Photo by: Frank Micelotta / Emmys / Getty |
She completed the tour in Asia and Australia with Bratman at her side, wearing a heart monitor onstage while hanging from a circus pinwheel and riding a carousel horse. The first sonogram prompted Max's pre-birth nickname. "He was just a little circle, and the doctor said it was the yolk sac," says Aguilera. After that, "his nickname throughout the pregnancy was Yolky and I was Mama Yolky. Now he's the Baby Formerly Known as Yolky." During her pregnancy, Aguilera had no morning sickness but developed "a craving for sweets like never before," she says. "SweeTarts, lollipops, anything with sugar I loved." And when the time came to find out the sex of her baby, it was a no-brainer for Aguilera, a self-described "super-planner" who documented her pregnancy in scrapbooks filled with photos (including one of all those pregnancy tests), sonograms and notes in her intricate handwriting. "I had to know what colors to buy!" she says. "I need to be prepared at all times."
Including for the birth itself. "I didn't want any surprises," she says matter-of-factly of her decision to deliver via scheduled C-section at week 37 of her pregnancy. "Honestly, I didn't want any [vaginal] tearing. I had heard horror stories of women going in and having to have an emergency C-section [anyway]. The hardest part was deciding on his birthday. I wanted to leave it up to fate, but at the same time I was ready to be done early!"
When the big moment finally arrived, "the instant I heard his cry, the waterworks started," says Aguilera. Bratman, who filmed the birth and played the music of Miles Davis throughout, says, "We've played the [birth] video several times since, and all you can hear is me going, 'Oh my God!' I was beaming the entire time." And when they placed Max in Aguilera's arms, "I said, 'Hi, Papa, hi, my little angel," she recalls, "and he looked up at me and opened his eyes for the first time. The connection was incredible. You can't believe the love you feel."
