Our Bun in the Oven





Our pregnancy was far from typical.  But it was something we both felt so blessed to have and although I spent a lot of time in the hospital.  We never lost sight of the miracle that was happening.

Corey and I from the start of dating talked about what our ideal family style and size would be.  We both knew we wanted to be young parents, we both knew we wanted for me to stay at home full time to make sure that our kids knew that they were always what we had dreamed of and always our top priority.  This is most certainly not the only way to do things, but it is the way we chose to build our family life together.

9 months pregnant and in my favorite top.

From the beginning of our pregnancy I was sick, very sick.  Having spells of what we thought was morning sickness all day, all night.  Our first baby doc, who usually had his NP do most of the patient visits shrugged this off giving us the textbook list of ways to reduce the effects of morning sickness and sent us on our way.  Oh and by the way he said I needed to grin and bear it for about 14 weeks of the pregnancy.  Week 14 rolls around, I’ve lost 10 pounds.  Go back to the Dr. they are somewhat alarmed at the weight loss, take some samples and determine I’m very dehydrated and need to go to get fluids.

I was eating, I had to eat, and I was so afraid that the baby wasn’t getting everything she needed because I was unable to keep anything down.  After what were about 4 trips to the outpatient unit at our hospital to get fluids and put on a regular schedule of anti nausea meds the first dr. made it clear that he had nothing more to offer and suggested my transfer of care to the high risk unit and University of Virginia Hospital.

To state one more time: I was eating, drinking, and chewing ice cubes ALL the time.  I felt that if the food was in my tummy for 30 seconds it was better than not at all.

At my life long best friend's shower, we actually had the same due dates...

As far as I know I still hold the record for the most dehydrated person ever admitted to UVA.  Go big or go home right?  I was admitted for a week at a time, several times to get IV fluids and other essential nutrients hard wired in.  The good news was the baby was healthy, thriving, and getting very big.  A “perk” was I had lots of ultrasounds, so I was very acquainted with this little munchkin and had lots of photos for my brag book already!

It was determined, towards the end of my pregnancy and 35 pounds lighter, that while forming all that is necessary for the baby to live and grow in my belly, my body made too many blood vessels putting me in a perpetual state of vertigo.  There were other complications, Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction aka SPD, feel free to look it up if you would like to know the cause, I won’t go into that here, but my symptoms were I could not raise my legs on my own, my DH had to carry me most places in the house that requires a step up and it leaves you in quite a bit of pain.

Two days before my induction...

Given the risks, the docs at UVA decided it would be best if I was induced early to avoid getting too weak to handle labor.  They understood that we wanted a natural delivery and an early induction was my only hope of avoiding a c-section.

Skip to induction day, it’s a party in the delivery room.  My husband and my entire family had invested so much not only in this little person but also in me and my care.  Would we have liked to have been able to wait until my body started labor naturally? Yes.  Would I have preferred to have less medical intervention? Yes.  But there isn’t a wrong way as long as you are choosing the safest way.

Laboring

On Tuesday May 18^th 2010, we met our sweet girl at 3:37 pm, after almost 4 days of labor.  She was perfect at 8 pounds 6.3 oz,19 ¾ inches long, deep blue eyes and a head full of auburn hair.  From that moment I was smitten, this little person we had created and worked so very hard to meet had changed our lives and world forever.  So you may be wondering, would I do it all over again? Yes, undoubtedly and without question.  The daily reward of raising this blessing makes any complication seem beyond worth it.