um my win of the
week so like you adjusting Um, but one thing
we pretty much do every morning. So Michael's
still on paternity leave, which I'm so grateful
for. We go and get coffee as a family every morning.
So we'll like go to a different coffee shop or
like, it could be as simple as going through
the Starbucks drive -through, but we'll like
load up all of us in the car and we'll go all
together and Colt knows like, okay, we're going
to go get coffee. And he calls it cocky, which
is great. So like this morning we went. to a
new coffee shop and we're like, okay buddy, let's
go get coffee. And he says cocky, cocky. And
so we got all loaded up and it just was so fun.
We like got him a little steamed whole milk and
we like sat at the coffee shop for a few minutes
and Cruz is like sleeping in his car seat and
it just, I like took a second to just like look
at my family and I was like, this is so, like
I love this. Like, yeah, it's hard. It's really
freaking hard. But it's just the best. Then you
have moments like that and it's just so sweet
and you're so grateful to have a family and have
the family you have and the kids you have and
all of that. Yeah. Yep. So that's my win of the
week and we get to do that like every day for
a little bit longer, which I'm grateful for.
You'll have to tell us what new coffee shops
you try and if they're good or not. Yeah. Today
was a place called Subjective and I think it's
technically in... Arvada, maybe. It was pretty
good. Well, thanks for tuning in to today's podcast.
It was super fun to talk about Cruz's birth story
and we hope that you enjoyed it. We'd love to
hear what you guys want to hear in our podcast,
what you guys... Yeah, maybe don't want to hear,
but we are super excited that you listened. Let
us know what you think. Rate, review, subscribe,
and we'll see you next week. Have a great week.