pregnancy
Growing your family, one baby bump at a time. All about the ups and downs of nature's 9 month miracle.
21 and Pregnant
Hi, my name is LeighAnn, I'm 21-years-old and currently about 14 weeks pregnant. I found out about the pregnancy when I was 6 weeks along. When I saw those two little lines, I panicked. It was hard to breathe. I couldn't stop crying over the phone to my boyfriend. He reassured me that everything would be fine. I was filled with every emotion, scared, angry, sad.
By LeighAnn Connor7 years ago in Families
Things No One Told Me About the Second Trimester...
When I wrote my original article about my first trimester woes, I was so excited to be entering the second trimester, hoping to settle comfortably into the magic of pregnancy that I had heard so much about, but that didn’t happen. Although I am now very excited to meet my son, I’m starting to plan and nest. We have started buying baby things and the names list is getting more and more concise. There are still things that haven’t quite fit into this idyllic pregnancy scenario that I had painted up in my head since I was a kid. Everyone from my friends, to my midwife, to the internet had told me: Your second trimester is the best bit, you will have an energy burst, your sickness will go, your hormones will settle! It’s supposed to be the enjoyable bit before the gruelling third where you drag around a huge belly and can’t tie your own laces. Well, as I head swiftly toward my third trimester, here is what I have to say about my second.
By Samantha Bentley7 years ago in Families
16 and Pregnant, Part One
At 16 I never expected my life to literally flip upside down. I was in my “prime” you see. Just got my license, went to state in powerlifting, was a regional qualifier in track. I was a small, shy, and rather awkward, tiny little ball of energy. With all my new found freedoms and independence that came along with turning the big 16, I got my first boyfriend. He was the hot shot popular guy from my sisters grade. Three years doesn’t make much of a difference, right? Of course not.
By Jordan Miller7 years ago in Families
It's Okay to Have an Opinion. Top Story - September 2018.
If you've ever been expecting a baby, then you're familiar with the question. The first one that everyone, even strangers, will ask. The question on everyone's mind; the answer they're obsessed with knowing. Are you having a boy or a girl? Followed up with, "Which do you want?"
By Kelsi Smoak7 years ago in Families
Layla
Pregnancy is supposed to be this beautiful thing, from the positive pregnancy test, seeing baby on ultrasound (or babies), little baby kicks, and finally the birth of your child. It’s a time of joy for most moms to be (and dads). No one and nothing preps you for never feeling those kicks, dreading seeing your baby on ultrasound, and never bringing home your child from a birth that wasn’t so perfect.
By Kiah Packard7 years ago in Families
My Journey Through Infertility
"I do," I said on that beautiful spring April day in 2012 as I finally, finally got to marry the woman of my dreams. We were pronounced married and we walked down the aisle with the biggest smiles, in great anticipation of a weekend of peace, quiet, and each other. Our honeymoon was perfection: quiet, laid back, with plenty of time to do whatever we wanted or nothing at all. Coming back home made reality set in and we soon became bogged down in unpacking, organizing and money struggles--you know, first year of marriage things.
By Erica Hale7 years ago in Families
Infertility
Infertility... Stillborn... Perinatal loss... These are words that haunt thousands of women every day. Families struggle with the fact that they cannot conceive a child without the help of over price medication and injections. They go through the ups and downs of the process... pay an arm and leg for the injection, wait the for the exact time to take the injection, mood swings, the anxiety of waiting for the doctor to return to your from your bloodwork, and then the devastating news that it didn't work and you are still without child and need to start the while process over and over again, hoping that this time will work.
By Amanda Wannike7 years ago in Families
Pregnancy
The first thing anyone says to you when they find out your pregnant is congratulations. Pregnancy is an amazing thing that women can do, we can create life. That’s amazing and yes congratulations are in order. But maybe you just want to hear, “you're pregnant, how do you feel? What can I get you? This is going to be hard but here are some things you can read or questions you can ask or things you can look up.”
By Melissa Carlson7 years ago in Families
The "Mom Shame"
When I was pregnant, people would ask what I planned to do with feeding for my baby. I would answer, "Half and half. I'd do half nursing, half bottle." Now, I wasn't quite sure what I would do with the bottle, I wanted to use breastmilk as much as possible, but if something were to happen and formula was needed then that would be okay, too... At least, that's what I thought.
By Kaitlin Lee7 years ago in Families
When Yes Means No
I’m already a mother. At the tender age of 19, I welcomed my first child into this world. As my son emerged from my body, time itself seemed to stand still. This purplish-blue newborn suddenly laid on my chest, and I completely froze. My heart stopped, and I felt the warmth and heaviness of his little body against mine. I sat still and just took the moment to process the fact that an actual human being had just came out of me. Then, a gentle voice (from either my mother or a nurse. The details are foggy) reminded me that he was my baby. I held him to me and cried with him and almost instinctively brought him to my breast. The moment I became a mother will never leave me. Though details come and go, these moments stay clear like a permanent fixture in my mind.
By Amanda Miehle7 years ago in Families
Giving Birth for the First Time
Everything about having a baby was different than I imagined it would be. I was terrified about the pain and the chaos of giving birth. I didn’t know how I would handle being in so much pain, especially unbearable pain that is childbirth based on what I had seen on TV. Once I found out I was pregnant, I think I was actually in denial about the fact that the baby would have to come out ever. I just kept putting the thought out of my mind.
By Haley Peterson7 years ago in Families
Pregnancy and Chronic Illness
Imagine finding out that you're pregnant with a surprise baby at 30-years-old, and being two years into a very painful diagnosis. For me, this was reality. I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease after about a year of testing, poking, prodding, and scans. My life had just started to turn around, thanks to the immunosuppressive medications, daily pain management with opioids, use of medical marijuana, and some extreme lifestyle changes.
By Bex Wohlfert7 years ago in Families
