My Daily Life as a Mother: 2009

I want to start off my blog by introducing myself and telling you a little about my life.

I moved to Phoenix, AZ in '96 from a small town in Nebraska. I married my childhood sweetheart in June '06; soon after in December '06 we had our son Bennett. Life has been a beautiful adventure ever since. I could not have asked for a better son; he has taught me so much about life and how the most simple things can be the most precious.

Life as motherhood was something I had dreamed about since I was a little girl. That is why, when I found out I was expecting it was one of the best days of my life. From the moments of joy of feeling him move inside of me, hearing his little heart beating, and the anticipation of holding him for the first time made me melt with unexplainable happiness. I remember the first time I held him in my arms; I looked in to his beautiful little face my eyes filling with tears of joy as he captured my heart in his tiny hand. There is a bond between a mother and a son (child) that nothing can break apart, a bond that begins within the womb and grows stronger every day. Becoming the mother I dreamed of as a little girl has proven to be more beautiful and challenging then I could have ever imagined.

A brief look of my steps through motherhood so far:

Pregnancy: First trimester was one I dread going through again. I had morning sickness through the first 4-5 months of my pregnancy, on top of which I had the stomach flu along side about a month and a half of it. I would have to say it was the most miserable time I have had with my body. Second trimester was not as bad; I started to get some of my energy back and enjoying pregnancy. I started to get my pregnancy glow and the constant smile on my face from the joy of feeling the flutters of him moving inside of me. Third trimester was a little ruff around the edges; I struggled nightly with heartburn, sore and uncomfortable hips (from the baby kicking them), and days of exhaustion from the sleepless nights, early mornings, and busy days. I worked as a purchasing manager for a concrete company through my whole pregnancy, but because I am stubborn I did not let my being pregnant change my working habits; I perform in my job as I had before my pregnancy (lifting, walking, outdoors, office work, etc.). Toward the end of my third trimester though things were not going so well. I found myself in the emergency room at least once or twice a week with contractions, pains, and worries. By mid November my doctor had me on bed rest due to early contractions. Even though sitting at home for a whole month was disappointing I was happy to have that time of extra bonding and nesting time. December 12, 2006 I went with my husband to my nieces 2nd birthday party. We had a good time with family, and even joked about how they wanted me to have our son on the same day as my nieces birthday. We went home a little late that night, relaxed for a bit on the couch together, and then started heading to bed. I was in the bathroom getting ready for bed when I started feeling my water breaking.....
Labor: We rushed around putting our stuff into the car and hurried to the hospital (20 minutes away). We pulled up, checked in, and they took me back to triage. The nurses did their stuff and soon came back to tell us that they could not find fluid showing that my water had broke. I insisted that they check again (between my many trips to the bathroom to go pee). After three times of them checking and ready to send me home, I asked them to check one more time......within minutes they came back and said I was right; my water had not broke completely but had only ripped at the top so it was slowly leaking. They finally took me to a room after what seemed like forever. After that a lot of my memory of what happen is dim; I don't remember my water breaking, but I do remember the horrendous labor pains and the waiting for the shift change to finish so someone could give me my epidural. Then came the scary part.....
Delivery: I insisted in my birth plan that I did not want a C-section, but after getting ready to push panic set in.....my sons heart beat had stopped. Within seconds they told me what was going on and that they were going to have to do a c-section. My eyes filled with tears and fear; they rushed me in, prepped me, brought my husband in, and began delivery. Between my sense of humor from the meds, my panic attacks, and the overwhelming joy of our son being born......finally I heard his cry. The next thing I remember is being in another room and waking up to them putting my son in my arms.
New born Bennett: The first few days went really smooth, we had a beautiful time in the hospitl bonding, and then got to go home 3 days later. The first few months were really easy even with the little sleep we got; I think the joy of finally having him here with us (and a lot of coffee for my husband) kept us going. Then a few months later "colic" set in; Bennett would cry non-stop from 4pm-2am everyday. My husband would come home to me sitting on the couch, holding our son, in tears of frustration and sadness (from not knowing what to do). We soon found out that he was lactose intolerant, and has since been a better baby.
First year: The first year as a mother was such a beautiful learning experiance. I had the privlage of staying home with him the first 9 months, so I got to see him grow and learn new things. Being a mother is one of the biggest blessings I have ever experiances in my life; I would not trade it for the world.
Second year: Bennett is now 2 .....and..... "wow"....there is so much tey do not teach us about being a mother and the day to day frustrations, chalanges, and adventures that come along with the beauty of a child.

On going in my blog I want to share with others my daily life experiances as a mother. Weither my experiances can help others through thier journey of motherhood (or fatherhood) or just to help share in a laugh; please take a few minutes to comment (a thought, advise, encouragement, question, or share your own experiance)......Don't be shy.

Until next time......here are a few photos of time past, but not forgotten....and always cherished.