pregnancy
Growing your family, one baby bump at a time. All about the ups and downs of nature's 9 month miracle.
It's Okay to Have an Opinion. Top Story - September 2018.
If you've ever been expecting a baby, then you're familiar with the question. The first one that everyone, even strangers, will ask. The question on everyone's mind; the answer they're obsessed with knowing. Are you having a boy or a girl? Followed up with, "Which do you want?"
By Kelsi Smoak7 years ago in Families
Layla
Pregnancy is supposed to be this beautiful thing, from the positive pregnancy test, seeing baby on ultrasound (or babies), little baby kicks, and finally the birth of your child. It’s a time of joy for most moms to be (and dads). No one and nothing preps you for never feeling those kicks, dreading seeing your baby on ultrasound, and never bringing home your child from a birth that wasn’t so perfect.
By Kiah Packard7 years ago in Families
My Journey Through Infertility
"I do," I said on that beautiful spring April day in 2012 as I finally, finally got to marry the woman of my dreams. We were pronounced married and we walked down the aisle with the biggest smiles, in great anticipation of a weekend of peace, quiet, and each other. Our honeymoon was perfection: quiet, laid back, with plenty of time to do whatever we wanted or nothing at all. Coming back home made reality set in and we soon became bogged down in unpacking, organizing and money struggles--you know, first year of marriage things.
By Erica Hale7 years ago in Families
Infertility
Infertility... Stillborn... Perinatal loss... These are words that haunt thousands of women every day. Families struggle with the fact that they cannot conceive a child without the help of over price medication and injections. They go through the ups and downs of the process... pay an arm and leg for the injection, wait the for the exact time to take the injection, mood swings, the anxiety of waiting for the doctor to return to your from your bloodwork, and then the devastating news that it didn't work and you are still without child and need to start the while process over and over again, hoping that this time will work.
By Amanda Wannike7 years ago in Families
Pregnancy
The first thing anyone says to you when they find out your pregnant is congratulations. Pregnancy is an amazing thing that women can do, we can create life. That’s amazing and yes congratulations are in order. But maybe you just want to hear, “you're pregnant, how do you feel? What can I get you? This is going to be hard but here are some things you can read or questions you can ask or things you can look up.”
By Melissa Carlson7 years ago in Families
The "Mom Shame"
When I was pregnant, people would ask what I planned to do with feeding for my baby. I would answer, "Half and half. I'd do half nursing, half bottle." Now, I wasn't quite sure what I would do with the bottle, I wanted to use breastmilk as much as possible, but if something were to happen and formula was needed then that would be okay, too... At least, that's what I thought.
By Kaitlin Lee7 years ago in Families
When Yes Means No
I’m already a mother. At the tender age of 19, I welcomed my first child into this world. As my son emerged from my body, time itself seemed to stand still. This purplish-blue newborn suddenly laid on my chest, and I completely froze. My heart stopped, and I felt the warmth and heaviness of his little body against mine. I sat still and just took the moment to process the fact that an actual human being had just came out of me. Then, a gentle voice (from either my mother or a nurse. The details are foggy) reminded me that he was my baby. I held him to me and cried with him and almost instinctively brought him to my breast. The moment I became a mother will never leave me. Though details come and go, these moments stay clear like a permanent fixture in my mind.
By Amanda Miehle7 years ago in Families
Giving Birth for the First Time
Everything about having a baby was different than I imagined it would be. I was terrified about the pain and the chaos of giving birth. I didn’t know how I would handle being in so much pain, especially unbearable pain that is childbirth based on what I had seen on TV. Once I found out I was pregnant, I think I was actually in denial about the fact that the baby would have to come out ever. I just kept putting the thought out of my mind.
By Haley Peterson7 years ago in Families
Pregnancy and Chronic Illness
Imagine finding out that you're pregnant with a surprise baby at 30-years-old, and being two years into a very painful diagnosis. For me, this was reality. I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease after about a year of testing, poking, prodding, and scans. My life had just started to turn around, thanks to the immunosuppressive medications, daily pain management with opioids, use of medical marijuana, and some extreme lifestyle changes.
By Bex Wohlfert7 years ago in Families
First-Time Mum
October 2016, can’t remember the exact date, but that’s when we found out I was pregnant. Best but worst moment of my life. I had just turned 19 and had only been with my partner for ten months. I had no idea what was to come. It was the unknown that scared me the most.
By Leah Yates7 years ago in Families
My First Pregnancy
I am sitting on my couch looking at this amazing being. She is 7-months-old. When did this happen? Why has time gone by so fast. Just seven months ago she was born. Just a year ago she was a tiny bump inside me. Just a year and a half ago, she was a thought. A beautiful thought. What would it be like to be pregnant? Would it be a boy or a girl? Would she look more like me or her father? Will she like The Muppets? Will he be named after my father?
By Plum Winters7 years ago in Families
What You Don't Expect When You Become a Mom
When I got pregnant the first time two years ago, I had no idea what to expect from motherhood. Most people have everything planned to the "T" and have a "perfect" pregnancy. Me? I took it one day at a time. I downloaded an app to track the baby's growth and checked out a women's center with the idea of using a midwife and no drugs and being able to labor a little more "freely" than in a hospital. As my belly grew, so did my anticipation. Around the beginning of the third trimester, women usually go in to take a glucose test to check for gestational diabetes. I never got to take mine.
By Kayla Willis Dupont7 years ago in Families
