If my first pregnancy and birth were filled with fear because everything was new to me, and my second was a whirlwind of changing jobs and attempting a VBAC, our third baby truly felt like an unexpected gift who arrived at the most unexpected moment.
Just when I was physically and emotionally exhausted from our second child constantly getting sick around the time he turned one, our third baby came to us as a complete surprise. At the time, I was caught off guard, but looking back, everything seemed to fall into place with almost uncanny timing. This is the story of giving birth to our third baby, who came into the world in just three hours and brought smiles to our entire family—and the vivid story of the day I became a mother of three.
If you haven’t read my previous birth stories yet, I recommend following the links below and reading them first.
1. Our Second Child Was Always Sick, and Life Became a Blur
As soon as our second child turned one, he seemed to start getting sick almost on schedule. Around that time, I was also in the process of weaning him, and looking back, I sometimes wonder whether the weaning had anything to do with how often he was getting sick. Of course, I have no way of knowing for sure.
In April 2024, even before he started daycare, what began as a simple cold turned into an ear infection. From April through August, he had to take antibiotics no fewer than five times. Every night, he would wake up crying because his nose was so congested that he seemed to have trouble breathing. Lying down made the congestion worse, so I spent countless days holding him to sleep or pushing him around the house in his stroller just to get him to rest. I can count on one hand the number of nights when I actually remember getting a proper night’s sleep.
Before my one-year paid leave ended, I had already told my company that I would take a little unpaid leave and return to work in September. I planned to spend May helping my second child adjust to daycare, and from June to August, I was supposed to attend a Polish language academy. But he was so sick that I could barely attend the classes I started in June and was constantly missing them. Eventually, in July, I gave up on the Polish classes and spent most of my time taking care of him at home. And that very same month, I found out that we were unexpectedly going to have a third baby.
2. “They Say You Should Be Careful What You Wish For…” Our Third Baby Arrived Like Fate
Around the time our second child turned one, I weaned him and my period started again, so I went to my OB-GYN for contraception counseling. At my doctor’s recommendation, I was prescribed birth control pills and planned to start taking them with my next period. I was also considering getting an IUD later on.
But even though periods can be irregular after breastfeeding, six weeks passed, then seven, and my period still didn’t come. I took a pregnancy test just in case, and two unmistakable lines appeared.
My husband and I were completely stunned. I had always loved children so much that I used to say, “If we were financially comfortable, I’d have three or even four kids.” Well, apparently, I really should have been more careful about what I said—because my words had come true.
My husband was confused and overwhelmed by the fact that I was pregnant without any plan or preparation, and I was caught off guard too. But we comforted each other and decided that if this baby had managed to make it through our contraception, then perhaps it was simply meant to be, and we would gladly welcome the baby.
3. An Unexpected Blessing: Poland’s Pregnancy Sick Leave
When I saw those two lines on the pregnancy test, I was in the middle of my unpaid leave from work. I had less than two months left before the date I was supposed to return.
The thought of going back to work while caring for a child who was constantly sick felt overwhelming. But as soon as we confirmed the baby’s heartbeat, I was able to switch my status to pregnancy-related sick leave.
In Poland, pregnancy sick leave can be paid at 100% of your salary. At the time, I was spending most of my days caring for my second child at home and taking him to appointments and treatments, so I cannot describe how grateful and relieved I was to have this unexpected break instead of having to return to work. It lifted a huge financial and time burden and allowed me to focus entirely on taking care of my child. It truly felt like an unexpected blessing.
4. A Dramatic Pregnancy, with a Few Little Adventures Along the Way
After seeing an ENT specialist and an allergy specialist, my second child eventually started asthma treatment. Fortunately, once treatment began, his symptoms were well controlled and he no longer needed antibiotics. Occasionally, he would have trouble breathing at night and need a bronchodilator, but things gradually became more stable.
I took my gestational diabetes test while completely exhausted from taking care of my second child, and I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes by a difference of just one point. The two-hour cutoff I was given by the hospital was 153, and my result was 154.
But this time, unlike with my first pregnancy, my doctor recommended a glucose sensor that was covered by insurance instead of having to prick my finger every time. Being able to monitor my glucose levels around the clock through an app felt like a whole new world. Fortunately, my blood sugar stayed very stable as long as I paid attention to my diet. My doctor also reassured me, saying, “Your numbers are actually better than those of many healthy people, so don’t stress too much.” My hypothyroidism also returned mildly, but it remained well controlled with the lowest dose of medication.
Strangely enough, although I was constantly exhausted and felt like a zombie throughout my third pregnancy, I never became seriously ill. I think it was because I didn’t have the burden of work and could rest whenever I had a chance while taking care of my second child at home.
One afternoon, about ten days before my due date, I suddenly started seeing strange rainbow-like flashes of light in front of my eyes, followed by an intense migraine. I was terrified. I knew that vision changes accompanied by a severe headache in late pregnancy should not simply be ignored.
I immediately contacted my midwife, who told me it could be an emergency related to high blood pressure during pregnancy and that I should check my blood pressure right away. I started contacting people around me to see if anyone had a blood pressure monitor. Fortunately, a friend who lived in a neighboring building in our apartment complex brought one over, and my blood pressure was normal.
My midwife said she had also experienced a migraine that day, possibly because of the sudden change in air pressure, and was glad to hear that my blood pressure was normal.
5. A Lightning-Fast 3-Hour Birth—and the “Blood Test” Ordeal
That evening, I started feeling a subtle ache in my abdomen. My husband had jokingly said, “Please let the third one be born during the day,” but by the time I was getting into bed, labor had started.
The contractions weren’t particularly intense yet, but over the course of 30 minutes, they came at very regular intervals. Just like with my second pregnancy, I called the private midwife I had hired, and she told me, “It sounds like you’re going to have the baby, so pack your things and come in.”
I quickly called my mother-in-law to look after the two older children, and we arrived at the hospital around 11 p.m.
After an examination, I was already 3 cm dilated. But there was one problem.
At the hospital I was using in Poland, pregnant women were required to have two blood type tests during pregnancy and bring both results to the hospital for delivery. One result was ready, but the second was scheduled to be released the following day.
My contractions were getting stronger and stronger, and I was becoming dazed with pain. But because the hospital needed to draw my blood and wait for the results, I had to endure the contractions for a while before I could get my epidural.
As soon as the results finally came back, I received the epidural, and suddenly I was in “pain-free heaven.”
It must have been around 2 a.m. when my midwife told me that I was fully dilated. Thanks to the epidural, I could barely feel the pain, so I didn’t even realize I was fully dilated.
Having been through labor before, I followed my midwife’s instructions and pushed with each contraction. Four times? Five? I don’t think I even pushed that many times when my midwife suddenly said, “Oh, oh, the baby is coming! Stop pushing!” The shoulders came out, and whoosh—the baby was out.
Unlike my second birth, which took 12 hours, this baby was born in just three hours! Perhaps because I was able to push while fully conscious and without pain from the epidural, I didn’t develop hemorrhoids at all, and there was barely any tearing.
6. The Quietness of the Hospital, and a Gift Waiting at Home
My husband expertly cut the umbilical cord, and we did skin-to-skin contact together. Then, because our two older children were waiting at home, I sent my husband home first and stayed alone in the hospital room with the baby.
After being surrounded by the constant noise and bustle of my first and second children, suddenly being transported into this quiet, peaceful world felt strangely surreal.
The baby arrived a little earlier than his due date and weighed just 2.6 kg. Whether it was because he wasn’t sucking strongly enough or because my body wasn’t quite ready for an earlier delivery, we needed to supplement with formula.
We had to stay in the hospital for one extra day so they could monitor his weight gain, just as they had with my first child. But since I had already been through this before, I was able to take care of him confidently and calmly.
On the day we were discharged, I prepared the same “special event” I had done for our second child. I had my husband buy gifts for the older kids in advance, and the plan was to tell them, “Your baby brother missed you so much that he prepared these gifts for you.”
About an hour after I arrived home, my first and second children came home from daycare with my mother-in-law.
I was worried that if I held the newborn in my arms, they might feel as though their mom had been taken away from them. So instead, I laid the baby down on a soft blanket on the floor where the older boys could look down at him.
I also hid their presents underneath the blanket the baby was lying on so they could discover them by lifting it themselves.
A few months later, my firstborn looked at me with a big grin and said,
“Mom~ The baby only gave presents to us~ Mom didn’t get one~”
I burst out laughing at how adorable he was, so proud that his baby brother had brought presents just for him and his brother.
7. Becoming a Mother of Three
After giving birth, my thyroid levels thankfully returned to normal, and I stopped taking my medication. My body also recovered surprisingly quickly—I felt well enough to get back on my feet after just two weeks.
But taking care of three children was a completely different level of parenting.
My second child still hadn’t finished teething and would sometimes wake up screaming at night. When the kids were playing and the baby started crying, I would pick up the third, only for my second child to start crying and ask to be held too.
My second child wasn’t even two years old yet and still needed so much hands-on care. After the third baby was born, I often felt guilty that I couldn’t hold him or spend as much time with him as I used to.
Our third baby is now eight months old. He crawls around happily following his older brother, the second follows the first, and the first adores the third. Yesterday, my firstborn suddenly asked me in Korean, “Mom, why aren’t you having another baby?” I was completely caught off guard.
I was a little flustered to hear that he wanted even more younger siblings, but at the same time, I felt grateful that he loves his little brothers so much. Watching my children love and enjoy each other is one of the greatest happinesses I could ever ask for.
Our third baby arrived completely unexpectedly and came into the world in just three hours, joining our still-lovable first and second children.
Somehow, before we knew it, we had become a family of five.
I look forward to all the days ahead that we will write together as a family of three brothers.
