Having a Baby During a Pandemic | Our Birth Story

Get this baby out of me. I am done.

You are not listening to what they were saying. I don't understand.

It's like you try to have a baby and listen to what they're saying. In this video, we are going to talk about what it was like to have a baby during a pandemic. We're going to talk about what happened, what we did, how it went, how we handled it, all the things. So this is a little bit different than the videos that we normally do on this channel. So we would love it if you could leave a comment below, let us know your thoughts, how you liked it and if you want more behind the scenes videos like this, we'd love to do that for you.

And if you want to see me.

More because he's awesome. This is Matthew, by the way. He's my husband.

Hi, I'm Matthew, the husband, my other half.

And of course, make sure to hit that subscribe button and click the notification bell because in a couple of weeks we're going to be releasing a video on the study strategies that I use to get straight A's in nursing school. It's not one that you want to miss, friend, I promise you. You absolutely watch that video. So make sure to subscribe and hit the bell so you don't miss out. So what was it like to have a baby during a global pandemic? In a word, bananas. It was very different. Moving from January to February, then to March, then to April. Things were changing constantly. So we really had to adapt very, very quickly. And the first change that we made was that I canceled all my prenatal appointments. So back in February, we did not know how big this was going to be, you know, how big of an impact this would have on having the baby, on our life after the baby, all of the things. And because he was due in April, we thought we had plenty of time. So back in February we were like, we have plenty of time.

Yeah, this will blow over in a few. Just give it a second. It's.

Yeah, give it some time. A month, four weeks max. It'll be fine. And then late February, March, we realize this is not going away. This is not going to change.

We need to start planning for what to do.

We need to have a backup to the backup to the backup plan. Right. So I ended up canceling all of my prenatal appointments. I did not want to go to the clinic. I don't. Didn't want to be anywhere where we could possibly.

We were social distancing before. It was cool.

Yeah, we Were for sure.

And granted, too. This is our second. So you were kind of confident that you kind of felt that you knew the signs and that you felt okay. So you felt confident that. You know what, these prenatals aren't.

They're not necessary.

So especially in the time.

Don't do this. If you're having a baby, please keep your prenatal appointments. That's probably more recommended. But I decided to cancel all of mine. And so, yeah, we did the things that you would do if you cancel all your prenatal appointments. Right. We were taking my blood pressure at home. That was really probably the biggest thing for me. But we. I've never had blood pressure issues, glucose issues, anything like we're.

You were also taking your glucose.

Yeah, we were taking glucose, too. I was super low risk and super low risk, so I had no problem canceling it personally. Not recommended, though. So that's. You don't cancel them. But that was the biggest. The first change that we really made early on in the day because I just did not want to go to the clinic, didn't want to leave the house. And I was also pretty sure that he was going to come early because it was our second and our first child was on his due date. He was born on his due date, so I was pretty sure that our second was going to come early, and he did two weeks early. So. So I was so glad that that ended up, you know, we kind of missed the whole, probably the biggest, you know, string of this. I think he was born at a pretty good time when all this stuff was going down. So that was a blessing. We did end up calling the hospital every single day. So in the weeks leading up, probably, like When I hit 36 and a half, 37, I started calling the hospital every single day to make sure that we knew when. What to do. You know, everything's changing so fast.

Yeah, it was pretty crazy that. I mean, during that time, yeah, literally every day we were finding out something new and protocol was changing. So, yeah, we felt we needed to call every day. And it's. It was fun, fun, fun to see, like, all the changes and really, what. What new things will they throw at us this time?

Yeah, no kidding. And the nurse, the charge nurse actually told me, she's like, yes, you should be calling every single day because things are changing on the daily. Right. So it started out early on in, Gosh, this was probably early March, early March, early March. And she's like, well, you know, we'll just have you wear a mask if you Have a runny nose or a fever or cough, like, that's all you know, that's all we'll have you do. Just wear a mask. And then, you know, every day it started to progress to the point where we were wondering like, would he even be able to come? Like, because now they're saying that no family can come, like anyone under 16. So our first, our first child would not have been able to come to the hospital with us.

So I think the order was it was anyone under 16 was the first one to get nixed.

Nixed.

No, no, you cannot come. So that was kind of a bummer. I know that that was really a bummer for us because we did want our first to be with us.

Yeah, I really wanted that. And then I was also wondering, like, well, bummer, what happens if I go into labor at 2am and we can't get ahold of your parents? We can't get ahold of my parents. And then we 2 year old in the car with us. And then I'm definitely delivering on my own because you have to be with our two year old.

Yeah, yeah, that was, Those are the.

Thoughts going through my.

That was thoughts going through her. Christina is the futurist thinker. Just really wants to make sure that everything is tied down.

I have a plan. I have a plan which is great.

It was great for, for this.

All this happened and this is an exercise in flexibility for me, that's for sure.

Yeah.

Yeah. So that was the first thing that happened was anyone under 16 could not come. And then it, it really got, you know, it really progressed very fast where no visitors at all. Thankfully in L and D in the labor and delivery, they did allow a support person, what they call. And so one support person, him. And it had to be the same support person the entire time. So it wasn't a big deal for us. But I imagine like other people, if you had, you know, multiple family members that wanted to be a part of that, but for us, no, we were just planning on having him.

You know what, that does remind me because this is the first time that we delivered at this specific hospital. So we did go and do a tour. And I do remember that that was a question that was asked because there was a family member there that their whole family wanted to come.

And it's like a cultural thing. You know, having a baby can be, you know, a whole family experience and everyone wants to take part in it.

And again, bummer for us because our family is close by and that they did want to come see the baby after.

Yeah, but that was not something that they were allowing, you know, the hospital. So for sure, I was. I was pretty emotional about that because, of course, I wanted our first child, you know, I wanted to take pictures in the hospital, too, like with our. Our first child and now our second child, you know.

Yeah.

And all those things after. But that did not happen until we got home, so that was kind of a bummer. And then every day, you know, things were just changing and I got, you know, worried, like, what happens if you end up with allergies and they don't allow you or. And, you know, I have to deliver on my own. I was fully, emotionally preparing to deliver this child by myself.

You were definitely preparing for that. Yeah. You were mentally preparing that space that I was not going to be there.

Right. And that that was going to be my reality. But thankfully, it did not come to that. But I was worried, you know, all the things. Me as a nurse, for sure, and knowing a lot more than the general public, too, made it a little bit worse, I'm gonna say. So I was worried that, you know, what happens if I'm sick? Are they gonna take the baby from me? And we'd have to be, you know, isolated in two separate rooms, like him in the NICU and me, you know, somewhere else. An ICU perhaps. You know, all of those thoughts were going through my mind, like, I want to breastfeed, but how do I do that? You know, it's. Oh, all the things.

Yeah, you definitely went down rabbit holes of thinking about the worst that could happen. And, I mean, it's good to plan things out. But, yeah, you are a nurse. And again, kind of behind the scenes, you do know more. And that's kind of a difference between us, actually, now that you mention it, is that you. You do know all the behind the scenes things. And I'm kind of still here, happy. Go, lucky, whatever, whatever. I don't know, can't harm me. So. But once you explain those things, it's like, okay, I guess that could be a problem. I don't know. Okay.

Yeah, it definitely made it worse that I have a nurse, that's for sure, in my brain. So thankfully, he was able to come and stay when we delivered the baby. So grateful for that. We were planning, though, a bunch of things. You know, we were planning on bringing masks to the hospital. Your brother sent us some N99s that look super cool.

Yeah, he. He got those way before this evening started. So we're very grateful for that.

Yeah, for sure.

So, yeah, we did have the masks. We were planning on doing that.

We had those packed. We were planning on food. Just going out and getting food. Because for our first child, he was born like, what, 45 minutes away. Like, it was a pretty long drive to our. The hospital we first delivered at. And so for that, we brought like this monster size cooler with food and stuff.

We did. We did over pack. Also, the hospital was kind of out of the way. It wasn't close by anything. So we're like, well, we don't want to leave. And do we really want hospital food the whole time? I don't know.

There weren't like, restaurants around in that area. Like, it's a pretty isolated hospital, so.

So we decided to bring a cooler and you have to lug it around and. Well, I had to lug it around. Christina was lugging around a baby.

Was lugging around a baby. Thank you.

So. But it was. It was kind of a hassle. And like, we were just planning, you know what? This is a different hospital. It's close to everything.

Way closer to our house.

It's a whole three years later after our firstborn. And so everyone does Uber eats and all this other stuff. So it's like, yeah, let's just order in and just order everything in. Order all the things in. So that was our plan.

And then what happened? No restaurants available anymore. So that quickly changed. So you had packed. Did you actually end up packing a cooler? Sea.

I don't remember. Yeah. So still we were thinking, well, could I leave, get food and come back?

We didn't know if the hospital would allow that.

We did not know. And so we decided, you know what? We do need food. So I did end up getting a massive cooler. Another massive cooler. This one had wheels on it. So this was. That was a little easier.

We were so prepared.

But yeah, we. We loaded that thing up. It is also kind of fun. This is. This was this hospital again. New hospital, new experience that labor and delivery and also postpartum was in the same room. So that was. That was nice.

We didn't have to move anywhere. In our first hospital, We. I delivered in one room, and then we had to move upstairs to the postpartum.

So I had to lug the cooler from one to, like, the fifth floor or something.

I don't know what you're complaining about. I had the baby the whole time, and I had a baby inside of me. I say that that trumps monster cooler. Lugging it up the stairs.

All right.

So we had planned for food, and I had planned for delivering on my own. Those were probably the biggest kind of differences. We brought masks. We were wanting to make sure that anybody that came into their room washed their hands. Obviously, nobody was sick. When we got to the hospital, too, they were checking everybody's temperature. Everything is going on. Everyone's being super cautious. Everything was different, which was really, you know, gave me a lot more peace of mind that, okay, this is okay.

You know, I guess the other thing that was also blessing, again, this is a really great hospital. That the entrance was its own entrance. The whole building was separate from. From the rest of the hospital. So actually, it did feel safe.

Yeah, it felt a lot safer. We didn't have to when we got there, you know, because labor and delivery was a completely, like, almost separate building. We didn't even have to go through the General Hospital or through the emergency department. Like, we have another here that you have to go through the emergency room to get to labor and delivery. That was not the case for the hospital we delivered at, which was so nice because we knew it was a little more isolated, a little more away from, you know, all the. All the tents they had outside the emergency room. So we didn't have to go over in that area. It was a little bit safer for baby. So that was really, really nice.

Definitely. Definitely a blessing there.

So that was our plan. We had planned to bring a cooler plan to bring the masks, you know, all the things we wanted to make sure that we were safe. Baby was saf. Everyone was safe. So I had been calling every day, like I said, and I finally went into labor, or what I thought, well, was labor. I. I did not think I was in labor, you guys. Like, I did not.

We didn't know what it was. You definitely, definitely started feeling.

I. Okay, for the record and for some context, I was in pro dermal labor with our first from, like, what was it, 28, 29 weeks of on. So I was having serious contractions regularly with our first child that. I mean, by the time we got to the hospital with him, I mean, it was, yeah, go time, thankfully, for all those weeks of contractions. But for our second, that didn't happen. I wasn't in prodermal labor, so I was just having the, you know, standard kind of Braxton Hicks periodically, but it wasn't anything major.

Yeah.

And so it was about. It was like, evening time, dinner time. And I started feeling like, okay, these contractions are getting more serious. But it was like the prodermal ones I had had before with our first. And so I was like, that's not that big of a deal. This is me. Again, it's not that big of a deal.

You did start timing it. And that's the other thing, too, is, like, the timing would change.

It would go down and then up. It was like 15 minutes apart, 20 minutes apart, 10 minutes apart. And so, like, through the night, I tried to get a little bit of sleep, but they kept waking me up. And so that's when I really started timing. And I was like, okay. So it was like 10. I think it was about 10, 15 at night. And I really started timing them. And I didn't sleep that night, unfortunately. But by the time, you know, morning came, it was like. I think it was about 5 in the morning when I had woke you up, and I said, this could be it. Contractions are, you know, five minutes apart. And, you know, they're pretty intense. I can still talk through them, but, you know, they're. They're there and they're five minutes apart. So you.

I took our first to my parents, and it's great that they're just pretty close. Pretty close. And that they were ready to. And again, this was early. This was two weeks before.

Two weeks before the due date.

Due date. But thankfully, they were ready. They were ready. So brought our first up and said, okay, well, we'll see what happens, and we'll call you. Keep in touch.

I called my parents, told them, you know, baby's coming. We're gonna go to the hospital.

This was early morning. Yeah. Five, six. Around there?

Yeah.

Five, six a.m. and I remember because I'm like, all right, so I'm gonna run up to my parents and drop off our first and then run back, and then we'll just jump in the car and then go. So I came back, and Chrissy is just, like, sitting there eating. What are you doing? Let's go. She's like, I think we're all right.

It's okay. It's not a big deal. I was like, well, the contractions, they kind of stopped. They were five minutes apart. Some were three minutes apart, but now they're like seven, 10 minutes far. It's not a big deal. That's not a big deal. I was like, I can still talk through them. So you know what we'll do? We'll just eat, and then I'm gonna go take a nap. I told him that I was gonna go take a nap because I didn't sleep that night. And so that's exactly what we did. We ended up eating.

Eating. You tried napping?

I did Take a nap. I think it was like an hour and a half, but still. I mean, I could still feel the contractions a little bit, but they weren't super intense. I did sleep. I did sleep, though. And I woke up. My mom had texted me, you know, how's. Where are you?

Where. Are you gonna text us when you get there? Are you there yet?

I'm like, we're still at home. I'm taking a nap. Oh, man. It's fine. It's all good. No big deal. And so I woke up from the nap, and I think we ate probably a little bit more because, you know. You know, when you go to the hospital, you're not gonna be eating right. So I was, like, stuffing my face.

Yeah, that's the other thing again, difference from first to second. First we were. Just went straight. And we were starving the whole time. So, like, that's one thing. You're like, oh, we're gonna eat before we go. And we're gonn.

We're gonna be prepared for this. And, yeah, so we ate more. And then what did I decide to do? I decided to do laundry and go watch a Hallmark movie.

Well, we didn't have our first. And you know what? We had cleared our schedule and everything, so what else can we do? We'll watch a Hallmark movie. We haven't done that in a while.

I'll do laundry. We'll watch a Hallmark movie. It's all good. So we were watching the Hallmark movie, and I was doing laundry, and I started feeling like, okay, this could be real labor. But I was also worried because it kind of seemed to be stalling out. Like, it was starting and stopping, which I thought was kind of weird. That did not happen with our first. So I just. I wanted to go in to make sure that he was okay. Yeah, right. I really just wanted to make sure he was okay. So I didn't think it was real labor. I just thought that, you know, I just wanted to check on the baby. So we. We drove down. On the way down there, you know, I call. I think I called my. Or at least I texted my mom to say, okay, we're officially going to the hospital now. And she was, you know, grateful. And I was also on the phone with Nicole, who is our community manager for nursing sos I was on the phone with her. I was telling her, okay, girl, we're, like, going to the hospital now.

It's probably nothing.

It's probably nothing. But let's just have a team meeting here really quick, because. So I was, like, filling her in with all the things that we had to do and, like, get done. And for the record, she was six days postpartum herself. Nicole and I, our community manager and myself, were due in the same week, and she happened to have her baby six days earlier than I had mine. So that was fun. So we're like, you know, we're on the phone. I'm going through all the things. It's fine because I could still talk through the contractions, right? Like, I could feel them.

Yeah, that's what they say, that. Oh, you won't be able to talk or whatever.

Yeah, right. They'll be, like, super intense. You won't be able to talk through them. Don't go to the hospital until you know they're intense. Right. And that's not what happened. So I was still able to talk through them. So I'm like, no, this is not real labor. So we get to the hospital and we go to triage, and they hook me up to all these things. Right. You know, you got all the monitors and the blood pressure and the contraction monitor and all the things. And the nurse said, well, I was like, well, they're coming and going. You know, the contractions are coming and going. I don't know if it's real labor or not. And the nurse is like, it's probably not, because the contractions, when they start, they will, you know, know, most likely, you know, keep going or. Or probably it probably isn't real labor, because when you're in real labor, contractions will just continue to get worse. Obviously, that's not the case because she had looked at the monitor, the doctor came in. What were we, six centimeters?

Yeah, we were six already.

And six centimeters. And, like, all the effacement, basically. Right. And the nurse had said, oh, yeah, your contractions are four minutes apart. But the thing was, is I was not feeling them.

I was feeling like every other one.

I was feeling like every other one, and I was feeling like the bigger ones. Like, you. At one point, we're looking at the monitor, like, whoa, babe, you just went off the paper there. I was like, granted, you did feel that one. Tell me about it.

You did feel that one. But, like, in between them, like, they're a little.

They're like, you know, more. I don't know. They were, like, in the middle of the paper somewhere, and they were definitely happening. You were just not feeling every single one. No. So that's why I'm thinking that. I was thinking that it was starting and stopping. It was probably just getting you Know, more intense each time, but I was just not, you know, aware of it. It was, like, tightening, but it wasn't, like, serious. I felt like it was not serious. Please, friends, if you are having a baby, don't listen to any. This is not advice. Like, go to the hospital. Listen to your doctor. Don't follow anything that I did. Like, it's our second. I'll be fine. It's no big deal. So they send us to a room because the doctor's like, well, yep, you're in labor. You're stay.

Yeah.

And an hour later, we made it to the hospital.

We did make it to the hospital. So we went. We were at triage at, like, 11:30.

In triage, and then, you know, they told us, yes, you're in labor. Go to our room. So we went to the room, and.

And I went and got my cooler, my giant cooler, and lugged it on in and got all set up.

That's my thing.

Thing.

It's my cool. That's your baby. Oh, my goodness. And so we're obviously having a baby. And it was like he was born, I think, two hours later. I was super worried that we were not gonna make it to the hospital because just in the weeks leading up to delivery, he was just so low, and I could just feel it, like, I was like, he's just gonna slip on out of there. Kind of how I felt, like, how it happened.

I remember you saying. Even this is a tangent, but whatever. I remember you saying, well, maybe that's a good thing. Maybe we'll just deliver at home anyway because you didn't want to deal with all this. Whatever.

I didn't. I was like, why don't we just, like, have the baby at home? Of course, if you guys have been around here for a while, you know that I have a pacemaker, so I do have heart stuff going on. And the doctor's like, absolutely not. No home birth for you. No water birth for you. You're doing this thing in a hospital with doctors. No other option. So I was like, okay, well, I can do that, but maybe next time I'll, like, like, third baby.

You sure it's okay?

I think I should make my own rules. I'm fine. Yeah, famous last words, right? So, you know, it was like, two hours. Two hours of, you know, laboring at the hospital, which was, you know, they definitely got more and more intense and. And thankfully, seriously, praise the Lord, for our first child. I pushed you guys. I pushed for three hours. Let's just. Let's just have a Moment. For that three hours, I pushed for that child to get him out. He came out like this. He got a little bit stuck, so everybody says.

He was like.

He was like this. Could you imagine? I did not only have to birth a head, I had to birth a head, a hand, a wrist, and an arm and an elbow. All of it at the same time. That was very hard for this one. I was so done. I was so done.

This, you know, this whole thing, it was. It was very quick.

Yeah, it was very quick. So by the time pushing came, like, literally, it was like, I think, wasn't I on my side? And I was like, I'm just kidding. Didn't they say that? I'm just gonna lay down for just a couple. Just a couple minutes on my side, and then, you know, I'll start, you know, back up, like, laboring, whatever. And this is like a natural delivery. I. For both. For all of the kids we'll ever have. I just don't want any medications or anything, so I didn't have an epidural. I didn't have any medications. I was just. Just me. And so I was on my side. I was like, I'm just gonna rest for a little bit. And immediately, I think when I said that, my water broke, and I remember saying two things. I remember saying water pushing. That's all I remember saying.

So it was. It was interesting watching from this side of the bed. Yeah. Because definitely leading up to it, yeah, you were push dilation and effacement was occurring, and you were not quite there.

But contractions and all the contractions. Not pushing, like, contractions, you know.

Yeah, not at all.

It was okay. It was fine.

Yeah.

And then. And.

But then once. Once the water broke, that was like, go time.

It was like. It got real, real quick.

And, yeah, I kind of laughed at myself because, like, before, even while we were. While we were driving to the hospital, like, well, my water hasn't broke. I would. It would be nice to have that kind of experience that. Oh, my water, bro. To go into the hospital, like the movies or whatever, it's like, all right, time to go. I haven't asked you yet, actually. Was that a fun experience?

Not a fun experience.

No. Okay.

I do not want that to happen going forward in my life. No.

Can you imagine it happening just at home? At home, it's like, oh, and then.

Having serious contractions on the way to the hospital. No, thank you. I do not want to have that. But I have heard that, like, if your water breaks and you're not Quite there yet. Then it's like, not that bad.

Okay.

You know, but who knows? It's different for everybody. But for me, I know both times for both kids, my water has broken right before I delivered. In both cases, even after three hours of pushing for our first, my water did not break until the very last second.

Very end.

Very end. So same thing for our second. So my. I was on my side, My water broke. And I just remember saying that I said, ow, water, ow. Pushing. Are actually the four things I said. Ow, water, ow, pushing. And so I turned, and I was pushing. And. Four minutes, you guys. Four minutes and four pushes. So done. Four pushes. It was like kind of an extended push. I was like, I'm not stopping. Get this baby out of me. I am done.

You are not listening to what they were saying. I don't understand.

It's like, you try to have a baby and listen to what they're saying.

Well, because.

Yes.

You were just constantly pushing, and they're like, stop, stop, stop. Because you need to get a breath to do the final push.

Yeah.

And so they were. And you're like, what. What did you say?

Yeah, I actually asked her. I was like, what am I supposed to do? I think I literally did ask her that. Like, what am I supposed to do? Tell me what I'm supposed to do. And they told me to stop. And then I, like, took a little breath in. And then final push. And I think his head came out. Or, like, did everything come out? Oh, that was the shoulders. Okay. I was so done. Four minutes of pushing. Praise the Lord. It was.

It was really quick, like, when. When it started, too, because for our first, you're like, oh, can I get a mirror? Because you wanted to see and stuff. They didn't even get that out.

They were, like, pulling it out. Yeah, literally, I. The doctors told me that I scared them. So afterwards, like, the doctors and nurses, they were like, yes, we were very worried because actually, before this, I was in the tub. I told them. I was like, can I just be, like, in the tub? Like, in the shower?

Well, again, for the first at home helped the most with the pain is you in the tub. And we had a little.

The shower head down, just on my back.

On your back. I really like that. And, like, it was taking a little while for the. For you. Complete dilating and all that. So, like, well, can we just go in the.

Can I just go in the tub for a little bit?

Like, well, he might fall out in the tub. I don't know.

Yeah, they were really worried about me, because there was, like, almost there. And by the time we got from the shower to the bed, it had only been two contractions.

And then the water.

And then my water broke. So praise the Lord, we made it, you guys. Or that baby would have been delivered in that tub.

We would have had a water birth.

We would have had a water birth. That was my dream. Yeah. So it all worked out. And he was healthy. Happy. Apgar score was 8. It's out of 10. I think he was an 8. Our first was a 9. I think he was a little more blue.

Yeah, I think that's what it was.

This is what they told us. Yeah, he was a little more blue, but he was good. So that was that really, really quick. And then, you know, so we couldn't have family there. The nurses, you know, they did seem to limit how many people were in the room. You know, there really was, like, especially postpartum, you know, only one nurse, really, at a time. And, you know, the doctors, you know, everyone kind of leaves and, you know, kind of clean up and everything. And my parents did bring us food at the hospital. They dropped it off outside the hospital to him.

Apparently, that was okay that I could le. Leave the lobby and go into the driveway and then get the food and then come back.

Yeah.

So as long as they had, like, visual of what I was doing, they didn't have to, like, check my temperature again or do anything like that.

Yeah. So. Yep. So that was nice. We did have food. We did like, burgers, right?

Yes.

And a milkshake. Because, you know, after a baby, you have a burger. That's what happens. So. Yep, we did that. My parents did that. And we were only there for six hours after. That was another huge difference between, well, just regular labor and delivery. In the United States, we like to have our mamas stay at the hospital for. It depends on if you had a natural birth or vaginal birth or cesarean section or C section. But anywhere from, like, 24 to maybe 36 hours after you deliver your baby in the U.S. that's kind of our standard now. They let us go after six.

They're like, we haven't really done this before, and we're not sure, but let's check with the doctors.

Not sure how it's gonna work. Do we really do this?

They said that they did have that discussion that morning before we even came in, that they circled up and they were talking, and they're like, okay, well, maybe if everything is perfect, then after six hours after baby, then they could. A mom and mom, dad and baby could go home. And they were just toying with that idea that morning is what they said. And then we're like, hey, we want to do that?

Then we arrived.

Can we try that?

You guys know, I'm like, let's just have the baby at home. So I was like, please? After six hours, please.

Yeah, we didn't want to stay there. They didn't want to. Well, I'm sure they could have accommodated it, but everything went ideally with him.

And we're very low risk. We would not have left if I was high risk, if I had hypertension or preeclampsia or glucose issues or, you know, any risk of bleeding at all. You know, thankfully I was, you know, breastfeeding. Really, really, you know, well, that was all a stuff. He was a champ, like right out the gate and, you know, so everything seemed to be going well, you know, everything might hope that. No guys are like, watching this video. My uterus was contracting really well, just like it should. No bleeding problems, you know, none of that or they wouldn't have let us go. Right. So we were very low risk.

It was the low risk and ideal birth.

And even the doctor said, like, the doctor said, you're probably the perfect candidate to do this the first time because, like, there's really genuinely no issues before the baby. And it is our second. I felt like that if it was our first, they wouldn't have let us go. But because it was our second, you know, we're like, please let us go. We just wanted to go home. And yeah, it had been a long kind of, you know, 48 hours.

Yeah. So he was born at 159, and then we were just kind of hanging out, doing the tests. That's the other thing too, is that they want to get as many tests done as possible.

Yep. Before we left.

Before we left. And also the stipulation is that we come back in 24 hours to do the last bit of testing and just to check on him.

But all the 24 hour labs that you have to do after a baby is born, particularly the bilirubin, like the jaundice test, they had to do that. So we did have to go back to the hospital 24 hours later. A little over 24 hours later, they told us. So we did end up doing that. And then we had two days later. Right. We had the weight check, you know, make sure it was the lactation appointment. So make sure his weight's gaining well and, you know, breastfeeding is going well and all those Things. So it was pretty smooth after that. You know, like I said, second child, he was a champ with feeding, like, no issues. Kids gaining weight like crazy. So I had no concerns, genuinely.

Yeah.

And he was also a lot less jaundice than his brother. His brother was a lot more jaundice. You know, with you being Filipino, that was, you know, an issue. We actually weren't sure if they would let us go after six hours because of the jaundice thing.

Yeah, we were wondering about that.

He did. They did take a jaundice test right when we were there in the hospital.

They did. And then they passed. Yeah, he passed.

Okay. He did pass.

Everything just lined up. And it was just a blessing that we were able to do that. So I guess the other thing that they were kind of worried about too, was the hearing test, because usually they don't do that until a lot later, but they did it, like, right before he left. And he passed.

He passed. Everything was good. Yep. The pediatrician saw him, the doctor saw me. No issues. You can go. And so we got home at 8:30 around there. And the first thing that we did. So another difference is the first thing that we did was we took off all our clothes. Baby. Us. We all took a shower. Like, we bathed him way sooner than we bathed our first child. And you know, we're like, okay, clothes in the laundry. We're taking showers. We are sanitizing everything that went to the hospital with us.

I remember that my cooler needed to be sanitized, and it took a long time because it's a big cooler.

I was sanitizing it, did the whole thing. Our phones, our glasses, like, wee Lysol, Clorox, whatever, everything. So that was tough. And still, you know, like, anytime, you know, you go out anywhere, we're still like, okay, clothes up, let's shower. You know, clothes in the. In the laundry. Want to make sure everything is clean. So that's what we did when we came home from the hospital, which hopefully helped.

Yeah. And so definitely that's. That's another. Like you said, it's another difference because right out the gate.

Bathed him a lot.

Right out of the gate, he got. He got a bath.

Yep. And they were actually doing that in the hospital. They asked us if we wanted to have a bath in the hospital. They usually don't do that nowadays, but with everything going on, they do because they want to, you know, bathe the babies right after they come out, decrease possible contamination. But we said no because we were leaving. Yes. We're like, like, see you Later. We'll do it when we get home. Yeah, bye. So that's how that worked out. Again, don't take this as advice, friends. This is not medical advice. Don't listen to us. Don't do what we do, what we say, not as we do. That's the moral of this.

You guys asked, so we're telling. That's about it.

That's about it. Unfortunately, though, with all of this happening, my parents did not see him until two weeks, roughly two weeks after he was born. And so talk about, like my emotions postpartum. Let's just talk about the breakdowns I had after this baby. I mean, it was easier because we were all home. So it was easier in that extent. It was our second child. We weren't like shocked as far as, you know, all these things are happening and, you know, this huge change. No, it was really just, you know, we're big. It wasn't like a huge change and not a big deal. It's a big deal having another baby. But we, we were more prepared for it. We knew what to do. We already knew how to change a diaper. It's no big deal. Yeah, so that was better. But the thing was really emotional for me was the fact that my parents could not see him. And I just balled my eyes out. I could not handle that.

Yeah, you did have a tough time with that.

That was very difficult in, you know. Well, it was very difficult for the whole two weeks. Right? I mean, we did, we, we did the FaceTime.

Yeah, technology is great.

FaceTime or pretty much every day we did that and are still doing that every day.

Yeah, technology is great. I mean, I know that you're trying to figure out, okay, well, what if they just stand outside the window or what if they just do this?

I was trying to go through like.

All trying to figure it out, just trying to, oh, how can they.

But all of the ways to figure out how, you know, how I can make it work and kind of like finagle it, right, to make it hold their breath or whatever, don't sneeze, know all those things. But no, we did, we did do the whole 14 day thing and now my parents are able to see him. So, yeah, I was very emotional there in the beginning. That was very, very hard for me because with our first, my mom was here constantly helping out, you know, holding him, letting me shower or sleep or all the things. But then also the, the other positive thing is that you were not going to work. It was actually because you quit your job last year. Because you're now the CEO of nursing sos. So. So we both actually work from home by default. So he was not for our. For our second. He was not going to work every day. Yeah, still is going to work every day.

That was definitely different. Yeah. Having to, with our first, still get up and then go to work and then come home and then deal with. Deal with that. So, yeah, it was definitely a blessing to be able to just stay at home also with our first, like, I really didn't take any time off at all.

No, you didn't. But yeah, it was definitely more, I think, more tough like in that postpartum for me, because it's like a first child and you don't know what. You don't know when you have your first baby. So this did go a lot smoother for that fact that he was home and helping out and we were getting more sleep because of that. But then still not seeing my parents was a huge deal for me. I. I just bawled my eyes out constantly. That was very, very, very tough. That was really tough.

Thankfully, my parents were around to help out with our first.

They had been quarantining, you know, and.

So they were able to take our first. And he really loves spending nights there now, so it was nice to. To have that kind of respite a little bit.

Yeah, it did help out a lot.

Yeah.

Yep. I do have questions that our Instagram friends wanted to know, so let me grab those.

We have Instagram friends.

I have Instagram friends. Do you have Instagram friends?

I do not. I do not have friends.

You don't have friends. Okay, let me pull these up. How was it having a baby during a pandemic? I hope we covered that. It was crazy, Bananas, nuts.

It was fine.

It was fine. Yeah. It was different. I'm gonna go with it was different.

10 out of 10 would do again.

If we could do the six hour thing again, that would totally.

You did ask about that. And they're like, yeah, I asked.

I was like, so next time can we leave after six hours? Like, can you just put it in my chart or something? Like, put it in there. Like, by the way, doctor, for the next baby, she can leave after six hours. And they're like, absolutely not.

So one time thing.

Breastfeed or bottle feed? Breastfeed. I have breastfed both of our babies. None of them were on formula. But for the first one, we did do bottles because we wanted. I wanted you to be able to feed him. Right. So I did pump a little bit. That's the difference between the first and the second. And now I'm like, please.

Okay. That's another difference. Right. Because we didn't do as much skin to skin. And this one's like, no, you'll just feed him. And like, you don't need a bottle feed him.

He's fine. It's no big deal. No big deal. Because I just don't want to clean any bottles, right? I don't want to. This is such a hassle. And then also, if you're breastfeeding and bottle feeding, if. Have you guys done this, like, breastfed and bottle fed? Because you're waking up, like, every hour. It's not like, yeah, you need a. I have to pump anyway. Like, it hurts. It physically hurts if you go past a certain amount of time. So I had to pump anyway. I was up anyway. I was like, well, I mean, that kind of defeats the purpose of bottle feeding in my mind. I mean, you don't get to feed him. You don't get that, like, emotional. But do you feel, like, emotionally disconnected from him because you're not bottle feeding him.

Not at all.

Yeah. So it's not a big deal. All right, next question. Hospital or home birth? I wish it was a home birth, but they don't let me do. Do that. So hospital birth for this one. Maybe I'll get away with it next time.

We'll see.

Or the time after that. By the way, how many kids do you want to have?

However many you want.

I think it depends on who you ask in this relationship. Because I. I felt like when we started having kids, I said, okay, my number's five. Like, I want five kids. That sounds like a good number. I want five kids. And then we had our first, and I was like, maybe we just have five more kids.

And, you know, it's gonna be answers. Just five more.

Yeah, I just want five more. No, this is the same thing. I just. I think five more would be great. So now we're up to seven.

My thing is always even number. Right. Because they. I always heard that. Even number. So there's no middle child syndrome. So I don't know.

The middle child syndrome being like, the one that's left out.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

They, like, eventually we'll take care of each other and it'll be fine. We'll have like nine kids. We'll have like 12 kids. Kids that. See, that doesn't sound like too many in my mind. Well, okay, fine.

At a certain point in time, they're going to start raising themselves.

Yeah. So, you know, it's fine. It's fine.

That's fine.

Yeah. Because by the time we get to, like, nine, then our oldest will be.

Yeah, the oldest one can take care.

And it's just a cycle. Yeah, it'll be a cycle.

So, yeah, it is hospital for this one.

Yep. And then the next question is, how long was it? I think all in total, depending on, like, how you count the whole labor process, because I did go into labor. Yeah.

I'd say that you went in to labor the previous night.

The night before. Yeah. So. But it didn't really feel like that to me until really, like, an hour before he came out. I felt like. And I'm glad that we went to the hospital when we did, because I may have pushed it a little too far.

Yeah. There's a couple really key timing things that we were just really blessed to have hit that we actually went in.

Yeah. When we did that.

We did. And. And not later. And then also, probably the biggest one is that you came out of the shower when you did.

Yeah, those are the two. That was probably the bigger one, because that was, like, literally two contractions after I got out of that tub. He was born. So there's the thing. Very, very blessed. Yeah. The doctor said. Yeah, yeah. You made us nervous. They were all sitting out there, like, you know, just waiting, making sure that this baby's not gonna slip out on the bathtub. Oh, well. So that is what it was like to have a baby during a pandemic. Now I also do not want to forget that we have dun, dun, Dun, dun. Our YouTube comment of the week, and this one comes from Haley. Hi, Hayley.

Hayley, Hayley.

Thank you so much for this video. You explained it so clearly. Abgs on my nursing exam coming up. If you guys need help with ABGs, we have lots of videos about them. I think it's a pretty cool explanation of them, and I think it really helps you out.

I have a question. What are ABGs?

Arterial blood gases. So, all right. Not a nurse. Totally fine. I love it. It's hilarious. But he does edit all the videos, and he'll come to me and be like, I did not know that was a good thing.

So much.

It's crazy. Yeah. And it's all the videos for YouTube and our Nursing SOS membership community. The membership community is really where the majority of all those things are, because we do all the patho videos, all, you know, videos on nursing assessment and interventions for all the disorders and everything, signs and symptoms. Like, we cover it all inside of our membership Community. So you learn a lot by editing those videos.

It's pretty amazing.

Do you feel like you could go to nursing school or that you would want to go to nursing school?

No, no, no. It takes a special person and that is not me.

It's awesome. So this was different. If you guys liked this video and you want to see Matthew Moore, you want to see more behind the scenes stuff, you want to just sit down and chat with us. Totally cool. Let us know in the comments below because that could be kind of fun to do more often. And like I said in a future video, in a couple of weeks, right? A couple of weeks, I will be. We will be posting a video on the study strategies that I use to get straight A's in nursing school. Do you think you could get straight A's in nursing school?

I could get straight letters. I'm not sure what letters those would be. What letters do I need to pass?

That's great. Oh, man. So we will be posting that video up. Make sure that you subscribe and hit the bell so you do not miss out. Because friends. Seriously, Seriously, seriously. It's gonna help you so much. And do you wanna point? Where do we point? There's two of us.

I think it'll be right down here is where I'm gonna put it.

Okay.

Yeah, I'm gonna try anyway.

All right, you know what?

I say yes, but you can say it.

Click on one of these videos right over here so you can keep rocking nursing school and my friend, go become the nurse that God created only you to be.

Not me, you.

And we'll catch you in the next video. Take care, friend. Bye. Bye.