Graphic complaints from a mom

Why does everything have to be so complicated?

I envy the women who have had natural births, who came out of everything with the same body they went in with. These are the same women of course who breeze through pregnancy without a single complication, looking and feeling great. When they don't want to get pregnant, they simply don't, and the minute they want to, they do.

Needless to say I am not one of those women, so I am going to give myself the next couple of minutes to complain and then be done with it.

Shortly after I found out I was pregnant with Jordyn I was told that I was having a miscarriage and that I should just go home and wait for things to pass. At the time, we hadn't even been trying to get pregnant but the moment we found out that we were, we were in love with this little baby. After weeks of waiting, we finally found out that everything was going to be okay. Two months later we were told that Jordyn would be born with a kidney disease and that she would most likely require a kidney transplant sometime during her childhood. We worried for months about her kidneys, only to find out that they are perfectly normal after she was born. Then came PUPPS. PUPPS is a rash that itches like hell, it consists of tiny red bumps that are raised and spread. Mine spread all over and robbed me of many nights of rest.

Finally it was time to labor and actually deliver this baby... But wait... My body wasn't even about to go into labor on it's own. We decided to induce a week and a half after my due date. By this point I had gained almost 50 pounds and was continuing to work, my ankles were the size of tree tree trunks my PUPPS covered about 3/4 of my body. I was very ready to not be pregnant anymore. My labor was long, about 36 hours long with a little over 3 hours of pushing. It ended for me in an emergency C section.

Recovery was hard, I felt like I had been hit by a truck. I had clotting issues. No one tells you about the "massage" that you get after you have a baby. It's not a massage, and the doctors shouldn't have the right to call it that. The purpose for this "massage" (which is really more of a mashing) is to help things start to contract back down to size. I received this mashing about every 15 minutes for a few hours straight. I honestly don't even remember how long it went on for because shortly after I started crying they pumped me full of morphine. I then developed some kind of infection and needed to stay in the hospital for the remainder of the week.

After all of this I decided that having another baby would be a terrible idea and I was fine just having 1 baby for the rest of my life. I then chose to get an IUD. Which brings me to my latest complications...

As we celebrated Jordyn's first birthday, I looked at her and how amazing she is and decided that we would be crazy to only have one baby. Scott and I talked and decided that we should remove the IUD and let nature take it's course. Easier said than done. Those fools at the hospital had placed the damn thing so far off base that it would require surgery to remove it. I actually had to be put completely under and intibated in order to get it out. There was talk that it could attach itself to my bladder (that's really how far off base they had placed it), or that it may make getting pregnant in the future more complicated. Luckily it looks like they got it out without any complications besides chipping my tooth.

So after all of this I am left not only with stretch marks and loose skin, but also a C section scar, 2 scars from having the IUD removed and a chipped tooth! Remind me why I want to do this again... Oh yeah, it's because of the beautiful baby that I get out of it in the end.

Okay... I feel much better now. Thanks for reading.

Family weekend

It was so great to have Scott home this past weekend.

He got back on Friday and was able to get Jordyn up from her morning nap. She was so excited to see him and her entire face just lit up. She clung to him just about the entire weekend and cried every time he stepped out the front door without her. Needless to say, she loves her daddy and they have an amazing bond.

Saturday, Scott and I got our date night and spent some time talking about the future of our family... :) it was amazing to be able to spend some quality time together. I treasure these moments so much more these days. Abcense totally makes the heart grow fonder.

Mnday was family day and we got to go to the Woodland Park Zoo. I am now a proud member of the zoo, so please feel free to invite me along for any zoo trips you might go on. I plan to know that place like the back of my hand by the end of the summer. Jordyn did pretty well at the zoo, despite her being tired. Her favorite animals were the monkeys, but the noisy birds came in as a close second.

Here is Jordyn bonding with a baby monkey. As soon as she walked up to the glass they had an instant connection and the monkey came right over to say hi.


Visiting the Komodo Dragons


Visiting the giraffes


But, as all good things must come to an end, Scott unfortunately had to leave earlier today. We will get to see him again in 3 weeks and have already been counting down the days. Again, big thanks to everyone who has opened their arms and given us support during this time. While nothing will keep me from missing my husband, the support of my family and friends sure helps.