First Ultrasound 10/25/10
I was super excited and nervous when I found out that I was expecting in September of 2010. Just a few weeks before I found out, I was watching my mother struggle with her battle with Pick’s disease. Pick’s disease is a rare form of Alzheimer’s that affects the frontal lobe of the brain. In August of 2010, she was in the final stages and was admitted to the ICU with severe case of pneumonia. My dad was out of town, so I spent the last few days with her at her bed side along with my wonderful husband. She passed away on September 1, 2010 and went home to be with the Lord.
“We’re Pregnant”
I know you are probably thinking in your head, what does this have to do with my journey? Well my mom found out she was pregnant with my twin sisters when her mom was very ill. And when I was in the same situation, I got to thinking that would be weird if I was pregnant when my mom was ill. I found out I was pregnant about three weeks after her funeral. I was ecstatic because me and my wonderful husband spent over 18 months trying to conceive a baby. Shortly after we found out that I was pregnant, my husband was told that his company was going to be bought out by another company. He had an opportunity to stay with the new company; however, it would require moving and that wasn’t an option for us. So in January 2012, he was let go from his company. As many of you might know, the economy is very tough and jobs are hard to come by. Being over half way through my pregnancy, I was kinda nervous about him not having a job but knew everything would work out somehow someway. And it did.
“It’s a ……”
I remember when I first saw my baby on the ultrasound, it was an awesome feeling and made it seem real. ”We are having a baby.” We were hesitant to tell people until after my first sonogram, October 25th, 2010. I remember the day we told the kids and my husband’s mom that we were having a baby. They were all so excited for us. Everything was smooth sailing except for the evening sickness that I would get shortly after getting home from work. On December 29, 2010 we found out that we were expecting a baby boy. I was kinda shocked because at first I thought that I was going to have a girl. However, the night before my sonogram, I had a dream that it was a little boy and sure enough it was.
Almost Time…..
I knew from the start that I was going to breastfeed my baby because I know that breast is best and its free. I had the luxury of being a stay at home mom with my first two children; however, this time I had to return back to work. It was hard knowing that my time was limited with my baby and that I had to return to work when he was almost 2 months old. I had a c-section with him because he decided to turn breach at the weekend before my 40th week. I was devastated to learn at my sonogram on May 24th, 2011, that he had turned breech. I had a sonogram to check on my amniotic fluid levels because with my previous son, I had to be induced because of low fluid. When I received the news that he flipped into the breech position, I already knew that meant having a c-section. I was crushed that I couldn’t have the labor that I wanted. I wanted a all natural birth and wanted to spend some time soaking in the birthing tub as I labored. But the news tossed all my plans out the window.
Planning the Big Day – Due Day
That same day the doctor scheduled my c-section, for Thursday at noon. Later the next day she called me and asked if we wanted to try a manual inversion. However, she also let me know that I had an anterior placenta. With an anterior placenta, it would make turning him potentially harder and there was a greater chance that the placenta may rupture or detach. So I stuck with my decision and opted for a c-section since the risks were so high.
He’s Is Finally Here
Happy Birthday 5/26/11 12:33pm
I went to the hospital for the last time pregnant on May 26th, 2011. It was a day of mixed emotion for me, I was happy that I was coming home with a beautiful baby but I was sad knowing that he would be my last. I opted to have my tubes tied because I have a bad back and since I was having a c-section might as well it taken care of at the same time. My son was born at 12:33pm. When I saw them cleaning him up, while the doctors were busy taking care of me, I just stared at my husband and my baby boy. He looked so tiny. He weighed 7lbs, 13oz and was 21 inches long. After they finished his vitals, the nurse wrapped him up and handed him to my husband. As they wheeled me out of surgery, they placed the baby in my arms. I remember holding his tiny hand and joy filled my heart.
A Rough Start
The c-section went very well. However, recovery was a bit rough those first few hours. I had a spinal block for my surgery, and when it starts to wear off the main side effect was shakiness. I was able to start breastfeeding him shortly after I went to recovery. He latched on and was nursing very well. As I begun to shake more and more, I was scared of dropping him, so I had to have the nurse help me and she had him latch on in a different position.
Exhaustion Sets In
Once I was moved to a postpartum room, things slowly got better after the anesthesia finally wore off. The nurses helped keep me comfortable and kept my pain at a minimum. And I was able to nurse my baby; however, he constantly wanted to eat. I remember not getting much sleep while in the hospital because it seemed that just as I would start to doze off the baby would wake up. He would eat and only wanted to sleep cuddled up next to someone. After, many hours of nursing I finally gave up and offered him a tiny amount of formula. I felt like I couldn’t get him full. After drinking a few ounces of formula, he dozed off for a few hours and so did I. In the hospital, he had two small bottles of formula and that was the only bit of formula that my son had since he was born. I really didn’t want to give him any formula at all but I was so exhausted and he was hungry, I let him have it.
We Are Home
After we got home, I much happier because I could finally sleep in my own bed and get some rest without the nurses constantly waking me up. I took my pain medicine on a regular basis and stayed on top of my pain management. This helped me recover much faster.
Dreading the Day I Go Back to Work
I enjoyed spending quality time bonding with my husband, new baby boy, and my two older children. Time flew by and it was time for me to think about going back to work. I was very sad knowing that I was going to have to leave my baby, but I was relieved that my husband would be taking care of him, since he was still unemployed at this time. My husband was wonderful at taking care of the baby and I loved watching them bond.
Returning to Work
When I returned to work, I had to pump breast milk so that I could continue feeding him my milk. At first I was very nervous about pumping several times a day at work. I wasn’t sure that I would be able to pump enough milk for him each day. I did have a freezer stash built up just in case I couldn’t produce enough. However, I was able to produce plenty of milk to provide him fresh breast milk each day. I pumped until June of this year and cut back to only breastfeeding twice a day at this point. He is almost 15 months old and it makes me sad that my baby boy is growing up so fast. I love watching him grow and learn new things.
Materials to Help Prepare for the Birth of Your Baby
