After having Nadia 10 days after her due date, I figured there would be some “over time” with this pregnancy too! Honestly I was glad to keep working past 40 weeks instead of obsessing about when I might go into labor. We also made a “fun list” to help pass the time! While waiting for our baby that last week, we: drove to see Christmas lights, saw the Christmas decorations at the Jefferson hotel, decorated sugar cookies, saw the model trains at the greenhouse, squeezed in another date, and more! However, the day before you were born, we were starting to get antsy to meet you and even Nadia said as she rubbed my belly, “Baby, get out!”
On Friday, Saturday and Sunday night I had a round of false labor. We kept calling my parents- “Make sure your bag is ready, we will call when it’s time to come over!” And then a couple hours later, we called to cancel the alarm.
I was very frustrated by Monday morning (the day you were born), but it was my first day “off work” so that was nice. There was a dusting of snow on the ground when we woke up and Nadia was so excited to see it! I drove her to preschool and picked up some things from the grocery store. I had a few contractions at the store, but I figured it was false labor (again). When I got home, I watched Love Actually and added some pregnancy pictures in the baby book. I planned to exercise and bake cookies, but just didn’t have the energy to do it, perhaps that was a sign!
Around 1, I called my mom and told her I was having some contractions. My parents decided to come over to go for a walk with me. Contractions picked up on the walk and I found it was hard to talk through them. My parents decided to get their bags and planned to pick up Nadia from preschool. Daniel came home and we took a lap around the neighborhood. He timed my contractions which started at lasting 1 minute duration, 5 minutes apart but speeded up to every 2-3 minutes by the end of the pretty brief walk. The app Daniel was using said “You should go to the hospital,” but I dismissed it. I remember calling the hospital while being in labor with Nadia and being told “You sound too good– don’t come yet.” When we got back to the house we decided to call the midwives line at the hospital and she said “Come when your water breaks or when you know.”
I tried to lay down after that, but I couldn’t tolerate the contractions unless I was standing and bracing the bed. I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror and realized “Geez, I look serious. It’s time to go.” Daniel put the bags in the car and I drank a protein drink. My parents got home with Nadia, we said a quick goodbye, and off we went to the hospital. If I had any hesitations about leaving then for the hospital, I quickly realized I was in no form to parent my rowdy three-year old!
When we got to the hospital the receptionist asked “What are you here for?” I thought that was very strange and paused. She asked, “Are you here for the hospital tour or labor?” When we said labor and my contractions are every other minute, she moved quickly to find an open triage room.
My nurse got all the paperwork together and started setting up my IV antibiotics since I was group B strep positive. Then, the midwife Barbara did my initial exam and to everyone’s surprise I was 9cm dilated. That’s when things started moving fast, I was so calm everyone (including myself) assumed I was more like 5-6cm dilated. A parade of nurses came in to deliver all the supplies and start my antibiotics. We knew there wouldn’t be time for 2 doses but we figured we would try to get the first dose.
Barbara gave me a stool for gentle lunging to help drop baby down (she started at -1 station) and nurse Austin was so supportive. Once I got my full dose of antibiotics it was shift change and I got to meet my second nurse, Chloe, and midwife Katie. My midwife offered to break my water bag and said “Once this is out of the way, you can push whenever the urge to bare down comes.”
I had no clue which birthing position to try, just that I didn’t want to repeat the position in which I delivered Nadia. At their suggestion I tried a hands and knees position, but I didn’t like facing the wall. I ended up turning around so I could see Daniel and the midwife. I started to push and man, it hurt. I kept thinking that I had to push for 3 hours to get Nadia out and I just thought to myself, “Well, I better get to work.” I had so much more energy compared to birthing Nadia that it was easier to push. My body knew what to do this time!
When I was feeling tired, I asked about my progress and my midwife said “You’re crowning! You can feel baby’s head soon.” I was so motivated and determined! With each urge, I just focused on breathing baby down and before I knew it, her head was out! With another push came her shoulders and she was passed to me!
I was so excited to see that she was a girl! Daniel claims he announced we had a daughter but I just remember looking at her and smiling! We liked the names we picked out for a son or a daughter (since she was a gender surprise!) but we really love the name Trixie! Daniel got to cut the cord and she was able to latch and start breastfeeding within the first hour! What a wild ride!! I delivered within 2 hours of arriving at the hospital and within about 5 hours of active labor.
My blood pressure was high after giving birth and I went from sweating profusely during labor to freezing after birth. I think it was a rush of adrenaline from all the excitement and within an hour I was back to normal. Everyone was surprised by how much of a chunk Trixie is, especially since I’m so petite!
Everyone at the hospital was so kind to us and really it couldn’t have gone better! My midwife did say, “Come earlier if there’s baby number 3!” Yes, I guess so! Now that a few days have passed, I am certainly relieved this was my second birth because I think I would have been afraid had I not given birth before. There were lots of little things that made me feel comfortable once we got to the hospital–recognizing it was the same room where I delivered Nadia three years before and being surrounded by supportive people.
Our first night Trixie got up every hour or two, but usually it was easy enough to settle down. We both took a longer rest after 5am and we’re happy to eat breakfast when we woke up. Aunt Jessica got to meet Trixie at the hospital and so did my parents and Nadia. Nadia was so excited to see her sister!
A little about the name, Beatrix Lilly Fourquet. I first heard the name Trixie with one of the Call the Midwife characters and always thought it was a fun name. Then this year Nadia and I discovered the Knuffle Bunny book series where the main character is a girl named Trixie. It also seemed appropriate given that Trixie was a surprise pregnancy after we stopped fertility treatments last year. Trixie- you were the best surprise of 2023 and we are so glad you made us a family of four. I guess Dad is still king of the castle, but I’m all here for the girl power! I can’t wait to see all the tricks you have in store for us!
It terms of resemblance, I think you look a lot like Nadia as a newborn. So much so, that I am going to have to be intentional what you wear in pictures so I can remember who is who! It might get confusing having a smaller baby girl born in late October and a bigger girl born mid-December!
The first week of your life has been a joy. I was nervous about our first few days as a family of four, but mostly it’s going better than I thought. Nadia is still going to preschool which has been a big help, Trixie is sleeping often during the day and gave me enough time to prep some things for the afternoon/ evening. I’m so lucky that despite her size, I had no tearing and my bleeding has been fairly minimal. Of course my core feels, well not normal, but otherwise I’m physically feeling well. With both my babies, I honestly think the struggle to conceive was so hard and painful at times that God has blessed us with wonderful birth experiences and healthy babies.
I like the idea of celebrating birth as a birthday so I baked my favorite Christmas cookies (frosted sugar cookies and snowball cookies in honor of the snow that fell the day she was born). Nadia got to open a birthday present when we were at the hospital, which was a fun distraction.
I can’t tell you how excited Nadia is to have a sister- she’s very excited to help! She enthusiastically tells me “Let me hold Trixie” or “I’ll get the diaper.” I’m so glad we read many books about bringing home a new baby– she really seems prepared to be a big sister!
Thank you to everyone who prayed for a safe delivery. We are so relieved to have Trixie here.