I've been wanting to start a birth story blog for a while now. I finally got my butt into gear and decided to go for it! My mom (being the ever supportive mom that she is) was my test subject, so I'll be sharing the story of when I was born! It was so interesting learning about how things were for her when I was born. I loved being able to imagine my mom as a cute little excited first time mom, much like so many of the moms I work with.
So, without further ado, here is the birth story of me, told by my mom Suzanne!
"We found out we having a baby by taking a pregnancy test. I was shocked and excited and scared and happy! I ran out and told Troy. He was thrilled! We made a puzzle with 13 pieces for my parents (because Alexis would be the 13th grandchild). We had been hoping to have a baby for a year, so I should have been ready, but felt overwhelmed and not ready immediately."
Pregnancy wasn't bad (this time around! One day I'll share the birth stories of my brothers, where pregnancy was a little more different). She said "I had some evening (not morning) sickness at first, but after that it was easy. I only gained 23 pounds because I ate healthy and stayed active." I thought it was interesting that her morning sickness was concentrated in the evening, and then once I was born, I had terrible colic in the evening. Coincidence?
The last few days of her pregnancy seemed pretty smooth, the day before I was born her and my dad when on a hike! "We went hiking the day before she was born. I went to the doctor the next day and was nearly completely thinned and dilated to a 2. The doctor asked if I wanted to be induced. I'm not sure I would agree to being started [on Pitocin] if I were to do it again, although, my body was obviously ready. I just felt so much excitement to meet Alexis. It was relatively short and easy. I expected a lengthier delivery because she was my first. I felt great after the epidural. They started Pitocin around 11 and I got an epidural around 2. She was born at 5:03. Troy was very calm during labor because I was calm." I'd like to add that I think this set the tone for my moms style of parenting. She's a pretty calm lady! "I loved her immediately. She belonged and looked like me:)" To this day, I am a carbon copy of my mom. I think it's so funny that I looked so much like her, even with a squishy newborn face!
"Recovery after birth was easier than I expected, probably because I was healthy and active.
My mom came into town and she helped with everything from the beginning. We went on walks since it was a nice time of year and I loved getting out. I wasn't very good at nursing and had to work on that. We weren't getting very much sleep, so we were tired, but happy. The first night home from the hospital, Alexis screamed a lot, we all took turns trying to calm her. She probably was hungry since my milk hadn't come in yet."
I asked if she could give advice to her past self, and advice to a new mom, what she would say. She said "Advice to myself: Research options for birth. Advice to others: Don't use pregnancy as an excuse to eat whatever you want, taking care of yourself is so important before, during and after pregnancy."
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