The journey to motherhood is not always the easiest road to travel for many women.
This is a sponsored conversation from Mums the Word Network and The Stork OTC. All opinions are my own
You may not know this but I have had three children.
Only one is living.
My firstborn was born at 32 weeks and she only lived for an hour and a half. She took her last breath in my arms as I watched her struggle to breathe. She had dysplastic kidney disease, hypoplastic heart and lungs and Potter's Syndrome. My beautiful baby never opened her eyes.
My 2nd daughter was diagnosed with the same kidney disease and was also born prematurely. She lived three hours and I held her until she took her last breath.
The short time I had with each of my girls is the time that I will always treasure.
My heart was crushed.
When I was pregnant with Em, I was filled with anxiety about whether she was healthy.
As soon as I had my level 3 ultrasound, I learned her kidneys were healthy and I wept with joy and happiness.
Emma's birth
I went to my final appointment with my doctor when I was 40 weeks. He was concerned about multiple issues- my blood pressure was high and I was swollen. I was already a high-risk pregnancy and my doctor wanted to induce my labor but I asked to wait another week because I just did not want to be induced.
I was still working full-time at my job and was so excited that I had exceeded my quota at work (that meant a bonus!) and went home for the day. I was 41 weeks at this point and in the middle of the night, I had EXCRUCIATING back pain. It was the WORST back pain I had ever felt in my entire life.
All I could do was get up and pace. Finally, at 9:30 AM, I sat in a warm bath to help my back pain. I got up and boom! Water broke. I was staying at my sister’s house and told her we had to go to the hospital because I was in labor.
My contractions were still about 5-6 minutes apart and OMG, it was the WORST car ride ever. I kept accusing my poor sister of purposefully going over bumps on the freeway. Haha.
When I arrived at my designated hospital and rushed to the labor and delivery floor, I was still 5 minutes apart but I was dilated 10+2 and the baby was ready to deliver. Apparently, sitting in that warm bath helped!
I honestly, do not remember how long I pushed but it wasn’t really very long before she was in my arms. A beautiful 8 pound, 6-ounce baby girl.
I was finally able to hold my daughter and see her eyes open and hear her cries. I was finally able to bring home my daughter.
Nearly 14 years later, this still makes me tear up. Even when she is driving me bananas, as teens do, I am still ever so grateful for each moment I have with her.
A rainbow child/baby is a baby born after a miscarriage, stillborn or neonatal loss. Em is my sweet rainbow child.
From the moment she was born, Em has always been an observer. The nurses got such a kick out of her just watching and listening and barely making a peep.
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