OMG I'm a Mommy?!: Round Two!-Part I

No wonder I felt pressure down there!

I cannot believe that it has already been 7 months since I gave birth to our little Ian! My hubby and I often recap how much easier labor and delivery were this time on me, but the pregnancy, oh man, that was something else! Honestly, if my first pregnancy was anything like the second, I think that I would only have one kid. I was sick everyday for most of the day, constantly throwing up (I would often have to pull over at the side of highways to throw up), I lost weight while preggers, the pain I felt was crazy and I was beyond exhausted! Nevertheless, I would try to suppress it because I still had a toddler to care for and other responsibilities as a wife and friend. I remember often crying quietly to my hubby and praying for God to help me quickly get through that time because I was extremely grateful and happy to be preggers again, but did not expect the severity of my symptoms.

Walking throughout the zoo. 38 weeks preggers

Twenty weeks later, I finally stopped throwing up and even though I still experienced intense pain and exhaustion, I felt like a new woman! One of my besties recommended I use a maternity support belt to help with all the pain on what felt like my pelvic bone. I definitely heeded her advice because she said that it helped with her pregnancy and I am so glad I did! It provided the support I needed to be able to walk and maintain an active lifestyle. I talked to my doctor about this as well and she explained that after having your first child your ligaments stretch, so some women experience intense pressure in their pelvic area and some even describe it as feeling like the baby was going to come out! Nighttime was the worst though because I was inactive and turning from side to side was such an ordeal. This is why I barely slept during my second and third trimesters (meanwhile hubby was next to me snoring it up). I was trying everything from the pregnancy pillow, to sleeping upright in a chair, to heating pads and what made the most difference for me was proper positioning of the pregnancy pillow. I had to have it between my legs when I lay on my side and that really alleviated the pressure/pain.

Another reason this pregnancy was very different from my first had to do with a very active toddler named Isaac. Even though all I wanted to do was sleep, I would struggle through each day for the sake of our son. I did not want him to suffer or incur any disruption in his routine. I also kept a watchful eye on lifting Isaac when I became super preggers. By nature, we are a very touchy family and lifting up our 36-pound toddler for snuggles and kisses is a regular thing. However, whenever Isaac would come up and say, “Mama, hold me please,” I would try to reply with, “Let’s sit down and we can snuggle.” That somewhat worked for us (I was stubborn and still lifted him a good amount) and if we were out and this happened daddy would take over and carry him easily.

End of my first full day of contractions

When it was finally go time, instead of the four days of contractions I previously experienced with Isaac, I only had two days worth this time, so I was definitely grateful for that! I know that sounds crazy, but this appears to be the norm with my labors. I hope that next time it will just be a day! I am also contemplating giving birth in water for our third baby (God willing). When my labor pains were at its worst, I took a hot bath and soaked in the tub and wow, it made such a difference! Oh yes, and how could I forget having my awesome hubby massage my lower back with two tennis balls. The force he used to massage my lower back was probably making me black and blue, but I’m sorry, when those contractions came on, they felt amazing!!

Few hours before it was go time! In between contractions

As usual, my contractions were most intense at night and by 2 a.m. on February 24; we knew our little angel was coming. We decided it was time to head to the hospital when my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart. (In case you were wondering, Isaac was fast asleep when most of this occurred and my parents were at our home well in advance of me giving birth. This time they knew to travel from Florida with ample time and good thing, because I delivered at 39 weeks.) As we were walking to our garage I thought Ian was about to make his debut. I remember crying to my hubby, “OMG I think I’m about to have our baby in the garage, I can’t sit!” (This was in the midst of a major contraction by the way) Once that contraction passed I was like, “Okay, we need to book it to the hospital so that I can get my epidural. I need that thing now.” Oh yeah, I was not playing around this time thinking I was going to do this drug free, pshhh! Fifteen minutes later, we were at trusty Northside Hospital and upon check-in, our nurses asked how they could help me and I remember saying one word, “epidural.” Thank goodness, I was already 5 cm dilated so they put in the request for my epidural right away. Once I got that bad boy, it was easy street after that! I was finally able to sleep and that felt like heaven!