Tori Spelling talks Liam in Us Weekly
We posted highlights from Tori Spelling’s introduction of her son Liam Aaron McDermott, 3 weeks, earlier this week – and now that the issue is out, we have the rest!
On going into labor: I woke up in the middle of the night and felt warm water everywhere. Dean was sleeping in the living room with Jack, who was visiting us, so I didn’t want to wake him. So I went to the computer, logged on to BabyCenter.com, and learned that my water could break before contractions even started. I woke up Dean, and we called my doctor, Jason Rothbart. He was like, ‘It’s time.’ My hospital bag wasn’t packed [Tori went into labor over two weeks before her due date], but I grabbed my Dear Johnnies nightgown and left.
On the labor: They induced me with Pitocin. I felt like I was being Tasered! [Pitocin can cause more intense and prolonged contractions, which in turn can affect the baby's heart rate - this happened to Tori, as well as failure to progress, and led to a c-section.] As foolish as this sounds, I wanted to feel how bad itwould hurt. But I think I let the pain go on a little bit long before Igot the epidural. I called my friend and said, ‘You didn’t tell me contractions were this painful.’ And she said, ‘Why did you wait seven hours for the epidural?’
On the scary birth: The baby’s heart rate started dropping with each contraction. Plus, I stopped dilating – I only got to 6 cm. So Dr. Rothbart came in with oxygen and explained that they had to do a cesarean section. I started crying since I was so terrified. I was having a panic attack about the c-section, and I was crying out, ‘Mommy!’ when they wheeled me into the operating room. I don’t care how old you are: When you are going through something scary, you want your mommy! She was holding my hand and telling me, ‘It’s going to be okay.’ I looked into her eyes and calmed down. Liam was born at 3:53 pm.
On meeting her son for the first time: When I heard the cry of a little human life, I felt so connected to him. I will never experience anything like that for the rest of my life. Then the nurses brought him over, and he was the most gorgeous thing I had ever seen. I was like, ‘I’ve been waiting to see you for nine months!’
On breastfeeding: [Nursing] is hard, but I love it. That’s our time together, and I can give him the one thing he wants: food. Dean took a photo of me nursing and I was horrified. I was like, ‘Oh, this poor baby must be so scared of this giant thing coming at him!’
On being offended by Internet gossip: Someone wrote, ‘Of course she just scheduled one [a c-section], that’s what all actors do.’ But I would have much rather had a natural delivery! The recovery is so painful, and you want to be able to take care of your baby.
Click below for more, including what’s been difficult, why they chose the name Liam, the funny moment in the operating room, who Liam looks like, weight loss, the best advice Tori’s gotten, if they’ll be more babies, how Dean helps, how it felt not having her mom, Candy, around during her pregnancy, and how motherhood has changed her.
The one funny moment in the operating room: Dr. Rothbart saw my toe ring and saidit had to go (before the surgery could begin). Because I was soswollen, three nurses, my mom, and Dean were all putting on lotion andtrying to pull it off. Finally, Dean had to saw it off with a utensilthey had to get from maintenance. We kept the sawed-off ring for Liam’sbaby book.
On what’s been difficult: Mothers everywhere are going tokill me, but I have a really easy baby (so far). He’s 2 weeks old [atthe time of the interview] and sleeps 5 hours at a time during thenight. He’s not colicky, and he loves to eat. It’s tiring, but I’mhaving a ball.
So, who does Liam resemble?: I think he looks like Dean. [Dean interrupts.] I just saw a pic of Tori at 1 week old, and Liam looks exactly like her. He uses his hands a lot, and Tori always talks with her hands. He’s also opinionated, and that’s both of us.
Why they chose Liam: Dean says, "I’m Scottish and I alwaysliked it. When Liam Neeson came on the scene, I was like, ‘What a greatname!’ It always stuck with me." Tori says, "We thought forsure it would be a girl. Then the doctors were like, ‘It’s a boy.’ Wehadn’t even thought of boy names. And Dean said there was one name healways liked – Liam. And I loved it."
On not having her mom, Candy, around during her pregnancy: I felt that ache. When my belly was growing and I would talk to Liam, I would just think of my mom. I wanted to show her my belly. I wanted to experience it with her. I realized that the love I felt for him was the love that she must feel for me. Now I wonder, ‘Why did this happen?’
Best advice from mom: That Liam won’t break! When I dress him or when he cries, I am so traumatized. But she told me she was scared when she first had me. Then she dived right in. You know, you only get one family, and you have to make it work.
Dean as a dad: From the moment we met, we did everything together, and it’s no different now. We change him together, we feed him together – Dean is really good at burping Liam. [When I'm done nursing], I hand him to Dean, and Liam burps right away.
More babies?: A week after I had Liam, I told Dean we should make more. And I want to do it soon, because I think it’s important for children to be close in age and grow up together. My brother and I are almost six years apart, and we weren’t that close when we were younger.
On weight loss: In the movies, the belly goes away when the baby is born. That’s not true. Still, I wasn’t expecting to be as thin as I am now. I’m 5′5" and I gained 40 lbs, I was huge! But I want to stay healthy. When the time is right, I will diet with NutriSystem and work out.
On how motherhood has changed her: Before Liam, I was always stressed about a million different things. But when I had Liam, all that went away. Now, all that matters is my little man and my family.
Thanks to Britney Chile.
- Posted on Apr 7, 07 at 11:15AM
- Permalink
- 28 Comments
April 7th, 2007 at 11:34 am
Goodness, how that boy looks like his grandfather! LOL My son doesn’t resemble my late father nearly as much as Liam resembles Tori’s dad. Even so, it’s still such a blessing to see glimpses of Daddy in my son’s face.
I hope Liam’s birth is as healing to Tori’s grieving heart as my son’s was to me. I’m so happy for her!
April 7th, 2007 at 11:46 am
hes cute well done tori
April 7th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
Simply precious! What a sweet little face. Tori will be a great mom. Uncle Randy will be the best uncle ever. Wishing all the best to the Spelling & McDermott family.
April 7th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
With my second labor I was induced with Pitocin like Tori was. My contractions were much more intense than with my first and his heart rate started dropping too.
Even though thankfully I didn’t have a c-section it was terrifying! I totally feel for Tori.
April 7th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
She looks great and the nursery is awesome. Love that throwrug!
It is from Johnathan Adler and is $875. http://www.jonathanadler.com/shop/product.php?productid=16688&cat=253&page=1
April 7th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
i totally agree…liam looks like a mix of all of them…he looks a lil like randy, a lil like dean and definitely like aaron…he’s gonna be a great baby and a good kid…i love this couple…god bless them and their child
April 7th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
Liam is so cute!! He will be a handsome young man when he grows up. I was reading the US weekly magazine that I picked up at a store, and there were two baby pictures of Tori, who was 1 week old, and Dean who was about a year old. Liam certainly did look alot like both of them when they were babies. If the baby photos on the site, you’ll see how similar Liam looks to when Tori and Dean were infants.
We can add them in tomorrow, if people are interested in seeing them.
April 7th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
his nursery is awesome looking! i really like the green
April 7th, 2007 at 4:04 pm
I love this little family, i’ve always been a fan of Tori’s and am loving her show right now… I am so happy for them!! They are such a fun and funny couple!!
April 7th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
the nursery also has framed pics of tori & dean as toddlers on the bookshelf which were really cute.i’ve been a tori fan for 16yrs-it’s so weird seeing her go from being a child to having 1 of her own.so proud of her!
April 7th, 2007 at 6:29 pm
seatondeb I said the same thing how he looks like her late father.I am so happy for them.They really sound down to earth.
April 7th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
Sorry, it needs to be said…baby not so cute.
April 7th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
in the first pic he looks exactly like his late granddaddy..i love this family….i am sooo happy for them. especially for tori and her mom’s reconciling
April 7th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
MsCarla, I’m sure I’ve seen a throwthrug like it at BabyCo here in Australia. Was looking at one pretty much the same yesterday! It may have been checked material pattern though. Alternate blue and white checks in the same material as Tori’s does.
April 7th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
He does look like her father. I also LOVE the pic of Liam and Mimi LaRue. I’m a big dog lover and I was worried about her. I’m glad to see she looks like she likes her “brother”!!
April 8th, 2007 at 1:37 am
I had Pitocin after hours of stalled labor and after my water broke. Too painful for words. Fortunately, I was able to get epidural shortly thereafter. The baby’s heart dropped too but they vacuumed him out before they had to do a c-section, fortunately. I’m glad she’s nursing. It had a very calming, relaxing effect on me. I’ve never experiences such a feeling of completeness and contentment. I like reading about other women’s experiences,looks like Tori is going to be a good mom.
April 8th, 2007 at 2:35 am
Why do doctors induce with Pitocin if they are aware it could lead to a situation which would require a c-section? I don’t get it. It’s like they’d rather the patient get one. Just leave them be and let nature take its course. Yeesh.
April 8th, 2007 at 8:39 am
I went into labor the same way with my first child and my labor stalled the same way, after hours of pitocin. I ended up with a fever and my daughter was a bit crooked in the birth canal and pressing on my back so hard. I ended up with a csection after 22 hours of labor and only getting to 5cm. I know how she felt!
Great pics, Liam is adorable!
April 8th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
Very adorable baby! I love Tori so much. If anyone doesn’t watch her show Tori and Dean: Inn Love, you DEFINITELY should! It’s hilarious, heartwarming, and a surprisingly great show. I think they are the perfect couple (now the perfect family). My only issue is how Dean left his other family including two children. I know his son Jack visits them, but he had a newborn baby girl that he officially relinquished custody of! That’s a little upsetting. But other than that, congrats to Tori and Dean on their new beautiful son!
April 8th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
KATIE: When someone’s water has broken and they haven’t even started contractions, it’s important that the baby comes out soon. The water is the baby’s environment, and without it, it could suffocate and it would not be a good situation.
April 8th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
i went onto that britney site.gorgeous article & pics!” i luv how dean says “i have always been impressed by tori’s strength, sense of humor and perserverance…she has just applied all those wonderful attributes to being a mom”. also thanking her for giving him(another) son & saying he admires her for the difficult labor she went through. ps.noelle-the girl is adopted.not sure when,possibly after they split. the media never ask him about it, they just make up stuff.he has said though that he & his ex have a civil r/ship now for jack’s sake so any unrest is only in the minds of strangers.
April 8th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
NOELLE: Actually, amniotic fluid has little to do with the baby’s ability to receive oxygen. They “breathe” fully through the umbilical cord, which is attached to the placenta. The placenta is actually outside of the amniotic sac, so whether the water is broken or not the baby still continues to receive oxygen. They don’t actually start to breathe with their lungs until they’re outside of the womb. And the myth that once the water breaks, the baby needs to get out ASAP is actually a bit of a myth. As long as their is not too much contact with the birth canal by outsiders (ie, pelvic exams) the baby can hang around without amniotic fluid for quite some time. Just because the water breaks does not automatically require hormonal induction.
I’m not saying that a c-section is necessarily a terrible thing, it can save the mother and baby in numerous situations, but it’s fairly major surgery that a lot of the time is probably unneccessary.
My concern is that there seems to be too much reliance on hormonal induction practices (Pitocin, suppositories, etc.) which can often lead to a labour that is uncomfortable for the mother (which may lead to her wanting a c-section in the future) and can lead to health problems for the baby, when in some cases just waiting may be the better solution.
April 8th, 2007 at 11:15 pm
I am happy for her, but I seriously doubt a 2 week old is holding his head up ALONE… maybe with assistance.
DEB
April 9th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Noelle – What does the water have to do with the baby being able to get enough oxygen?
Cute baby, he looks exactly like Aaron in the first pic! Congrats to Tori and Dean!
April 10th, 2007 at 1:24 am
katie: Actually it’s not a myth that the baby needs to be born soon after the water breaks. There is a 24-hour period where the baby is still safe and after that there is a high risk of infection if the baby isn’t born. So pitocin is sometimes necessary to ensure the baby and mother are safe. I know of a woman who took the same attitude you’re taking about pitocin and her baby ended up having an infection that required 8 extra days of hospitalization.
April 11th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
he looks like a turtle in the first picture like the ones on the disney movies. very cute kid by the way.
April 12th, 2007 at 9:53 am
What a little cutie! Congratulations to both of them!
July 10th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
Only one person mentioned that Dean dumped his family and no one mentioned that Tori dumped her husband so they could be together! What kind of people do this? I don’t understand why everyone thinks they’re so wonderful!