I’m now 28 weeks pregnant. 28.5, actually. Wow. I’m so thankful. Ten weeks ago, I wasn’t at all sure I would make it. I’ve only now started to allow myself to think about what the new baby might need or how his room might look.
A friend actually brought me a “Happy 28” cookie cake, which was wonderful and fun.
It’s funny to step back and look at all the strange thoughts rattling around in my head. Last night I caught myself hoping that this baby will be “normal” and have an easy time breastfeeding, unlike Ian.
Normal? Ian was about an normal as a baby can get. In fact, he was rather healthily beyond normal, arriving at 40 weeks, weighing 9.5 lbs, scoring a 9 and a 10 on his Apgar, and sleeping through the night when he was a few months old (okay, you can stop hating me now, I know how lucky I am!). Our nursing issues were the only rough spot in a very bright and easy first year.
When Ian was born, I mourned that he had to be induced and that he ended up as a C-section (his manly head and shoulders were a little too big for my body). From the start of this pregnancy I knew I would probably have another C-section, since those issues have a high rate of recurrence. It’s funny, though — I remember telling Paul in the first trimester that I hoped I would at least have the chance to go into labor and do the mad dash to the hospital instead of having a scheduled C-section, just so I could have that experience.
Ahem.
A mad dash to the hospital at 17 weeks was not the idea of labor I had in my head.
So here I am, 28 weeks, immensely grateful that at this point I am likely to have a “normal baby” — meaning a baby I can someday hold in my arms, even if not right away. A baby who will eventually learn to walk and talk even if it’s a little delayed, who I can get to know over the course of several years, not a few short minutes.
Yes, I am glad to be here.
P.S. – Public service reminder — If you have a newborn in your life, especially a preemie, remember to get your flu shot and possibly your pertussis booster as well. Lots of people work really hard to get these babies here safely, so let’s do our part to keep them healthy!
Love the “lessons learned label.” I hate that you have had to learn these lessons…but maybe you’ll forgive me for enjoying having the company on this side of childbirth/rearing assumptions.
Congratulations, dear cousin! I’m so happy for you guys. Please know of my continued prayers.
I remember when those ten weeks seemed like an eternity. Congratulations! And thank you for sharing your new perpective.