09/02/2026
We had taken every precaution we could think of, 2 mid-wives, an OBGyn friend, and our own medical experience we thought would be enough, but nothing could prepare us for what happened next. Rishi came out looking spaced out, he looked us in the eyes and then dozed back off, his cry was weak and limbs were loose.
We’d seen this before, some babies just need to be stimulated a little more, so we got him moving, smacked out the fluid in his lungs and just as things started to turn around, the mid-wives got nervous and called an ambulance.
We weren’t totally convinced at first, he was coming around and looking more alert, but the humility train had started to roll and we had to climb aboard. Putting aside what we thought we could manage at home, we realized Rishi’s first hours were going to be much different than we had planned.
Our ideal plan was 4 days of straight bed-rest for Shy, 42 days of rest with nourishing meals, and 90 days of containment for the baby. Instead, we’re in an ambulance within the first couple hours and making our way to the ER. The baby was already being exposed to high level noise, intense artificial lights, people poking and prodding and Shy was on her feet searching for food in a hospital and how to buy a breast pump at Target.
Needless to say, we were shook. Questioning what we had done wrong, how things could turn out like this? The ER doc wasn’t super comfortable with pediatric cases and started throwing out diagnosis labels that reminded us how polarizing the medical system could be. We spent hours in the ER followed by a one hour transport to a NICU. We had to drive behind the transport ambulance, deprived of sleep, Shy laying in the backseat, still sore and bleeding after a rapid labor.
CONTINUED BELOW 👇🏼
