Every pregnant person has imagined some worst-case scenario for the start of their labor — like their water breaking in a public or intense contractions in the middle of a traffic jam. But what if you’re a celebrated performer recording a future hit Disney song and you just want to finish up when your contractions start?
Actress Stephanie Beatriz, whose voice you are surely well-acquainted with as Mirabel in the Disney hit Encanto, revealed in an interview with Variety that she was in the early stages of labor when she recorded the appropriately-titled song “Waiting on a Miracle.”
The first-time mom took a pretty laid-back approach to creating new life as she headed into work that day, deciding to keep the news to herself for a while.
“I didn’t want to tell anybody at Disney because I didn’t want anyone to freak out,” Beatriz told Variety, “but I was already having some contractions when we were scheduled to record that day. I was like ‘Well, fingers crossed I finish the song!’”
How can we bottle some of that next-level chill?
Beatriz gave birth to her daughter, Rosaline, the day following.
Upon learning that Beatriz knew she might be going into labor when they recorded the song, the film’s director, Byron Howard, told Variety, “We knew she was very, very, very, very ready to have that baby. But she did not tell us she was almost, almost ready.”
Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the song, reportedly joked that Beatriz sang “Waiting on a Miracle” while waiting for a miracle of her own. Indeed, it’s hard to imagine the flood of emotions she must have been experiencing while belting out lyrics like, “I am ready! Come on I’m ready! / I’ve been patient and steadfast and steady!”
Read more: The ‘Encanto’ Song That Sums Up How I Feel About Being A Mom Right Now
When she announced her daughter’s arrival in August, Beatriz wrote on Instagram, “I’m very very in awe of the entire experience of having a kiddo. it is INCREDIBLE and HARD AF and BEAUTIFUL and EMOTIONAL, and I can’t remember ever being this amazed and feeling so overwhelmingly full of gratitude.”
Encanto had been in the works for years, and Beatriz had already completed at least 15 recording sessions for the film’s dialogue alone, Howard told Variety, by the time she recorded this song.
Beatriz’s commitment to her work is admirable, and makes for quite a birth story. But — trust us — if you’re having contractions, it’s totally okay to call in sick, even if you aren’t yet sure this is it. And we’re assuming that if she had spilled the beans at work, Disney would have had her punch out immediately.
Encanto hit theaters and Disney+ in November and kids and parents alike have been singing the tunes, whether they like it or not. Multiple tracks have spent time on the Billboard Hot 100.
