In honor of Daniel’s second birthday tomorrow, I thought I
would share the story of his pregnancy and arrival. He was a trouble maker from
the very beginning. I woke up one morning early in the pregnancy to a
puddle of blood. It was way too much blood to be normal. I was heartbroken to
think that I had lost the baby. My
doctor’s office was able to see me in the morning and I was SHOCKED to see that
there was still a baby with a heartbeat. The ultrasound showed that I had a subchorionic hematoma which is basically a blood clot between the placenta and the
uterus. The ultrasound also showed a
second, empty sac – a twin that did not make it. Although, I was excited to
hear that I still had one viable baby growing, I was also told that I had a 50%
chance of losing the baby due to the hematoma. I was told to take it easy on
modified bed rest which is basically a joke with a one and two year old at
home. I must have had ten ultrasounds alone in the first trimester and after
the dramatic start, it ended up being a completely normal pregnancy.
Fast forward to the summer of 2010 and I was
anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little one (we never find out the sex
ahead of time). With my first pregnancy, I was 5 days early. With my second pregnancy
I was 13 days early. So by the time it was mid-July I was READY to have the
baby. It was hot. So friggin hot. I was having light, on and off contractions
for weeks before he came. I was 4cm dilated for a good three weeks before he
even arrived. I remember the day before he was born I was 5cm dilated and had a
“rough” exam at the doctor’s. I went home and was having light contractions all
day and thought for sure it was the day. But then it wasn’t. I went to bed that
night knowing I would be up during the night to go to the hospital. But then I
wasn’t. The next morning the kids were calling from their room and I remember
saying to Tim, “I guess I’ll go get the kids up since I AM NEVER HAVING THIS F’ING
BABY!!” Sure enough, I got up and was getting breakfast ready for the kids when
it happened – the pain you feel when you know. This.is.it. I got Tim out of bed and called my cousin who was on babysitting
duty. I felt the all-knowing, real
contraction around 8:15am and we arrived at the hospital around 9am. My water
broke shortly after arrival and I was told to push. I remember thinking, “PUSH???”
since I didn’t have to do that last time around. A couple of pushes later and our
Daniel entered the world at 9:36am. He had an adorable head of yellow hair and
was 7 pounds, 10 ounce and 20 inches long. I can't believe it's already been two years. Time really does fly by.
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| Daniel about to head home from the hospital |
