Really, doesn't it sound like blocked sinuses or something? Nonetheless, I've been rather nostalgic lately about babies. Pretty much everyone I know is pregnant or just had a baby, except me. I'd like to go ahead and make that clear right now so no one's expecting a fun announcement on Christmas, like we got to do 3 years ago. So no pregnancy announcements, at least from me. Maybe Louie's pregnant.
But I was just reading my cousin's blog (sorry, no links--not that fancy yet), she's pregnant with her first, and at that "holy crap there are only two ways for this baby to come out and neither sounds fun" stage. And then our good friends here just had a "little" baby girl. The mom had wanted a drug-free hypnobirth, but after 40 hours of labor she had to have a c-section because the 10 pound 7 ounce baby just wasn't budging. Yowzuhs.
In Lisa's blog, she writes about the respect she has for anyone who has given birth. I like her idea of discounts at movie theaters. But honestly, when I was in labor, respect was all gone. I was angry--angry at all the women before me that talked about how wonderful it was. Idiots. I began to seriously question the sanity of any woman that had had more than 1. I mean, the first one is understandable. You don't know any better, and it *sounds* like a good idea. You get to eat whatever you want for 9 months, your coworkers let you have all the fans, you get to go the the doctor a lot (I like the doctor's office), and did I mention eating for 10? And then you go through a day or so of pain, big deal, I've had both my jaws broken, and then you have a baby.
Not so simple. After my water broke, I just laid there staring at the ceiling tiles wondering why a woman that had seemed so smart and put together did this 6 freaking times. I had had so much respect for my mom, for raising us as well as she did/does, only to realize that she must have been certifiably insane--that was the only explanation. I felt so betrayed.
But then you have your baby. And you know the cliche about forgetting it all? Well, that's a load of crap too. And once you become a mom, you just have to deal with all sorts of pain, whether it's figuring out breastfeeding or dealing with a 2 year old having yet another sleep regression. While you may not forget the pain you were going through when you signed the consent form for the epidural (though I later realized that pain was due to being in transition--going from 4 cm to 10 cm in just over an hour is not pleasant!), it does become a price worth paying for a baby. Sleep deprivation and all. So good luck, Lisa, and all other expectant moms. Labor sucks, but the day Mabes was born was one of the best days of my life.*
Totally different subject: I should probably listen to kiddie music in the car, but I don't. Blame the article I read in Parenting that said that any kind of music was beneficial for kids and helps them to learn about rhythm. She's a big fan of Kanye (something about the beat of Golddigger calmed her down when she was a newborn), though her current favorites are Timbaland's "Apologize" and I'm embarrassed to admit Flo Rida's "Low." Her very favorite is Colbie Caillat's "Bubbly." Whenever it comes on the radio (or at the grocery store) Mabes raises her eyebrow's and says, "Mommy! Listen! I hear it!...Yeah, I hear it! I lika dis song!" After she said that today in the car, I asked her if it was her favorite song. She responded that it was the "Best ever song."
But she's learning Christmas songs. Friday night, we were serenaded on the drive back from Costco by Mabes singing "Jingle Bells." Her version consists of simply singing "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle bells..." over and over again. I think she threw in a "jingle all the way" once, but other than that, it was just "jingle bells." For 20 minutes.
*I realize that Em's birthday should be the absolute best day of my life, but it's really close between that and my parents' 30th anniversary. While Mabes' birth was life-changing and certainly the most amazing experience of my life, my parents' anniversary was just more fun. I mean, my whole family on a private chartered boat sailing along the NaPali coast of Kauai vs. being a hot sweaty mess pushing an almost 10 pound baby out. Both great days, but for different reasons.
Monterey revisited
8 years ago
4 comments:
Sorry, this is going to be long.
I have to agree. I admit there were several reasons for not having #2 (husband in school, I just had a baby, I was finally skinny) but the most convincing reason was labor. It was painful, my body will never be the same and I cannot forget it. Unfortualely, abstinance seems to be the only thing that works for me, so here I am with #2. I of course love him and will not tell him how unplanned he was, but I let all these other people convince me that the 2nd one is way easier labor and just slides right out. Lies. I was told I pushed 15 minutes instead of an hour, but both labors seem the same in my mind, hideously painful (these were both with an epidural!) Recovery and nursing (though still painful) were so much better/easier for the second one, I will admit that. Just want to prepare you before you go and get knocked up. I say the more the merrier, but not all of us have Jenilyn's pain tolerance and one push and its out.
But they sure are fun afterwards!
You just HAD to burst my bubble, didn't you? I've managed to convince myself it'll be easier next time, and that instead of pushing for 2 hours, I can sneeze and the baby will come out. Doh.
But that's good to hear that the recovery and nursing go easier. Thanks to Em's hugeness, I had a 3rd degree tear that pains me to even think about. And once we got past the first 6-8 weeks of nursing, it was smooth sailing beyond that. But those first few weeks were...not fun.
We'll have another eventually. But sleeping through the night is still a novelty so we're just enjoying that for now!
How did I get dragged into this?!
I do think the second is easier...just way more scarey since you know what kind of pain you are headed for. By month nine I thought I was a complete moron for getting pregnant again. When that first contraction hit with the second one I knew with out a doubt I WAS an idiot for doing it all over. I pushed an hour with the first and one push with the second. I am sure my third will be hours again! Maybe more people should go without drugs and then they wouldn't have so many kids! Works for me!
Haha I'm so glad I saw this post! I'm glad for your frankness, since I was starting to think that all of my friends' comments were a little too Utopian for me :) Thanks for your honesty.
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