With Matt's chemo complete, they put their focus once again on the baby. Shortly after the new year, with Julie about seven months pregnant, Matt told her, "I don't know if I'll be a good father. I had no relationship with my father and I know nothing about babies. I've never even held a baby."
Julie said, "I don't know a lot about babies either. At least I had some experience with Gracie."
Matt told Julie, "Yeah, but Gracie was your baby sister. You could just do all the fun baby stuff with her and let your parents do all the work." Julie smiled.
They had a final sonogram a week before the due date to check the baby's position. The day after the due date, a non-stress test showed that the baby was beginning to not fare well, so the doctor decided to break Julie's water and get labor started. The fluid was stained with meconium.
After four hours of intense contractions, Julie received an epidural. Once that was done, it was smooth sailing. The doctors told them that the baby wouldn't cry right away because they would need to suction the baby's mouth and nose out. As the baby came out, the doctor suctioned the mouth and nose and said, "You have a beautiful baby girl!" Once the baby figured out what her lungs could do, she let loose.
Julie said, "Oh, look, Matt, she's just precious! And she looks like you!"
The doctor handed the baby to them and said, "Talk to her. She probably won't understand what you're saying, but she'll recognize your voices and calm down."
Matt looked at the baby and said, "Hi. I'm your daddy."
Julie held the baby and said, "And I'm your mommy." She asked Matt, "What are we going to name her?"
Matt looked at his new daughter and said, "Lily. What do you think of the name Lily Rose?"
Julie said, "I love it. Lily Rose Saracen has a cute sound to it."
Matt said, "No. She's not Lily Rose Saracen. She's Lily Rose Taylor Saracen."
Julie said, "Really?"
Matt told her, "Yes. She's half of you and should have both our names."
After making sure Julie and Lily were settled, Matt went to the waiting room to tell the team and press about the latest addition to the roster. When he went back in the room, Julie's family was in there, fussing over the baby. A doctor pulled Matt aside and said, "Mr. Saracen? I need to talk to you about something."
Matt asked, "Is everything okay?"
The doctor said, "After your baby was born, we discovered that there was a huge, tight knot in her umbilical cord. If we hadn't gotten labor started today, I don't think she would have lived much longer. This could have easily ended in tragedy. You got very, very lucky."
Matt smiled and said, "I'll go tell Julie." He went back into the room and saw Julie holding Lily, who was worn out already and peacefully sleeping, bundled up in her Go Herd blanket.
