Fifteen years and two days ago I became a mother. I could say so much about this child, but I will share the beginning of his life on this earth. My pregnancy went well, I gained a lot of weight even though I threw up a lot. I was tired and hot and very uncomfortable for the last six weeks and my labor was 24 hours long. There have been so many ups and downs since then.
I was 28 years old when I got married. I knew I wanted a family and I knew that was a later start than for most Mormon women and I didn't know how easy it would be for me to get pregnant, so we decided not to wait. Three months after we were married we were expecting our first child, Spencer. I remember the day I found out. We went to the temple that day and I had been feeling very dizzy off and on (a symptom I learned to recognize for future pregnancies). I had a feeling in the temple that I was pregnant and I knew that was the reason I had been dizzy and not feeling great. So the pregnancy test was a formality that I was so excited about. Spencer was the first grandchild on my side of the family and the second on Destry's, but Andrew was five so it had been a while and everyone was very excited.
I went into labor on Sunday, August 9. I felt very weird while I was at church and I even blacked out during Sunday School. I just sat there waiting for my vision to return which it did after several seconds that seemed like a longer time. I went home and took a nap. I was awakened by a very painful contraction that I brushed off as a Braxton-Hicks type because there was only one, but I was a little suspicious. That evening we went to have a bbq at Neva Madsen's. I remember having several random, yet strong contractions. I didn't really say anything because there was nothing regular. I had several more on the ride home from Provo to Murray. I told Destry when we got home that I thought I might be in labor. We decided to go to bed and see if we could get some rest before we had to go to the hospital. Destry slept very well, but I was either having a contraction or going pee so after laying in bed for a while I decided to get up and watch a movie. I watched my all time favorite, "The Princess Bride." By 5:30 a.m. I woke Destry up and decided to drive the three blocks to St. Mark's Hospital. I was so nervous they would send me home. They didn't. I had been told that walking would help to move labor along, so I spent hours walking the halls of the hospital--lies! Destry even had my mom walk with me when he got too tired--big baby. We had called our parents on the way to the hospital and they all arrived by noon, some a bit earlier. By 1:00 that afternoon I had had enough and requested an epidural. After receiving it my blood pressure immediately dropped. I felt myself slowing slipping into dreamland, yet I was aware that there was a bit of commotion by the nurse and anesthesiologist. After a few minutes I was fully awake and mentioned that my heart was pounding. That, I was told, was due to the medication I had been given to bring my blood pressure back up. I was so numb I could not feel a thing. I could not move my legs at all. I did not love that.
By 5:00 I still hadn't made enough progress and they broke my water, Spencer had had a bowl movement so they prepped me for a possible C-section. I cried due to fear and exhaustion. I got a blessing which calmed me and helped me progress without a C-section. I was so thankful when I was told it was time to push. It took two hours, but at least I could do something besides wait. I threw up bile several times--nasty. After Spencer arrived the doctor announced that I had given birth to a toddler. There was a respiratory team there to make sure Spencer hadn't inhaled any meconium. He hadn't, but he had swallowed some, so his stomach was pumped in the morning. There was a whole waiting room full of Smiths and Macdonalds and Crumps waiting to meet the newest addition. After I got to spend a few moments with him he was introduced to crew who had waited a long time for his arrival. His live began on August 10, 1998 at 9:30 p.m. He weighed 9 lbs. and 2 oz. He never even used newborn diapers and he grew out of his clothes every few weeks. He wore size 12 months at 6 months. He was fat and happy except when he was mad or sad and crying which he did a lot of.
He broke me into motherhood with a trial by fire. My recovery was long and uncomfortable. At even a month later I was not back to myself. It took weeks for my legs to loose the swelling and even longer for my bladder to recover. He did not sleep well--he still doesn't. He was and still is cute and cuddly and social. He was the center of our world for two years and four months when he had to share his world with Taylor. He loved everyone who would pay attention to him. It was great knowing that so many people were in love with him.
I was 28 years old when I got married. I knew I wanted a family and I knew that was a later start than for most Mormon women and I didn't know how easy it would be for me to get pregnant, so we decided not to wait. Three months after we were married we were expecting our first child, Spencer. I remember the day I found out. We went to the temple that day and I had been feeling very dizzy off and on (a symptom I learned to recognize for future pregnancies). I had a feeling in the temple that I was pregnant and I knew that was the reason I had been dizzy and not feeling great. So the pregnancy test was a formality that I was so excited about. Spencer was the first grandchild on my side of the family and the second on Destry's, but Andrew was five so it had been a while and everyone was very excited.
I went into labor on Sunday, August 9. I felt very weird while I was at church and I even blacked out during Sunday School. I just sat there waiting for my vision to return which it did after several seconds that seemed like a longer time. I went home and took a nap. I was awakened by a very painful contraction that I brushed off as a Braxton-Hicks type because there was only one, but I was a little suspicious. That evening we went to have a bbq at Neva Madsen's. I remember having several random, yet strong contractions. I didn't really say anything because there was nothing regular. I had several more on the ride home from Provo to Murray. I told Destry when we got home that I thought I might be in labor. We decided to go to bed and see if we could get some rest before we had to go to the hospital. Destry slept very well, but I was either having a contraction or going pee so after laying in bed for a while I decided to get up and watch a movie. I watched my all time favorite, "The Princess Bride." By 5:30 a.m. I woke Destry up and decided to drive the three blocks to St. Mark's Hospital. I was so nervous they would send me home. They didn't. I had been told that walking would help to move labor along, so I spent hours walking the halls of the hospital--lies! Destry even had my mom walk with me when he got too tired--big baby. We had called our parents on the way to the hospital and they all arrived by noon, some a bit earlier. By 1:00 that afternoon I had had enough and requested an epidural. After receiving it my blood pressure immediately dropped. I felt myself slowing slipping into dreamland, yet I was aware that there was a bit of commotion by the nurse and anesthesiologist. After a few minutes I was fully awake and mentioned that my heart was pounding. That, I was told, was due to the medication I had been given to bring my blood pressure back up. I was so numb I could not feel a thing. I could not move my legs at all. I did not love that.
By 5:00 I still hadn't made enough progress and they broke my water, Spencer had had a bowl movement so they prepped me for a possible C-section. I cried due to fear and exhaustion. I got a blessing which calmed me and helped me progress without a C-section. I was so thankful when I was told it was time to push. It took two hours, but at least I could do something besides wait. I threw up bile several times--nasty. After Spencer arrived the doctor announced that I had given birth to a toddler. There was a respiratory team there to make sure Spencer hadn't inhaled any meconium. He hadn't, but he had swallowed some, so his stomach was pumped in the morning. There was a whole waiting room full of Smiths and Macdonalds and Crumps waiting to meet the newest addition. After I got to spend a few moments with him he was introduced to crew who had waited a long time for his arrival. His live began on August 10, 1998 at 9:30 p.m. He weighed 9 lbs. and 2 oz. He never even used newborn diapers and he grew out of his clothes every few weeks. He wore size 12 months at 6 months. He was fat and happy except when he was mad or sad and crying which he did a lot of.
He broke me into motherhood with a trial by fire. My recovery was long and uncomfortable. At even a month later I was not back to myself. It took weeks for my legs to loose the swelling and even longer for my bladder to recover. He did not sleep well--he still doesn't. He was and still is cute and cuddly and social. He was the center of our world for two years and four months when he had to share his world with Taylor. He loved everyone who would pay attention to him. It was great knowing that so many people were in love with him.
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