Womb to Bloom - Maternity & Beyond

When I was pregnant with my first child, delivery was this far off event that I never really worried about. I floated through my pregnancy just enjoying all the little kicks and watching my belly grow. That is, until the day that my Doctor announced that my healthy baby could officially be born any time now. Ladies, I have a confession to make, I freaked out! Suddenly I looked down at what I once viewed as a cute little belly and all I saw was a 20 pound brick that was somehow going to come out of my body whether I wanted it to or not! There was no changing my mind, there was no turning back, it was ready or not girl, you’re about to have a baby.

When I had my son I was fortunate enough to have a relatively easy labor and have a fully natural delivery. Unfortunately as they say, each baby is different, and my daughter was different indeed.

My daughter was not happy about being born. I had a difficult labor and soon found that a delivery without additional pain control was not an option. At first I decided to try narcotics as pain relief. Unfortunately, narcotics only last so long, and in no time I was back in serious pain and needing something else.

When I was pregnant with my first child, it seemed that everywhere I turned I was bombarded with “well meaning” advice.  I was told how to be pregnant, the proper way to have my baby, what I should buy, and (of course!) how to raise my child.  But the one thing that NO ONE wanted to talk about was what would happen after the delivery.

And that was what scared me. After my daughter was born, I found that the reality of life after birth was not nearly as scary as I had thought.  I could walk, I could sit, I could eat, in short, I WAS FINE.

After my first two children were born, I remember the nurses taking each of them to be “stuck” in order for their blood to be screened for something or other. I signed the authorizations, I’m sure. I don’t think I really ever understood what the screening was for. I just knew that my babies “passed.” A few years later, while I was pregnant with my twins, the local newspaper ran an article about standard newborn screening for genetic disorders and how different the various state requirements were. I felt ignorant as I read because I hadn’t even realized that any of these screenings were required by law.