Aiden Justice Lee joined our family on Saturday, June 27th! He came at 2:42am weighing 6lbs 13oz. Looks like a little Benson, doesn’t he? 😄
I shared about Aiden’s arrival in PMT Emails and on social media, but totally overlooked the fact that I hadn’t shared it here on the blog yet. 😆 Hahaha, oops! I think that lack of mental acuity just points to life with two young kids–and now three–plus the added chaos of pandemic life. It’s probably gonna be my new norm for a while! 😜
The Short Version
Labor and delivery was quick, with contractions starting on 6/26 around 10/10:30pm and Aiden coming about 4 hours later. I stayed in the hospital on Saturday and once I got back home Sunday afternoon, the girls finally got to meet him. (The girls weren’t allowed in the hospital because of COVID-19 precautions.)
The Longer Version
On 6/26, I was 38 weeks and 4 days along. At the doctor’s the day prior, I knew I was 4cm dilated–which is where I was at with both Addie and Ella at around 37-38 weeks, so that wasn’t surprising or alarming to me. Seemed pretty parr for the course.
That evening before going to bed, Addie said, “Mama, I don’t think the baby’s gonna come tonight.” I replied, “He could. But, I don’t think so either.” It was Friday evening, and that night I wrote plans for what we’d do with what I assumed would be our last weekend as a family of four. But then…
Sometime between 10-10:30pm, as I was about to head to bed, my stomach started to hurt. I wasn’t sure if it was digestive issues or contractions, but since that is exactly how my labor with Ella started, I paid close attention. I finally decided to time them starting at 10:30pm and realized they were 5 minutes apart and 45 seconds to 1 minute long. Within a few minutes, they were 3-4 minutes apart and 1 to 1 1/2 minutes long. I started to gather my things, woke up Benson who was just starting to fall asleep, and we made plans for a friend to come over while the girls slept.
By 11:30pm I was at the hospital and checked into triage. I was 8cm dilated, which was roughly how dilated I was when I entered triage with both Addie and Ella. I got up to my room and got the epidural. (I always try to make it to 8cm before getting an epidural, just to try and shorten my time in labor.)
The Waiting Period
Long story short, I was at 9.5cm dilated and waited for about 1.5 to 2 hours for that last 0.5cm to budge. Meanwhile, I started to feel my contractions a little bit, and I felt more pain than I had in my previous two labors. I was pretty uncomfortable for the latter half of the 2 hours, and eventually my body really wanted to push. But that last 0.5cm wouldn’t budge! Finally, the nurse and midwife decided we could try to push past that last 0.5cm without much risk of tearing it. THANKFULLY, it worked and we were ready to push this baby out! It turns out the baby was either sideways or sunny side up, so that last 0.5cm wasn’t budging on its own because of that. (Or something like that–I’m not a doctor, I’m just going off of what they said, haha!) He ended up turning the correct way during that initial push. Grateful all of that worked out well!
But you know what DIDN’T work? My epidural! 😣 And I was NOT prepared for that to happen!
The Part of Childbirth I Never Wanted to Feel
Once I started pushing, I felt all this pain that I had never felt before. I was so disoriented, mostly because it surprised me and I wasn’t prepared at all for it. I didn’t know what was happening or why it hurt so bad. For whatever reason, it didn’t click in my brain that OHMIGOSH THE EPIDURAL ISN’T WORKING AND I’VE JUST GOTTA PULL IT TOGETHER AND DO THIS.
I felt all of the things I’ve always said “I have no desire to feel” in childbirth. Haha omg, still can’t believe it! 🙈 I can tolerate a lot of pain–like with all 3 of my kids, I walked into triage 8cm dilated with major contractions and just silently breathed through them in good spirits. But, I have never wanted to feel the rest of childbirth. 😆 And, the SHOCK of unexpectedly having to feel it–I wasn’t ready for it, so it really threw me off!
Thankfully, I only actually had to push through 4 contractions. It took me until after the 3rd one for it to click that I needed to focus 100% and push this baby out–so that the pain would stop, haha! I was like IF THIS BABY DOESN’T COME OUT ON THIS ONE, I MIGHT LOSE MY MIND. 😂 I gathered myself, focused, and swore I was going to push this baby out on this one–and THANK GOD, HE CAME OUT!
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Aiden came out healthy, and it probably took me longer to recover from the shock that I had to feel the parts of childbirth I never wanted to feel than from the physical aspect of it, haha! I’m grateful to be recovering very quickly, as I did with Ella. Both Aiden’s and Ella’s births were very quick, and I recovered really quickly. Like, after delivering Ella, I didn’t even feel like I just had a kid. It was WEIRD, and it freaked me out, haha! It’s basically the same this time around with Aiden. With Addie, her delivery was a lot longer, and I felt like I’d gotten hit by a truck for 6-12 weeks after. (Timeline is fuzzy–it was so long ago, hehe.)
Aiden’s Name
Aiden means “bringer of fire” or “fiery one” and Justice means justice (duh) or righteousness. We hope his life brings a fierce fire of God and righteousness wherever he goes. Lee is our family last name. (Tom is my maiden name. I never changed it once we got married, and I totally wish I had, but it seems like way too much of a hassle to change it now.)
Family Life
For the most part, it feels fairly peaceful because the girls are back in daycare full time. On weekdays, it’s just Benson, me, and Aiden, which feels sooooo easy compared to a mischievous 2 year old and moody 5 year old. 😆
Addie and Ella are pretty obsessed, fighting over who gets to hold Aiden. Addie’s little heart is bursting, and she can’t believe her baby brother is out of my tummy. Ella has been smothering him with affection, in a very 2 year old kind of way, with kisses and hugs that sometimes come too forcefully. 😂🥰
Thank you so much for your prayers for a quick and healthy delivery! 🙏🏽
