We introduced our sweet little 5th baby into our family last month. Edward Louis arrived on March 9th. He’s spent his first 6 weeks home with just the 6 of his family members getting love and snuggles around the clock. Edward, who we call Teddy came home the day before we all “came home” indefinitely. Today I’m sharing how he entered the world…

Teddy’s Birth Story

We spent the start of 2020 preparing for our 5th baby to arrive. There wasn’t much to prepare in the house as our new little one would hop right into the crib that big brother moved out of right after the holidays. As far as clothes, swaddles, etc the big sisters took to the attic and helped me organize, wash and fold those. They did a better job of preparing than I had ever done for any of the babies in the past. It gave me a glimpse of how great it would be to have an 8 and 10 year old when our new baby arrived. 

More of the preparing was getting the family ready: each of the kids got to choose a “date” with mom. We started this years ago before before baby #3 arrived. I like to give each kid some special time with just me before a new baby arrives and I inevitably will be focusing a lot of time on the new baby. It’s fun for me and them and something I really look forward to in those last weeks of pregnancy. We also took one last trip as a family of 6 to one of our favorite places. 

I was due Friday March 6th. Just like all four of my other babies, my due date arrived with not a contraction in sight. On my due date, I went to my OB for a non-stress test. I spent about 30 minuted listening to the babies heart beat, relaxing and being served juice boxes (I forgot to eat breakfast). I remember thinking it was the most relaxing morning all week. Baby sounded great and I made an appointment for the following Monday. 

The other 4 kids were all born 41 weeks or later, so I fully expected to have the same thing happen again. Saturday we spent the morning at Alex’s basketball game, followed by Tommy & Miles soccer, followed by Maggie’s field hockey. In between sports we snuck in a fun lunch with friends at the bagel shop. Sunday my parents came for a belated birthday dinner for Maggie. Since it was so warm and sunny we walked to the playground and enjoyed lots of time outside before dinner. I was starting to get a little uncomfortable but it felt good to get lots of walking in and I tried to find something spicy for dinner at the restaurant. We walked around town after dinner so the kids could grab ice cream and then it was home to get ready for the school week. I was still feeling fine heading to sleep.

I woke up just before 1am to what I thought might be a contraction. Since I had been in a sound sleep before it, I wasn’t 100% sure. I was just falling back to sleep when I had another contraction. If this had been my 1st or 2nd baby, I may have woken Tom or started to get nervous… but instead: went downstairs to make 4 kids lunches, pack backpacks and write out everyone’s schedule for the next 2 days in case I went to the hospital. I am not good at sitting still so I wanted to keep busy while I timed contractions. I kept track in the notes in my phone. By about 1:50 they were 10 minutes apart or less and intense enough that I knew it was time to go. I called my doctor and woke Tom. Then I called my mom and called Kristin (my cousin) to come over since she’s only 5 min away until my mom could arrive. My doctor said to come right away. 

I threw a few more things into my bag and snapped a photo. Someone told me years ago, before Maggie arrived, to get a photo right before heading to the hospital. It’s crazy to be when I look at those because my belly looks so huge and so much lower than the rest of the pregnancy. 

We were heading to a different hospital this time around and it was a little farther away. I just kept staring at Waze app as Tom drove, watching the minutes until we’d arrive. Just a few minutes into the drive the contractions were getting much closer together and I was in too much pain to talk to Tom. 

We got to the hospital 25 minutes later, just after 3am. Tom dropped me off in front so he could park. I walked in and realized I had no idea where to go. It was the first time I ever stepped foot in that hospital and the entrance we were to use for maternity was completely empty at 3am. I found an elevator that luckily had a directory and made my way up to labor and delivery. At this point I was walking around with what were the most intense contractions I ever remember having with any of the kids. I got to the security desk where I got lots of questions about where I had traveled the previous month and if I had been in NYC in the past 2 weeks. I was let through and immediately admitted. Tom found his way up and it was go time. 

 

This pregnancy, I took a class called Mindful Pregnancy and Birth, The class was taught by a friend of mine that owns a wonderful yoga studio. I had never taken a class with any of my other pregnancies and while I had 4 pretty easy births, I get super anxious at soon as I step foot into a hospital. I also was considering not getting an epidural this time, mainly because the process of getting an epidural added so much to my anxiety and after Miles I had an allergic (super itchy) reaction that was related to it. I wanted to take the class to see if learning more about breathing and mindfulness could help. It made a world of difference. I felt so much more control the entire time, even through the hardest contractions and learning the right way to breathe, ways to focus, etc made me feel a lot more in control through the whole labor and delivery. 

I did get an epidural but wasn’t anxious, was able to breathe and also communicate what happened last time and they were able to ensure no itchy allergy. The epidural kicked in but only on one side, which was a very strange experience. After a little while and some shifting position it started to kick in and I could relax a lot, felt great and chatted with Tom and my doctor about some final guesses about whether it would be a boy or girl and if we had name ideas. We still hadn’t decided 100% on a girls name. 

About 10 minutes later, around 5:30am it was time to push. A couple pushes and Tom yelled “it’s a boy!”. Lots of smiles and tears and holding onto this beautiful new baby boy. The doctor showed Tom how to cut an umbilical cord for the first time. I couldn’t believe he did it and we laughed about how far he came in the deliver room since our first baby. I could tell holding him that he was going to be the biggest baby yet and I was right: 8lbs 8oz. They passed him back to me, we thanked our amazing doctor and nurses and they left us to enjoy our new little boy. 

It doesn’t matter how many times you do it: welcoming a new baby into the world is different and equally wonderful each time. This time was the most relaxed and at ease both Tom and I were. We were beaming with joy over this new little one. 

We were still in the delivery room when we realized if we called the other kids now, we could catch them all before school. We called them at about 6:30am via FaceTime. There was lots of screaming and excitement (and a few that were still half asleep) and we asked them for one final guess if it was a brother or a sister. We showed them their new baby BROTHER and they were all so excited. Lots of giggles, yelling, and all sorts of loud noise. We told them we’d call back later with a name and to head off to school. Then we told our new little boy to rest up in the hospital because he would soon head home to that loud, noisy bunch of siblings. 

We then decided for sure on his name. This new little boy was Teddy. His full name: Edward (a good, strong name we both loved) Louis (my Dad and brother’s name). We realized when I was pregnant that without realizing it, we had 4 kids that went by nicknames. So for our 5th, we wanted to choose a name that would have a nickname too.

I spent the next few days snuggling Teddy and resting in the hospital. The first day my mom came with all the kids. There is nothing quite like introducing a new sibling. The moments we introduced each baby that arrived to the rest of the kids, are some of the best moments of my life. This time was extra special as they were all a bit older and really got what was going on. Miles was ecstatic to be promoted to the role of a big brother. There was plenty of love and plenty of fighting over who had the most turns and most photos taken with Teddy. 

Teddy had a chance to meet Grammy and his Aunt Kristin in the hospital too. The day we left the hospital was the day they stopped letting visitors in and I’m thankful he got to meet a few relatives before all the rules changed. 

The rest of the time in the hospital was just me and Teddy. Tom would come during the day but help my mom at night and with getting the kids off to school. My nurses were amazing, helpful and I even got to sleep at night (a little bit). 

Teddy and I would watch the news a bit and it seemed like things were changing so fast with the pandemic. When I arrived at the hospital, they were just starting to ask questions like “have you visited nyc” and by the time I left visitors were not being aloud and I was getting emails about schools closing. 

When I packed up our bags to head home and got Teddy in his little outfit and carseat I told him “I don’t know what’s going on in this world we’re introducing you to, but you are so loved and we’ll all be ok”. 

The hospital was getting really busy and felt a little chaotic when we left the maternity floor and went downstairs. I was really eager to get to the car and get home. The kids had decorated the house with paper teddy bears and welcome home signs. It was a warm, sunny day and I sat out on the front steps with Teddy to watch for his siblings to get home. The girls spotted us on their walk home and took off in a sprint screaming in excitement that we were home. 

I was so happy to all be home together, for the first time, as a family of 7. Little did I know that after the kids went to school the following day… we’d be in our house, just our family of 7 for weeks and weeks (still here!). 

Teddy is the perfect addition to our wild and crazy crew. He’s sweet, calm and very alert. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d spend my 5th baby’s first 6+ weeks with zero places to go: no school, sports, activities, parties, playdates, meetings, etc. Teddy doesn’t have to be on anyone’s schedule and is just an easy going, happy guy. Since all of us are home 24/7 he spends his days passed around, always held by someone. He has 2 big sisters that are like little moms, helping with everything and two brothers that just can’t wait for him to join in their antics. 

Thank you all for the kind words and congratulations over the past 6 weeks. We’ll be home, snuggling Teddy and taking way too many photos for many weeks to come.