2023.
The year started off normally, dinner at a friend's house, fireworks, putting away the Christmas decorations, then the next week we find out I was pregnant. To me, I was excited yet, didn't want to get my hopes up. Excited enough to Facetime Titan at work to show him my positive pregnancy test, yet nervous enough not to tell Jet just yet. A week goes by and we celebrate my birthday. Thankfully, no nausea yet but a few weeks after that it hit me hard. I was sick from about 6 weeks - 20 weeks. I couldn't eat, I'd throw up often, and it was worse after I got out of the shower. Poor Jet had to fend for himself a few nights, eating whatever snacks he could find until Titan came home to feed him a proper dinner. I laid in bed from the moment I got home from work and didn't get up until the next morning.
I was so scared to tell anyone the news or post anything to social media because of what happened with Jonah. The year went by and slowly people started to notice. In June, we took our last family vacation as a family of 3 and met up with some family from the Mainland. It was nice. Nice to not be nauseous, nice to see extended family, nice to be in a different environment, and nice to be a little more than halfway through my pregnancy.
In July, we finally announced to close family and friends we were expecting. Some people found out for the first time through a housewarming/baby shower invite. Like I said earlier, we didn't really tell anyone we were expecting. Trying to downplay my pregnancy in case anything bad happened, at least it was also a housewarming party. My belly was growing and she was getting heavier and harder to carry. Because of my age and my history, my doctor gives me the option to be induced. Being the planner I am and Titan wanting to schedule his time off we go ahead with it. We could be induced up to one week before my due date so Titan preferred September 12 (his birthday is December 12 and 12 is our favorite number, individually). The days went on and as we got closer to this date I had a hunch she was going to come early. It was getting harder and harder to walk and do normal every day things. She would kick me really hard and have the hiccups often.
Monday, September 11, I go to work, not wanting to take any more vacation time than what I really needed. I was instructed to call the hospital at 7am on September 12 to see if they had space for my 9am induction. I called, and they said call back at 9:00 because they were full. This gave Titan and I time to eat breakfast and enjoy the last few hours alone together. I call at 9:00 and they said to come in at 1:00. We do some errands and kill time before heading to the hospital. We check in and by the time I get settled and hooked up to my IV and start Pitocin it was about 2pm. Every 30 minutes or so they would up my dosage. I was moving along slowly but still didn't really feel the contractions. I walked around the labor and delivery floor, paced back and forth in our room, and watched about 3 episodes of Selling the OC. Still, didn't really feel bad contractions. I Facetimed with my best friend and Facetimed with Jet. I got emotional when I saw him. This is the very few times I wasn't sleeping at home with him.
At around 8:00pm my doctor encourages me to have my water broken to move things along faster. Before agreeing to it I ask for the epidural because I didn't want to fell a thing. Quickly after they come in to put it in. It wasn't as bad or hard as I remember the last one being but I do remember shaking uncontrollably once it was done. The doctor said it was from all the adrenaline running though my body. At 9pm they break my water. I feel a little pressure with every contraction but I was able to get some rest. At about 11pm my midwife and nurses come into my room. According to Titan, they looked concerned and woke me up. My midwife asks me if I'm ready to start pushing. Still a little sleepy I think I said something like, I guess so. Apparently, Teigen had dropped into the birthing canal and her heart rate dropped. They could see this from their monitors which prompted them to jump into action.
I start pushing but nothing seemed to happen. My midwife suggested I lay on my right side and push that way. This was the only position I was actually comfortable in and pushing I did. At around 11:30 I remember the midwife telling Titan, it'll either be a September 12 baby or September 13 baby. Given how badly he wanted a September 12 baby he encouraged me with a little pep talk and told me "You got this". A few set of pushes later at 11:45pm Teigen joined us earth side. Titan doesn't do well with blood and knowing this was my last baby, I cut the cord and asked to see the placenta. They laid Teigen on my chest and I began to cry. Titan started crying too and told me "Good job Yobo". Finally, we had our baby we were praying for. Healthy as can be weighing 7.2 lbs and 19 inches. With every contraction I didn't feel anything, just a little pressure. I had prayed for a smooth delivery and got exactly what I had hoped for. We rolled into the mother/baby side of the floor and I was finally able to eat something. That early morning was a blur but I remember feeling so thankful. The postpartum recovery was tough but for Teigen, I'll make the sacrifice.
