The Otis Experience: A Birth (& Name) Story
When we first started talking about a third baby, I referred to this as my “victory lap.” I knew pregnancy would be an endurance, but I am pretty confident with newborns and couldn’t wait to soak in all the best parts of our last one. This bonus baby was our chance to do all the things we never got around to with our big kids—labor photography, a curated maternity wardrobe, and some upgraded baby items, including our first ever dedicated nursery room. With all the maternal experience of a third timer, I dreamt of the hours we’d be quietly cuddling while the other two were at school. Ahh, the luxury of caring for just one babe during the work week!
Last belly shot as we prayer-walked around the hospital before check in.
But 2020, as we all know, had other plans. And words like “victory lap” and “luxury” did not make it into the vernacular. We stumbled across the pregnancy finish line with most of our hopes dashed, only to find a sweet ray of joy peeking through this Covid cloud.
On Friday, November 6, we opted for an induction after two weeks of prodromal labor. It was the most pregnant I’ve ever been, at 39 weeks and a day, and I was exhausted by such a lengthy early labor that failed to really progress. Several hours of pitocin later, my doctor broke my water and things finally started moving.
Seriously. Moving.
One of my hesitations about an induction was that it disrupted any lingering hopes I had for experiencing “true” labor. Because my first two deliveries involved significant intervention, I was really eager to do it “right” this time. Purely for research, of course. Turns out, augmented labor was plenty strong to provide what I’d been hoping for.
I labored for another hour or so before making a timely request for an epidural. Moments after that first hefty dose flowed into my spine—and before it really took full effect—I began shaking all over and moved dramatically from 3 to 8 cm dilated. My doctor was delivering another baby, so they asked me to relax and resist the urge to push if I wanted the doctor present for mine. Also, I needed some time for the numbness to settle in, so I was content not to rush.
After a brief rest, we called for the doctor. Every part of these final minutes felt familiar in a sort of intellectual/theoretical way, and yet somehow new. I pushed three times, through the mostly functioning pain block, and could tell with each pause where baby sat in my birth canal. The final push was more acute than I had wanted, and yet in retrospect, I am thankful. I got my wish after all—feeling his head release was a once in a lifetime experience. Relief. Tears. And that wonderful pleasure of a seconds-fresh baby on my chest. “You’re finally here,” I cried. A long year, a long wait, but worth every ache and pain in that blessed moment.
The rest of the delivery was the usual blur. Somewhere in there, Phil cut the cord, the doctor delivered my placenta, and nurses pushed and prodded to check for clotting and fevers and any number of postpartum dangers. Praise be for the team of women handling all those important details because my attention could not unglue from the miracle in my arms. His tiny wrinkled hands, ten little toes, eyes blinking in their first view of this wild, wonderful world.
“Because the Mighty One
has done great things for me,
and his name is holy.
His mercy is from generation to generation
on those who fear him.”
The Name
With each of our children’s names, we have taken great effort to avoid trendy without careening into strange. And while we may have scraped the guard rails on this one, baby name #3 is the most saturated with meaning for me.
Phil and I love drawing from family names, so for our second boy, we dug deep into an extensive Storrs ancestry chart and consulted my Aunt Shelley about what she knew from the Cooper lineage before settling on Otis, a name that actually turned up on both sides of our family tree.
Otis means “prosperous” or “wealthy”—and while we are neither of those things by LA standards, our work and surprising circumstances often find us socializing in those circles. My hope for Otis (and his siblings) is that when they come face to face with the haves in our city, they would not feel less than. Instead, we hope they remember their great wealth in Christ, a wealth that can never fade.
Experience began as a joke with a few of our closest friends. We noticed that there were several names on the Storrs side that didn’t sound like names at all. As we laughed and read aloud Royal, Justus, and Constant, our friend Matt recognized the trend: “These are all Puritans.” It turns out the Puritans were famous for naming children after virtues they hoped the child would embody. That’s how you get names like Chastity or Patience or really weird ones like Kill Sin.
Not long after this conversation, we learned that my side of the family was full of Quakers. Puritans and Quakers. And the joke just kind of stuck there, rattling around in my brain, become more interesting and meaningful as time went by.
Experience, a name to honor the rich Christian legacy of our family of missionaries and pastors, Puritans and Quakers, a legacy we hope Otis will continue in a deep richness of faith.
Experience, the way God grows us from knowledge to wisdom, an asset more precious than gold or jewels.
Expo, the metro line that cuts through our neighborhood, an ode to the place we love as exiles.
Ox, the strength we hope he’ll grow into.
And finally, Experience, a word to describe the monumental significance of 2020, a year full of pain and angst, a pregnancy unlike any other. But also the beautiful season when this little wonder joined our family.
Bonus: The Playlist
While my curatorial choices may seem odd, these are the songs that I binged in the days leading up to birth, clocking mile after mile on the hills near my house, as well as during labor itself. Some of the songs have long personal histories and some just randomly inspired. There are ones that felt empowering for labor, others that made me think of the baby, and some that remind me of my husband’s deep love and support. Enjoy!
The big kids are ready to welcome our newest addition.