The Birth

By

My son was due on October 2, 2013, but he made his big appearance on Tuesday, September 24, 2013. The night before, I had gone to bed early because I was feeling nauseous. My husband went to bed early as well because he was tired from work that day. As soon as I laid down, I began to have cramps and back pain. I assumed the pain was Braxton Hicks contractions. Over the next two hours, the pain became stronger and more frequent. My husband thought that we needed to go to the hospital, but I was so sure that I wasn’t in labor. I decided to time how far apart the contractions were and at the time they were ten minutes apart. Suddenly, I felt the urge to pee so I got up and as soon as I did I felt some fluid leak out. It wasn’t a big gush of fluid, so I didn’t know if my water broke or if I had just urinated in my pants. When I went to the bathroom, I noticed a very small amount of blood. That’s when I decided it was time to call my doctor. The doctor on call told me that there would be more fluid if my water had broken and that it may have just been my mucus plug. She told me to lay down for an hour and when I get up again if I felt more fluid then my water probably had broken. I only laid down for about thirty minutes because the contractions were stronger and closer together. My husband timed the contractions and they were now anywhere between three and seven minutes apart. I called the on call doctor back and she told me to come in. We left our house at 11:00 pm. The pain was excruciating by the time we got to the hospital (it was a 40 minute ride there). At the hospital, the nurse told me that if I wasn’t dilated at least three centimeters then I would be sent home. I told my husband that I was in too much pain to sit in the car and go home, and we would wait in the waiting room until I was dilated more. Fortunately, I was dilated three centimeters so they admitted me. At about 3:00 in the morning, I got my epidural which was the bet thing ever. I couldn’t feel any pain from my contractions. I couldn’t even tell when I was having a contraction. I was so exhausted, but was unable to get any sleep. My blood pressure was taken every fifteen minutes. The nurses would come in at least every hour to turn me to the other side because of the epidural. They came in more often though because every time I moved the baby’s heartbeat would drop. As annoying as the interruptions were, it was nice to know that they were monitoring me and the baby carefully. Around 2:30 PM, I began to feel my contractions again. They were becoming extremely painful. The nurses said that the epidural only takes away about 80% of the pain and that they needed me to feel my contractions so I knew when to push. The doctor came in to check how dilated I was. At that point I was 9 1/2 centimeters. I didn’t reach 10 centimeters until 4:00. I began pushing at 4:30. The nurses had me start with three pushes for every contraction, but after awhile they had me push four times per contraction. This was the worst pain I ever felt, and I wanted it to be over. Finally, at 6:20 PM, my son was born. I was so relieved that he was finally out. After briefly checking him, the nurses tossed him onto my chest. I put my arms around him, and that’s when the most unforgettable thing happened – he tilted his tiny head upwards and looked directly into my eyes. It was love at first sight.

Tears

By

When I had told my husband that I wanted to try again a few months after my miscarriage, I was sure that I would be extremely worried about another miscarriage – at least until I got past the week when I lost my first baby. Surprisingly, I really wasn’t worried until about halfway through the pregnancy when I knew the gender and could feel him move a lot. Occasionally, I would get scared of losing this baby as well. Recently, I feel like I have been grieving all over again from my first loss. The sadness never went away, and I don’t think it ever will, but lately I have started crying out of the blue. I would be sitting working on lesson plans for school when I would suddenly start crying. It’s strange because I wasn’t thinking about my miscarriage when I started crying. The tears came first and then I started thinking about it. Some of the same questions I had last year flooded my mind. Why did this happen to me? What did I do wrong? The doubts I had about my faith and God came back as well. I’m not scared of losing this baby anymore because my pregnancy has gone so well, and I feel guilty about grieving again over my previous loss. This happened for about two weeks in a row, but now I seem to be better. Maybe it’s a combination of hormones, anxiety about the upcoming birth, and the fact that the date of my loss is coming up. I just have to remind myself that it’s okay to grieve, but if I had that baby then I wouldn’t have my little boy.

Full Term

By

Today I have reached full term (37 weeks). My baby is due in 3 weeks. I am able to feel how little room he has left in there. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that I actually have a human life inside of me. It’s the strangest but most wonderful feeling I have ever had.

I have been feeling a little overwhelmed though. I am now going to the doctor every week and after my appointments my husband and I go out and buy other baby stuff that we need. There is so much stuff and stores have baby checklists, but sometimes it’s difficult to determine exactly what we absolutely have to buy. Obviously diapers are a necessity, but what about things like a diaper pail? Is that really worth the money? I’m trying to save money as much as possible. I know I have at least everything I need to bring the baby home and for the first couple of weeks. It’s just overwhelming as this is my first child.

Exhaustion

By

I am completely exhausted. When I come home from work in the evenings I usually eat dinner and then shower and try to get to bed by 9:00. Falling asleep is never the problem. It’s staying asleep. I sleep undisturbed for about two to three hours before waking up. If I lay all the way down then I start to vomit in my sleep (see pregnancy issues post). I tried to sleep with my head propped up the last two nights, but that has made my neck sore, and I am very uncomfortable. Everything I read says I should be resting now to save my energy for labor. If I were to go into labor now I would not have the energy to push. I wish I could have one good night’s sleep before the baby arrives. 

Pregnancy Issues Part 2

By

I’m still having some stomach issues. I’m not throwing up anymore, nor am I nauseous; however, my stomach has been hurting and I’ve spent a lot of time in the bathroom. The last two days I have had a lot of dizziness, and today I had a migraine. The doctor says everything is okay with me and the baby. Part of it may be my lack of sleep. People have told me that when they were pregnant they didn’t sleep at all the last month of their pregnancy and that helps to prepare new mothers for the sleepless nights to come. I’m just so exhausted. I need one night of quality sleep. 

Pregnancy Issues (Warning: This post is not for the queasy)

By

So in general my heartburn has eased up. However, I still have some stomach issues. There have been a few nights where acid has started to come up while I am still asleep. I start to choke and have to sit up for about an hour coughing and drinking water. Well last night I started to throw up in my sleep. When  I sat up I tried to take some deep breaths and drink water. Some of it had gotten into my airway and I could smell and taste the vomit (yuck!). The smell, taste, and my coughing made me start to vomit everywhere. It was really bad. My husband spent hours cleaning up after me and washing sheets. Once I had stopped throwing up, I had difficulty breathing because of stuff getting into my lungs. It felt like I was wheezing. Eventually I coughed everything up. I stayed up the rest of the night and ended up going to work so I wouldn’t have to use a sick day. Since then I have had several moments of dizziness. I think tonight I will take an antacid before bed even if I feel fine and I will sleep with my head propped up. I am so ready for my son to make his appearance.

48 days

By

There are only 48 days until my son’s due date. I am ready for him to come out. He moves the most in the evenings and during the night. I think he has taken up kickboxing on my ribs and stomach. My heartburn has been so severe that I sometimes feel like I’m going to throw up. I don’t want him to come out too early because I know that’s not good for him, but I just feel so uncomfortable all the time now. Plus, I am so excited to meet him!

Frustration

By

Before my husband and I make any big purchases, we always do a lot of research on the product. We look at a variety of brands and styles. When it came time to research stuff for the baby this ritual for us became a major source of frustration. We spent a month researching nursery furniture. We wanted high quality for a low price which resulted in middle of the road furniture. Finally, we found a set that even had a matching glider and ottoman that had good reviews and not out of our price range. That took away some of the frustration. Then when we researched car seats and strollers, it seemed that all the products with the best reviews had recently been discontinued. Then we found a stroller travel system with great reviews. We had a store hold it for us, but when we went to buy it it seemed to be poorly made. There were many things about that travel system that were unappealing. We spent more than an hour in the store looking at more stroller travel systems. Finally, we found one that we loved. Before purchasing it, we looked it up on our iPhones to read reviews, but it had none. We were so frustrated. We wanted to make sure that we had the safest products for our baby. Finally, we just decided to get the system that we fell in love with at the store and hope for the best. Preparing for a baby is the most exciting yet frustrating thing I’ve ever had to do.

Earaches

By

Lately during my pregnancy, I have been dealing with earaches. For about a month the pain switched between ears. Then about two weeks ago, I had excruciating pain in my right ear and the right side of my jaw. I thought it was an infection, but it would only start to hurt in the evenings and did not hurt all day. It started easing up about a week ago. When I went to my OB, he looked in my ears and said that there was no infection. (Thank goodness because I don’t want to be on antibiotics while pregnant). He said it’s common during pregnancy to get fluid behind the ears, and it could be hitting a nerve in my jaw. Fortunately, the pain has gone now. I only experience a little stuffiness in my ears in the evenings.