In this post, I told the story of how our first born Haley came into this world. And for 5 years, 1 month and 14 days, she was an only child. And then our lives changed forever...
After Haley was born, Evan and I decided that we were going to be a one child family. We liked the size of our family and I wasn't thrilled about the idea of having another high risk pregnancy.
Until Haley was about 3 and I got baby fever. And i just felt like maybe we were meant to have another child. And Evan didn't disagree.
So I stopped taking pills and we decided to see what happened.
I have a very vivid memory of sitting across the table from Evan one night when we had a date night at Outback. It had been 8 months since we had decided to start trying for #2. And in 8 months, nothing happened. And I was sad. Really sad. As I looked across at him, I cried. I couldn't help it. I cried because I wanted a baby. And it wasn't happening.
And so I decided to go to the doctor. And she there was nothing wrong. That until we had tried for a year, I was not in need of help. I left frustrated.
And at the 1 year point of trying to have a baby, I decided it wasn't supposed to happen. And I decided I was not going to think about it anymore. Part of me even decided it was a dumb idea to even want another baby. Why would I want an infant when I had a child that was starting to be self-sufficient? And so I gave up.
And I got pregnant.
I took a test by myself thinking that it would be negative like all the rest. But it had a faint pink line. And I panicked. And the only thing I knew to do was call Evan. He was in the checkout line at Wal-Mart and I called him and said "I think we're having a baby". And I think he didn't know what to think and just went on about his business as if it were just another day. I think they call that shock.
And so we did the normal "we're having a baby" things. Until I was 19 weeks pregnant and I started to have contractions. We spent 1 night in the hospital hooked to monitors and me taking shots. And things seemed to calm down. Until 29 weeks. I went into a regular OB appointment not feeling well. She decided I needed to see a neonatologist because I was contracting and dialating a little. So I went to see Dr. Brown in Decatur.
I while I was in her office, I went into full blown labor.
She called the hospital and wanted me to take a ambulance, but I decided Evan needed to drive me and she agreed.
As soon as we got to the hospital, we were sent into a room and I was immediately put on Mag Sulfate. They had been waiting on us.
I was so scared and sad. I was not ready to have a preemie.
Another just like my pregnancy with Haley, I have 5-6 days of my life that I do not remember. I was medicated and sedated and doctors did everything they could to keep my baby in.
And on the 7th day, I needed to go home. It was Haley's 5th birthday. And she needed her Mommy there. But the doctor said no. She said I could not leave the hospital because I was not stable on my own.
But I signed myself out. I had to. It was the right thing to do. And the doctor in charge of my care told me I was endangering my unborn child's life and that if something happened, I was to blame. It was hard. But I sign saying that I was willingly resisting medical treatment.
And I was discharged on complete bed rest, flat on my back.
Haley's party went well. She was happy I was there. I felt awful and hardly remember anything.
And for the next 4 weeks I laid still. And I went to the neonatologist once a week. And they did all they could to keep me from dilating any further. I stayed at 2.
And at 36 weeks, I was taken off of all medications. And Britton waited 1 more week to come (with a little help from a midwife).
On Aug 16th I went to a 10am appointment. The midwife came in, I started to cry. She knew I was in pain and in early labor. And so she stripped my membranes (gross and ouch) and I was at the hospital by 12:30 ready to have a baby.
I had an epidural as soon as I got there. And it malfunctioned. I had some sort of "hot spot" reaction that caused my body to feel extreme pain. And so they turned the epidural off.
And I gave birth to an 8 pound 5 oz butterball naturally.
And it was awful. I have never felt worse in my life. And the whole experience was insane.
Like when the midwife told me to reach down and pull out my baby! And that was not a part of my plan (not that I had a plan but that was not a part of it!).
But then there he was.
Chubby, bald headed and big headed. But sweet and mine.
And I should have know on that day that God was sending us an adventure. Cause that is what Britton is- an adventure! Never a dull moment when he is around.
I am so glad that God blessed us with #2. As I say often, "Life would be boring with Britton around!"
Love that boy of mine.
After Haley was born, Evan and I decided that we were going to be a one child family. We liked the size of our family and I wasn't thrilled about the idea of having another high risk pregnancy.
Until Haley was about 3 and I got baby fever. And i just felt like maybe we were meant to have another child. And Evan didn't disagree.
So I stopped taking pills and we decided to see what happened.
I have a very vivid memory of sitting across the table from Evan one night when we had a date night at Outback. It had been 8 months since we had decided to start trying for #2. And in 8 months, nothing happened. And I was sad. Really sad. As I looked across at him, I cried. I couldn't help it. I cried because I wanted a baby. And it wasn't happening.
And so I decided to go to the doctor. And she there was nothing wrong. That until we had tried for a year, I was not in need of help. I left frustrated.
And at the 1 year point of trying to have a baby, I decided it wasn't supposed to happen. And I decided I was not going to think about it anymore. Part of me even decided it was a dumb idea to even want another baby. Why would I want an infant when I had a child that was starting to be self-sufficient? And so I gave up.
And I got pregnant.
I took a test by myself thinking that it would be negative like all the rest. But it had a faint pink line. And I panicked. And the only thing I knew to do was call Evan. He was in the checkout line at Wal-Mart and I called him and said "I think we're having a baby". And I think he didn't know what to think and just went on about his business as if it were just another day. I think they call that shock.
And so we did the normal "we're having a baby" things. Until I was 19 weeks pregnant and I started to have contractions. We spent 1 night in the hospital hooked to monitors and me taking shots. And things seemed to calm down. Until 29 weeks. I went into a regular OB appointment not feeling well. She decided I needed to see a neonatologist because I was contracting and dialating a little. So I went to see Dr. Brown in Decatur.
I while I was in her office, I went into full blown labor.
She called the hospital and wanted me to take a ambulance, but I decided Evan needed to drive me and she agreed.
As soon as we got to the hospital, we were sent into a room and I was immediately put on Mag Sulfate. They had been waiting on us.
I was so scared and sad. I was not ready to have a preemie.
Another just like my pregnancy with Haley, I have 5-6 days of my life that I do not remember. I was medicated and sedated and doctors did everything they could to keep my baby in.
And on the 7th day, I needed to go home. It was Haley's 5th birthday. And she needed her Mommy there. But the doctor said no. She said I could not leave the hospital because I was not stable on my own.
But I signed myself out. I had to. It was the right thing to do. And the doctor in charge of my care told me I was endangering my unborn child's life and that if something happened, I was to blame. It was hard. But I sign saying that I was willingly resisting medical treatment.
And I was discharged on complete bed rest, flat on my back.
Haley's party went well. She was happy I was there. I felt awful and hardly remember anything.
And for the next 4 weeks I laid still. And I went to the neonatologist once a week. And they did all they could to keep me from dilating any further. I stayed at 2.
And at 36 weeks, I was taken off of all medications. And Britton waited 1 more week to come (with a little help from a midwife).
On Aug 16th I went to a 10am appointment. The midwife came in, I started to cry. She knew I was in pain and in early labor. And so she stripped my membranes (gross and ouch) and I was at the hospital by 12:30 ready to have a baby.
I had an epidural as soon as I got there. And it malfunctioned. I had some sort of "hot spot" reaction that caused my body to feel extreme pain. And so they turned the epidural off.
And I gave birth to an 8 pound 5 oz butterball naturally.
And it was awful. I have never felt worse in my life. And the whole experience was insane.
Like when the midwife told me to reach down and pull out my baby! And that was not a part of my plan (not that I had a plan but that was not a part of it!).
But then there he was.
Chubby, bald headed and big headed. But sweet and mine.
And I should have know on that day that God was sending us an adventure. Cause that is what Britton is- an adventure! Never a dull moment when he is around.
I am so glad that God blessed us with #2. As I say often, "Life would be boring with Britton around!"
Love that boy of mine.
i LOVE it. your birth stories are war stories, lady. you fought for those munchkins! i think i will now shut up about how "hard" my pregnancy is.
ReplyDeleteWe have so much in common with our birth stories!!! And, I agree about the natural route. I went willingly, however... I chose no meds... and it was the worse thing EVER!!! I don't recommend it to anyone! (of course, I have Olive on my sciatic nerve which was a billion times more painful than the labor.) Glad you and IU both made it thru our ridiculous pregnancies w/ healthy babies!!
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