Liliana Mary

June 21, 2021, the day our sweet little Lili was born…

Liliana’s birth story turned out nothing like we envisioned. You would think with a planned c-section you could count on things being somewhat expected and on schedule, but Liliana’s entry into the world proved us wrong! Our little girl decided to come a few weeks earlier than expected. Her early arrival certainly took Mom and Dad by surprise, but we’re so happy and thankful for those extra weeks we were given as a family of 4.

Keep reading to hear more about our second baby girl’s debut into this world!

With my first pregnancy, I was induced so I never went into labor on my own (more about EMILIA’S BIRTH STORY HERE.) So despite this being my second pregnancy, I was still unsure what it felt like to actually go into labor. As any pregnant Mama knows, there can be a lot of anxiety around whether or not the pains, tightness and cramping you’re feeling in the 3rd trimester are actually labor contractions, or something else…

Around 8pm on June 20th, I started feeling a little funny. I wasn’t able to pinpoint what was wrong, I just felt off. I was having contractions but they were spaced far apart and inconsistent, similar to what I had been experiencing all throughout my 3rd trimester. I decided to ignore them. It wasn’t until about midnight that the contractions picked up in pace and intensity and I was contracting every 10 minutes. They were about a minute long and much more painful than before. It’s hard to describe the level of pain but it was bad enough to keep me awake all night long. I decided to wait it out until the morning before calling my doctor.

By morning, the contractions were still intense but had slowed down to about every 30-45 minutes. I was convinced at this point that I was experiencing pre-labor pains and had nothing to worry about. I went about my morning like normal until about 11am when they picked up in frequency again. Just to be safe, I called my doctors office to explain what was going on. The advice I got was to wait another hour to see if the contractions would taper off like they did the night before. I waited. They didn’t. One more call to my doctor and I was headed into the office to get checked out. I STILL was not convinced I was in labor and fully planned on being sent back home. As we were walking out the door, I said to James, “you think we should bring our hospital bags just in case?” His exact words…”Sure, but I have a feeling we’ll be coming back home tonight.” We were both fairly certain this was NOT it!

It was around 2pm that we arrived at my doctor’s office and it was confirmed that I was 2 cm dilated. The question now was… had I been dilated for the past few days? Or did I progress in the past few hours? Based on my pain level, he was fairly certain I progressed in the past few hours, which would indicate I was in active labor and the baby was on her way. He had us head into the hospital for confirmation.

I wasn’t until our car ride to the hospital that I remember thinking for the first time… this could be it! At this point, the contractions were so uncomfortable that I was praying I wouldn’t be sent back home to wait it out. After getting checked out at the hospital it was confirmed that I was indeed in active labor. I had progressed to 3 cm since leaving my doctors office. IT WAS HAPPENING!!!

The next few hours were a mix of emotions. I was surprised, anxious, excited, nervous and in a lot of pain. When you’re having a planned c-section you assume you get to skip the active labor part…but not if your little one decides to come early! I got a taste of what it was like to labor naturally to about 6 cm. The last couple hours before my c-section my contractions were 1 minute apart, with each one becoming more and more unbearable. I seemed to be moving along so quickly that they couldn’t get an operating room ready fast enough. A required COVID test (which gave me the worst bloody nose!) held things up even longer as we waited for the results. The doctors eventually decided they didn’t want to wait any longer and risk having to deliver the baby naturally. The decision was made to move forward with my c-section assuming my COVID results were positive, taking all necessary precautions.

In case you’re wondering why I didn’t continue laboring naturally…

I was advised by all my doctors to have a second c-section. This recommendation was due to my first pregnancy resulting in an emergency c-section, combined with the fact that my pregnancies were so close (less than 13 months apart.) I could have tried for a VBAC if I really wanted to, but I fully trust my doctors and agreed that this would be the best and least risky option for both myself and baby.

Liliana was born at 5:45 on June 21st. She was born 36 weeks and 5 days, which is was technically premature (anything less than 37 weeks.) She arrived perfectly healthy at 6 lbs 7 oz. My c-section went very smoothly, I felt great following the surgery. The only concern for Lili was jaundice, which was monitored over the next few days and eventually cleared up on its own. She also lost more than 10% of her birth weight, weighing under 6 lbs by the time we brought her home. Thankfully, she took to nursing really well and gained all that weight back during her first week home.

As any parent knows, there’s nothing quite like the moment you meet your baby for the first time. There is so much anticipation and excitement leading up to the arrival. I’ll never forget the first time we saw her sweet little face! The next few hours were complete HEAVEN.

Liliana was 3 days old when we took these newborn photos. We shot the photos in the hospital ourselves, using my MIRRORLESS CAMERA. I prefer to take newborn photos myself, rather than inviting a photographer into the room (we did the same thing when EMILIA was born!) The first few days with your baby are so special and intimate. I like for the photos to feel that way as well. Here is link to my CAMERA + LENS. It’s very easy to use, I shot all these photos on auto and edited in Lightroom.