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Being Pregnant with Valaina
First Trimester
The first two months, I didn't even know I was pregnant. Then after we found out, I had been feeling slightly nauseus, but a week later I had terrible morning sickness. I was tired all the time and my breasts ached. I was so darn happy to be having a baby though! My morning sickness was so bad, I had to take special nausea medicine until a little after the 4th month.
One thing I could really not stand was strong smells... especially of red meat and garlic... Oh my god! One night, Matt was cooking up some hamburgers for dinner and the smell permeated the entire house. I had to run to the bathroom with my hand over my mouth. He learned not to cook those again!
Second Trimester
The beginning of the second trimester, I was still having nausea, but not as bad. I started sleeping a whole lot. I was tired all the time! Making babies is hard work! My tummy started pooching out at month 3 and I have been very proud of my bump! Since it was too early to know the gender of the baby, we gave her the nickname of Bump. It was ment affectionately, I promise.
Bump grew and grew until one day, I was laying in bed, about to fall asleep when suddenly, I felt a little tickle inside my belly! I knew then and there that it was baby Valaina moving around inside, saying, "Hi Mommy!"
Things got better steadily and my bump got bigger and bigger. I also lost my nausea! Then I started feel renewed. That was until my gallbladder put me in the hospital for a week. We were just glad that Valaina was okay! Valaina's kicks, squirms and punches got stronger and stronger.
Later in the trimester, Matt and I celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary. We went to San Francisco for a few days and enjoyed ourselves. We took pictures of us and my bump. We ate crab and clam chowder!
Then May 1st, we had the fetal scan ultrasound appointment scheduled. That's when we found out our little bump was a girl! Matt had always thought that she would be a girl and we were both very excited. From then on we started calling her by her real name, Valaina.
3rd Trimester
I found out that I had gestational diabetes and started a very hard low-carb diet to go with my low-fat diet. It was extrememly hard to do and I felt hungry all the time. I did my best though, for Valaina!
My bulky body was so round and my tummy looked like a balloon that was going to burst at any moment! I waddled around for the rest of the pregnancy when I could, but mostly tried to rest and keep my feet up. It was painful to walk around too much. Valaina mostly squirmed around in my tummy for the last month. She ran out of room in there!
Then Matt and I learned that the Obstetritian we had been going to all pregnancy was going to be going on vacation the week of Valaina's due date. On the 9th, we all decided, after a prenatal exam, that Valaina was definately ready to come out and an induction was scheduled for Friday at 7 pm.
I was very nervous and a little afraid, but when I got there, I calmed down and realized I be seeing my little daughter soon.
Labor & Delivery
Labor started out pretty slow. I started out at 3 cm dialated, 70% effaced when i came in. When I got to 5cm 100% effaced the contractions were extremely painful. Then they added Pitocin to speed up the process. After they did that, I could no longer stand the pain and asked for an epidural.
The first epidural did not take and I was still feeling all the pain I had before. A second epidural was ordered. The second epidural took just fine, however, my blood preassure plummeted to 75/35 and Valaina's heartbeat slowed down from 140 to 60 beats per minute. The nurse decided to let the epidural wear off, even though I had stablized. I felt the full force of every contraction. I quickly dialated from 5 cm to 8 and then what seemed like a few minutes all the way to 10 cm and screaming at everyone that i had to push. They all kept telling me not to until the nurse finally chacked me and found I was ready to push.
I pushed for 2 hours as hard as I could and did my best. Valaina was not moving though and I could feel her stuck in my pelvis. I was in the worst pain of my life and I was too tired to push anymore. I told Matt, I couldn't do it and that I was sorry. They needed to take Valaina by c-section. The Dr. agreed and they prepared for the emergency c-section.
I was given a spinal block in the operating room as I was not able to stop pushing during the entire time and I was in a lot of pain. I finally felt the effects of the spinal and could finally relax and be comfortable. Matt came into the operating room dressed in the funny scrubs they make dads wear. The doctor found that my pelvic girdle was too narrow and Valaina or any future babies never could come out naturally. That was just fine with me after what I experienced. lol
Even though I couldn't see, I heard Valaina's first cry and I cried myself! Matt went over to where Valaina was being checked by the nurses and got to have her footprints stamped on his hands, which he displayed proudly.
After the Doctors had sewn up and stitched me, I was wheeled out of the OR and finally got to meet and hold my precious little Valaina. Nothing could ever have prepared me for the feeling of such love and wonder that I felt looking at her little face.
All I could say was, "I'm your mommy." and "I love you." |