After nine interesting years with just one child, I decided to try for baby number two. Being the person that I am, I assumed “I did it once, I’ll do it again no problem… piece of cake, piece of pie”. WRONG!!! Pregnancy after waiting nine long years for me was like being a first time expecting mother again. Ohhh the things I forgot and had to remember and ohhh the new things I had to learn as part of a new pregnancy. This journey was one for the books to say the least and one I will never forget.
The Morning Sickness: Could someone have warned me about this sickness that presents morning, noon, and night? I mean I heard some moms talk about it before and I simply thought that maybe they were exaggerating when they referenced throwing up their brains all day. However, I quickly learned how serious this monstrous sickness was when I could not eat or smell anything without sprinting to the nearest bathroom or trash receptacle. For the first five months of this pregnancy I looked and felt like death! Then it was the daily struggle with…
The Back Pain and Leg Pain: During my first pregnancy I felt like a spring chicken and I was. At 19-years old, not much changed for me. I did all of my regular activities including dance, worked my full-time nannying job up until a couple of weeks before my delivery, and maintained my household duties. This go round, I was waddling like a duck early on, lifting my legs by hand to help me cross them, struggling to get from point A to B, and sometimes barely making it to the restroom. Was it my age? Was I out of shape? I started hitting the gym until I could not stand it any longer, being extremely mindful of what I ate, and constantly thinking about why I felt the way I did. For a while I was frustrated and a little hard on myself until I learned the hard way from pushing myself a little too much and not listening to my body.
Unfortunately, I experienced complications during this pregnancy that left my husband and I fearing pre-term labor or worse. I was so sad because I kept referencing my age until I learned that complications during pregnancy can happen to anyone. I was forced to stop working earlier than planned and was put on bed rest. All the things I loved and wanted to do were put on hold. Simple things like doing the laundry, cooking for my family, taking my daughter to school each morning, or even going for a walk were a no no. I really had to refocus my mind, accept what was happening, and take things more seriously. I ultimately hired help to clean my house when needed and accepted the help from family and friends which is typically hard for me to do. Every week that I made it further into my pregnancy, I thanked God.
We were blessed to make it to 37 weeks which was the milestone my doctors and specialist were praying for; and would you believe that the day before I reached 37 weeks, my car was hit by a crazy driver which sent me to the hospital by ambulance. Upon my arrival to the hospital I learned that I was 6 cm dilated. I returned home after being held for a few hours and gave birth to my son two days later. We welcomed our little prince A’Brahm ILian Pakanayev into the world on July 2nd, 2018 at 12:02 pm. Following the birth of my son, it seemed like my love for my “mini me” grew especially when watching her interact with her brother. I was so thankful and humbled. I thought it was pretty awesome being a mommy of one but the feeling “mommying” two, is even better.
As I sit here watching my little munchkins sleep peacefully, I’m simply happy that I was blessed with a healthy little one at the conclusion of this pregnancy, who has brought a new joy into our lives. I learned that every pregnancy is different and comes with its own challenges. However, the beauty of it all makes the entire journey well worth it. My experience from this go round will definitely be in the front, back, and corners of my mind if and when we plan for baby number three. Stayed tuned! Until next time…
Xoxo,
Millennial Mom
Millennial Mom 