tell me about your first pregnancy/child!

[EmptySoul]

So, like I've said, I am getting married next summer and we are planning on trying to get pregnant as soon as we're married. (Gotta be able to get drunk at the reception!) I am very excited about all of it..

 

I just figured it'd be a fun post to have everyone tell me about:

*your first time being pregnant

*your first child birth-the whole experience, whatever you want to tell me

*how did the father react if he was there during the birth? (I'm afraid my fiance might faint)

*experiences raising your first child, adjusting to parenthood, lack of sleep, etc. lol

 

Please, I'd love to hear lots of responses to this, I know that most people have children, so come on and tell me all about it(male or female!) heheh

 

e.

[Alezia]

*your first time being pregnant

 

I guess it wasn't bad enough... since I'm pregnant again =)

Be prepared to sacrifice a few things such as clubbing, theme parks, sports, sushi, brie, wine etc... Basically no good food, no drinking and no entretainment.

The first two trimesters will pass by fast, the last one is long long long.

If you can get out of work two months before your due date, that's best otherwise one month will do fine.

 

*your first child birth-the whole experience, whatever you want to tell me

 

I was two weeks late, so anxious for the baby to come. It went well in all seriousness. Gotta love the epidural.

 

*how did the father react if he was there? (I'm afraid my fiance might faint)

 

You mean to the news? He was kind of surprised because my first was unplanned. I was still a broke student... no mat leave. Let's just say it wasn't the best of news for the time.

 

*experiences raising your first child, adjusting to parenthood, lack of sleep, etc. lol

It's pretty good, but expect it to take a chunk of your budget with diapers, wipes, clothes, formula etc.... My baby slept his nights after 3 months, so it wasn't too bad. Find a good day care as soon as you can though!!!

[Catdancer]

I just figured it'd be a fun post to have everyone tell me about:

*your first time being pregnant

*your first child birth-the whole experience, whatever you want to tell me

*how did the father react if he was there during the birth? (I'm afraid my fiance might faint)

*experiences raising your first child, adjusting to parenthood, lack of sleep, etc. lol

 

I have one child and I'm not having anymore. lol My pregnancy was pure hell. I had morning sickness from the first week right up to the minute that I gave birth, horrible hip pain when my hips spread for birth, I also had my chest wall become inflammed when everything inside starts to move and widen to accommodate the baby. It was awful...a constant burning pain that never went away. It took 3 docs about 2 months to figure out what was wrong. I was in and out of the hospital constantly due to dehydration of me and the baby because I was throwing up so much. In my last 2 months, my blood pressure shot up and my legs and feet were horribly swollen. I was put on bedrest for the rest of the pregnancy. At my 36 week unltrasound they estimated the baby's weight at 9.6 pounds and he still had 4 more weeks to go. They did an amnio to be sure that his lungs were fully developed (yet another awful pain...6 inch needle stuck into your pregnant belly and the whole time I was praying that they wouldnt hit my baby..oh and no anestesia or numbing as my baby was moving and they were afraid that they wouldnt be able to get two needles in) and then they scheduled a c-section. If my baby would have gone to term, he would have been 12 pounds! So, they took him at 37 weeks and he weighed 9.2 pounds! He was the biggest baby in the nursery! Because he was so big, they did a vertical incision to take him. So I have a scar that starts at the bottom of my belly button and goes down past my bikini line. It's awful! Then 7 days after having the c-section, they removed the staples from my incision and 6 hours later, the entire incision OPENED up! IT popped open! I had a 5 inch deep hole in my belly! Rushed to the emergency room again, they packed it, were going to do surgery again, but my OB had an alternative. They sent an at-home nurse to install a wound-vac pump on my "hole" in my belly and it pulled out infection and drainage. It cut the heal time by about 3 weeks. Still took about 5 weeks for the whole incision to heal and I was strapped to the wound vaccum for the whole time! I have to admit, I was miserable. BUT the flip side is that I got to stay in bed and cuddle with my son and take care of him. I didnt worry about laundry, dishes, cleaning, nothing. All I did was rest and take care of my new baby. That was great! The one on one time was amazing.

 

As to child birth--my mom and bf were supposed to be with my during the birth, but since it ended up being a c-section, they only allowed one in the operating room with me, so my bf came. They had a drape up so I couldnt see what they were doing. My bf made the mistake of peeking over the drape about the time they were taking my guts out and he almost passed out. The anesteiologist saw and started talking to him, which I think is the only thing that saved him! Then the baby was born and that's all it took. He was fine! They took the baby out and wrapped him and gave him immediately to my bf, he also cut the cord. THen my bf brought him to me. I got to touch him and see him and the first thing I said was "oh god, he's got red hair!" lol My bf was like, "um...he's still bloody, he hasnt been cleaned up yet." Oops! Blonde moment for me! LOL

 

Adjusting to parenthood hasnt been as bad as everyone said. Once we got a routine established we've done great. We are very very fortunate in that we have a healthy, happy, calm baby who sleeps for 6 to 8 hours at a time and hardly ever fusses. We are truly blessed!

 

Even though my pregnancy was god-awful, I'd do it all over again to have my son. He is a miracle and the most amazing thing that I have ever seen. He is 3 months old now and a total stinker!! lol

[Batya33]

your first time being pregnant

 

Just gave birth this past winter. It was an amazing but stressful experience because I was 42. No complications and I spent a lot of time feeling surreal about it (in a good way - felt like I won the lottery while being so scared of something going wrong). I also felt fragile/vulnerable when I got larger.

*your first child birth-the whole experience, whatever you want to tell me

 

I didn't know I was in real labor (I was 9 days early), It wasn't as bad as I'd imagined although I needed a last mintue c-section. My mother and husband were there with me (my husband was in the operating room, mom wasn't) and we had other parents/friends/ waiting in the waiting room.

*how did the father react if he was there during the birth? (I'm afraid my fiance might faint) - my husband was awesome in every way. I still have lollipops left over from the bag he bought me (we were told I'd only be allowed ice chips and possibly lollipops since I could choke on a sucking candy - and boy was I dry!

*experiences raising your first child, adjusting to parenthood, lack of sleep, etc. lol

I have to say that for me it's been so life changing in a positive way but also not something I want to put into words yet because it is ever changing and so deep as well as surreal. I am glad in a way I waited because I did so much in my life before personally as well as career that it doesn't feel like a sacrifice or like I am missing out on anything - quite to the contrary.

 

The other reason I don't want to put it into words because when I feel what I feel I wonder if expressing it would sound so hopelessly cliche or no different from what many other new moms have felt. That's ok with me, internally, but putting it into words would seem like I was trying to express an original thought which I don't think I would be (it's all new to me though!).

 

In short, it's amazing and I love being a mommy!

[Dating Coach]

*your first child birth-the whole experience, whatever you want to tell me

 

Was absolutely overwhelming and the single most rewarding experience of my life. I couldn't even talk when the baby was born, I was too overcome by it all. When they asked if I wanted to cut the cord I could only nod. My eyes were constantly wet throughout our stay at the hospital and every time I looked at my baby I felt a love that I had never felt before.

 

*how did the father react if he was there during the birth? (I'm afraid my fiance might faint)

 

I nearly fainted. They had me hold my fiancee's legs up while she was doing the breathing and pushing and I had to sit down and ask her mom to take over. I don't know if I want to see that part of the birth. I am sure it is amazing but I would have to be sitting down. For our first one, I videotaped the birth from a PG angle by my fiancee's head. I was about a half an inch above anything graphic so I did catch the baby coming out, just not right on it-just slightly above.

 

*experiences raising your first child, adjusting to parenthood, lack of sleep, etc. lol

 

So far so good! She's got our temper, that's for sure, but she's only 11 so I can't start time out yet nor work with positive reinforcement to help her deal with it. She is loads of fun and I thoroughly enjoy taking her out in public to show her off. She's a lot of fun and watching/helping her learn is so much fun. I literally analyze EVERY interaction I have with her. EVERYTHING I do with her I am thinking about what I am teaching her, what I want her to learn, who I want her to be. I worry about being too overwhelming, too pushy, I worry about being too lax, too leniant. I worry that I am not reading to her enough, or playing with her enough. I worry about teaching her to be selfish or spoiled by helping her with things as simple as grabbing a toy out of her reach, I worry about letting her get frustrated too much while trying to get something she wants and not helping.

 

I'm a analytical MESS! But I think it's good. She already seems to be very advanced intellectually-FAR ahead of what the 11 month milestones say. On top of that she is VERY smiley and happy (most of the time). She's very resourceful, figuring things out that I wouldn't expect her to figure out. Such as being able to find the doggy in her book by flipping up a tab where he is hidden when I ask "Where's the doggy?" Or how she can test her play area's for weaknesses when I block off any exits with barriers and then escape. Or a number of other problem solving abilities she has. She's so cute that she waives at everyone she sees when I am carrying her in the store while shopping. She also gives mommy and daddy stuff when we ask for it, such as if she picks up something and we say, "Noooo..." or "Uh uh" to her, she will look at us and hand it to us. SO CUTE.

[Sky-Cherries]

Maybe you should concentrate on having a good marriage before you introduce a child.

 

Being married doesn't automatically make you good parents.

[thejigsup]

I was deathly sick the last 5 months of my pregnancy. I could eat nothing for 5 months but banana and strawberry yogurt shakes. I was hospitalized a couple of times. Childbirth was pure, unadulterated agony!!!! My water broke and within an hour I was in hard labor (which is the worst pain you can ever imagine!) I had natural childbirth (don't do this). When my son was born his head was at an obique angle and he tore me apart. I had 2 hours of stitching done on me, though I look fine now. When my son was born I fell deeply and immediately in love with him. Good thing. I will never have another child. NEVER!

[Dating Coach]

EmptySoul, make sure you are financially ready before you have a child. I see that you are 19 and while my close friend had a child with his wife who was 19 and they are doing fantastic and the child is now 4, they are also very rare. They have like a 830 credit score and have 50+k in the bank. Very unusual for a couple that is now 26 and 23 to be so well off.

 

So be careful. IMO one of the worst things people can do is have kids before they are financially ready and mature enough to accept the responsibility of creating another human being. IMO, creating a new person is probably the single most important thing you can do in life. There is so much responsibility in what you do because you are the one instilling the majority of the values and you are creating the basis of what kind of person that child will grow up to be. One day that child is going to be a part of our community, you want that child to be a productive good member. It is a LOT of work, it takes a LOT of sacrifices, and while it is the most rewarding thing you can do, it is also the least appreciated and most trying.

 

Good luck in what you do.

[EmptySoul]

not rushing things, it's all plans and dreams, just wanted comments..

[Capricorn3]

My first pregnancy ended up in miscarriage.

 

Next pregnancy was a total and absolute nightmare. I couldn't keep any food or liquid down at all and spend three months in hospital on an IV. I weighed LESS during pregnancy, than before I got pregnant. It was horrendous and I hated every second. Never felt so sick in all my life.

 

Had an 8 hour labour with NO pain killers/epidural. It wasn't even offered to me. But I survived. Baby weighed less than a premature baby but was full term. He was tiny!

 

My husband was with me throughout and was VERY excited with the whole process. At one stage the doctor had to shut him up, lol.

 

Raising my first child was the most rewarding experience I have ever had in my entire life. Best thing that ever happened to me.

 

After my horrendous pregnancy, I swore I would NEVER have another baby, EVER! But I changed my mind and three years later had my daughter. That pregnancy was even worse than the first (if that's even possible) and ended up with a carbon copy of the first time, in hospital for 3 months on an IV and even smaller baby than the first one.

 

That said, my kids are my pride and joy and I wouldn't change anything for the world.

[XxJustMexX]

*your first time being pregnant

Well, it was with an ex-fiancee that let's just say wasn't thrilled about me being pregnant so I broke it off. (Sooo glad I did) When I was pregnant with Anthony, it was pretty easy actually. A lot of people told me I was lucky not to get morning sickness so I think mine went well. I ended up with a few complications... Went into labor early, then he ended up being breach so had an emergency c-section. My son was born with a few medical problems (which are still affecting him today) so he was in the NICU for 10 days after birth. But still, I couldn't be a happier mother!

 

*your first child birth-the whole experience, whatever you want to tell me

Well, nothing much to tell. Oh, here's a funny one. You know how you can "leak" during the last month of pregnancy due to the baby sitting on your bladder? Well OK, one day I started leaking a bit and since I knew about the bladder thing, I think, ok... that was what it was... Well about 24 hours go by and I'm thinkin, what the heck? It's still happening! So I'm at a friends house and I ask her what the heck is going on and she says "Uh oh... I don't think that's pee, I think you're water broke!" So off to the hospital I go and what do you know... I'd already been into labor since the day before... *slaps forehead* (I wasn't having contractions or anything else to show me that's what it was! lol)

 

*how did the father react if he was there during the birth? (I'm afraid my fiance might faint)

Umm... not very well. He wanted me to abort so I told him to go to hell and left him.

 

*experiences raising your first child, adjusting to parenthood, lack of sleep, etc. lol

This could take years to write so I'll skip for now... maybe I'll come back later to fill it in... lol. One thing for sure, because of my son's medical issues he didn't sleep a full night until he was almost two! So yeah... I didn't sleep for two years.

[metrogirl]

Not too much tell... I had a relatively easy pregnancy, no morning sickness. Had one case of food poisoning which made me lose a bit of weight because I was sick as a dog.

 

Cracked my tailbone at 7 months while taking a bath. (don't ask) and suffered immensely after that. I couldn't sit without a doughnut thingy and getting out of a chair was worse than childbirth itself.

 

Speaking of childbirth, I was in labor for 26 hours, 14 of them hard labor.