My Whirlwind Pregnancy — The Birth Story Prequel
Let’s begin with the fact that I am a Virgo, thus I love (and honestly need) to have a plan for everything.
My birth was no exception. However, almost all of the birth prep I did encouraged the action of letting go – so I did my very best to do that in all areas during my pregnancy…because let’s be real, SO much of my experience was out of my hands.
Read on.
Rewinding to last April when I found out I was pregnant, Riley and I were finishing up his hockey season in Buffalo, New York. He was heading into free agency again, so we didn’t know if we’d be back in the fall, but I obviously went in to the doctor there to confirm my pregnancy and check in. I immediately got good vibes from the OB we visited, and she gave us the exciting news that I was indeed pregnant, and that our due date was indeed Christmas day.
Cosmic side story: Riley’s due date was Christmas day, he arrived December 7th. Riley’s sister’s birthday is the 26th. Riley’s mom, and her identical twin, were born on Christmas day. AND Their older brother, Riley’s uncle, was also born on Christmas day. Needless to say, we have a strange connection with Christmas babies – but I always hoped my little one would choose to arrive on his or her own day! And he did just that :)
The season ended, and we headed and we headed home to Chicago for the summer. Introducing doctor number two; my OB growing up and the doctor I would see for the summer months of my pregnancy. I was excited and relaxed to have the familiarity of her office and the recognizable surroundings of the hospital I knew. But, I still knew this probably wouldn’t be where I gave birth because of Riley’s career & our transient lifestyle. I’d be lying if I said the suspense of not knowing where I’d actually give birth didn’t give me A LOT of anxiety.
Let’s remember, I wanted a plan … I wanted to know who would care for our dog, who I could call to take me to the hospital if Riley was on a road trip, how far from home we’d be for the family to come and visit once the baby arrived…Etc. Etc. I didn’t get to sit with the comfort of any of that. I had to let that go.
Fast forward to September. Riley signed with Seattle’s new team, and off to the PNW we went. It was time to find my third OB, and decide on a hospital to hopefully lock in as our final destination when it was baby time. Just a few months out from my due date, it felt really good to walk into the new OB’s office and immediately get flooded with good energy. Every person I met there was wonderful. I decided to hire a doula because both Riley and I wanted someone to guide us through the kind of birth I desired. The woman we signed on with was fantastic, super experienced (we’re talking 800+ births people), and also gave us such positive vibes – our prenatal meetings with her left us feeling more confident that both of us would feel empowered on our big day.
I was staying fit, active, and feeling super good throughout all of this. Continuing to strengthen my mindset as much as my body, and boy I am so thankful I did.
November rolled around, and I was heading back from a walk with Ryder where I grabbed my favorite bagel from Panera – cinnamon crunch, toasted, with honey walnut cream cheese – then I got a call from Riley. He explains he is being put on waivers. We weirdly, and anxiously, wait the 24 hour time period to see if A) he’d be picked up by another team… leaving his 8 month pregnant wife or B) he’d clear waivers and be sent to the AHL affiliate across the country in Charlotte, North Carolina…leaving his 8 month pregnant wife. Our fate was the latter, and he left reluctantly left for his 5+ hour flight after making me a pancake breakfast – such a sweetheart.
So, I carry on in Seattle by myself (with my emotional support bestie, Ryder, obviously). Getting bigger everyday and constantly reminding myself to stick to my plan but not to have any expectations. We will get Riley back in time, it may just look and feel different than we thought – that’s okay. Let go. Everything works out how it should. We spoke to my doctor about induction, even though I didn’t really want to do that, because I also really wanted Riley to be present for the birth — for his sake and for mine. So we had a date semi-set and Riley would just come home and miss a few games if need be. I found comfort knowing that I had my doula on standby to help if I went into labor early and didn’t feel as alone – until she let me know her mother was very ill and she had to return to her home country … before Christmas. So now my husband was gone, and my doula is leaving. COOL. My girlfriends and family were constants for me during my pregnancy – but I had a few physically show up right after Riley headed East, and looking back, having them with me helped so much in reviving my energy and keeping me positive. So grateful for them.
Riley was called back to the NHL (where he belongs… no offense to the decision makers! [eye roll]) and met the Kraken on a road trip before returning to Seattle. THANK GOD. Things felt like they were back to ‘normal’ and the path to baby Sheahan’s birthday looked a little more clear.
I was out for another leisurely stroll with Ryder, 9 months pregnant, and waddling around town the best I could. I grabbed another one of my favorite bagels from Panera, I couldn’t get enough carbs. As I ate it, Riley called. “I tested positive for Covid.” Okay, f**k these cursed ass bagels!!! Never eating one again. First, Riley gets sent away and now he has Covid and our baby is due in just a couple weeks! WHAT ELSE UNIVERSE?! He had to quarantine obviously, but not in our apartment because I had tested negative and we didn’t want to risk it. So he lived across the street for 10 days…not exactly the pre-baby bond strengthening time we’d hoped for. Riley was just about done with his mandated 10 days, when I called him crying because I couldn’t smell anything. “I’m not going to be able to smell my baby!”
I tested positive for Covid, a week and a half before my due date…had to quarantine for 10 days… and missed two check ups with my doctor. Luckily, Riley was clear and could be with me at home in our apartment – I had already been through a lot and I needed him for this…I was near my breaking point emotionally. I just wanted to be able to deliver my baby safely. So we went from planning an induction to get things going early, to being told that I needed my baby to stay put until the 28th… no big deal.
This was my last check up, post-covid, monitoring little Slater on December 28th
Being super low key and inactive during that quarantine was really hard for me. I had been super motivated to do the opposite for the entire time leading up to this, so needless to say the combination of being sedentary and also very afraid that I could deliver while I had Covid was just a tough combo. However, I didn’t lose sight of how beneficial all of my mental preparation had been; I was mentally tough, and I could get through this too. Calm mom, calm baby. No expectations, this baby would come when it was ready. We all hung in there, I made it to see my doc in real life on Tuesday the 28th and ended up going into labor early on the 29th. Slater waited until the perfect, safe, moment to make his move.
Everything works out how it should.
