This pictures are a little out of order. It kinda goes from pregnancy, to after delivery, to during deliver, to before delivery. LOL
So to start off this wonderful post about my pregnancy and birthing experience, I just wanna say that this is entirely for journal purposes. We found out we were pregnant in May of 2010. We were very excited! Everything was going well until our 5 month check up. We invited many friends and family members to see what we would be having, boy or girl. To EVERY ONES excitement, the ultrasound tech announced that the little baby indeed had "BIG" boy parts. Her words...not mine. We were all happy, I was even tearing up a little, and then we noticed her going over the same area over and over again. Then she said she saw something that worried her and that she wanted the doctor to come in a look at it. I sent everyone out of the room, preparing myself for the worst. The doctor came in and said that there was something different with the heart and that he wanted a specialist to take a look at it. That was all we were told. So I left, and of course...like every worried person I know.....I
internet diagnosed from what he had told us. Everything came up Down syndrome. Needless to say, I cried my eyes out for two whole days until our appointment in L.A. two days later. My mother, and mother-in-law came with Justin and I to the appointment. I don't think I have ever prayed as much as I did those few days. We got to the doctor and told him we were really worried. We told him what we had read on the
internet and he looked at us like we were crazy. Apparently my doctor hadn't told us why we were really there. Maybe to keep us from worrying if it was really nothing. But obviously that didn't happen. The L.A. doctor was instructed to check the brain, not the heart. They were looking for abnormalities that are associated with
Trisomy 24? or was is
Trisomy 23? Apparently fetuses that have this disorder are not able to open or close their hands, and that shows up on a ultrasound. They would also be born with severe mental disabilities. He check the brain and the hands and said everything looked great to him. Then I said, "what about Down syndrome?" He then said we would have a higher chance of running into traffic on the way home than our little boy having Downs. I was relieved. But I will admit, I wasn't fully convinced. Needless to say, I worried and prayed about that multiple times a day for the remainder of my pregnancy. I was convinced the doctor wasn't completely correct. Anyways. After that fiasco, I developed spider and varicose veins in my right leg. I assumed it was from being on my feet for most of the day at work. So I was taken off work at about 7 months. But the veins got worse and covered my entire leg. I read that some people get them and that they should go away after delivery. I hoped! January 3rd came around, 10 days till my actual due date. At 6:35a.m. I noticed my bed and undies (I know...
TMI) were wet. So I changed them and laid back down. About a half hour later I started feeling pains in my stomach. I wasn't really sure what was going on because with Annie I was induced, so I didn't get to experience going into labor on my own. The pains came fast! Every 5 minutes and they got worse and worse. At around 8 a.m. I lost my mucous plug. Great..... I tried to sleep until around 10. Then I decided to call my doctor. They informed me to head to the hospital. Well, I looked horrible...so I had to take a shower and get ready! I mean there was going to be pictures taken! So noon rolls around and I am finishing up packing and getting things in order. I wasn't prepared at all! The doctor called me twice asking me why I wasn't at the hospital yet.
LOL. Oh well! We arrived at 12:45p.m. and the doctor said I was at 5-6 and that my bag of water was leaking fluid. I couldn't believe it! At my appointment the week prior I wasn't
dilated at all! I requested a epidural. And then was informed that I need to have an enema. Gross! I told the nurse I felt bad for her. She laughed. I try to keep my nurses laughing....it makes it easier for everyone! So after that nasty experience, my contractions started coming every 2-3 minutes and they were painful! My epidural came at around 3:30p.m. and the
Anesthesiologist was a nightmare! He sneezed on my back while he was sticking the needle in, and then blew his nose without washing his hands. I didn't know all this was happening because I was in so much pain. My mother informed me of it later.... um why didn't she say anything while it was happening! Thanks mom! 30 minutes later, the epidural had only numbed my left leg. I was still feeling everything else....and I was in horrible pain! He came back in to top it off thinking that would help...it didn't. 6:30p.m. came and I was telling my mother that I just wanted to die, That was how I felt! My darling husband recorded my pain, thanks a lot Justin! My Doctor came in and said it was time to push. I didn't want to push
cuz it hurt so bad! So I pushed once and realized that when I pushed, the pain went away! So I pushed again, and then again. They barely got everything set up and out came the baby! In three pushes! at 6:35p.pm. All my pain was then gone......However...Bennett started having trouble breathing. His little chest was going in and out really bad. They called the
NICU nurses and they came running in. I got to hold him for a minute and then he was rushed to the
NICU. I knew it wasn't too serious, but I was still worried. After that....the nausea hit. Great! I kept throwing up....it totally sucked. They wheeled me in to see Bennett on my way the to family recovery unit. He was the biggest baby in the place! 8lbs 110z and 21 1/4in long! He was so cute, but it was sad seeing all the things attached to his little body. And it didn't help that I was throwing up while the nurses were trying to tell me about him! After that we went to our room and they gave me a shot to take away the nausea. It worked! Everything was going good, but the next evening I noticed two large bumps on my right leg. I told the nurse and she checked them and said they were swollen lymph nodes and that I didn't need to worry. So I didn't. The next day my Doctor was getting ready to release us (even though Bennet had to stay a few more days) when I asked him to take a look at my leg. Because apparently the nurse never informed him of it! He felt them and seconds later told me I was staying here and that they were blood clots. All of a sudden I had nurses coming in to look at them and feel them because apparently it isnt a very common thing. So none of them had ever seen it. I was then rused to get an ultrasound and then when I got back, I was given a shot in my stomach (Blood thinner) and some asprin. When I realized how serious the situtatuion was, I broke down in tears. I cried for a couple days after that. I was told that I would have to give myself these shots everyday for three months. Wonderful. I was put on bed rest and wasnt able to see Bennett in the NICU as often. We were informed that Justin would need to get "fixed" because it was life threatening for me if I was to get pregnant again. I was really sad about that. I mean, what if I wanted more children? Anyways..... Saturday rolled around and I was finally able to be released, Bennett as well. I still had to be on bed rest at home. So it was very difficult. Now 6 weeks later...Our family has all been sick a number of times, Bennett was admitted to the hospital for 2 days for RSV all while having these wonderful clots. I went to see a specialist who took 15 tubes of blood from me...that sucked.... I got the results back on Monday and he said everything was normal. I wasn't predisposed to having blood clots. That it was just because of how Bennett was laying on my right side that caused the veins to be pinched which in turn caused the clots. He also said I didn't have to take the blood thinnning shots or Tylenol anymore. He then said that if I was to get pregnant again, it would be ok! Not that I am wanting anymore children any time soon. But it was nice to know that I had the option. We are so blessed, and we thank God everyday for watching over our family. We also want to thanks everyone who prayed for us, fed us, and took care of us these past 6 weeks! Thank you! Hopefully things will get back to normal now. My next post will be about Bennett, but right now I have to make lunch for Annie and I before he wakes up! LOL. The life of a mother of two!
Our little Bennett was born on January 3rd at 6:35pm. He weighed 8lbs 11oz and was 21 1/4 in long. He is our BIG boy! We have enjoyed him sooo much! He is a very good baby. Only cries when he is hungry or doesn't want his diaper changed. He is a good sleeper, good eater, and good snuggler. He is very attached to his mommy, and adores his black and white cat we are calling "Felix". Annie loves him, and is such a great big sister. She never has been jealous of him and has never acted out against him. However, we can tell that she would like the same amount of attention he gets. But she is always the first to bring him his pacifier, or hand us a diaper, put Felix next to him, or inform me that he is ready to "Breastfeed". Lol. She is the sweetest little thing to him. It makes me really happy. Bennett loves his swing, thank goodness, cuz Annie hated it! He likes the sound machine that Annie doesn't need anymore and enjoys stroller walks and car rides, especially when mommy has the music on. He has started to smile, but I must admit, he only seems to be smiling at me! Too bad for everyone else! And in case you didn't notice, he looks just like my dad/me (because I look like my dad). But when you put both of them together, they could be siblings! (With a huge age gap..)I always said I wanted all our children to look like Justin, just like Annie does, but I have to say...I do enjoy having one that looks like me. He is now 7 weeks old (as of tomorrow) and weighs 12lbs 60z (as of last Thursday). We are so thankful for him and can't wait to see all the changes in his personality and physical appearance that are yet to come. Who knows, he might end up looking like Justin after all!
