pregnancy
Growing your family, one baby bump at a time. All about the ups and downs of nature's 9 month miracle.
When Yes Means No
I’m already a mother. At the tender age of 19, I welcomed my first child into this world. As my son emerged from my body, time itself seemed to stand still. This purplish-blue newborn suddenly laid on my chest, and I completely froze. My heart stopped, and I felt the warmth and heaviness of his little body against mine. I sat still and just took the moment to process the fact that an actual human being had just came out of me. Then, a gentle voice (from either my mother or a nurse. The details are foggy) reminded me that he was my baby. I held him to me and cried with him and almost instinctively brought him to my breast. The moment I became a mother will never leave me. Though details come and go, these moments stay clear like a permanent fixture in my mind.
By Amanda Miehle8 years ago in Families
Giving Birth for the First Time
Everything about having a baby was different than I imagined it would be. I was terrified about the pain and the chaos of giving birth. I didn’t know how I would handle being in so much pain, especially unbearable pain that is childbirth based on what I had seen on TV. Once I found out I was pregnant, I think I was actually in denial about the fact that the baby would have to come out ever. I just kept putting the thought out of my mind.
By Haley Peterson8 years ago in Families
Pregnancy and Chronic Illness
Imagine finding out that you're pregnant with a surprise baby at 30-years-old, and being two years into a very painful diagnosis. For me, this was reality. I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease after about a year of testing, poking, prodding, and scans. My life had just started to turn around, thanks to the immunosuppressive medications, daily pain management with opioids, use of medical marijuana, and some extreme lifestyle changes.
By Bex Wohlfert8 years ago in Families
First-Time Mum
October 2016, can’t remember the exact date, but that’s when we found out I was pregnant. Best but worst moment of my life. I had just turned 19 and had only been with my partner for ten months. I had no idea what was to come. It was the unknown that scared me the most.
By Leah Yates8 years ago in Families
My First Pregnancy
I am sitting on my couch looking at this amazing being. She is 7-months-old. When did this happen? Why has time gone by so fast. Just seven months ago she was born. Just a year ago she was a tiny bump inside me. Just a year and a half ago, she was a thought. A beautiful thought. What would it be like to be pregnant? Would it be a boy or a girl? Would she look more like me or her father? Will she like The Muppets? Will he be named after my father?
By Plum Winters8 years ago in Families
What You Don't Expect When You Become a Mom
When I got pregnant the first time two years ago, I had no idea what to expect from motherhood. Most people have everything planned to the "T" and have a "perfect" pregnancy. Me? I took it one day at a time. I downloaded an app to track the baby's growth and checked out a women's center with the idea of using a midwife and no drugs and being able to labor a little more "freely" than in a hospital. As my belly grew, so did my anticipation. Around the beginning of the third trimester, women usually go in to take a glucose test to check for gestational diabetes. I never got to take mine.
By Kayla Willis Dupont8 years ago in Families
Where Our Love Grows...
Laying on my back, legs in the air… being in this position was the closest thing Sam and I had to natural conception. I was starting to spend more time in this position with a doctor’s hands inside me than intimately in this position with Sam. I had everything crossed, except my legs which were uncomfortably forced into stirrups, that this would be the last time I had to endure the 180 minutes of total hell.
By Titanium Jen8 years ago in Families
My Life as Momma
My high-risk OB appointment was the on the twenty-second. I see her about every month, so we can keep an eye on baby's growth and hopefully determine when and if there will be any reason to suspect that things will get difficult. Well, I found that exact thing out at this appointment.
By Aaren Murphy8 years ago in Families
Head Versus Heart
Have you ever had something on your mind and needed to get it out? Well, that is where I am at right now. I have something in my head I need to share. It needs to come out before I crumble. Hard part about it is finding someone to talk to, so here I am. I was hoping to find someone not related to me, someone who won't tell me what they think I want to hear, but the truth. Someone not afraid to shake me out of this. I so hate when my heart and my head go to battle. I have no clue which to follow.
By Lilithea Adasia8 years ago in Families
2012
I don't know why miscarriage is such a taboo subject and why no one ever feels they can talk about it but as a miscarriage survivor (and yes I say survivor because getting through it is a battle), I can't talk about it enough. Not because I want sympathy or the attention but more because I want people to know they are not alone.
By Cortney Grezlik8 years ago in Families
