From the moment I saw the first positive pregnancy test, I couldn’t wait to be a mama. As a kid, all I ever wanted to be when I grew up was a mom. I was the toddler that carried babies with me everywhere I went. My husband was in his last year of medical school and we had been married for two years when we decided to have our first. I was teaching special education and we were living in Tulsa at the time.
My due date happened to fall on the exact weekend of medical school graduation. I packed up my classroom for maternity leave on Friday, Saturday morning Tristan graduated medical school, Saturday evening we moved to Edmond, Sunday my older sister had her baby, and Monday I went in for my induction to have Oliver. Labor felt like downtime after the whirlwind of life changes we had that weekend! Oliver came and rocked our worlds in the best ways, and shortly after Tristan, began residency. We were learning how to be parents, and he was learning how to balance 22 13 hour shifts each month. That first year of residency was the sweetest and hardest season of both of our lives. Tristan worked 2 weeks of nights each month and 2 weeks of days. When he was home he somehow was FULLY present despite being more rundown and exhausted than he ever had been before. The Lord knew exactly what we needed at the time, and Ollie was the happiest and easiest baby of all time. He slept through the night, laughed and smiled ear to ear 90% of the time and was the baby that made us want 100 more. We found a groove after a few months, had adjusted to Tristan’s schedule and were enjoying every minute of being mom and dad to the sweetest, chunkiest little dude.
At 6 months postpartum, I went to visit my best friend in California. She thought she might be pregnant and was nervous, so we decided to take pregnancy tests at the same time. I took my test first, left it in the bathroom until it was ready to read and she went to take hers. I vividly remember asking “is it positive?” through the door and her nervously yelling “UM I THINK SO.” I was certain she was talking about her pregnancy test, but when she came out we both cried happy tears because mine was positive and it was the sweetest surprise of all time.
The night I hit 34 weeks pregnant, I had a dream about a baby girl with brown hair, a massive smile and the sweetest laugh in the world. It was incredibly vivid and I remember telling Tristan about it and how excited I was to have Reese. Three days later, my water broke in the early hours of the morning. I was in preterm labor.
Reese was born 6 weeks early at 34 weeks and was immediately swept into the NICU. I have never been more nervous than I was when 10 specialists were standing in the delivery room ready to sweep Reese away for life saving measures. I asked the neonatologist how I would know if she was okay once she was born - He said that her “screaming like a pterodactyl” would be indicative of her lungs being healthily developed and her not needing as many interventions in the NICU. I prayed the entire 17 hours of labor for her to be born “screaming like a pterodactyl.” Sure enough, Reese was born WAILING and the nurses laughed because she wouldn’t stop. I sobbed and thanked the Lord for my healthy girl.
I didn’t have to push a single time with Reese, she just came. She was 5 lbs 14 oz which was unusually large for her gestational age - another indicator that she would be okay. She was swept away and I couldn’t see her for 3 hours and 28 minutes. I cried the entire time because all I wanted was to see my baby, hold her, and know she would be okay. I was supposed to wait until my epidural wore off to visit her in the NICU, but my sweet doctor husband advocated for me and my L&D nurse snuck me into a wheelchair and wheeled me to see my girl anyways. She was so beautiful, tiny, and connected to a million wires. The beeps of the machines, the incubator they had her in and all the specialists ready to give their reports were terrifying. Come to find out, Reese was abnormally developed for her gestational age and didn’t need interventions aside from sugar water. She stayed in the NICU 8 nights until she met her feeding goals and was able to come home with us. Babies her gestational age typically have a longer stay with numerous interventions. My pediatrician called her a miracle baby. The 8 days in the NICU the Lord kept showing me the baby girl from my dream that was happy and healthy. He kept reminding me this was his timing for us and that she was meant to be earth side this early. He gave me a sense of peace in a time of uncertainty and fear.
Reese has hit and exceeded every milestone and has never had a single health issue aside from the common cold since. She and my son are 15 months apart and are the sweetest best friends. Reese has such fervor and joy for life that we are convinced she came early because she had FOMO.😂
I have never loved a season of life more than I love being a Mama. Parenting these precious babies alongside my best friend is the most fun and rewarding thing I have ever done and will ever do. Tristan is now in his final year of residency, Oliver just turned 3 in May, and Reese will be 2 in September. By the grace of God, we would love to have 2 more babies to complete our family. We love being parents and these babies are our whole world. We thank the Lord for entrusting us with stewarding and raising Oliver and Reese. It is the greatest honor and calling we will have on this side of heaven and we don’t take a minute of it for granted!