Caution: Pregnancy and Birth Uncensored

Warning: For mature viewing only.

I read all of the typical pregnancy books for our first pregnancy and yet some how when it came down to the real life experience there was a lot left unmentioned.  I know A LOT of people who are currently expecting their first and I know that every pregnancy, labor, and delivery are vastly different, but if you are interested on some of the things the books leave out here is my take.

Big and beautiful: You're 9 months, your belly is round and full of baby.  You are ready to meet this baby wonder and thinking about how you'll get your pre-pregnancy shape back.  You won't get it back.  I'm sorry, but your hips will widen with each baby and in some cases your feet too.  And as far as your mid section if you were able to avoid stretch marks consider yourself blessed.  If you are like the women in my family your belly grows only forward and looks like you're smuggling a beach ball, it will not matter how many crunches I do or how many sessions of Zumba classes, I will for the rest of my life have extra skin, not fat, actual skin.  This is NOT the case for everyone but for some women it's just a fact of carrying babies.  So don't drive your self mad after the baby comes trying to bounce back like a celebrity, enjoy your baby and your squishy tummy for a while... you earned it!

The Milk Factory:  I knew I wanted to breastfeed, it is what's best after all.  But not a single soul told me that the night I came home from the hospital I should have slept on a mound of towels because my milk would come in and completely soak through the mattress.  No one bothered to mention lanolin either.  If you're going to breastfeed do yourself a favor and buy a case of it, your nipples will thank you.  Also, if your baby cries your milk will let down, you'll unhook your nursing bra and before baby can make contact you will shoot milk across the room or in your baby's eye etc.  The longer you breastfeed the less likely it is that your let down will be so strong but at least I gave you a heads up. (Side note: After the baby is born, the hospital will send many different lactation consultants.  I found that the advice I received completely varied from consultant to consultant.  A vast age difference made for the passing along of old wives tales about how to breastfeed.  I attribute my nursing success to Mother's Milk tea, pumping which ever side the baby didn't nurse from in the beginning, and 2 visits to the local La Leche League.)

Third Trimester Dreams:  I woke up in the middle of the night crying and wondering what in the world was wrong with me during my third trimester.  I called Mom and told her about my nightmare and she told me it was normal.  A little warning would have been nice.  Third trimester dreams can be horrifically vivid and gory.  Some of the most disturbing images you never thought you could dare imagine come to life in super hormone charged slumber.  You're not crazy but your hormones are.

After All The Pushing:  You'll be sore but you won't care because you'll be struck with awe at this little human you just ushered into the world.  Unfortunately, you'll most likely be shifted to the hospital post delivery wing and be inundated with interns and nurses checking on you and the baby.  My advice: either check out early or hang a sign on the door asking staff to not disturb unless necessary.  We hung the sign on the door.  (It probably saved a few nurses from some serious over protective new Momma wrath).

Recovery:  This little person has stolen your heart and you're completely smitten.  As you should be, there is no love greater than Momma-Baby love.  You're devoted to this new life but you also have to remember to take care of yourself after delivery.  For routine vaginal births it is common to bleed to a certain degree for about 6 weeks.  Note: Passing blood versus passing clots is very different, if you are passing clots call your care provider.  This is the first time I will have ever admitted this but if it helps someone then it's worth the embarrassment: I actually wore super thin adult diapers.  The hospital will send you home with these funky mesh undies with heavy duty pads that felt more than a diaper to me that the actual adult diaper.  The super thin adult diapers gave me a more secure feeling not to mention being more comfortable.  There it is, gross but true.

This isn't to scare or deter from having babies, but maybe there is a reason why all of the books leave it out.  All I can say is that I'm willing to do it again and women all over the world are willing to do it time and time again.  It's worth it.  So incredibly worth it. 

The HG Pregnancy Diary

We are into the 2nd trimester!  This pregnancy is certainly rolling along faster than Muffin's.  A lot of that can be attributed to the fact that I'm chasing a very active toddler and I haven't picked up a single pregnancy book (they'll drive you nuts with anticipation and in hindsight didn't tell me anything useful anyway.)

This pregnancy I am vowing to take more belly bump pictures, I feel I didn't take enough the first go round.  I also want to be a little more diligent about documenting my pregnancy care/upkeep.  So without further ado here is the first belly bump picture for baby #2:

This is about 12 weeks.  My body has already shifted into "looking pregnant", it would seem that it remembers very well how to make room for baby.  I'm showing much earlier this go round which is a perk because who doesn't love having a baby bump to rub!?  Especially when you're a sick preggo, like myself.

And about being a sick preggo...

The hubby snapped this one on one of my twice weekly fluids treatments.  I have hyperemesis gravidarum, (HG for short) basically my body can't handle to hormones produced in pregnancy and I stay in a constant state of extreme nausea and vomiting.  I have read many different statistics about how many women suffer with HG and although the exact number vary slightly, the most common is 1%-3%.  And of that 1%-3% only 20%-30% suffer from HG for the entire duration until birth.  Last time I was in that 20%-30%, I've been told by my midwife that there is a chance that it may not last the entire pregnancy this time but I'm not holding my breath.  (Something to pray for though!)

As of right now I've only had one overnight stay in the hospital at 11 weeks due to my keytones testing too high before and after a fluids therapy visit. (More than +4)  I usually test around trace to +2 and bounce back after 2 liters but sometimes I fall in a rut with sickness and it's hard to get back in front of the 8 ball without getting a little extra help.  (Keytones are what they use to measure dehydration from testing urine.  If you're hydrated your keytones are negative.  Anything "trace" or "+" is a sign of dehydration.  The higher the "+" the more dehydrated you are.)

So the routine at the moment is 2 visits a week and 2 liters at each of those visits, testing keytones before and after.  I wear a 3 day scopolamine patch and take zofran twice a day.  They considered setting me up with a zofran pump but I feel as though I get poked enough with needles and opted out of poking myself in the stomach daily and wearing a fanny pack filled with syringes of medicine.  I eat a cup of food at a time, I'm not able to stomach full meals so I graze.  (And what does stay down is pretty bland).

(Note:  I also take OTC softeners because if you don't while on a regime of Zofran you can suffer some very serious cramping.)

There are good days and bad days, if I take it easy I can stay on top of being hydrated.  I'm still so thrilled to be having this baby, I wish my body was better at being pregnant but as long as we can welcome this healthy bundle into the world this journey is completely worth it!

The Announcement

Here is our first look at our newest member of the family!  We will be welcoming this little bundle sometime in February.  For those that know of my previous pregnancy, this pregnancy seems to be right in sync with my past experience.  My HG is full blown but my care this go round is much much better. (If you are expecting or trying to conceive I HIGHLY recommend you forgo the OB and link up with local midwives!  The level of knowledge and care is hard to beat.)  I'll be posting later about my current care regime but for now: Yippee we're pregnant!

Rushing It

"You still rock her to sleep?  Even for her naps?"
"You nursed her until she was how old!?"
"She's old enough to walk, why do you carry her everywhere?"

My response has changed of the course of my parenthood adventure but I seem to have found the best response for me : "Why rush it?"

I assure you, she will grow to no longer ask for her stars night light before bed, lullabies, or to be rocked.  And she nursed until she was ready to stop and so what if she remembers?  If we have more children she'll see me nurse them constantly anyway.  And carrying her, well, aside from the fact that she absolutely will not ride in a cart or stroller, she loves it.  We can chat face to face while I shop or hike and she twirls my hair around her little toddler fingers.  (This isn't a major factor, but just driving the point home: 4 children have been abducted from their parents while in plain site in our area in the past year.  Praise the Lord they were all rescued and returned safely to loved ones).

Why is everyone so set on rushing it?  Sometimes I think it's a milestone war, who's baby can sleep through the night first, crawl, walk, etc.  Milestones will drive you mad.  If not the worry about them, the constant reminder from others.  I no longer care.  She was late on all of her mobility milestones by months and she still isn't ready for potty training.  This isn't a problem or a concern I have.  She has proven to me time and time again that only when she's ready will she tackle something new, once ready she only takes a few days to master it.

Other times I think it's buying into the hype.  Heard of a thing called "tweens"?  My general definition of a tween is the stage before becoming a teenager where kids are allowed to emulate teens because they are soon to be one.  Um, no.  Why are we rushing kids out of childhood into a world of scantily clad dressed pop stars and dolls.  Let babies be babies and children be children.  I'm not buying into what the newest toy company is telling me my child should be interested in.

My baby is a baby until she lets me know she's ready to be otherwise.  I miss what we call her "peanut days" when she was brand new but I also adore every new skill she masters as she grows.  Having a front row seat for your child growing up is pretty awe inspiring, who in the world would want to rush that?

The Epic Month of May

Three birthdays, two graduations, and lots of travel.  May is a whirlwind of celebrations for our family and to be honest I'm still reeling.  But as hectic as it was, I loved every beautiful second of it.

Our Weekend Together: JMU Gradutaion

  This past weekend we all gathered to watch the baby of four walk across the stage, shake the Dean's hand and accept her diploma.  She did it!  A James Madison University Alumni and a future New England Law student.  It rained all day, but if you remember Kaite, Grandma taught us that rain was a blessing.  I love you dear sister very very much and I know with certainty you'll succeed.  I'm proud of you.  Congratulations!

Bella Cakes update

Spring has arrived and so have the cake orders!  It's been a busy few weekends around here...