My last post was in September of 2012, which was a post about my Disney World experience as an adult.
Wow, how things have changed.
About two months after my trip to Disney World, I became PREGNANT, and the majority of 2013 was spent frolicking around as the freakishly happy pregnant woman that I was. I loved being pregnant.
August 27th which was our due date passed by. Then our original due date of August 29th passed us by. Then on September 1st, I felt my first contraction.My soon to be husband, Luke, and I joked, "Wouldn't it be funny if you went into labor on Labor day?" Since labor day was on September 2nd.
Before this, I had never even felt a Toni Braxton contraction! I continued on with my day because I was told to call the doctor when contractions were about five minutes apart. After my morning workout, I went with my mom and brother to Outback Steakhouse for a healthy lunch of Salad with Grilled Salmon. People have told me that I was the most boring pregnant woman for having no food cravings. If anything I craved grapefruit which I had almost every day. I worked out every day and ate healthily 90% of the time. I gained 24 pounds by the end of my pregnancy.
So, back to my Salmon at Outback... by the end of my last bite, my contraction were anywhere between five and seven minutes. I called the doctor just to be safe and the doctor on call said, "Well, you don't sound like you're having g serious contractions, but since you're almost a week past your due date, why don't you come in to the hospital." My first thought was "Oh my fucking god this is really happening." My second thought was, "What did he mean that I didn't sound like I was having serious contractions? How much more painful is this gonna be?"
I called Luke. He was at work. At the time he didn't drive so my brother went to pick him up. I went with my mom with my hospital bag that I had packed and ready to go since like August 1st.
When I got to the maternity ward at White Plains Hospital, I got really nervous and excited. The nurses checked me out. They kind of laughed because I was still giddy and smiley. They were like, "Honey, these contraction are like tiny contractions. You need to come back when they're stronger. You will not be able to talk or smile when you have a real contraction." I thought to myself, "Oh these nurses don't know that I've been exercising my entire pregnancy so the labor won't be as bad." I was SO wrong.
Long story short, I went home, my water broke a little after midnight (I had to go to the hospital immediately if my water broke since I tested positive for some kind of bacteria, and they had to put me on IV antibiotics so that the baby wouldn't get it), I was able to go drug and epidural free for 8 hours of strong contractions, I caved and got the epidural at 10:30 AM, slept for two hours, woke up and pushed for 30 minutes, and Levon was born at 1:05 PM. Some women have told me I had an easy labor and delivery. Maybe it was free of complications but it was still pretty damn painful and draining!
It's been 36 weeks since Levon's birth and it's been the best 36 weeks of my life. Being a mom is a lot of hard work but it has also been the most rewarding.
I never thought Mother's Day would mean so much to me. Yesterday was a day that made me look back on these 36 weeks and be proud of the mother I've become. There are days when I want to rip my head off and there are days when I just want to cry and give up. Luckily for me there are even more days where I thank God for giving me the gift of such a beautiful, healthy, and happy baby.
Happy Mother's Day to all the women who are mothers or play the mother role to a child. It's the best job in the world. And yes it is a job!!
