Dietrich's Birth Story
I’ve been thinking of writing out your birth story long before you were born… I mean that in the sense that there was a way that I hoped your birth would go. My first experience giving birth to Chi Hai was, overall a positive one… but after giving birth to you, well… I’ll just say that I can’t wait to give birth again. (Just take away the last two months of pregnancy… ha) I keep thinking back about the day you were born and how I just want to relive it over and over again. It was just an incredible experience and everything about it went exactly how I hoped.
My pregnancy with you was pretty much smooth sailing. I had even less morning sickness this second time around (and I didn’t have much with your sister)... and again I didn’t have any type of food aversions. I was so chill with pregnancy that I actually didn’t even see a midwife until 21 weeks! We had found out early on that you were a boy (at 9 weeks) with a blood test and an ultrasound. I wanted to hear a heartbeat before we told your sister. Your dad wanted a boy but thought you’d be a girl. I also wanted a boy and guessed you’d be a boy. Your sister wanted a sister but thought you’d be a boy. We told your sister over ice cream and the next day, when the results came over email, the three of us opened it up to find out you were a boy! We kept the surprise until Thanksgiving when we shared the news with the extended family.
Oct 21, 2024
As I approached the seventh month of pregnancy, I started to doubt that I’d be able to have an unmedicated birth again. The anxiety started to creep in, even though I didn’t really have any reason to believe that I was incapable. I wanted another unmedicated birth and with any luck, no stitches and hoped I’d be able to pee after giving birth. (With your sister, I was so swollen that a catheter had to be put in and we couldn’t leave the hospital until I could pee on my own.) I was so lucky to have realized that Jessica, who I met during Bible Study Fellowship, was a doula. She was truly God-sent, because I wanted someone who not only was a believer, but also a birth photographer!
Originally I wanted to have a home birth. The idea of being at home, in our own space, taking the time to labor and be in a familiar space sounded really appealing to me… but your dad didn’t think it was the best idea given our current living situation… so the next best option was a birth center. It wasn’t that I was against a hospital… it was more that I wanted to eliminate any possibility of unnecessary intervention, which dad is quick to remind me that that is the hospital’s speciality. From the get-go, I had a good feeling about Puget Sound Birth Center. Friends of friends had all said positive things about it and I’m so glad we chose to have you there. My only hesitation with this birth center was the fact that it was in Kirkland… and on a heavy traffic day, it could take about an hour to get there. I hoped and prayed you would come when there wasn’t any traffic!
Your due date was June 25th but I set my expectations low. Your sister came when I was 41+2 and every day I went past, it was pretty torturous. This time around I told friends and family you were “due” at the end of June without specifying the date. I crossed my fingers you wouldn’t be 9 days late because that would be July 4th and one, I didn’t want a July baby and two, I didn’t want you to be born on a holiday.
Weeks 32-39 of pregnancy weren’t super fun. I kept telling people I didn’t know if it’s because I was “older” or what, but I didn’t remember being this uncomfortable this early in pregnancy. This time around, I would feel bouts of sciatica pain. I usually prefer sleeping on my sides anyway, but carrying you, my hips were really uncomfortable. You could say I was ready to not be pregnant anymore. You were also such a wiggly one in the womb, which made me think you would be an active one once outside! You didn’t kick really, but just moved around a lot in sporadic bits… and now that you are 6 months, we are finding out that yes, indeed you are a very active kiddo. Toddlerhood will be fun :)
As I approached week 39, I started to feel what I could only describe as light cramping. I was definitely feeling something, but I didn’t think they could be contractions because they didn’t feel too bad. Your dad was convinced they were contractions, because I normally don’t make much of anything / I have a pretty high pain tolerance. He kept saying that you would be born that weekend. I hoped that would be the case but again, I was setting my expectations low and had it in my mind you would be born around 40 weeks.
June 18th. I had made it 39 weeks. The following day (Thursday) I started to see some light pink on my liner and got really excited! This will probably be gross to you, but let’s just normalize this here and now, I thought maybe this was the “bloody show” / mucus plug… a sign of early labor! As the day continued I saw more so it confirmed to me that you’d be here within the week of so. During that whole month, Dad was very busy with work. At one point he had scheduled three jobs the week you were supposed to come… so it was pretty miraculous he had just finished up a job that very next day.
June 20th. The day was like any other. Your sister and I were just hanging out at home. In the afternoon I drove Mia to U-Village for a friend’s birthday. Everything was pretty normal but I did feel more cramping. Again, nothing crazy but it was getting more uncomfortable. I didn’t think anything of it. Dad got home a little earlier from work that day and we were hanging out up until it was time to leave for Vietnamese class. Chi Hai had missed three weeks of class so I told Dad to go with her that evening. Dad asked if I was sure I wanted them to go, just in case of anything, but I said yes, I was sure. They would only be gone for 3ish hours… even if labor did start, it wouldn’t be that quick.
How very wrong I was!
They left for class at 5:30pm and around 6:30pm, out of nowhere my contractions started to last a minute, coming three minutes apart. I pulled up the contraction timer app and started to time them for a bit and then sent the livestream to Dad and Jessica. Dad called immediately and again asked if I wanted him to come home; the contractions seemed to be consistent but I thought it hadn’t even been an hour yet since the contractions started so surely we had some time. I had texted him earlier asking if he could pick up some Domino’s pizza that I had preordered for pick-up when they were done at 8:30pm. He made his way there to see if they could finish the order earlier for us… then Jessica called and said that the contractions seemed pretty consistent. She also wanted to hear how I was sounding… again, they were getting more uncomfortable but I could still talk through them. We decided I should call the midwives to see their thoughts.
During my last few prenatal visits, they had told me to call when the contractions were 6-8 minutes apart since it was my second pregnancy and the first went fairly quickly. I surpassed those numbers! Blake, one of my midwives, called me back after I rang the birth center and after I filled her in, she said yes, we should make our way to the birth center. How long would it be until we could get to the birth center? At this point it was about 7:30pm. I told her it’d be at least an hour. Dad was still 30 minutes away and the birth center was another 30 minutes. After I hung up with Blake, I called Dad and asked where he was. He said he had just arrived at Domino’s… should he ditch it? I said yes and he headed home.
The bags were mostly packed but while I waited for him and Libby, I tried to gather everything we needed by the door. Dad told me after the fact, that while he was driving home, he called Amy and Reid to see if they’d want our pizza since it was near their house. They weren’t home, but coincidentally were near our birth center! They were so kind enough to re-order the pizza in Kirkland for us and dropped it off. He also prepped your sister as she would also be coming to your birth, telling her that she would see me in pain, but that the pain was a good pain, that it meant my body was working to help for your arrival.
When they got home around 8pm, the first person I saw walk through the door was Chi Hai and she was all business, getting what she needed and helping to gather everything else we would need. I was really impressed! We quickly packed up and got into Dad’s car. The car seat wasn’t installed yet, but Dad figured he would figure it out afterwards at the birth center. We get into his car, but then it was overheated! Strange, since he had just been driving it, so we had to switch everything over to the van. I was laughing to myself because when your sister came, we also had to switch cars because my car had a flat tire.
The car ride up to Kirkland was smooth sailing. The biggest thing I was nervous about was traffic up the 405, because you never know… but that Friday night it was ideal. I was hoping you would come on the summer solstice and even though I didn’t get to enjoy it thoroughly, the sunset that night was cotton candy colors; I managed to poke my head up at one point on the ride up… you see, I was on all fours in the middle aisle on the floor with my elbows on the seat. Originally I was sitting, but it was way too uncomfortable. At one point, Dad told Chi Hai to take a photo of me for the memories. I’m glad she did :)
As we pull into the birth center’s parking lot around 8:40pm, I wondered to myself whether or not Amy and Reid were still in the parking lot… I found out later on that they saw us and Amy wanted to say hi, but Reid told her no haha. I wish they had! The birth center was dimly lit as we walked in, with the candle lit on the front desk. (They light it every time there is a birth happening). I walked into Room 1, which is the biggest room they had and the room I had requested, and right away I see Jessica! She too, happened to be up north that evening for another one of her client’s prenatal visits and had told me she had a feeling you’d be coming, so she had packed everything she needed already too.
I asked for a spot to lean on as I continued to work on my contractions… I was feeling really faint at this point because I hadn’t eaten dinner yet. Blake asked if I wanted my pizza so she heated up some for me. I took bites in-between contractions and sips of coconut water… At around 9:20pm, I felt my water break and soon after Blake checked to see how far along I was. 9 centimeters! I was actually shocked because the contractions never reached the “I think I need an epidural” point… Blake then asked if I’d like to get into the tub so I slowly made my way over there.
As I continued working through contractions, Blake told me to tell her when I felt a burning sensation. I still couldn’t believe we were going to meet you so soon. I think I was still in denial, even as I was breathing through the contractions. Jessica was there, gently speaking encouragement over me and snapping photos. Your dad and sister were the best “doulas”. Throughout all of it, the most helpful thing to me was a cotton pad with lavender essential oil on it under my nose. I tried the spike ball for a bit and even squeezed your sister’s hands. She was so awesome, handing me water and also encouraging me.
Finally I felt the burning sensation that Blake mentioned and started to moan, deep and low through the contractions as I began pushing. I only remember going through a handful of contractions doing this—maybe 5 or so… and it couldn’t have been more than 20 minutes. Towards the end, I could feel your head in-between me and I wanted to push you out as quickly as I could but I held you there as I waited for the next wave. It took all the control I had—instead I turned my attention to prayers for your safe arrival and our health. The next wave came, and I pushed… the contraction had ended but Blake said to keep going, you were already out… 3 centimeters, and then 4. Blake passed you up in-between my legs and I grabbed you. 10:45pm. I looked at you and the first thing I noticed were your dimples! I had prayed that I would be able to have a moment while meeting you for the first time to really take you in.
The umbilical cord was twisted around your neck so Blake told me I’d have to turn around so that we could untwist it. After we did that, I was able to lay back in the water with you on my chest. Dad, Chi Hai and I just stared at you in amazement and wonder. You were finally here.
We waited for the umbilical cord to stop pulsing and Chi Hai cut the cord! She was so brave and did an awesome job. Blake then asked if I wanted to deliver the placenta in the water or on the bed. I opted for the latter so that dad could get some skin on skin contact with you. I handed you over to him and slowly got out of the tub and made my way over to the bed. Dad was on the left side with you and I laid on the right side as Blake pushed on my uterus to get the placenta going. After it was delivered, your sister got a full tour of it! I’m still in awe that women’s bodies can create a whole new organ to sustain life.
Blake and her birth assistant, the nurse (I think her name was Rachel) left after that to give us some time to soak you in and have some family time. I couldn’t believe that after all this time you were finally here! The rest of the night went smoothly as I did have to pee pretty early on after the placenta had been delivered. I had drank so much coconut water / water during labor! Each time I stood up to pee, Blake helped me walk over and though I did feel a little weak, I was surprised that I didn’t feel any weaker. We hung out for another 2 hours or so as Blake took your measurements and I ate some more pizza. Rachel was guessing you were around 6 lbs, 12oz. She was pretty much spot on. You were 17.5 inches long and weighed in at 6 lbs, 12.5 oz… an ounce lighter than your sister. Blake went ahead and gave you an extra half ounce however, so I think your records say 6 lbs 13oz. At around 2:30am, we headed home. From start to finish, your labor and delivery was 4 ½ hours long. Born on summer solstice as I was hoping!
We named you Dietrich Ân Ðiển after the theologian Bonhoeffer and also a nod to your German background and after my late cousin Daniel whose middle name is Ân Ðiển. It’s a name we’ve had in our minds for a long time and we love that you’ll most likely never come across another Dietrich ;)
Today you are 6 months old and what a whirlwind it has been. You still don’t sleep well, but your sweet smiles and generally happy demeanor give us so much joy. You’re incredibly loved, my son. I hope and pray you always know this.
Thank you Jessica for being an incredible support and for these special photos. We will treasure them always.
Libby's Birth Story
Libby is already two months old. I can hardly believe it. It’s true what they say, you know—it all goes by so fast. Too fast. I am making myself write this, as she naps in my Solly Baby wrap, because sometimes that’s the only way I can get anything done. But I tell myself it’s okay, because she’ll never be this young again and I have to hold on to this closeness with her for as long as I can. I hope and pray that we can be this close forever as she grows up. Birth is an incredible experience and I'm so thankful I was lucky enough to have gone through it the way that I was able to. Elisabeth, this is for you, my little love.
I think back on the day that you arrived with fondness. Yes, it was painful. Yes, there were moments I did think to myself, “I cannot do this.” But I had to, and more so, I wanted to. Your arrival was highly anticipated and when it came, it came swiftly and I couldn’t believe it was happening. Yes, you made us wait nine days after your guessed due date… (but can I just say that this term due date should really be changed to guess date?). Each day that passed after your guess date, I grew more and more anxious, but can you blame me? But if I could go back in time, I would tell myself that you would come when you wanted. So many friends told me so, our doula told me so, and I’m sure that even hearing it from myself, I would not be convinced… but it is true, you knew your birthdate and everything about it was perfect. You are perfect.
January 15th came and passed. I had made it forty weeks. In those days I felt really pregnant. You made pregnancy easy on me and I feel lucky to have been able to carry you for those forty weeks and mostly with ease. When we found out we were pregnant with you, I was in denial, and this was furthermore a fact because I didn’t really feel any symptoms in the first trimester besides sore breasts. I didn’t experience fatigue nor morning sickness nor cravings or aversions. Nothing of the sort. The morning sickness came in early second trimester… and still there were only a handful of times that I experienced it. As you grew inside me, I continued on at the same pace of life that I had been doing. There were times when your grandma yelled at me for running around, but I was being careful. I knew what I was capable of. I really did not feel pregnant until 36 or 37 weeks. I felt so big, but I was thankful you were healthy and growing.
On the morning of January 19th, I went to the bathroom and as I wiped, I noticed a pink tinge on the tissue. I was so excited—were things finally happening? I texted Alise, our doula, immediately and she too, was excited for us. She said that it could be the bloody show—a sign of pre-labor. I thought that you would come that weekend. But no, you kept us on our toes all the way through Sunday night as I continued experiencing bloody show. Your dad grew quite alarmed as I got a larger amount Sunday evening and he told me to call Alise, just to make sure. She didn’t seem as alarmed, and I wasn’t either… but she told us that if we wanted we could call the midwives in the morning to see what they would say.
Monday morning (1/21), I called the consulting nurses and told them what had been going on all weekend and they told me to go ahead and check-in to triage to see. I had left my ID with dad because we had gone to a friend’s birthday party the evening before and I didn’t want to bring a purse… so I called my friend Carolyn to see if she could take me. We got to the hospital and they did a non-stress test on you; everything seemed to be fine. There were some contractions during the time they monitored us, but I didn’t even feel anything! Pretty crazy. I was only 1cm dilated and truth be told, I was disappointed because I was 41 weeks at this point. Carolyn and I decided to go grab some lunch afterwards—some spicy Hawaiian-Korean tacos at Marination Station—to try and induce labor.
On Tuesday (1/22) I woke up and started on some exercises that Alise had sent over to me. I was getting desperate this day, asking on social media for massage therapists and acupuncturist recommendations. Carolyn texted me and asked if I was planning on going on a walk. We decided to head to Bellevue Mall and see if we could help get things going… I felt so large, walking around… we hadn’t been walking for too long and I kept thinking of saying to Carolyn that I was done. But around 1pm or so, I felt a contraction! And they continued as we left the mall and went to Dairy Queen for blizzards. You kicked around and moved a lot those days whenever I would have sugar—can’t blame you, girl. They were pretty sporadic—the contractions… anywhere from 20-40 seconds, five to 45 minutes apart. And at this point, they were manageable, feeling like period cramps, like I had read about. I got home and decided to take a shower, texting your dad around 3:30pm telling him what was going on. He texted back immediately and asked if I wanted him to come home, but I said no, he only had 30 minutes left in his work day so I told him not to rush. Throughout the evening, I kept feeling contractions, but they were so spread apart that I wasn’t sure what was going on. I had downloaded an app to time contractions and there were moments, when they were three minutes apart for a little bit (especially when I did hip circles on the exercise ball), but then nothing would happen for an hour. Around 10pm, nothing had really progressed so your dad and I decided to go to sleep. We knew you were coming soon, so your dad went ahead and told his boss that he wouldn’t be coming in the next day.
Around 1am or so on Wednesday the 24th (your birthday!), I started to feel more painful contractions. They were definitely more intense than the ones I had felt earlier that day… I had to get on all fours and breathe through them. If I thought these were painful, I had no idea how much more painful they’d get ha! I got out of bed and had some cereal, because I was really hungry at this point… I would eat in-between the contractions. I stayed out of bed until about 3:30am or so, doing hip circles on the exercise ball which helped the most. It seemed like when I was on the ball, the contractions were more consistent, but when I would move and do some other positions, they would go back to being random. Around 4 or 5am, I thought that I should probably try and get more sleep so it became the disrupted sleep as I continued to experience contractions. Your dad did wake up at one point to me on all fours and I told him what was going on… but the contractions were still spread apart enough that I wasn’t concerned so he went back to sleep as I also tried to get some rest.
We woke up around 7:30 or 8am and your dad started to make coffee and breakfast… at 9:30am, my water broke. Before, we had been curious as to what this really meant and felt like and I had done tests by putting in panty liners and lying down to see if they’d soak after a few minutes… but we knew this was real, because soon, my underwear was soaked. We called Alise, told her what was going on, and then called the nurses. They told us to go ahead and check-in to triage. Alise told us she was on her way to our place… as we waited for her, your dad spruced up the apartment, taking out the trash and what not. We both wanted a clean apartment for your homecoming! As he did that, I laid on the bed through contractions. Alise called a bit later and said she wouldn’t be able to be there for another 45 minutes or so because there was heavy traffic; she asked if we wanted her back-up doula to come to us because she lived closer, but we said no. We only wanted her ha, but we told her to meet us at the hospital instead of our apartment. As your dad was carrying out our hospital bag, he noticed that my car had a flat tire. Ha, of course! Your car seat was installed in there, but I didn’t want to wait for him to get the car fixed so we took your grandparents’ 4Runner—the car your dad had been borrowing from them instead. It wasn’t ideal as the suspension in this car is terrible and I was able to feel every bump along the way… but I figured dad could re-install the carseat at the hospital.
We checked-in that morning around 11am… and shortly after, Alise arrived! She got there much sooner than I expected. The nurse put two monitors on me—one for your heartbeat and then another for the contractions. As she did this, Jana (our midwife) came and checked in on us. She told us she wouldn’t be checking to see how dilated I was, which came as a relief to me, because I wanted as little checks as possible. She asked if we had a birth plan printed out, and we handed her one that I had found online. Dad and I basically wanted as natural of a birth as possible and it was comforting to see Jana was on board too.
After monitoring you for about twenty minutes or so, Jana came in and told us that everything looked great and gave us some options. At the time, all the rooms were full so she said we could go home and labor some more there or go out for some lunch and then come back. We decided to go out for some lunch so the three of us (Alise, your dad and me) left and drove to Chipotle. The contractions were still painful/uncomfortable and I’m guessing I was probably around 6cm or so then but who knows. We hadn’t been gone for too long when Jana called and said they had a room available and if we wanted to officially check-in. I really wanted to finish the laboring at home, but they said if we wanted to leave the hospital, we had to come back and officially get discharged. We got some food and went back to the hospital. Alise waited in the car while your dad and I went back up—they had to monitor you for another 20 minutes to be discharged. The nurse incorrectly put the monitors on this time around and they kept falling off. At this point, I could tell I was starting to get really annoyed and cranky because it was around 1:30pm or so and I hadn’t eaten lunch yet, I had little sleep and I was obviously uncomfortable because of the contractions. I had a lot of back labor pain and Alise wanted to try some different stretches/exercises at home to see if we could get you to move a bit. All I wanted was to go home and lay on my own bed.
We finally got home at 2:30pm and from that point on, things began to progress really quickly. The contractions were more frequent, but I was desperate for some food and sleep. Unfortunately I never got the sleep… but between each contraction, I’d grab a bite of my chicken/steak bowl and a sip of water or coconut water and then we’d go again. We started out on the birth ball and I probably did about 20 minutes there. I moaned low moans, and every now and then they would go high, and Alise would remind me again to keep them low… Alise had me switch to the couch where we did a lunge-like position where I stood sideways to the couch with a foot on the couch. We did both sides there and then finally, we went to the bed where we did the sideline release position on both sides. I remember between each position, as Alise would tell me what we were about to do next, that I did not want to move. I was “comfortable” in that position and it was painful to have to move to another one… but once I got in the groove of the next exercise she had in mind, things were fine. It was while we were on the exercise ball that I remember thinking to myself, “I can’t do this. I think I’m going to need an epidural” but I never voiced this. It was painful, so painful and as each contraction came, I tried to resist with my body but Alise kept telling me to take each contraction in as a wave, knowing it would come and pass… and that if I let my body go into the pain, that it would help. This was easier said than done, of course.
We were not home for long—at about 3:30 or so, I got to the point where I felt like I had to poop! Alise told me not to push, but to breathe through the contractions. At this point I felt more of an urgency in Alise’s voice as she told Aaron to get ready to go, so as he moved things to the car, Alise continued going through each contraction with me. I remember telling her that I really did have to poop and she said, “Okay, but as soon as you’re done we are out the door.” I pooped one tiny bit, Alise handed me some tissue, I wiped and pulled my leggings back up and we were out the door. In the car, Alise was with me in the back as I was on my knees facing backwards on the seat. Your dad asked her how illegally he was allowed to drive ha. The hospital wasn’t far from us—only about 10-15 minutes, depending on traffic. I kept my eyes closed pretty much the whole time, working through the contractions. I also remember thinking that your grandma wouldn’t be making it and we probably wouldn’t be able to get birth photos as we had wanted either, because it was all happening so fast. I didn’t think your dad would make those calls or texts in time.
Once we got to the hospital, your dad dropped us off as he went to park the car. It was about 4pm at this point. Inside the hospital, Alise asked me if I wanted a wheelchair as we spotted one right away… she tried to get the receptionists’ attention but they weren’t quick to respond so I motioned that I just wanted to keep moving… so on we did towards the elevator to the 5th floor at Swedish First Hill… stopping again at every contraction. We got to birthing floor, told them who we were—they were expecting us—and they directed us to the south side. I thought to myself, ‘more walking?’ As we were walking there, we passed a group of expectant couples who were touring the hospital (something your dad and I had also done) and for a moment a sense of embarrassment hit me but it passed quickly because these women would be going through the same thing soon and now they got to see some action during their tour (since I didn’t see any when we toured ha). We got to the desk at the other wing and they told us to wait a moment as they were prepping the room and I thought, “you’ve got to be kidding me!” But it wasn’t a long wait. Finally we got to our room and I went over to the bed where I did a forward leaning position on the bed as the contractions kept coming. I began to strip, leaving only my bralette on as they put the monitors on me. Your dad came in shortly after; I was surprised at how quick he had made it up.
Soon, Jana the midwife came in as I laid on the bed, where she checked how far along I was. I noticed she made a bit of a surprised face, pausing a second before telling me, “Well, it looks like you’re 10 centimeters dilated. You can start pushing now if you’d like.” I was amazed and elated, thinking maybe we would meet you crazy soon. I decided to do a few contractions in the jacuzzi, because my back was killing me and I knew being in the hot water would help. Slowly I walked over to the bathroom, where the lights had been turned off and Alise had surrounded the tub with LED candles; it was definitely a very zen-like room and I am so thankful she did that. I don’t remember how long exactly I was in there, but Jana had me work through a few contractions in there. It was all I could do to not resist the contractions—to not tense up. Alise told me to try and do three pushes with each contraction—holding my breath, pushing and then taking in air once again. The pain in my lower back was real. I have told people that it hurt more than the ‘ring of fire’. Your dad was amazing through all of this, encouraging me, and letting me squeeze his hand so hard. Alise would give me cold towels and give me sips of water as would your dad. After a bit, Jana came in with a flashlight and said once she could see the top of your head, we’d move to the bed.
Thank you Alise for these photos!
I got to the tub, walked back over as they asked me which position I’d like to be in. While prepping, they gave me an open line / hep lock and also cytotec/methergen/pitocin in case of postpartum bleeding. I had been on the edge of being anemic throughout the pregnancy and they wanted it there just in case anything happened. Not sure what they gave me to be honest, but at that point, I didn't really care anymore. I was too concentrated on the contractions. I do remember them apologizing for having to poke me a few times, but I was fine with it. Needles aren't a big deal to me.
Because I was still experiencing back labor, I decided on hands and knees position as I heard Jana asking for the delivery kit to be prepped. I knew you were coming soon. It was at this point where I really began to push with each contraction. Each time I pushed and each time I was told that your head could be seen was a huge encouragement and booster for me. Someone asked if I wanted to feel your head so I slipped my hand between my legs and felt the very tip top of you. You were coming so soon and I knew it. At 6:02pm, Yee made it to photograph your birth. After the fact, he told us that as he was putting together his camera, he recalls the midwife saying your head was about 20% of the way out and he looked up and I was gone. I was pushing and my head and body was crouched down beneath the top of the hospital bed so he didn’t see me. A few more pushes and you were outside of me, in my hands at 6:07pm.
It was such a surreal feeling as I looked down at you, your daddy at my side, his arms stained with my blood… you, him, me, us—you were finally here after all this time. Tears from your dad, me just really in shock, but so thankful that I was no longer pregnant and that you came so perfectly, naturally, nine days late, but just on time. 6 pounds, 13 and a half ounces and 19 inches of perfection. Your birthday was an incredible day. You made me a mom. Thank you.
