surprises

Oct. 7th, 2009 03:13 am
mama: pregnant woman holding her stomach in the bathtub (Default)
When I told my office that I would be leaving in September, they were surprisingly happy for me. Not because I was leaving, really, but because I was expecting. This was surprising to me because the company that I worked for was new -- just going on three years -- and they'd never had an employee take maternity leave before. I told them late in the spring; an attempt to give them apt notice should they decide to replace me.

There are "rumors", I suppose you could call them, that a person's pregnancy and typical gestation period, are often reminiscent of their mother's. According to this theory, I always assumed that my baby would be born on time, or somewhat late. From this, I determined that I should start my maternity leave on September 11th: three weeks prior to my due date of October 2nd, which would give me time to get the house ready and prepare myself for the fact there was a baby coming.

I'm proud to say I made it to Tuesday, the 8th of September before getting frustrated with my job, and telling them I was all out of motivation. I enjoyed the next day, and spent most of it relaxing with Law and Order re-runs. When I rolled out of bed the following morning (the 10th) it was to a gush of fluid and a 6am trip to the maternity ward.

So much for my relaxation. ;)

They monitored the baby for an hour that morning, and sent me home due to the fact I hadn't gone into any form of active (contracting) labor. The same happened the next day, which was Friday. Saturday morning I went in to go back on the monitor and received my first round of IV antibiotics due to the fact it had been over 48 hours since my water had broken. Six hours later, I was back again for another dose and given an cervical gel to get things moving along. Another six hours home, and another round of antibiotics at which point I had finally starting contracting with some semblance of both intensity and regularity.

Saturday night is mostly a blur. Once things got going, they really got going. I was finally admitted to maternity at about 1:30am on Sunday, September 13th. With the help of Entenox (NO2), my baby boy arrived at 10:59am on the 13th of September, weighing 7lbs, 11oz and measuring 20.5".

It's been a little over three weeks, now, and my worries that I wouldn't be able to do this -- that I wouldn't be a good parent -- are receding.

It's still overwhelming, only now it's overwhelming in a good way.

I have never loved anyone they way I love this little boy.

prologue

Aug. 31st, 2009 10:05 pm
mama: pregnant woman holding her stomach in the bathtub (Default)
"It's not only children who grow.  Parents do too.  As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours.  I can't tell my children to reach for the sun.  All I can do is reach for it, myself."  
~Joyce Maynard



Parenthood. 

Motherhood. 

Five weeks to my due date and I'm terrified. Exhilarated. Thoroughly and unequivocally overwhelmed by the idea of it all. 

Through high-school, I had always seen myself spending the prerequisite four years in university, developing a career and eventually (maybe) settling down and reproducing. Looking back, I think that there aren't a lot of people who leave high-school expecting what comes next. 

Things, for me, got put off. At first it was just going to be a year. I'll take some classes, I thought. Upgrade a few core subjects at the community college before heading off to secure a glamorous post-secondary education. Then it was two years. Then, I couldn't make up my mind as to what I wanted to do with my life. My high-school sweetheart and I bought a house. We got engaged. We got a dog. We got married. 

School and an impressive career became less important. 

I got pregnant. 

Now, this wasn't a huge surprise for us. We weren't actively trying, but neither were we actively preventing. It did, however, happen much faster than we really expected. It was surreal. 

Hell, it's still surreal and I'm 35 weeks along! 

This place is just a place that's new. A nice clean slate to refocus; an emphasis on family and everything that goes with it. A chance to grow up that little bit more, unfettered by old lists and old circles. 

I look forward to the things that I'll learn.
 
 
 
 
 
 

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