So on this addition of Mom Monday I wanted to write about the very first day I became a Mom in 2011 and how I got there!
(this might be my longest post ever, sorry but it's a long story!)
Getting pregnant for us was not totally planned. Yes we had been married for a few months and now it seems so insignificant, but we were planning on giving it a little while before trying for a baby.
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| Our Wedding Day |
Anyways, things happen and there I was pregnant and I knew... I just knew it before I even took the test. But of course I HAD to take the test to prove it to myself and my husband. I wasn't surprised when the test came up positive as my body had already felt very different for a couple of days, I wasn't scared, I wasn't even anxious to tell anyone (except of course my husband and my sister!). I was very calm and quiet , almost eerily so. I spent most of the day just thinking, thinking about how so much can change in only a moment, that moment changed my life and I didn't know it yet but in 9 months I was going to have an incredible little boy.
That calmness didn't really last very long, within a few days I began to try and figure out how this little baby was going to fit in our lives (as if we didn't have room)... Now I realize we had so much room in our hearts and our lives for him, endless amounts of love and space, there will always be space and time for him. But I started concerning myself with the practical things, where would his room be, what was I going to do with all the stuff in that space currently, what did I need for him... and so on.
I had some small issues in my first trimester, something called 'Placenta Previa' but after a few days the doctors seemed convinced it wouldn't cause me any further issues and we would know more around 5 months. So we decided to announce our upcoming arrival on Mother's Day as I was just about 3 months at that point and it seemed we were past the point of worry.
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Our little munchkin sucking his
thumb at 20 weeks ultrasound |
Fast forward to about 5 months, things began to change... the first and most exciting thing was finding out that we were having a little boy! I was already pretty convinced it was a boy but it was nice to hear it from the doctor. With this being my first child I really wanted to know what we were having so that I could be "sure of something" as I felt uncertain about so many other things. The ultrasound confirmed that the Placenta Previa had resolved itself and was not going to an issue during delivery. But after a few more doctor's appointments it became clear that my blood pressure was steadily rising. At this point, I was put on bed rest and referred to an OB to be monitored more closely.
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| Somewhere around 28 weeks |
The OB also referred me to a special neonatal doctor that does more advanced ultrasounds. Though I was always nervous they would find something, this doctor and those ultrasounds were great. We got to see so much detail including yawning, sucking his thumb, and a steady and strong heartbeat. This doctor had me put on a home program so that a nurse would come to my house to do a simple procedure called an NST weekly to measure the baby's heartbeat/movement and any early contractions. I also enjoyed these appointments, despite how the way I was feeling began to deteriorate I got to know that the baby was doing great and growing. As we got closer to 35 weeks, I became increasingly uncomfortable retaining water, and my blood pressure continued to rise. During the NST the nurse noticed that my so-called irregular contractions had become regular, VERY regular and I was also beginning to feel some pain. With the nurse's recommendation in hand we made our 'first' trip to the hospital (well not the first, because of weekly blood tests etc, but the first exciting one!).
Once we got there and got settled in I did not receive the warm welcome I was hoping for from the nurses at the hospital, instead they were very frank with me (which I understand but still not what I was hoping for). They explained that this hospital in particular did not have a NICU and if I did deliver my baby there pre-term, he could be sent to another hospital and I could have to stay there to recover. We had a couple of choices, we could leave, or we could stay and see what happened. I was scared, I stayed despite the fear of actually giving birth and being separated from him.
Almost as if he knew I was scared, everything suddenly stopped. We were at 35 +5 (35 weeks and 5 days), 36 weeks is considered full term and sort of when you get the all-clear because if you go into labor after that point the likelihood of the baby needing the NICU decreases greatly.
So we went home, my labor had stopped, we weren't going to meet our baby that day. I'll admit it, though I had been scared about delivering without the NICU, I was disappointed that it wasn't THE day.
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| Walking through a corn maze at 36 weeks in an attempt to spur on labor (while supposedly on bedrest) bad idea and miserable failure. Notice the hospital bracelet still on my arm. |
The next ultrasound is where they estimated the baby's weight, and at that point they said based on his measurements he could be over 10lbs, now THAT scared me. As I left that appointment the doctor told me if I didn't go into labor again beforehand I would be induced at 37 weeks, standard procedure for a pregnant woman with high blood pressure.
37 weeks came and went, at 37 +1 I phoned the OB who said I was not yet pre-eclamptic so I could wait, then I phoned the neonatal specialist and he called the OB, long story short I was in the hospital within 24 hours.
So then begins the birth story...
Ah but you'll have to wait for the rest until the next Mom Monday, my Mother's Day edition and Part 2 of this post!
If you haven't already you should check out my
KT Tape Review & Giveaway and stay tuned for BMO Race Review coming tomorrow!
