Mom Tag

Hey guys,

 Wow, I have not posted a blog post in a long time and honestly, I missed blogging! Being a mom makes me busy, but I am not complaining one bit. I love being a mom to my baby boy...or should I say toddler as he's already a year old!! I still cannot believe it! 

I decided as a way to get back into blogging I would do a mom tag. I found this one at https://www.tagquestions.net/mom-tag-questions/. I have only been a mom for a year so I'll try to answer them the best I can :) 

1.     How old were you when you had your first child? I was 28.

2.     What was the hardest thing about being pregnant for 9 months? Going to doctor appointments and ultrasounds alone.

3.     Can you think of any good things you enjoyed during those 9 months? There were a ton of good things. Feeling him kick and move all around was one of the greatest things! 

4.     In your opinion, were all the things you heard about childbirth accurate or way off.  In my opinion way off. When I was in labor, I didn't hear no screaming or anything like that. I was induced but I wasn't screaming in pain, I kept on breathing through the contractions and then fell asleep after I got the epidural. 

5.     Would you have handled childbirth differently if you could re-do it? No, I think my childbirth went well.

6.     What would be your advice for someone who is about to have a baby? Don't let the TV shows and movies get you scared as they exaggerate childbirth a lot. Just breathe and listen to your body. 

7.     What has been the hardest thing about being a mom? Trying not to put a lot of pressure on myself. I basically have my son every day all day by myself. I take it day by day. If I don't get something done, I move it to the list in my head for the next day.

8.     What has been the most rewarding thing about being a mom? Definitely all of the cuddles, all the "ma-ma's", the smiles, and the laughs.

9.     What was the most surprising thing you discovered about being a mom? I thought I would have to create a schedule for my son; feed him at this time, put him down for nap at this time and so on. I have learned that he will let me know when he wants milk, when he wants to take a nap and when he wants to go to bed. 

10. What is the best memory you have involving your child? Truly every single day!

11. What was the most exciting milestone? There has been so many. Him saying "Mama", rolling over, crawling, holding his own bottle, cruising the furniture, and now holding my hands while walking.

12. What is the worst thing your child has ever done? He has not really done any bad things yet as he is only 1.

13. What habit did you wish your child didn’t have? Again, he is only 1 so I have not really seen any habits. 

14. What habit of theirs makes you most proud? Read answer to #13

15. Do you share any similarities with your child (both Physical and Personality)? I have been told he looks like me :)

16. Where would you like your child to be in 10 years? Being a good friend to everyone and doing good and having fun in school.

17. What is something that having a child has taught you? He has taught me a lot. I do not have to try to be the best mom ever because I know he will still think I am the best mom.

18. Did you imagine that you’d be a mom at the age that you became a mom? I honestly did not think I would ever get the chance to be a mom. God knew I needed my son and He knew my son needed me! 

19. Describe your child in a single sentence? Amazing 

20. How have you changed as a person since becoming a mom? Most definitely 

 

I am going to try to post at least one blog post each week, so bear with me!

 

<3 Amanda 

 

Things I Learned After Giving Birth

Hey guys,

When you become pregnant ,you (at least I did) start googling things about being pregnant and actually going through the birthing process and after. If you have done that or currently doing that, it's okay. It's good to do your own research but if you're really worried about something, the best person to ask is your OBYGN. I'm just gonna tell you what I have learned after giving birth to the current. I only gave birth to one baby vaginally, so what I learned might be totally different to a woman who had a C-Section or a woman who had multiples.

1. Every woman and pregnancy is different.  There are different types of births: vaginally, C-Section, home birth, water birth, unassisted, unmedicated. etc.  But I want you all to know that no matter how you deliver your baby, you are strong and you did it. I know the pain hurts, but in the end it's all worth it seeing your cute baby!

2. The epidural wasn't as bad as I thought it would have been. I'm the type of person who hates getting poked by a needle/getting their blood drawn. That's something that I have improved with after my pregnancy because you are going to get your blood drawn more than just a few times, and then when you deliver most likely you'll get an IV in your arm. 

The worst part of getting the epidural is that I had a contraction right when he was putting it in my spine but I had an amazing nurse who helped me breathe through the pain. And also after giving birth, the tape that they used for the epidural has to come off one way or another. I think them taking the tape off my back was worse than getting the actual epidural (probably because I wasn't paying attention to it as I was breathing through the contraction). One thing that I highly recommend, and this is what I didn't do because I would be more freaked out about the epidural is do not look at the needle.

3. I tore during delivering my son, and I read that if you get the epidural and tear during delivering then the epidural will help numb that area a little bit so you won't feel them stitching you up. Well, I have to say that I felt them stitching me up even though I did get the epidural. I remember laying there holding my son on my chest and crying, for (1) I was really happy and blessed that my son was here and (2) because the stitching hurt. Everyone was asking me what I was wrong because I was pretty much sobbing. I was just really happy and I told them that plus I was saying "Ow" when she was stitching me up.

4.If you're like me, you might pass out after delivery. They have you try to go to the restroom after having your baby and I remember pulling the "help" string and the next thing I knew I was waking up in a wheelchair surrounded by like 10 nurses. I'm glad I was smart and pulled it alerting them and not them finding me on the floor. I was told that it was most likely due to losing more blood than my body was used to as this was my first pregnancy. If I'm ever blessed to be pregnant again, I'm definitely going to mention this to my obygn so that they are aware of what happened when I delivered my son.

5. I learned that there was an ultrasound machine that can tell if your bladder is full or not. I kept saying that I didn't feel the need to go but apparently the ultrasound machine was telling the nurse that it was full. True fact- I almost had to get a catheter and I'm really glad I didn't have to get one after delivering my son.

6. Everyone talks about the postpartum underwear and how they aren't really a fan. I honesty liked them that I asked for extras to take home. 

7. I read that after you give birth you still get contractions especially if you breastfeed. I thought there was something wrong with me because I didn't get any "contractions" after giving birth but I was told that some women get them and some don't.

8. I didn't realize that there are so many people coming in your room throughout the day. You get your nurses, doctor, social worker, Birth certificate worker, breastfeeding consultant, photographer, the anesthesiologist, your baby's pediatrician (or at least the hospital's),and probably more that I can't name off.

9. The doctor who delivered my son gave me some prescriptions. But I didn't go get them because I never needed them. The only pain I had was if I walked too much or if I was on my feet to much during the day and then I would be sore down there, but I just took Tylenol and it seemed to help.

10. The hospital food was actually pretty good!

<3 Amanda