Making A Mommy: Part 3.....

Hey Y'all! It's Nicole again, writing Part 3.....

So after Kaylyn's arrival, I took my FMLA allotted 12 weeks maternity leave and went back to work on day shift after my leave was over. Our life rocked along pretty smoothly until Winter '03, just after Kaylyn's 2nd birthday. Baby fever hit, and hit HARD. We both really wanted another baby, but neither of us were sure if the timing was right. Our finances played a major part in making this decision. A new baby would mean we would have to pay for daycare x's 2. Not cheap. We prayed about it and finally we got our "sign." This "sign" was Kaylyn's almost immediate potty-training on the day when she told me she would use the potty. (Seriously, One day I asked her when she was going to use the potty. Her response, "Friday...." and she did...the following Friday.) Good enough for me! One month later, I was taking an EPT. This time I was ecstatic when the pink lines appeared. As excited as we were, no matter how badly we wanted this baby, it was not meant to be. On August 13, at 10 weeks, I miscarried.

If you've never experienced a miscarriage, there's no way to describe the emotions that it entails. I would in no way compare it to the loss of a child you've birthed and raised but it's a loss, none-the-less. A loss that there is no closure for. There's no funeral or memorial service. Your pregnant one day, and it's gone the next. Such and "empty" feeling.

After the miscarriage, getting pregnant again became an obsession. So much so, that I PLANNED an August baby.....in Alabama. HOT, HOT, HOT!! After a miscarriage, they recommend waiting 3 months before trying to get pregnant again. Of course I was not too keen about this plan, but the fact that there is an increased risk of a second miscarriage for pregnancies occurring less than 3 months after miscarriage, I decided to follow my docs advice for once in my life. Failed to get pregnant on the first month. Sobbed like a baby. The second month...JACKPOT! 2 pink lines on the EPT!

As happy as I was, I was terrified. Pretty uneventful pregnancy with the exceptions of the noticeable differences from my first pregnancy. I was wearing maternity clothes at 3 1/2 months, as opposed to 7 1/2 months with Kaylyn. The swelling was horrible. I couldn't even dream of getting my size 4 1/2 wedding bands on. Just for fun, I tried on my friend's size 8 ring , couldn't even get it past my knuckle. At 28 weeks Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (PIH), followed by Gestational Diabetes reared their ugly heads. My PIH was pretty mild until 36 weeks when I went to the hospital one night with my blood pressure extremely elevated. I was discharged that night and placed on bed rest. No easy feat with a, then, 3 year old. 2 days later I returned for my follow-up appointment. My blood pressure was still too high. Sent again to L and D for observation. This time there were regular contractions on the monitors about 4 minutes apart. I never felt any of them. Later that day, still contracting, B/P still elevated, and after being examined, I had dilated to 3 cm. My OB decide it was time to deliver.

I was moved to a room, placed on a pitocin drip and my epidural started almost simultaneously. (They knew about the troubles with my previous epidural, and rapid labor) I never felt a single contraction. 3 hours later after pushing 3 times, Luke Christopher arrived weighing in at 6 lbs 10oz, 21 1/2 inches. He was pretty big for a 36 weeker!

Kaylyn couldn't have been happier. She was so proud to meet the baby brother she had been so patiently awaiting. We were the proud parents of 2 beautiful, healthy children.