June 3rd ended up being the day that my pregnancy stopped being boring. I was half way through the 38th week, looking forward to another couple of weeks to get everything done on my to-do list before the baby arrived and then, I started bleeding...a lot. At first I thought, maybe this is the mucus plug coming out which is usually the first sign that labor is beginning, but there was too much blood than what all of the pregnancy websites described. I quickly called my doctor to see if I should be concerned or if this was part of the labor process which I never got to experience with the twins. My doctor wanted me to come in to be checked out just in case this was something serious. I spent about 10 hours in the hospital while my doctor was trying to figure out where the bleeding was coming from. Luckily, he could not find anything serious going on after performing an ultrasound. If the bleeding was coming from the placenta then I would have been in trouble but luckily, everything internally seemed to be fine. However, he did discover that I was having mild but consistent contractions and was concerned that if he sent me home, the contractions could get stronger. Plus, without knowing for sure why I was bleeding, there was risk in sending me home and having that issue get worse as well. All signs pointed to getting this baby out sooner than later so I was officially admitted into the hospital with my c-section scheduled for the next day.
Ironically, the hospital room that I was waiting in was the same room that I spent my 122 days of bed rest in. So many memories in that room and I strangely felt like I was back home. While I was under observation for those 10 hours before knowing my fate, I started to think back to what I was able to do in the last month of my pregnancy that I never got to experience before. Just one month earlier, I got to enjoy a real baby shower that was not in the hospital family dining room with me lying on a couch the whole time. It was the baby shower I always wanted to have and fantasized about while I was on bed rest with the twins. I never knew that one day I would be able to enjoy something like that...standing up! I got to wear a fancy dress and spend a beautiful afternoon with my family and friends sipping tea and eating scones.
In addition to the baby shower, I also got to have a maternity photo shoot. I had one when I was pregnant with the twins but it had to be done in my hospital room using the privacy curtain as a back drop. Super glamorous. At least the photographer was creative with the limitations of the space. This time around, I got to be outside surrounded by nature...and I was standing up! When your only concept of pregnancy is being on strict bed rest, the normal things that most women get to experience become extremely exciting. Even just being out in public pregnant was a new experience. Random strangers felt intrigued to ask me about my due date, what the gender was, etc. I got the funniest comments when I would be out and about with the twins. Imagine seeing a double stroller filled with two screaming toddlers and then a very pregnant mom pushing that stroller. "Wow...you have your hands full!" "You are a glutton for punishment!" "You're gonna need a bigger stroller!" Yet another perk of having a boring pregnancy. Now all of that would be coming to an end as I anxiously waited for my c-section to happen.
On June 4th at 3:39pm, Dr. Tabsh pulled out a cute little baby from my belly and shouted "it's a boy!" I had decided not to find out the gender and it was a wonderful surprise having it announced in the operating room. Tears streamed down my face as I heard the first cries and realized that this miracle baby was going to be the baby brother to Ella and Ethan. As I was waiting for him to be cleaned up and weighed, I started to think about a name for the baby since that was something that Brett and I had not figured out yet. The name Leo was being tossed around as a middle name in honor of my father, Leonard who passed away just a few months after the twins were born. Other than that, no boy names were in the running for the first name. Ironically, we had a much bigger list of girls names which is what also happened when we were picking names out for the twins. Then, as I was waiting on the operating table, the name Brayden popped into my head and when I finally got to see and kiss my baby for the first time, I felt like that name might just be the perfect one. After talking to Brett and sleeping on the decision, our son officially got the name Brayden Leo.
My pregnancy with Brayden was considered boring, especially compared to what I went through with the twins. However, finding out that I was pregnant during that fateful psychic reading back in December was far from boring. My husband and I were catapulted into this new chapter in our lives over the course of just 6 months. New car, new home, new family of five! Brayden took us all by surprise but we are beyond happy and feel so blessed that we were able to have another baby and got the chance to experience a normal pregnancy. Our story goes on...
*The song "June Is Bustin' Out All Over" is from the 1945 Broadway musical Carousel by Rogers and Hammerstein. This love story centers around the relationship between carousel barker Billy Bigelow and millworker Julie Jordan and was originally based on the 1909 play Liliom. This song was in my head a lot during my entire pregnancy since my due date was in the middle of June and I knew that if I made it that far, my belly would definitely be "bustin' out." It was really sweet to be able to talk to Ella and Ethan about the baby in my belly and try to explain what was going to be happening. They were still too young to really understand that mommy's belly meant that they would have a new brother or sister but now that Brayden is out, they are adjusting quite nicely. Brayden is a lucky guy to have Ella and Ethan to grow up with.
