K was born on April 2nd. He was due on March 20th, but clearly had no plans to come out without being evicted. I went in on April 1st to be induced. I had planned to go without pain medication and was able to do so. Things were going along well (I thought) and I was sitting on a birthing ball working through contractions when a nurse told me that the baby didn't like that position and that I needed to get on the bed. I don't even think I had climbed all the way in the bed before a bunch of people rushed in and, before long, I was being wheeled to the OR for an emergency C-section. The baby's heartbeat had dropped, so they decided it was best to get him out sooner rather than later. Since I hadn't had any pain medication, I had to be put under with general anesthesia. My husband wasn't allowed in the OR due to the general anesthesia (I'm not sure why), so neither of us got to see the baby immediately after he was born or got to be the first ones to hold him. I'm still sad about that. I hate that I missed that magical first hour of his life because I was unconscious. It just didn't go at all the way I'd planned and hoped. But, he was healthy and, in the end, that's the most important thing.
Being a mother is amazing, as I knew it would be. I absolutely love it. The first few weeks were a bit rough, but crazy hormones and lack of sleep takes its toll. By three months or so, things were better and I felt more normal again. Now he's almost six months old and he's so much fun! I love seeing him learning new things and growing and changing. Every day is an adventure! At the same time, whenever he learns something new or grows out of an outfit that I love, it makes me sad. It's bittersweet...of course you want your child to be healthy and grow and become an independent person eventually...but there's nothing like the sweet baby you have for a few short months. It goes by way too fast. I think the fact that it took so long to become a parent and was something I wasn't sure was ever going to happen (at least not without adoption) makes me appreciate it even more. I just want to soak it all in.
I'll be back, hopefully sooner than a few months from now, to go into more detail about the past few months. I'll wrap it up with some pictures of my sweet boy.
