Friends,
It has been FOREVER since I last posted an entry (shame on me!) but thanks for sticking with me. Now that our sweet baby girl has arrived I am ready to get back into shape and hopefully you'll be seeing more blog entries. Hopefully :)
As I look back on this past year, 2013 got off to a rough start. My husband's grandfather got very sick and suffered a stroke in early January of last year. This has left him home and bed ridden and we didn't think he would make it. A few weeks later we discovered we were pregnant with our 2nd child due in late September. We were thrilled and overjoyed, only to experience the deep grief and pain of a miscarriage a few weeks later. I hope to never experience the sorrow I did sitting in the waiting room of an OB with joyful, expectant mothers. I remember clinging to the words of "What'er my God ordains is right..." as I drove the long drive to my doctor appointment hoping there was still life within me, but knowing deep down it had been lost. I remember the ultrasound of an empty womb and seeing a painting on the ceiling tile above of a sun poking through the clouds. "The same God who brings the sun brings the rain." That was the thought I had. I knew there needed to be a season of rain and trusted the sun would shine again.
After grieving the loss of our sweet baby, we trusted God would bring us another in His own timing and He did. Pregnancy was a rough road for me. It was a constant emotional, physical, and spiritual battle. Although I am beyond thankful to have been given this life, a lot of me has to die in the process in order to bring about life. It is quite the sacrifice, but I was happy to make it.
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We welcomed our little "MG" on December 30th via a scheduled induction. I was incredibly hesitant about this decision. For weeks I had been walking and eating all of the things that old wives tales tell you will put you into labor, but nothing was working. I walked 4 miles at 40 weeks pregnant (desperate attempt!), sent my husband 30 miles away to get me Eggplant Parmesan takeout (bleh!), took shots of balsamic vinegar (kill me now!), but NOTHING, I mean NOTHING was working. My son (2 years old) came 3 days early on his own and I was really hoping our little angel would do the same. After discussing options once I was 40 weeks with my doctor we agreed it would be best to induce. My amniotic fluid levels were low, baby girl was estimated to be a big girl, and I was SO BIG and UNCOMFORTABLE.
It. Was. Time.
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| 40 weeks and 2 days. Heading to the hospital to be induced. |
We made it to the hospital at 5:30PM and by 7PM they were starting me on meds to begin the process. Real labor would begin in the morning. I didn't slept a wink. Labor and delivery beds are made for LABOR and DELIVERY (imagine that) and NOT for sleeping. I was hooked up to monitors that were measuring my contractions and IVs. I had to pee like every hour and my nurse would have to unhook me from everything and I'd waddle across the room to the bathroom. Thank heavens for HGTV. I watched like 9 hours of it that night. By 2AM I was exhausted and desperate for sleep. The nurse gave me a sleeping pill and some pain meds because my contractions were getting a bit uncomfortable. BAD IDEA. When my nurse came back at 5:30AM to prep me for labor I was OUT OF IT. The meds had me loopy and the sleeping pill had far from worn off. I could barely open my eyes and carry on a conversation. It was going to be a long day.
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| In labor and ready to get this show on the road. |
I slept on and off during labor. Crazy, huh? Family was coming in and out (this would NEVER have happened during my first birth. It was like a war zone! ) I was talking. Laughing. Smiling. Thank you, Lord, for modern medicine!
Around 11:30AM I felt a lot of pressure, like I was ready to push. The nurse checked me and I was ready to go! We had to wait for the doctor who arrive around noon (I love my doctor FYI!) and I was ready to push about 12:15PM. I pushed 10-15 minutes, through about 4 contractions, and our baby girl entered the world.
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| Words cannot describe this moment. I am blessed. Thank you, Lord! |
Again, a totally different experience from my first. I pushed for an hour and he was rushed away from me because the cord was wrapped around his neck and he wasn't crying. A terrifying experience for sure! This time they handed me my beautiful baby and I just wept. What a precious gift from God!
Our sweet girl weighed a whopping 8 lbs 2 oz. and was 21 inches long. She was healthy in every way and I was so very thankful. I had had a very healthy pregnancy and now had a wonderful delivery. God was so gracious.
Recovery was fine. We only spent one night in the hospital (they gave us that option) and we were able to be home to ring in the new year! M loved getting to meet his new baby sister and he is still just smitten with her. I am grateful for these two blessings God has entrusted me with.
So here we are in 2014 and I am excited to see what the year has in store. So far I am spending my days in yoga pants wondering if and when I'll shower, chasing a 2 year around the house, and what feels like constantly nursing a newborn. I am up several times a night feeding and don't know what day of the week it is, but I am happy. I am blessed. Life is good!
I am on the road to recovery postpartum and hope to start working out again in a month. I am itching to teach Zumba classes and have already compiled my first playlist. I have lots of baby weight to lose and know it will take time to get back into my skinny jeans, but I am ready to do it! :) I am ready to start running again and have been making a list of local races I hope to tackle this spring. I won't be back at my fighting weight or my pace, but I'll give it a go! Keep checking back at the blog as I keep you posted on my progress and hopefully have some race recaps for you.
