Introducing Baby Margot

March 20, 2013March 27, 2013 ~ Crystle ~ 11 Comments

The last few days have been a whirlwind! Our baby Margot was born on Monday after 30+ hours of labor that began early St. Patrick’s Day. My anatomy didn’t make things easy for my 8 lb 6 oz baby to enter the world so I ended up having a cesarean section to ensure her safety. Don’t worry, there was never an emergency looming, it was just a typical difficult delivery.

Long story short, the labor was long, the delivery was short and our baby is healthy, happy and beautiful. I’m elated that we had no major complications, and that we had such a great team of medical practitioners to coach us through the entire journey.

The process was only made smoother by my mother-in-law and sister-in-law who flew in from Oklahoma to help around the house before and after the birth. Our dogs were well taken care of, and coming home to a clean house with a fridge full of food was beyond the best case scenario.

Well friends, and family, please forgive the brevity, I’m still healing and I’ve got a glorious baby that I’d rather be holding! Thanks for the enduring well-wishes and kind words during the pregnancy and beyond.

Year Twenty-Seven and the Roller Coaster Ride into Motherhood

March 4, 2013 ~ Crystle ~ 9 Comments

Well, I survived another year on planet earth, barely. Yesterday was my 27th Birthday, and things got off to a rocky start which has sort of been the norm for the last few weeks. I ended up sick as a dog, and threw up with such violence that I burst dozens of capillaries in my face. My now red-freckled face, paired with the unmistakable waddle of someone with sciatic pain, is a sad testament to the miracle of pregnancy. Ha! The day improved considerably after my husband whipped up my favorite fruit salad, (I’ll have to share the recipe soon because it’s winning) baked me a beautiful carrot cake, and proffered lots of hugs.

While the morning of my Birthday was quite sour, the final week of being a twenty-sixer was marked by pregnancy symptoms far worse. My midwife ended up prescribing me painkillers after witnessing my body shaking uncontrollably from the pain. Although I tend towards hyperbole, I must clarify that these body aches were more severe than any other pain I’d ever endured, and they were apparently a rare sight according to my clinicians. Now I’m able to walk around unassisted, and tear-free! So trust me when I say, I’d take the Birthday nausea and the subsequent red-face over those body aches anytime.

So on my Birthday, with my mobility roughly restored, my husband and I took to the mall for a Birthday present but I couldn’t find anything I wanted. Probably because I usually gravitate towards clothes, and this super pregnant body has not complied with that type of shopping for months. In fact, all the shopping I’ve done during this pregnancy has been on baby stuff and home decor (see the photos below). I reckon that must be God’s way of redirecting the selfish desires of young women (okay, me) toward more matronly pursuits.

Then today, as though I’d never had a pregnancy discomfort ever, I was the best I’ve felt in weeks. I was able to clean the entire first floor with just normal distended-belly discomfort. It was pretty miraculous, so I hope this strength and energy continues until Margot arrives, which is hopefully on her due date this Friday. Otherwise, it’s back on the pregnancy roller coaster ride I’ve been stuck on for 9 months.
And I owe a great many thanks to my friends, family and readers who have shouldered the brunt of my recent pregnancy woes and consoled me with well-wishes and unending empathy. I sincerely appreciate your support and love during such a life-changing period! The next post you’ll see around here will be a baby welcoming one.

Why Pregnancy is Like Backpacking, So Far

February 20, 2013 ~ Crystle ~ 13 Comments

Once upon a time, I used to love backpacking. Packing up my food and shelter and carrying it up a mountain in hopes of reaching a summit above the tree line was exhilirating. Slowly but surely, and a few days later, the mountain would run out of up and I’d be at my destination atop an archive of new memories. But the backpacking experience can also be very humbling. Weather and wildlife, the angry variables, will inevitably have their way with your trip, regardless of your expectations.

Pregnancy resembles backpacking in so many ways; if you’ve experienced one, you can gain some understanding into the level of difficulty involved with the other. For the sake of brevity in this analogy, I’ll skip straight to the moment you find yourself at the trailhead on the mountain, or starting point of your pregnancy.

At the foothills of the mountain, you may notice that the air is thinner. This is kind of like the first trimester of pregnancy. You just need to become acclimated to the new environment. It takes at least a day (for me, at least) to re-train your lungs to deal with the lesser amount of oxygen on the mountain.

Fortunately, by the time you get used to the fatigue and nausea associated with the first trimester of pregnancy, it’s over.

That’s when you hit your stride. It’s easier to take in the wonder of your changing world at this time.

The ascent up the mountain is relatively predictable, but there may be a thunder storm here and there, a mob of mosquitoes, or a patch unexpected snow. The second trimester of pregnancy is the same. Aches and pains become normal, there is a child growing inside of you, after all. The weird stuff happening in your body, like baby’s somersaults, and heartburn hasn’t become freaky yet.

Still, you’re taking it all in and dreaming of the spectacular view from the top.

Then the third trimester hits. Or, similarly, you reach and pass the tree line on the mountainside. Uh oh, you no longer have the tree canopy to shelter you from thunder storms.

In pregnancy, you realize you’re no longer coasting on borrowed parenthood time and that revelation leaves you feeling vulnerable. It’s time to get real about being a parent and make sure you’ve got the tools necessary to be a good one. No matter what, there remains a degree of apprehension around your parenting capabilities. It’s something that parents probably don’t ever get over… it may even be a stipulation to join their club.

On the mountain, now is a good time to get out your rain gear so you can truck straight through the inevitable downpour. In pregnancy, go ahead and wrap up your nesting phase. In both cases, you’ve got the gear and you tell yourself you’re ready for what’s around the corner.

But, guess what? If ever there was a time for things to go awry, it’s now. You could run into a bear on the mountain, or be knocked off a cliff by gusty winds. Lightning could strike you much more easily since you’re on top of a mountain.

Your water could break IN PUBLIC, you could not know you’re in labor and end up delivering in the car, or you could end up delivering an eleven pound baby, vaginally. Or, as in my experience (up to this point), the baby drops and sudden sciatica renders you immobile. I’ve been stuck on the couch all week, unable to cook or clean or have any fun, really. Fortunately my husband is at hand and ready to help in any way necessary. He’s my rain gear, you could say. Without him, I’m not sure hiking straight through the misery* would be tolerable. Anyways, the uncertainty is daunting.

So here I am, at the point of the backpacking trip where I’d rather turn tail down the mountain in hopes of getting to a hotel at a decent hour. At the same point in pregnancy, labor hasn’t even begun, but the fear is taking over. Right now it’s looking like Backpacking is easier than pregnancy, because now I have no choice but to head straight into the storm of labor and delivery, unsure of what’s on the other side. No turning back!

I’ll be sure to let you know when this baby comes, and whether or not there were any bears.

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*I refuse to indulge any of you in the freaky things that my body is doing right now, but if you’re a mother, you undoubtedly know the disgusting (and painful) things your body does when you’re edging closer to labor and delivery.