When my pregnancy journey had begun, I had it all figured it out. I knew I’d have a natural birth, the midwives cheering me on as I delivered my son vaginally without any medical intervention.
Boy was I wrong!
My son was stubborn and comfy in my womb in a breached position and never turned. Be it my fibroids or just nature. Either way, I was scheduled for a Cesarean section at 39 weeks. I’d had to throw out my birth plan and live with a new plan that made sure he got here safe and sound.
He did.
This was the last picture I’d take in my home as a woman alone, no baby. I was terrified, but I did it. The doctors, nurses, midwives and entire team were phenomenal.
That morning, my son was born 6lbs 2oz and 18in with a head full of dusty brown hair. There had to be at least 8 people in my delivery room. I was calmed by the anesthesiologists, nurtured by my midwife Sarah, operated on by doctor and after 1hr and 1/2 of surgery my son was here at 8:06am.
Even during a pandemic and also Election Day, this became one of my happiest days ever. He was and is PERFECT.
I must admit, nothing could’ve prepared me for the chaos that followed. Mental and physical exhaustion was real, but I knew my son was getting the best of me, even when I didn’t know she existed. My boobs were sore, my beautiful incision was no bother on the outside, but the pain to just go poo nearly sent me into another galaxy. The most sleep I’d get was an hour and a half at a time. In that photo, my Doula had come to visit me. That will be a seperate post. This photo was taken after I had a mental breakdown of the exhaustion and emotions I was feeling. It was all the hardest most beautiful thing I’d ever experienced.
The hospital truly does prepare you for sleepless nights, coupled with interruption and a life ahead of change. My surgery had complications due to Endometriosis, my surgeon removed two chocolate cysts as I lay there looking at my son over my shoulder, a joy I couldn’t explain. They also had a bowel surgeon come over because the endometriosis had affected that too. However, I remained in a state of pure bliss.
I wasn’t ready for the endless pumping and breastfeeding I was about to undergo. It was nearly 5 days of what I would consider “Motherhood Bootcamp”. One night, the maternity ward even took my son for a stretch of four hours so I could catch up on rest. They knew I needed it and with the Pandemic, I was only allowed 1 support person who just couldn’t be there the way I needed her to be. However, having my son by my side made it all worth it, in the end. Even if he was a few feet away. I’d missed his small cries that night, but was thankful for the rest. I had never in my lifetime undergone surgery or had such close encounters with those in the medical field. Having lived a pretty healthy life, albeit uterine issues, hospitilization wasn’t something in my past.
That whole experience filled me with an amount of gratitude I didn’t know existed. They kept me alive, fixed my uterus and most importantly delivered my son safely. Not only that, the operation room was happy and cheerful, the staff in my ear telling me how amazing I was, the anesthesiologists constantly making sure I was okay, the midwife gently rubbing my head. I truly can’t thank these professionals enough for what they do under pressure.
That special day will never be forgotten. Thank you all ♥️
Signed,
Mama