Monday, January 24, 2011

The way it's supposed to be

When I first became pregnant, I had the perfect birth in mind. I was going to labor for as long as possible at home (or nearby- walking around a 24-hr Wal-Mart) before going to the hospital. I didn’t want any medication; certainly no pitocin and I was optimistic about laboring without (and delivering without) an epidural or narcotic drugs. I figured, like many women reminded me, “my body is made for this”. Fast forward to my third trimester- I felt like I was 300 months pregnant. At 36 weeks, an ultrasound estimated my baby to weigh 9 lbs and forecasted a 10+ lb baby if carried to term. My OB/GYN expressed concern for delivering a 10 lb baby vaginally, since I had no previous history of doing so. I have to admit, I was concerned as well. My husband and I weighed the pros versus the cons, and together, we made the decision to go with a scheduled C-section. At first, I felt sad that I wouldn’t be able to experience all those typical labor/delivery milestones: my water breaking, timing contractions, rushing off to the hospital, pushing out a baby.. etc. But you know, the more I thought about it, the more excited I became about having a date and time that I would be certain to greet the most awesome person I have ever met. Is that selfish? Maybe. Did I catch a lot of negative tones? Of course- you know, the usually, “so sorry you’re having a c-section”, “that’s too bad a normal birth didn’t work out for you”, and the worst, most unsupportative comments: “You know, you don’t HAVE to have a surgical birth!”, “Get another opinion!”, “See another doctor!” and “It’s your right to refuse surgery!”  Not a single person (outside of my mother) said, “Wow. Congratulations!” or expressed any excitement or happiness that I was about to embark on one of the most significant milestones of my entire life! I was made to be a mother! In the final 7 days leading up to my date, I embraced the final hours of pregnancy- my heart smiled with every kick from my loved one as if he was saying, “I’ll see you soon mom!”.  In the end, his method of getting here wasn’t important. What was important was that he gets here and that he is safe and healthy!
My next pregnancy will undoubtedly result in another scheduled c-section and I’m okay with that. It might not be the way God intended for ALL women, but it is the way that he intended for me.

Oh, and let me add that my newborn son weighed in at 9lbs8oz!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

What a difference a year makes!

On January 11, 2010, I went to my first prenatal doctor appointment. I was sooo excited to hear the heartbeat and receive orders for our first ultrasound! Now, nearly a year later, on January 15, 2011, Max was introduced to solid foods! He ate his first avocado! What a difference a year makes!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

2010 Christmas- Full of Firsts!

I never imagined how much fun Christmas can be when you have kids! Granted, Max being only 5 months old for his first Christmas, chances are he won’t remember a thing! And I’m sure he didn’t understand the presents, although the sparkly ribbons were mesmerizing for him.  It was so fun to celebrate the holidays with a new baby, as a new family unit! I really got into it. It was only the second time in mine and Brian’s 13 year relationship that we had a Christmas tree—and I actually bought Christmas decorations (placemats, napkins, new stockings for the dogs!). So fun.
It was *so fun* despite Max and us being so sick! Max caught RSV, a pretty serious respiratory virus through daycare and spent the holidays pretty miserable. I learned yesterday that several of the other babies from the daycare that also had RSV had such serious cases that they were admitted into local hospitals for observation! We got lucky! Regardless, he couldn’t breathe, which meant he had trouble nursing; he couldn’t sleep because he was coughing; and all this gave him a double ear infection! AGH! He was on nebulizer treatments (which anyone who’s ever successfully convinced an infant to wear a mask that delivers vaporized medicine deserves a pat on the back!) and antibiotics—and Tylenol for the teething and overall sickness discomfort. As he started to recover, it was mommy and daddy’s turn to endure an awful cold! So for Christmas, we all sat around listening to each other cough and blow our noses.
Santa took a risk though, entered our germ infested home, and delivered us all a wonderful first Christmas with Max.

This is a first.. and hopefully a last!

L So I managed to pack my breastpump bag with everything except enough bottle caps to get me through the day. There was no way I was going to pour 9 ounces of BM down the drain—1 oz, okay, but 9?! No way! So I ran down a nurse at the medical facility I pump at and we found some urine specimen containers I could use! It was either that or a Grande Starbucks cup! I’m blaming sleep deprivation.