My Journey Through Pregnancy

My journey through pregnancy began like most of you: sitting on the toilet with a cheap positive pregnancy stick in my hand. I was in shock. I felt weak and my hands tingled. I just sat there and stared at that little stick for what seemed like forever.

So then, I went and bought 4 other tests; but more expensive ones: you know, the ones that say “Pregnant” instead of the + sign. Well, guess what? Those ones came out positive too. It turns out false positives aren’t really a thing. I was finally convinced. I. Am. PREGNANT.

At the time I found out I was expecting my first child, we were most certainly not trying for a kid. We weren’t married, we didn’t have a home, and we weren’t even talking about children yet. I was still in my undergrad, trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life and he was trying to complete his masters while trying to jumpstart his business. It was super scary thinking about how we would balance everything and how we would tell everyone the news.

If you take nothing else from this, please take this advice: don’t be afraid to tell someone important to you because you’re afraid of his or her reaction. Unfortunately, that’s what I did and I wish I could take it back.

I waited until the last possible moments; until I HAD to tell my family because I was showing-- the baby was due in 3 months! I was young, only 21 years old, not married, and I definitely did NOT have my life together. I thought they would be disappointed in me. Boy was I wrong… they reacted amazing and immediately started planning for baby Olivia! They bought furniture, painted the nursery, planned a baby shower, helped baby proof the house… Again, DO NOT WAIT TO TELL THEM! Your family loves you. Even though it may not be the ideal situation to have a baby, sometimes married for 10 years with a home and a white picket fence isn’t the ideal situation either. They will love you either way and they want to be there for you. They want to be excited for you and I didn’t really give my family that chance. I wish I could take that back.

At week 7, I had my first ultrasound. My baby looked like just a little tiny blip. The only pregnancy symptoms I experienced at this point were no period, mood swings, and being exhausted all of the time. I got to miss out on the morning sickness… so I thought.

After the first trimester, those symptoms subsided. My energy was boosted and I was happy all of the time. At week 16, we found out we were having a GIRL, due May 25th!!! It’s amazing to see how much my tiny little blip grew from week 7 to week 16! She now has a head and arms… and toes!

Around week 21 was when I really started to show and was having very frequent doctors appointments. At this time I had only gained 4 pounds and my doctors were concerned that I was measuring small, so I was having ultrasounds at almost every appointment to measure the growth of the baby. She seemed to be growing fine, maybe a week or 2 behind schedule, but nothing to be too concerned about.

At week 28, the morning sickness kicked in. I thought I got out of it, but surprise! Strong smells made me sick-- Zach couldn’t wear cologne at all and I craved CHOCOLATE, all of the time!!!

At week 35, I was sent to an ultrasound specialist to do measurements on every ligament on my baby’s body because the growth of my belly from the last appointment wasn’t where it should have been. The specialist wasn’t super concerned and forwarded the results to my OB.

My next appointment that Tuesday, I had abnormal blood pressure and low amniotic fluid levels: so low they couldn’t even measure it. So, I was induced into labor immediately. I couldn’t even go home to get my hospital bag that wasn’t even all the way packed! My emotions were going CRAZY at this point! It was a good thing my mom came with me to this appointment, because I was so scared! We started calling everyone we knew and told them baby is on the way. I called Zach, her dad, while he was at work an hour and a half away-- he left immediately and was there by my side the whole time.

At 2PM, they started me on Pitocin, increasing it every 30 minutes or so. I wasn’t really feeling any contractions, nothing worse than normal cramps, just pressure. My water broke around 7PM, 6cm dilated. Suddenly, I felt the worst pain and the most intense contractions I’ve ever felt in my life (for only 30 minutes because epidurals are magical). I started pushing around 9:45PM, and our beautiful 5lb8oz, 18inch daughter was born at 10:00PM.

It was an amazing experience to think that our bodies were created to do something this magical. Immediately after she popped out, we were crying tears of joy. So much emotion was going through the room and honestly, it was the sweetest thing I have ever experienced. I couldn’t have pick a better (or more beautiful) person to have a baby with.

I may not be a lawyer or doctor and I may not be married or own a home, but I am a mom, and it’s the greatest title I could ever ask for.