Last summer, my sister and my brother-in-law came to visit us for the weekend, as they have done hundreds of times before. We were eating lunch outside, having a casual conversation about Avery’s birthday (which was several months away) when Danielle asked the kids if they wanted a cousin for Avery’s birthday. And that’s where our journey started.
For nearly nine years, I’ve been the only one in my family who has had children. The kids have been spoiled rotten by my “Danni and Chips” as they are affectionately known. If they could spend time with anyone other than myself and MacKay, it would be, without a doubt, Danni and Chips. I witnessed their love for my children and how they treated them as their own. If this is the love they show for their nieces and nephew, I could only imagine the love and affection they would give their own.
My sister’s pregnancy wasn’t the easiest. While I struggled with Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) throughout my pregnancies, Danielle suffered with other ailments that put her on modified bed rest throughout most of her pregnancy. It was so incredible to watch her as she dealt with most of it with ease. While I was the one worried sick about her, it was often Danielle who had to calm me down and tell me everything was going to be okay. While I’ve been through this many times, it’s easy to forget how strong we, as women, are and how capable we can be while growing another human.
A few weeks before Danni’s due date, she called me. I’d been on high alert (we all had an inkling that she’d go into labor early,) so I was expecting her to tell me she was in labor every time she called.
“My water broke,” she said calmly without a hint of fear in her voice.
“Wait, what,” I responded in a panic.
“I’m at the doctor. My water broke. I’m fine. I’m going home to let my labor progress more,” she said in such a calm voice.
“I’m on my way!” I said shaking.
It was early in the evening when she called and I was out running errands with the kids. I took them home, grabbed everyone dinner, got them ready for bed, packed my bags, and got on a train into the city.
I made it to her apartment around 10:00pm and her and Chris were laying on the couch watch television. If you wouldn’t have known, you would have never guessed she was in labor. We chatted for a bit, she assured me she was fine, and I ended up falling asleep on the couch.
Around midnight I woke up to find Danielle in a bit more pain than before. Her contractions were getting closer together and her pain was a bit more intense. I suggested we get an Uber and head to the hospital, but she wanted to wait for her doctor to call her back. About 20 minutes later the contractions were VERY close together and both Chris and I insisted we get her to the hospital.
Our Uber failed to show up, so we ended up having to hail a cab. The first thing we said as we got into the car was, “we have a woman in labor,” in hopes that he would sense our urgency to get to the hospital.
He didn’t.
Not only did we hit every single red light. But he drove as slow as possible and made no attempt to get to the hospital quickly.
I watched as my sister clinched the side of the car every time a contraction came on (which was every 3 minutes at this point,) I was tempted to ask the cab driver how many babies he’d delivered in his car, just to give him a little bit of a hint that we didn’t have much longer, but I kept it in as to not stress my sister out even more.
Nearly 30 minutes later we made it to the hospital. Danielle was in so much pain at this point, I felt so bad. I let her and Chris check in and get into a room while I waited outside in the lobby. As she was admitted to the hospital, she was already 5cm dilated.
Once she got her epidural, I went into her room to check on her. Just five minutes later, her doctor came into check on her. She was fully dilated and ready for baby. Because she had just gotten the epidural and didn’t feel the urgency to push, the doctor let her rest for an hour before it was go time. By this time, it was 5am and none of us had slept. With all of the excitement, we knew we had to get some rest, but found it hard to fall asleep. Just as we’d fallen asleep, the doctor comes back in and tells us it’s time for a baby!
Knowing how special this time was for my sister and Chris, I wanted them to experience this moment with just the two of them. After all, these were the last moments they would have together as a family of two.
I stepped behind the curtain in the room, ready to come back as soon as I heard those cries, so I could capture her first moments of meeting baby on camera. My sister didn’t find out whether it was a boy or a girl and didn’t share her name choices with anyone, so this was an exciting moment for all of us for so many reasons.
For the next hour, my sister pushed like a champ. The only births I’ve ever experienced are my own, so seeing this from the other side was truly breathtaking. Our bodies are the most incredible things. The strength that we are able to get to go through the entire birth process is unlike anything else. Listening to her push made me feel so empowered, not only for her, but for all of the women that give birth. It’s miraculous.
On her last push, I hear as the doctor tells her the baby is here.
“It’s a…..” and it fell silent.
“Are you going to tell your sister what you just welcomed?” she asked Danielle.
“It’s a BOY!” my sister said happily.
I ran into the room with tears streaming down my face. The emotions were overwhelming.
I’d just witnessed my little sister, my best friend, become a mom to the most precious baby boy.
I watched as her and Chris felt, for the very first time, what it was like to have their heart live outside of themselves. The room was filled with so much love and joy.
“Will you share his name?” I asked.
“Renz,” her and Chris responded in unison.
“Are you serious?” I said as I wept overcome with emotion.
“Yep.”
Renz is my dad’s name. It’s been in our family for many many years. While I knew she’d wanted a family name, I honestly didn’t know Renz was one of her choices.
“It’s perfect.” I whispered.
Renz Hain turned one month old yesterday. My sister is conquering this newborn thing and I continue to be amazed with her strength as she gets through these sleepless and exhausting moments.
Our entire family has quickly fallen in love with Renz. Macks is smitten and asks to call “Renzy baby” as soon as he wakes up, as soon as he gets picked up from school, and right before he goes to bed. He’ll kiss and hug him through the screen and sing him songs he’s made up exclusively for Renz.
Welcome to the world baby Renz. You’ve lucked out with some pretty amazing parents (and a pretty cool aunt if I do say so myself.)
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