I thought that I would do a little series for you and share my journey to becoming a parent. It will be in four parts. My pregnancy in two sections, Logan’s birth, and navigating the next chapter of having more children. I just want to preface all of this by saying, nothing turned out as I had expected. In fact, my entire journey to becoming a mom has been anything but normal, but it’s my story, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. So here we go!
A Positive Pregnancy Test
After a year and a half of marriage, Shadrach and I decided we wanted to expand our family. In all honesty, I’m pretty sure we weren’t exactly ready, but you know the saying, “If you wait until you are ready, it will never happen.” So, we dove right in. I made an appointment with my Ob-gyn’s office to get a check up and make sure I was healthy. They gave me the all clear and said to wait one month after I stopped my birth control, then we could start trying.
Well, that first month of trying I got pregnant!! We were completely expecting it to take months. Never did I imagine it would happen right away. Shadrach and I were so excited when we got our positive pregnancy test. I called the doctor’s office that day to schedule my first appointment. I even called and told my parents that same day. We were over the moon excited!! However, it was short-lived…
Complications
Not even a week after that positive pregnancy test, I started spotting. I also started freaking out! I called my doctor’s office immediately, and they scheduled me to come in the next day. That night was the longest night of my life. I had no idea what to expect. The one thing going through my mind was that I was having a miscarriage and I was scared, maybe terrified is a better way of putting it. Let’s just say I didn’t get much sleep that night.
So I get to the doctor’s office the next day, and they do my first ultrasound. Immediately I had relief when they found the baby and said he was still there. They could see a heartbeat, but we couldn’t hear it yet. They could also see a mass in the ultrasound and decided it was just a blood clot that would go away on its own. This mass was assumed to be from implantation. The doctor told me I might still spot for a little while, but everything looked good. I was instructed to call if the bleeding worsened.
A few weeks later, it got worse! The fear and anxiety started all over again. I thought for sure I was having a miscarriage. So I called my doctor, and they had me come in right away. Once again, they did another ultrasound, and the baby looked good. However, the mass from the first ultrasound was still there and not dissipating as they had hoped. So, the doctor put me on strict bed rest for a full week. It was to ensure that the mass went away because if the blood clot grew, it could have caused me to miscarry.
Bed Rest
These turn of events were not exactly how I expected pregnancy to be. I thought it was supposed to be exciting and a happy time. Instead, it was turning into the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through. Bed rest in the first trimester is not something that usually happens. I wasn’t allowed to do anything, go anywhere. The only things I could do was take a 10-minute shower, go to the bathroom, and get food to eat. Otherwise, I had to be sitting/lying down.
Because I went on bed rest so early in my pregnancy, it forced me to have to tell a lot of people before I was ready. I had dreamt of making a fun announcement with close friends and family. I’d hoped that there would be laughter and hugs in celebrations. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out that way. It wasn’t how I pictured it going, but it was the hand I was dealt. So I tried to take it all in stride and just concentrate on taking care of myself and the baby. It wasn’t easy, though, and I can tell you that I felt sorry for myself during that week at home, stuck in bed.
The bleeding subsided at the end of the bed rest, and I was allowed to go back to work part-time (before this, I had been full time). The rest of the time I was to stay off my feet and rest as much as possible.
The Pain Begins
We had a beach vacation planned with my parents, along with both my brothers and their families. There was some debating about whether we should go, but in the end, we decided it was what we needed after a stressful few weeks. Shadrach and I figured this might be the last getaway just the two of us, and we knew vacations would never be the same after the baby came.
While at the beach I started getting the most excruciating pain on the lower right side of my pelvis. It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. It was so intense that sometimes I would be bent over in pain and it started to keep me from sleeping. I called the doctor’s office, and they told me it was just round ligament pain and there was nothing they could do but suggested Tylenol, a warm rice bag, and warm baths.
I was only nine weeks along at this point, still in the first trimester, but everyone reassured me nothing was wrong with the baby. For quite a few weeks I barely got any sleep and just could not get comfortable. Many nights were spent sleeping in a recliner. This pain continued into my second trimester. Finally, after calling the doctor’s office for the millionth time about the pain, the nurse suggested I try Tylenol PM. It was a game changer!!
I was hoping to keep things as natural as possible through this pregnancy, but with the pain, it had gotten to the point where I would do anything to make it go away as long as it didn’t hurt my baby. It’s funny how after getting a few good nights of sleep, the pain started easing up and wasn’t near as bad. It was always there a little, like if I turned too fast or got out of bed too quickly but never as bad as those first few weeks.
We love telling Logan that he was in this picture. He thinks it’s funny that he was in my belly. 🙂
16 Week Ultrasound – Gender Reveal
So finally after all of these difficulties, we had our 16-week scan to find out what we were having and just to check on the baby overall. It turns out there was something not quite right, but it wasn’t worrisome just yet. The placenta hadn’t started to move up to the top of the uterus like it should have at this point. It was still at the bottom. So, that meant that we had to come back in 8 weeks to see if it had moved yet.
Also, remember that blood clot the doctor told me I had at the beginning of my pregnancy? It turns out it was a fibroid, which can cause bleeding as well. It was still there during this ultrasound. We started lovingly referring to it as my other baby. Ha! It was the size of an orange at this point, so it might as well have been.
We also found out what we were having! There was not a single bit of modesty with this child in the womb. 😉 So there was no doubt that he was A BOY. At least with all of these difficulties, we got to see Logan A LOT in the womb, and I loved every minute of it. It gave me reassurance that he was okay and still moving around.
Just in case you were wondering, this is the best ultrasound picture I could find after four years. Ha! Baby feet are cute, right?!?
To Be Continued…
As you can see, things started off with a bang, which is never good with a pregnancy. Ultimately, a quiet and uneventful one is ideal. I didn’t have that luxury. I was hoping and praying after this ultrasound that things would start looking up. So, check back next week to find out what happened at my next ultrasound and hear how the rest of my pregnancy went!
So do you have any crazy pregnancy stories? Did something different or unusual happen? I think it’s amazing how every pregnancy is different and unique! I’d love to hear your story!
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Laura Ramnath
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A beautiful story. Congratulations.
Thank you, Becca!
Sharing your story is awesome because a lot of women can relate! I didn’t know I was pregnant until I was 5 months along because I still kept getting my periods and I didn’t think anything of it!
Thank you Justine! I can’t imagine how much of a shock that was! It sounds like you have a great story! 🙂
Thanks for sharing. It is true that everyone’s story is so different. It can be the most exciting and scariest time. Looking forward to reading the next post!
Thanks Leah! It is so funny how there can be so many mixed emotions about the pregnancy and birth of your children. It is all worth it though. 🙂
Thank you for sharing your story. So sorry to hear that your pregnancy was so hard. I will be checking out your next post! 🙂 Happy Valentine’s Day!
Thank you Amy! It was tough but oh so worth it all. 🙂
I haven’t written my pregnancy stories either. It’s hard when it was difficult to find the words. Mine weren’t dangerous. Just full of sickness and pain. I barely want to remember the second pregnancy. Maybe when I’m a few more years out I will. I’m interested to read your next installment:)
That’s exactly how I felt. I wasn’t sure what to say or if I even wanted to remember all of the difficulties from my pregnancy. Now that it’s been four years, I was ready to sit down and work through it all. You will get there. 🙂
Oh my! 9 months is a long time to worry about a pregnancy since your complications started so early! I can’t imagine. My pregnancies progressed normally, it was my last delivery that was unusual. Little man came so quickly that he was born in my bathroom! Lol!
It was tough starting out of the gates of pregnancy with so many complications but it was so worth it. 🙂 I loved reading your story about your son. It’s a great one for sure!
Thanks for sharing! I am excited to read parts 2, 3, and 4. I have been debating on writing about my pregnancy and miscarriage stories on my blog so this is giving me the courage to try and write them. My pregnancy was also eventful, but in a different way. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes so I had to measure my blood 6 times a day during my last trimester. I also had to go to the doctor twice a week to have the baby’s heart monitored. It was hard and stressful. It was definitely not how I pictured pregnancy to be like. And my second pregnancy which ended in miscarriage, well that was even more eventful, I will have to get the courage up to write that story one day soon.
Thank you for reading! It has taken four years to find the words to sit down and write this. Even then, I feel like it’s hard to put it into thoughts. In the end, I’m glad I’m doing this though. It is helping me work through it and remember that not all of it was bad or hard. I hope that you are able to sit down and share your story. I look forward to reading it when you do. I haven’t dealt with miscarriage but I know it’s not easy. Thank you for your kind words 🙂