Morning mamas! One of my besties, Sarah, is talking today about her experience getting pregnant with her sweet little angel. Even though I already know her story, it was so beautiful to read through and I hope if any of you are going through loss or infertility, you know you are not alone.
Sarah and I have been in a bible study together (with our hubby's) for over three years now. Getting to know her (and their marriage) on a deep level has been a huge blessing! I can't put into words how wonderful it feels to have not only friends, but couples in your corner when going through this phase of life. Sarah and Casey make a beautiful couple. I hope you enjoy her story. xo
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Hi Everyone! I am so honored and excited that Stef asked me to guest write on her amazing blog. I first want to say a special thank you to her for being one of my go-to mom’s for times when I feel like I don’t know what the heck I’m doing, one of my best friends through good times and bad, and for many, many laughs together. I am continually impressed with how supportive and encouraging she is and how great she is at building a “village” of other amazing moms so we can all help each other out and be there for one another. Thank you Stef!!! XO
When she first asked me to guest write, I had so many thoughts racing through my head…What should I write about? How do I pick just one thing out of all the crazy things that motherhood brings? What if people don’t like it? Should I go for laughs? Or should I open up about my struggles? As I write this, I still haven’t officially decided. So we’ll see how this turns out.
Every mom has such a special journey through pregnancy and then into motherhood that help shape you into the woman you become once you’re a momma. There are ups and downs for everyone and as I share my story, I hope I can help someone feel supported through their own journey.
Today is my daughter’s ½ birthday! She’s 6 months old already! As all moms know, the time just flies but I can say that the last 6 months have truly been the very best moments of my life. I am so grateful to be in the place I am today, but the path to her arrival felt like a road less traveled…even though I know it probably wasn’t. When it seemed like all our friends, co-workers and even celebrities were getting pregnant left and right, it wasn’t happening for us. We tried for about 2 years before one night, I was with Stef at a Nuggets game and she looked at me and said she was sure I was pregnant, I did not believe her because I was very used to the monthly disappointment and was over getting my hopes up. She made me promise to take a pregnancy test that night when I got home. So I did, but I was SO tired so I took it and fell asleep before the test result appeared. I woke up early the next morning to head into the office and there it was sitting on my bathroom vanity – a positive pregnancy test! WHAT?!!!? How did Stef know? I was thrilled, but didn’t quite believe it. So on the way to work, I stopped at Target and got more tests. I think I took 3 or 4 tests and all of them were positive. I remember being so excited to share the news with my hubby! On the way home from work, I went shopping to pick up Sophie la giraffe, wrap it up and give it to him that night as an announcement gift. I’ll never forget the moment…standing in our living room crying tears of joy – we finally have our baby! Our first appointment was amazing…we heard the baby’s heartbeat, she measured right on point and we were so thankful! The next appointment didn’t go so well….it felt like the rug was pulled out from under us – no heartbeat, we lost her.
It was quite a road of recovery, some of the lowest moments in my life followed. I named our lost baby girl Hope and we’ll forever hold a very special place in our hearts for her. Once we were able to try again, we did. We knew we wanted a baby and we didn’t want it to take another two years! We made the decision to see a fertility specialist, with whom we are forever grateful for. I’ll never forget the day I got pregnant with our sweet Avalon, it was St. Patricks day last year and I headed to the doctor’s office before work, about an hour after my husband had been there to leave “his goods” haha. My fertility specialist did an IUI (a glorified turkey baster) and then turned on an old school kitchen timer so I could lay there with my hips elevated, once it beeped I could head to work and go on about my day. I laid there and prayed to God to let this procedure work so we could finally get our baby. And it did!!! The support we received from our fertility office was amazing that first trimester with weekly ultrasounds, lots of progesterone shots and overall being with us every step of the way to watch this pregnancy closely. I lived in this place of being so grateful, all the while experiencing horrible morning sickness, throwing up, bruises and lumps in my hips from the shots to mention a few…. but none of that mattered, I was pregnant and couldn’t be happier about it.
Our little Avalon arrived the week of Thanksgiving which was so fitting. We are so thankful for her in our lives. I thought that the hardest part was behind us, but boy was I wrong! There are so many challenges of being a new mom that I could talk about, but the one thing that surprised me the most was my journey of breastfeeding. I was so determined to be successful in breastfeeding, but it did not come naturally to me, nor to Avalon. She was an early arrival and had jaundice, which I now know made a perfect storm for a “lazy” eater. She had major difficulty latching and wouldn’t wake up to eat when she needed to and wasn’t gaining weight like she should. I was a zombie during this time so everything is a bit fuzzy, but I remember getting a recommendation to see a lactation consultant. I found Marianne Kmak within the first two weeks and she was a God-send! She worked with me one-on-one to find my groove with Avalon and then encouraged me to come to her support group. I’ll never forget how I sobbed in that first support group, but Marianne and the moms there were so amazing, helpful and understood what I was going through – the fact that I wasn’t alone in my struggles completely changed my outlook. Through the bloody nipples, latch problems and many tears, both Avalon’s and myself - we pushed through. Fast forward 6 months later and we are exclusively breastfeeding, Avalon latches like a pro and I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m so thankful yet again!
Because Marianne is seriously amazing, for any momma’s out there needing some extra breastfeeding support, please follow this link to contact her –
www.kmakbreastfeeding.com
And for anyone wanting a wonderful resource for fertility, this was the office we went to and I highly recommend it. I felt like part of a family there and Dr. Albrecht is so compassionate.
http://albrechtwomenscare.com/
Thank you for reading a little bit about my journey!
Love,
Sarah
Little tiny Avalon! So sweet! Hope you all have a wonderful Monday.
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