I find it hard to believe that it's almost the middle of May...wasn't it just February??? Not that I'm complaining, I love summer and the fact that I'm almost done with chemo is a very happy thought. Today Simon is 6 months old which is also just wild, time is really flying. Today has me thinking back to the day I gave birth to my sweet, grumpy baby boy...
I know that it was stupid, but I really expected Simon's birth to be similar to Stella's. We had so much drama leading up to Stella's birth but the actual delivery was a piece of cake, 3 hours start to finish. When pregnant with Stella, I had a placental abruption at 32 weeks. To say that it was terrifying would be a gross understatement. It was two days before Christmas and we were out to dinner with my parents. I actually thought my water had broken at the restaurant but didn't want to say anything to worry the family. We left shortly after that happened and luckily we lived less than 5 minutes from there. Once we were home, it was apparent that something was VERY wrong. To put it bluntly, I was gushing blood and terrified that I was going to lose her. We rushed to the hospital and I was admitted immediately into labor and delivery ICU...not a fun place to be in case you were wondering. I was hooked up to a fetal monitor right away and Stella was happily kicking and punching. Once I knew that she was okay, the rest didn't matter. It wasn't until the next day that the doctors figured out the placental abruption (it's difficult to diagnose before actually giving birth) and by that point I was in pre-term labor, awesome. They put me on magnesium sulfate and gave me a time limit of 12 hours for the contractions to stop. If they didn't stop, I would deliver on Christmas Day. Luckily for me (and Stella) the meds worked and labor stopped. I spent a week in the hospital being monitored and then spent another week at home. It was a memorable Christmas for my family, Steve dressed up as Santa to visit me in the hospital (yes, he totally rocks) and my parents along with Steve had Christmas dinner at a Waffle House. My first follow-up ultrasound out of the hospital (ironically on a Tuesday), my blood pressure was sky high and they decided to induce...on my birthday! So yes, Stella and I have the same birthday, which I think is really cool :) The nurses on my floor even had the kitchen make me a birthday cake! Stella spent 5 days in the NICU to work on eating. Needless to say she caught on quickly and has been thriving ever since!
As you can imagine, my OB was watching me quite closely during my prenancy with Simon. Things went very smoothly up until 30 weeks. At 20 weeks I started having weekly ultrasounds to monitor my placenta (and to avoid a repeat performance of my pregnancy with Stella). Simon was a large baby in utero...measuring almost 3 weeks ahead consistently. Anyway, at 30 weeks my blood pressure was steadily climbing and I was given the blood pressure "warning speech" which I was well acquainted with. On November 4th I was sent to labor and delivery for "observation" due to a really high BP measurement...really I should say 3 measurements, they did give me several chances. Simon was almost born on Steve's birthday, November 5th. Admit it, for a second you were like, what are the chances?!?!? It would have been really cool to have another shared birthday but it wasn't meant to be. I was released from the baby clink and had the weekend to do "bedrest" hilarious with a toddler running around. I went in for a check up the following Tuesday (now you know what I mean about Tuesdays!!!) and with a BP over 160 I was given a direct ticket, do not pass go back to the hospital. Apparently I was actually in the first stages of labor and didn't realize it (I know, I know, but really, you've met me, right?). This time I would be staying until Simon arrived. I was moved later than afternoon to an actual labor and delivery suite. The plan was to see how my labor progressed overnight and if I hadn't made any progress, my OB would break my water and start pitocin (yay...extreme sacrcasm here). I assumed I would deliver quickly since I did with Stella. Of course no such luck this time! 28 hours of labor and nine hours on pitocin...every girl's dream, NOT! The epidural wore off twice (should we talk about that level of awesomeness???) and I hadn't eaten anything in 24 hours before it was all said and done. I've mentioned a few times in this blog that I gained about 400 lbs with Simon so you know that I was ravenous. I nearly took Steve out when he brought in McD's for breakfast that day. Because Simon was early (both Stella and Simon were delivered at 34 weeks, 6 days, how's that for timing?) we knew he would be heading to the NICU. At my ultrasound the week before, the tech had estimated his weight to be around 6lbs, HUGE for 5 weeks early. Once Simon was born I had a quick second with him before they whisked him up to the NICU with Steve for weights and measures. When Steve returned to check on me he asked both me and my attending nurse to guess Simon's weight. We both guessed around 6lbs. WRONG! He was 7lbs, 15oz...an 8lb baby 5 weeks early, are you KIDDING ME??? My OB said (sort of laughing, sort of awed) that if he had gone full term he would have been close to 12lbs. OMG!!! Thank goodness for "small" miracles. Simon spent 7 days in the NICU (mainly because they were making him eat like a linebacker) and then came home.
To say that the 6 months since Simon arrived have been insane would be putting it mildly. But you know what? I'm grateful for the experience and the lessons learned along the way. Stella and Simon could not be more different. Stella was so laid back and easy as a baby. Simon is the polar opposite and challenging, I suppose would be the right word. I love both of my kids in that crazy, mama bear, I would give my life for theirs kinf of way. I think of Stella as my "soul sister" since we share the same birthday and many other traits (stubborness perhaps?). Simon is opinionated and grumpy, with a smile that would melt steel and I credit him for saving my life. That's a pretty heavy load for a little guy who's only 6 months old. My own little knight in shining armor. Happy half birthday baby boy, it's been an unbelievable ride so far but I'm looking forward to many, many more fun times ahead!
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