After Little One came into the world most people probably thought I would never do that again. It was miserable ... every single part. The pregnancy (during my first year of grad school) consisted of spending time in the hospital on IV's from the horrible morning sickness, many trips to the hospital in the middle of the night to stop contractions, and finally bed rest for the last 9 weeks. The delivery (the first night of our vacation in another state!) was a nightmare that I will tell you more about around Little One's birthday. To say the least, Husband and I were traumatized ... for months. So why (only 4 months later) did I feel the urge for another one??? I have no idea, except that I love being a mom. I love holding my little ones, caring for them, and watching them experience life ... and one was simply not enough. So husband and I waited until I was healthy enough to be pregnant again and one brisk fall morning we found out another little one was going to be joining our family at the end of June!
My pregnancy with Little Two was very similar to Little One's ... although I figured out how to keep some food in me, and thus, avoided the hospital until the 3rd trimester! For months my mornings consisted of waking up, sick, getting Little One and myself ready for the day, and at some point in the midst of all that, Little One would accompany me in the bathroom and put his hand on my shoulder (while I was throwing up) and say, 'It's ok mama ... it's ok'.
It's odd, I know, but those were sweet moments that I will forever treasure. Weeks and months went by. I thought, 'hey I may actually make it without bed rest!' Silly me because around 32 weeks Little Two thought it would be fun to try and come out, and the next 4 weeks consisted of bed rest and medication to keep him inside. Yeah, bed rest with an almost 3 year old running around ... difficult would be an understatement! But we survived and made it to the very exciting 36 week mark!
I remember that morning vividly. It was beautiful! I was so excited that the weather was going to be nice for the next few days so that Little One's birthday party (which I planned early so that Little Two's birth would not interfere) would be perfect! Games outside, cake, ice cream and all his little friends playing together. I should have known my plan would not work out because that morning I woke up feeling funny. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I felt funny. I had a hard time eating breakfast and then around 9 the contractions started, and they started STRONG! 'NO!!! Little One's party!' was the first thought that entered my head ... so of course I quickly began making his birthday cake, putting goodie bags together and packing a hospital bag.
Finally, around 2 pm Husband and I went to the hospital to find out that yes, Little Two was making his arrival today. Quickly we called family, my mom book a flight, and the next thing I knew I was prepped and in the OR. Up to this point, I was pretty proud of myself ... I hadn't freaked out yet! Not that I had forgotten Little One's birth experience, but so far I was calm, cool and collected ... until they brought me into the OR, and then I fell apart. It all came back to me and tears just poured down my cheeks. As hard I as tried to stop them, they just kept coming. I was so scared. What if it all happens again, but this time, I don't survive ... and Husband is left alone with our two boys?
It was like the doctors and midwife could read my mind. The instant they saw me crying they knew the perfect things to say to calm me down. They assured me they were not going to let this be a repeat experience. They knew what they were doing, they took extra precautions, and they kept a closer eye on me during recovery. They were right: no complications ... everything went as smooth as possible! Praise the LORD!Little Two came out screaming and peeing all over the place! Clearly his lungs were fine, and when I first saw him I could not believe how different he looked from Little One! He's got his own sweet little face and personality and I could not be a happier or prouder mom :)
