Leo Austin Kenihan
June 3, 2020 at 8: 22am
8lbs. 5oz; 19.5in.
I feel like Leo’s birth story was not just one event but many, that made his birthday his time, and made him the baby that he is.
A few weeks after I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and then bedrest, I started to have contractions between 3-10 minutes apart. Some days they’d be 7-10, others 3-5, so my doctor had me come in to the hospital for monitoring 2-3x a week. The 3-5 minutes apart occurrences were concerning so early on (around 33/34 weeks) so I was put on meds to stop/decrease their frequency for a few weeks and kept on Rest the duration of my pregnancy. Because they were so close together, my doctor knew that if my water broke at home I’d progress quickly so he kept me coming in basically every other day, and after an appt on May 25th, he called me and said we can’t risk it any longer, so we planned for a c section on the 27th and in I went with my bags packed! Of course Leo had other plans, I wasn’t dilated at all, and my contractions were the most spaced out they’d been in weeks! So I went home and returned the 29th, mentally prepared for little guy to make his debut then. But nope! Same story. We were all confident he’d break my water over the weekend but fooled once again, sweet boy made it all the way to June 3, our very original and “super goal” date of 39 weeks. And one that seemed nearly impossible as I faced various little bumps along the way. Even if I had the smoothest pregnancy, 39 weeks just never seemed like a realistic option to me. I had only known 33 weeks with the twins. And personally had only set the bar to 37 weeks absolute max given my history. But he did it. I did it. We did it.
I know there is only so much I could have controlled in this but I like to believe that while bed rest pulled at every heart string of mine regarding the twins (I cried countless hours over the mommy guilt each week), it paid off. I hated being so hands off of my Slater and Zoe, especially knowing another babe was on his way to change their and our lives forever, but after hitting 39 weeks I’m giving myself more grace than ever (because I still feel like I’m trying to make up for that lost time with them). And I’m confident it helped not just Leo’s health but the well being of our entire family.
The birth itself was smooth sailing. A Vbac wasn’t really an option as I had too many risk factors based on this and my last pregnancy so we went in for a scheduled C Section at 5am, calm and more than ready to go! Knowing and experiencing a C prior, I’d say the long OR prep was the hardest part! I was anxious about all of it, and wondered how I’d get through the surgery. But once I was set up and my dr finally started going, adrenaline kicked in, Leo popped out, and with a sweet faint cry stole mamas heart instantly.
Hunter went to recovery with Leo while they finished me up, and when I was finally taken back to our room, it was so trippy to see him doing skin to skin with Leo. Like what? We can hold our baby right away? He’s twice the size the twins were? He’s going to stay in our room with us? I didn’t expect him to go to the NICU but since I had never experienced the “typical” situation I was still just in awe! The drugs and loopiness didn’t help, ha! I was also waiting for Pre Eclampsia to hit as it did so severely post delivery with the twins (because statistics made my chances high, and again, I only knew what I knew). But instead I was heathy, held my big healthy baby, he latched, and it was just beautiful there on out. One may say this birth wasn’t as eventful or thrilling as the twins surprise early delivery was, but all the difference in the two experiences and total novelty was a thrill in itself. And that’s what I love most about Leo’s story.
As for Covid. It’s for sure scary to be pregnant and deliver during this strange time. To be honest I was terrified the entire second half of my pregnancy but chose to stay positive and not think about it. Things changed on the daily and there was no point in stressing. Luckily things lightened a bit as we neared June and Hunter was allowed in to delivery with me. What a blessing, and another reason I know Leo had reasons for his June 3 debut:) Entering the hospital each time for monitoring the weeks/months prior was a bit eerie with all the protocol but honestly once I got in for my delivery it was fine. We couldn’t leave our room for the entire 4 day hospital stay but other than that the nurses and doctors made us feel like things were normal, safe and taken care of. I did have to get tested prior to delivery and no visitors of course but my parents visited from the hospital parking lot and we waved through the window. That was such a special sacred moment I will never forget. Crazy times you guys.
I’m still recovering from my C section and it feels like forever that I’ve run after the twins or picked them up (3 months to be exact) but I’m so close to the finish line. Doing walks with the family after being restricted for so long has felt amazing so I’ll take that over the running for now! And l’m just feeling better by the day. This pregnancy has really made me appreciate so many little things. Most of all (well, aside from the obvious and amazing blessing of carrying and loving yet another miracle)…being active outside and picking up my sweet babies.
To close…
Mommies with Gestational Diabetes, remember to stay the course. It’s so tough. Harder than I ever knew looking at all the food labels, ditching all the things you love (esp while pregnant) taking insulin shots, going through the drastic (and ill feeling) ups and downs of energy levels and needless to say, the constant worry over your unborn child’s condition. But you can do it. Controlling it will change your baby’s life forever. I will always (try to) feel proud of that.
Mommies on bed rest (specifically those with other kids). Know you can do it. It will be worth it in the end and just like mom friends who had been there told me, your other kids won’t remember. They will always love you.
Mommies about to deliver during Covid. Believe It’s going to be okay. It’s a new way of living. A new way of doing things. Whether for now or for awhile, just expect it to be different. And focus on the prize. A beautiful baby at the end.
I’ll share more on life these days soon, but for now, thank you for supporting my family’s journey as always.