On September 12th, after a tough week, we finally met our beautiful baby boy. Baby Joaquin dramatically burst into our lives, and our hearts tripled. The day you’ve been waiting for so long comes so suddenly. And it’s completely different from how you can ever imagine it to be.
We’d already waited an extra two weeks before we were even close to meeting our baby boy. I was due on the 28th of August, but there was still no sign of him when we had the induction call on the 9th of September. It was heartbreaking waiting. Receiving a daily phone call from the hospital to let me know today would not be our day. We watched everyone in our NCT group having their babies while we patiently waited for our turn. There were a lot of stress tears, and days spent just waiting for my phone to ring. Finally, on the Monday it did, and we landed in hospital.
Even then it wasn’t easy. I ended up with double contractions but nothing else, which was agony, then a further wait. The Tuesday was Spinney’s birthday, so we were sure our baby would be born then and they’d end up with matching days. But they didn’t. Spinney spent his birthday sitting in a hospital chair – where he also slept for four nights – eating out of a vending machine.
Finally, on the Wednesday afternoon, we started seeing some movement and thought it was time to meet our boy. But all night still nothing. In the morning, the midwife invited a doctor to see us, and they made the decision that the baby and I needed some help. We were taken to surgery for a forceps delivery. It was the single most frightening moment of my life. I was worried about myself making it through, but even more worried about our baby not being okay. It was traumatic. Meanwhile, Spinney is still there, watching this all happening.
Thursday morning, a total of fifteen days overdue and three days after we’d walked into the hospital, Joaquin was born. He entered the world in a room full of bright lights and doctors. Not the relaxing vibe we’d been planning for, but the safest and most controlled option.
We are so blessed to have such a chilled-out little boy, and we already love him so much. We’ve spent all day everyday with him since we’ve been home. I feel like I’ve studied every hair on his head. Even though his arrival into the world wasn’t the easiest, he’s more than made up for it in the weeks after. Thank you to everyone so far who’s sent messages to us and our new little boy. I can’t wait to share more of him with you.
