pregnancy
Growing your family, one baby bump at a time. All about the ups and downs of nature's 9 month miracle.
Wanting a Baby at 19?!
What is wrong with me? Is it natural to have this need to have a child this young? I am aware that I am not financially ready to afford one, nor ready to sacrifice my body for a little bundle of joy. But I am so impatient to experience being pregnant and motherhood. I have to admit, my generation isn't helping my case. At least 1/2 of my friends are currently pregnant or already have their little ones. I am aware that they were NOT planned and they might not be as happy as Facebook, Instagram or Twitter might make them seem, but following their pregnancies throughout social media makes me envy them. Also, since I work in the early childhood education field, most of my co-workers already have children or are pregnant and are gloating in my face.
By Bella Poirier8 years ago in Families
First-Time Mom Overload
The minute you announce that you are pregnant everyone seems super eager to get you things. This is a wonderful thing. People love to buy baby stuff, for some reason. And people love to buy baby stuff for babies that they don't have to look after. So, naturally, you can get a little overwhelmed as a first-time mom.
By Samantha Reid8 years ago in Families
Get a C-Section...
If I hear or read this stupid fucking shit one more time I'm going to throw an adult temper tantrum. Because the reality of a c- section is that it's major surgery, and it was the worst and most painful thing I have ever experienced in my life. And I say this having had both types of deliveries. An emergency c-section and a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarian), in case you didn't know what it stood for.
By Shana Nizeul8 years ago in Families
Mom at Fifteen
I grew up in the 80s and 90s in a very dysfunctional kind of way. People just didn't discuss things about your home life or what went on behind closed doors. My folks had quite the hatred towards one another and inevitably it ended the marriage. Not without casualties, unfortunately. My siblings and I had the worst time trying to cope.
By Joanne Hawkins8 years ago in Families
Wait, Worry, Repeat
Technology these days is quite incredible, especially when it comes to pregnancy, infertility and prenatal testing. However, living in a time where this technology can comb through every blood cell and chromosome, can be a blessing and a curse. My husband and I decided that our two rambunctious boys needed some company and opted to try for baby number three. I'm the type of person who can sneeze and get pregnant so this was the easiest part of our journey. That all being said, after having two healthy, fairly easy pregnancies and deliveries this time has been different from the beginning. Now that I'm 35 years old I'm considered a "geriatric pregnancy"... sounds nice doesn't it? Due to this situation, even though I'm a healthy, active, vegetarian mom, I needed a slew of tests to make sure my "high risk pregnancy" was healthy and normal. At 14 weeks along, my high risk OB calls and says that they noticed "a micro deletion on a chromosomal test" and I needed to come in to speak with a genetic counselor. My husband and I were a little worried but not overly concerned. After speaking with the genetic counselor we found out that this "micro deletion" could cause two different serious syndromes in our unborn child. This news was devastating. Not only because the unknown is so scary, but because we had to then wait two long weeks until I could take a more invasive test for 100% accurate results. After the pain and stress of the amniocentesis test, now we are in the other two week waiting period for the results.
By Stephanie Heisler8 years ago in Families
E.R. Drama
My doctor decided it would be best to have an inducement the week before my due date if I wanted to avoid a c-section at all costs, which is what I said I did not want. So I had an inducement. Sadly, though, my mom showed up after the birthing event was over. My husband was present for most of the entire time. Naturally he complained that he could not sleep, because the inducement I had took all day to put me into labor and my screaming from pain was very upsetting to him. So I also decided to have an epidural. The birth was so successful to the point that there was no death, and even though live birth is no fun for any mother, I am not here to complain about the contractions during labor. Most of the pain was just turning my spine into a melting bendy straw anyways. I was and am happy enough when it was over and I am not talking about the pain. I am here to tell what the doctors and nurses did and said and how they treated me. My first doctor and all the nurses were great at first. But as soon as the baby was heading down the birthing canal, my doctors' shift ended. The doctor and the entire nurse crew went home and were replaced by a new crew. This crew was not so nearly as delightful. My replaced doctor allowed me to be in any position I wished to lay. My previous nurses were so great they had just put a hot cup of mint tea in the sink for aromatherapy before they left. They spoke to me as if my wish was their command. This all turned around completely when the whole crew shift replaced. The second set of nurses were not so nice. The new doctor was impatient. As soon as the new doctor entered the room, they dumped the still hot mint tea that was in the sink down the drain. The new doctor put a catheter in the way of the opening along with other un-necessary equipment and put my legs up into the air and my head was then lower than any of my other body parts. No one any longer was listening to anything that I was trying to say. I could barely talk, and when I tried to speak a nurse told me to not to. My husband, at that moment had gone to the cafeteria to get coffee, so he didn't hear that sentence spoken to me, neither had the other doctor been present. By the time my husband got back the nurse decided to ask him to grab my leg and push it into my chest as if that were supposed to help me push. I could not push for myself, my body had to do most of it. I had an epidural. My legs were rubber logs. I could not breathe. The nurse had the one leg, my husband had the other leg, and there was no way I could let out a single squeak. I was so angry at that nurse, but I couldn't show it. The doctor returned and had them put my legs back into the cold metal stirrups that I could feel by then because the epidural was wearing out. My husband had no idea whatsoever that he was not exactly helping me out and he completely flipped out after the baby was born because the placenta fell out. He had thought that I had lost some stomach and other important organs or something and that I was going to die. He had not been raised on a goat farm like I had been. He had never witnessed anything give live birth before. He did not know that such a thing as a placenta even existed, I did. Let me tell you those goats had a better experience from me than from my treatment, because that is true. I was able to stand back on my own two feet very shortly after I was done giving live birth. But not before the doctor stitched up the slice they had made to make the opening down there bigger. My son was born after 11:00 am and is turning three soon. I am on my second pregnancy. I hope my experience is educational to any woman whom may want to know, or any caring husbands of theirs.
By Sarah Worley8 years ago in Families
Having Children and Pregnancy Shaming
*** This is about having children, a very serious topic, and I don't want to leave anyone or any group out of this. Please know that I'm not trying to leave anyone or group out, I just don't have the capability of making this article less controversial by adding gay parents, lesbian parents, or any other type of relationship or religion. This would be extremely long if I did. No matter who you are or what type of relationship you're in, having children is a HUGE life decision. Please don't hate me for not adding all the relationships in here. You are included!***
By Bailey Simpson8 years ago in Families
Being a New Mom Really Sucks!
When you're pregnant, you have all of these blissful aspirations about how wonderful everything's going to be. You think about the kind of mom you'll be, and how your birth will be prefect. Sometimes this happens, and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes the baby won't come out or your blood pressure skyrockets. Because really, you can't control your birth. You can have an idea about what will happen. But it's my opinion that birth happens to you. You can read. You can plan. But in the end, you are ushered into motherhood with a squirmy, wonderfully squishy baby.
By Shana Nizeul8 years ago in Families
Becoming a Mom
The day my life changed forever. My pregnancy was very rough on me, if there’s any moms reading this, I hope you can relate to the morning sickness. Oh my god it was rough. The first 13 weeks of my pregnancy I did nothing but stay in the bathroom day and night. Had to go to the hospital three times for IV fluids... very rough... but having her was an experience that I can’t describe! My labor was rough. She was my first. It was a hard six hours of back labor and contractions... but only a ten minute push! After I had her the emotions I had were unreal! Heard of the emotional roller coaster? Well, that’s what it was like for me. It didn’t feel like she was mine... it didn’t feel like I just had a baby... it felt like a movie... all I wanted to do was go home. I wanted to take her and go home. But she was having problems and had to be put under the lizard light, which is what I called it, and she wasn’t eating.. all she wanted to do was sleep. From the moment I found out I was pregnant I wanted to breastfeed and I know there’s a lot of different thoughts on it but this was my choice and it was hard. It took us over a month to get the hang of it. And we went through it all...thrush... cracked/bleeding nipples problems with latching... you name it, we went through it. I was ready to give up, it was super painful, but I pushed through and we are still going to this day! She’s ten months and it’s a bond I can never lose with her.
By Morgan Hatley8 years ago in Families
