Four years ago, my daughter made me a Mommy. It was one of the happiest days of my life. She was born at 36 weeks weighing 7 lbs 1 oz (my doctor told me if I'd gone full-term she would have weighed almost 9 lbs!)
Funny thing is, we didn't think we could get pregnant. We'd been married for 8 years and the majority of that time was without contraception (okay momma and mom-in-law, you can stop singing "lalalala").
I was diagnosed with Insulin Resistance and was prescribed Metformin. I took it for 2 years before having a regular menstrual cycle. Then I heard about the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility. What a wonderful book! I really think every woman should read through it. I started charting my cycles and believe it or not, I got pregnant the first month of charting!
Around the 18 week check up, we decided to have the test to find out if there was anything wrong with the baby. I was 32 years old and figured my age may have a bearing on the health of my baby. The test came back with some abnormalities and I was not prepared for my reaction. I had decided that having the test would prepare me for anything, but then when it came back positive, I was very upset. I did NOT blame God, although many do. I understand we have imperfect bodies and we have irregularities that we pass onto our babies. God is not to blame for this. However, I couldn't believe something was wrong. The test was inconclusive as to the actual problem, so they scheduled an appointment with the Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor. That's pretty scary stuff for a first time mommy. After a couple of visits, they determined she had a dilated ureter and I'd have to take her to a specialist after birth. Thankfully there were no other problems detected. In hindsight, I wish I hadn't had the test. It was such a big burden to carry around knowing there was nothing I could really do. (In fact, when I got pregnant with my son, I did not have the test.)
At my 35 week check up I had complained to my doctor about having unusual pelvis pain. I'd been reading (as new mothers usually do) lots of books and figured it was round ligament pain. She decided to check me out and to her surprise I was 2 cm dilated. She said this was a little unusual but not to worry some women can be dilated for weeks before giving birth, that was Friday. On Monday, I had serious pain and (mind you I was working full-time in an office) but just kept going about regular business. But later than night, I was in alot of pain. On Tuesday, I went in to work and told my boss I needed to go the doctor to make sure everything was okay. The midwife, checked me and said I was 3 cm now and the baby was in position and she could see the water bag bulging. She recommended I go home and rest until later that week. She told me I'd be having the baby by Friday. I started laughing hysterically and had a panic attack in the office. After all I was only 35-1/2 weeks...the baby should still be "baking" for another 4 weeks! I love my midwife, she grabbed my shoulders and said "get ahold of yourself, you're going to be fine..." She was right. When I got into my car, I called my husband and told him what happened, then I had to call my boss to tell her I wouldn't be back at work...what a day. Sure enough, Haylei decided to come on Thursday. My water started leaking that morning around 9 a.m. (I was watching Baby Story on TLC!) and then headed to the hospital. They gave me the pitocin to keep the contractions going. And they weren't too bad. Until around 4:00 when my doctor broke the rest of the water and I thought I was going to die!!! I was so happy to have the epidural, what a wonderful thing that is! My husband said I was saying the funniest things when I was in pain. Glad he was having a good time :) Haylei was born at 8:00 that night. I only had to push about 8 times, I think. It was really fast, I thought anyway. So here's my little blessing...
Funny thing is, we didn't think we could get pregnant. We'd been married for 8 years and the majority of that time was without contraception (okay momma and mom-in-law, you can stop singing "lalalala").
I was diagnosed with Insulin Resistance and was prescribed Metformin. I took it for 2 years before having a regular menstrual cycle. Then I heard about the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility. What a wonderful book! I really think every woman should read through it. I started charting my cycles and believe it or not, I got pregnant the first month of charting!
Around the 18 week check up, we decided to have the test to find out if there was anything wrong with the baby. I was 32 years old and figured my age may have a bearing on the health of my baby. The test came back with some abnormalities and I was not prepared for my reaction. I had decided that having the test would prepare me for anything, but then when it came back positive, I was very upset. I did NOT blame God, although many do. I understand we have imperfect bodies and we have irregularities that we pass onto our babies. God is not to blame for this. However, I couldn't believe something was wrong. The test was inconclusive as to the actual problem, so they scheduled an appointment with the Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor. That's pretty scary stuff for a first time mommy. After a couple of visits, they determined she had a dilated ureter and I'd have to take her to a specialist after birth. Thankfully there were no other problems detected. In hindsight, I wish I hadn't had the test. It was such a big burden to carry around knowing there was nothing I could really do. (In fact, when I got pregnant with my son, I did not have the test.)
At my 35 week check up I had complained to my doctor about having unusual pelvis pain. I'd been reading (as new mothers usually do) lots of books and figured it was round ligament pain. She decided to check me out and to her surprise I was 2 cm dilated. She said this was a little unusual but not to worry some women can be dilated for weeks before giving birth, that was Friday. On Monday, I had serious pain and (mind you I was working full-time in an office) but just kept going about regular business. But later than night, I was in alot of pain. On Tuesday, I went in to work and told my boss I needed to go the doctor to make sure everything was okay. The midwife, checked me and said I was 3 cm now and the baby was in position and she could see the water bag bulging. She recommended I go home and rest until later that week. She told me I'd be having the baby by Friday. I started laughing hysterically and had a panic attack in the office. After all I was only 35-1/2 weeks...the baby should still be "baking" for another 4 weeks! I love my midwife, she grabbed my shoulders and said "get ahold of yourself, you're going to be fine..." She was right. When I got into my car, I called my husband and told him what happened, then I had to call my boss to tell her I wouldn't be back at work...what a day. Sure enough, Haylei decided to come on Thursday. My water started leaking that morning around 9 a.m. (I was watching Baby Story on TLC!) and then headed to the hospital. They gave me the pitocin to keep the contractions going. And they weren't too bad. Until around 4:00 when my doctor broke the rest of the water and I thought I was going to die!!! I was so happy to have the epidural, what a wonderful thing that is! My husband said I was saying the funniest things when I was in pain. Glad he was having a good time :) Haylei was born at 8:00 that night. I only had to push about 8 times, I think. It was really fast, I thought anyway. So here's my little blessing...
(I used to scrapbook! Here's when she was born...)
(when she was 1 year old)
(when she was 2 years old holding her new baby brother)
(when she was 3 years old)
(now she's 4 years old!)
I can't believe she's already 4 years old. Time truly flies by. She is an amazing little girl. When she was one week old, we took her to the Children's Hospital to do the ureter test. They needed to find out if her urine back-flowed from her bladder. Thankfully it didn't.
When she was about 3 months old, I noticed a little bulge over her lower spine. After a series of doctor's and specialist's visits, they determined she has a Lumbar Lipoma (a tumor made of fatty deposits located over her lumbar region in her back). It grows as she grows. When she was 3 months old it was the size of a quarter. Now that she's 4, it's the size of your hand. She's had an MRI and will have to have another one this year along with surgery to remove it. Her neurologist is concerned the tumor may tether into her spinal cord and wreak havoc on her motor function. However, during her MRI scan, they detected she also has a mild Chiari Malformation. Thankfully she has not suffered any pain from this and hopefully she won't. I haven't actually written about this before and some of you probably didn't even know Haylei had problems. Funny thing with children, they are so resilient. At times, I even forget she has issues. I don't know if it's because I want to block it out and pretend everything is hunky-dorey and we won't have to have surgery or what. But it's a tough thing to think about.
I'll let you know more as we go through the process of doctors and hospitals. It's never fun to see your child poked and prodded. But Jehovah God has been with us throughout the entire process and has entrusted us with her care, so we intend to do whatever is necessary to make sure she is well. Until then, we cherish all our time with our little girl and are thankful everyday for her.
This post has been linked to:
- Wordful Wednesday at Seven Clown Circus
- Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom
- Wordless Wednesday at A Lot of Loves
- Tuesdays Unwrapped at Chatting at the Sky
- Just for the Joy of It at Good True Beautiful
- Finer Things Friday at Finer Things
14 comments:
Happy Birthday Haylei. What a cutie pie!
I loved reading her birth story and so happy to hear that she did have the uter problem, and hopefully her surgery to remove the tumor will go perfectly. I know as a mother its so easy to worry.
She is so precious at every age:-)
She is so beautiful. I remember when you didn't think you could get pregnant and look at you now! You are a great mama and Kevin is a great daddy too! Hard to believe he's a daddy 3x!! Wow! I'm old!
Stopping by from Seven Clown Circus. My oldest, also a girl, will be 4 in May.
Love the pics of your precious daughter!
Christy
Aww sweet, I love reading birth stories. I know it was probably scary to deliver early, but I'm thinking it was a bit of a blessing not to have to entire those loooooong last few weeks. They seem to stretch on forEVER lol!
I never even knew about the lipoma. Looks like she's doing awesome. :)
Happy Birthday to your daughter! I know you already have one of these, But I nominated you for a Kreativ Blogger Award, so stop by my site to check it out if you get a chance. Thanks!!
Happy birthday to your baby! I enjoyed reading your story. We, too, had to use Taking Charge of Your Fertility and I recommend it to anyone who asks about that type of book. PS-Thanks for leaving a comment on my blog. I appreciate the visit and look forward to exploring yours more!
Stopping by from Wordless Wed. I love the pictures of your daughter growing up - so precious. My daughter is now 12.. growing too fast. Enjoy the time.
-Buffi
My Wonderfully Dysfunctional Blog
What a beautiful girl and story. Thank you for sharing. I hope that she continues o do well and there are no difficulties with her diagnosis. Stopping by from Good, True & Beautiful.
Happy Birthday Haylei! What a wonderful story your Mama shared! And what a lovely little lady you are!
Thanks for sharing this great story Candi... Like you, we've gone through the challenges of getting pregnant and then worrying about complications. But you are so right, Jehovah saw us through it!
Happy Birthday (belated) to Haylei! She is adorable. She's had the same smile since birth -- just beautiful! Good luck with the surgery and all that's ahead. Like you said, kids bounce back so easily. I remember being fearful of my Vivian getting tubes in her ears which is NOTHING! But still, we worry as parents. I'll be thinking of you. Enjoy your precious girl at every age! And hey, are you saying 32 is old? Geez, I'll be that in August and I still want to have a second child. ;-)
what a sweet story of determination and love
Your writing and sharing a story like that is such a joy. Wow. You remember everything and are such a great mommy. Continued blessings
She is beautiful! What a wonderful story. It's so awesome to relive their births!
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