Julian Emilio’s Birth Story

Every time I give birth, I feel like I have become a different woman. The birth of our third son, Julian Emilio, was not what I envisioned, yet it was so beautiful. Our birth story begins on Monday, July 31st. I was in bed taking an afternoon nap, and my three-year-old Mati came to lie with me. He then got up and went to the bathroom. I got up quickly when I saw Mati over the toilet, saying how he felt like throwing up. That’s when I thought to myself, maybe he has a stomach flu. I kept an eye on him, and he developed a really high fever within a few hours. Mati is so healthy (thank God) he rarely gets sick, but this worried me because his fever persisted all night. I didn’t sleep, and I was also starting to feel sick. Luckily, my husband and son, Alessandro, slept in another room. I told them to stay away, so we wouldn’t get Alessandro sick. The following day August 1st, Mati and I were full-blown sick. Mati only had a fever, and I felt congested. We were in bed all day, and I started to get mild contractions towards the evening. I called my doctor, and they suggested we take a COVID test. I didn’t think it could be that, but as soon as I tested myself and Mati, we immediately tested positive.
I tried not to panic, but I was stressing out. I kept praying, “Please don’t let the baby come yet.” I wasn’t finished getting the house ready; I still had campaigns to finish filming, Alessandro’s birthday was coming up, and I even had makeup trials and appointments to complete. I just wasn’t ready. But that’s life; things don’t always go as planned. On Wednesday, August 2nd, I saw Mati was starting to feel better. I am just in awe at how resilient children can be. I was still congested and stuffy, but I figured rest would be the best way to recover. I was taking a nap, and around 2 pm, contractions woke me up. I thought, “Okay, maybe that’s your body preparing for labor, don’t panic.” I went to the bathroom, and there it was, “the bloody show.” The baby was coming. Based on my past two birth experiences, I knew that labor was about 12 hours away. At this point, I started to get ready.
I went into the boy’s room, organized their drawers to prepare them for back to school, and cleaned the house. I knew that because Mati had COVID, one of our family members would sacrifice their health to care for him. That person was my mom; she didn’t even think twice about picking up Mati. My husband and I headed to the hospital around 3:30 pm, and I was 3cm dilated. They monitored me for 2 hours, and I wasn’t dilating anymore, so they sent me home. I was at home going through contractions when we got a call from my mother-in-law that Alessandro wasn’t feeling well; he also tested positive for COVID. Raul decided to have Alessandro join my mom and Mati so they could be together.
I was laboring at home, and around 11:30 pm, I decided to go to the hospital. I arrived and was already close to 5cm dilated. I decided to get the epidural to at least sleep for a few hours. At this point, I was physically and mentally exhausted, and I kept thinking about Alessandro and Mati. Finally, around 7 am, I was complete and ready to push. The nurses and doctors were so excited because they said they rarely get “surprise genders.” Raul was the one that was going to tell me the gender and who was going to cut the cord. After 4 minutes of pushing, Raul looks at me, and with the biggest smile and some tears in his eyes, he says, “It’s a boy!” I saw a head full of hair and this little boy I fell utterly in love with. He had the sweetest face and cutest cry. I just thanked God; I thanked God for this miracle baby and for giving me the strength to endure labor while being sick.
I did not imagine coming home and not being welcomed by Alessandro and Mati. Postpartum, in general, is so tricky, and knowing the kids couldn’t go home until they tested negative was so hard. I also couldn’t encapsulate my placenta because I tested positive for COVID. I was hoping the capsules would help avoid the baby blues. Postpartum day three was mainly the most difficult; I spent most days crying and with insomnia. I was sleeping maybe 3 hours and not because the baby was fussy, but because I was worried about my boys. I knew they were safe and well taken care of, but being away from them for five nights was the longest I had ever been away. Also, my mom tested positive, and I just wanted to bring them home so that she could rest. Finally Monday, Aug 7th, the boys came home. I tested negative quickly, which took the boys a couple more days. Seeing their reaction to the baby was priceless; they were excited to have a baby brother. Luckily everyone is healthy again, and the house is almost back to normal. I am still recovering from birth and am taking it slow. This baby was a blessing to our family, and I am so excited to see the boys grow together.