From One Gluten Free Mommy To Another: Sharing Stories That Help Others Archives - Page 4 of 4

From One Gluten Free Mommy To Another: Sharing Stories That Help Others

December 23, 2014

Christmas Came Early This Year With A Very Special Present For My Family Of 3, Oops I Mean 4 Now!

Meet Baby #2! With Christmas only two days away and my grandfather home and on the mend, we couldn’t be happier to announce that we’re expecting our second baby, coming this summer. We’ve hoped and prayed that God would bless us with another little miracle and our prayers have been answered. The past few months have been a whirlwind of emotions, mostly filled with overwhelming joy and excitement to become a mommy of two. And as excited as both Dan and I are to welcome a new little baby into this world. we can’t help but be equally as excited for our little girl. She’ll one day soon be a big sister, mommy’s big helper, and have an eternal playmate and best friend. While our lives are changing immensely, our precious little girl’s is doing just the same and in ways she’s too young to understand.

After finding out the good news we started planting the seed with our little one that there was a baby in Mommy’s belly. At first, her interest was for a grand total of two seconds but now she’ll point to my belly telling me where the baby is, always following that with her amazing hugs and kisses for her sister/brother to be. As I’ve been everyday since my little girl was born, I’m in absolute awe at how big her little heart is. Ever since her very beginning she’s been my little love bug, always sharing a hug and kiss and now as she’s become a new two year old she understands exactly what love is and never stops sharing her “I love you”s and “I miss you”s. Seeing just how sweet she is with baby still inside, I can’t wait to see her reaction when she first lays eyes on her new sibling. It’ll be a day that none of us will ever forget but thankfully one that we have a little bit of time yet to prepare for.

In the meantime, it’s onto celebrating the holidays and looking forward to the new year that is ahead of us. We’ve got big plans for our big two year old this Christmas, especially since she’s well warmed up on the present opening front thanks to her birthday. I can’t wait to see her joy and amazement Christmas morning all dressed up in her Christmas jammies with her amazing bed hair. It’ll be one of the best Christmas’s yet for Mommy, Daddy, and Little Girl (and we can’t forget baby too!), we can’t wait! I’m so thankful for the new little blessing that we have this holiday and the good health and happiness of the rest of my family. Cheers to a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday to you all!

Note: You might’ve noticed the absence of my gluten free food posts lately. This first trimester has been really rough so food in any form has not been my friend at all but hopefully from here on things will get a bit easier. Stay tuned for my favorite gluten free foods while pregnant, the ins and outs of my first trimester, and pregnancy bump updates and vlogs!

Sincerely,

Lindsay

December 18, 2014

Christmas Always Has Been And Always Will Be My Favorite Time Of Year

It really is the most wonderful time of the year. I’m one of those people that cannot wait to hear the first Christmas songs on the radio and listens religiously to them until the holiday (and trust me I would totally listen past Christmas if the radio didn’t all of the sudden turn them off after the 25th passes). I love everything about the holiday, the music, the decorations, the cooking and baking, but most of all, all of the family time. My family’s holiday traditions are definitely some that I’m trying to pass on to our little girl and make a few new ones of our own too so she becomes just as much a Christmas lover as her mommy. This year our Christmas season has been a bit more hectic so the Gluten Free Mom To Be has been a little absent this past week but with holiday prep, a big birthday, and some family health problems, our plate has been a little fuller than usual. First comes first, the highlight of our weeks before Christmas have been and always will be our little girl’s birthday. For our little family of three, we’ve been lucky enough to have one more reason to love Christmas time thanks to our little girl who entered the world just shortly before Christmas only two years ago. As the holiday season rolls around each year since her grand arrival, we’re reminded of just how much our little Christmas angel has added to our lives. As her mommy, I’m always reminded of just how much she’s grown since that memorable day two years ago and although it makes me so proud looking at the beautiful toddler standing before me it brings tears to my eyes just the same. As her birthday comes close each year I catch myself in awe as I watch my almost birthday girl run around and explore because for me I’m also picturing that tiny little baby who laid on my chest in a knit baby Christmas hat. So much has changed in such a short time and even though we’re no longer in the tiny baby stage I wouldn’t have it any other way. With huge warm hugs and kisses, jibber jabbering that goes on all day, and walking hand in hand with her mommy, she’s my baby, and even though she’ll grow one year older each Christmas season, she always will be.

My little girl’s birthday was most certainly the high point of my week’s hiatus but unfortunately our holiday season this year hasn’t all been merry and bright. Sadly, my dear grandfather was scheduled for heart surgery and to make matters worse my grandmother was restricted to staying home due to some of her ongoing health issues. We’ve walked the path of health obstacles during the holidays before, with my grandmother in particular, and as a whole family of Christmas lovers, it’s devastating to spend the happiest time of year with fear and sadness. This Christmas season it looked like we’d have to work extra hard to spread some holiday cheer for my grandparents who would face yet another road block.

It was a hectic few days with bouncing between grandmother at home and grandfather in the hospital but as a family we’re surviving. It’s difficult anytime to watch anyone you love, let alone two people, be in pain but it’s especially hard so close to Christmas when all we wish for them is to be happy and healthy at home, together just as they have been for the past sixty years or so. I fondly remember enjoying our Christmas days’ of years past at my grandparents house, which is just a short walk down the street from my parents house. As we’ve grown, some traditions have changed but one thing always will stay the same and it’s that walk down to their house on Christmas day, but now it’s with a bunch of little great grandchildren in tow. Hopefully this year we can continue that tradition and spend the holiday all together.

I’ll always be a Christmas lover through and through, the music, the food, the decorations, giving gifts, but most importantly that time we get to share with our family that just seems more and more precious as years pass. This year I hope and pray that things turn around and that my grandparents can be together once again for another Christmas. You certainly never do know what life will throw at you but after watching the strength and courage of my grandparents after all of these years I’ve certainly learned how to be a survivor.

Cheers to all of you for a merry and bright holiday season with your loved ones!

Merry Christmas!

Lindsay

November 10, 2014

Congratulations, You’re Pregnant! How Did You Survive Your First Trimester While Being Gluten Free?

I can still remember the day we found out that we were expecting our little girl. Of course we had been trying so I suppose seeing a positive shouldn’t have been too shocking but for some reason a positive pregnancy test will always make your heart skip a beat and give you instant butterflies in your stomach. I, like many others, couldn’t wait until the skipping a period sign so I took my first test on the earliest possible day, Bad move, since it came back negative and left me very disappointed. So, Dan and I agreed to wait a few more days and try again, little did we know what that day would bring.

It was early on a Sunday morning and we had one more non-digital, line reading test. I left the test on the bathroom counter while I went about my early morning routine, almost forgetting to check back in the right amount of time. We decided to take a look together and I think our jaws both dropped at the sight of a faint second line. In fact, my husband was so surprised he ran to the Rite Aid down the street and bought some digital tests for a more definitive answer. Sure enough, a few short minutes of a flashing hourglass and the word pregnant illuminated the screen. We were pregnant!!!

Next to our wedding day and the actual birth of our daughter, I can’t remember a more nerve wracking/exciting time other than when I find out that we were pregnant. As the worrier of all worriers, how I was going to navigate a pregnancy gluten free was one of my main worries since Day 1. From dealing with the first trimester aches and pains without the normal gluten standbys and satisfying those cravings for my favorite gluten sweets from years past that were sure to come down the road, the questions were endless. But for the immediate future I was just crossing my fingers, toes, and everything else that could be crossed that I would survive the first trimester by any gluten free means I could. Check out how I relieved some of my first trimester symptoms.

Nausea

I was certainly lucky, I only experienced the occasional morning sickness during the first trimester, but to my surprise, later on towards the end of my pregnancy, I experienced a lot more all day nausea than I had at the beginning. This was a tough symptom to work with seeing as I always used to combat nausea with my favorite saltine crackers. Unfortunately in the gluten free world, a perfect saltine cracker substitute has yet to make its debut, but I definitely made do with the crackers that were on hand at the time. Some of my favorite options at the time were by Wellaby’s, who makes some great crackers that have the perfect texture with a smidge of flavor too, along with Glutino who offers some plain crackers along with some light bagel chips. These weren’t the perfect substitute for saltines but they did the trick for me at the time, but I’d have to say now since my first pregnancy, Schar has introduced some perfect cracker options to try. Schar now offers some standard Table Crackers that are really mild and texturely on point but also they have their Entertainment Crackers which taste and feel just like Ritz Crackers. Any of these can certainly help with your nausea, but I have some other suggestions too if the crackers don’t cut it.

Like I mentioned before, my nausea really kicked in towards the end of my pregnancy and was more all day sickness than just morning. Sometimes the crackers were the only thing I could keep down but for a little extra help I also tried adding some ginger to my diet. Ginger is a popular go to for nausea relief and my doctor gave me the okay and the 100% healthy approval to go ahead and try it. I first gave a type of ginger tea a whirl, one in particular that I could stomach was the Lemon Ginger by Twinings. If you enjoy drinking hot tea, this is a great option for you and it definitely helped me with my nausea too as an added bonus. You could also try drinking ginger ale, I preferred this one to the tea, just make sure it’s a ginger ale that was made with real ginger so get the benefits of ginger. Also, just a little tip, I woud always stir my ginger ale until the carbonation died down a lot because all of the bubbles usually didn’t sit well, not to mention they would add to my bloating. And in case you needed one more ginger option, aside from drinking it and cooking with it, there are these gluten free hard candies by GoNaturally. Their ginger hard candies are gluten free, as well as free of many other allergens too and could definitely provide some relief. I had a whole package of these on me at any given time; the combination of sucking on a hard candy that has some of the relieving ginger in it helped me on more than one occasion, especially while out and about.

One of my main go tos though for nausea relief were the Sea-Bands. These are great and I’ve used them on many an occasion from motion sickness during our travels to periodic nausea here and there when I’ve been sick. They’re a natural approach to dealing with nausea that is completely safe while pregnant too. In case you haven’t heard of these before, they’re just wrist bands that work by acupressure; you wear these bands at a specific place on your wrist where a little knob on the inside of the band pushes on a pressure point. They definitely worked for me, in fact I think you’d spot me many day, all day wearing these attractive 80s sweat band kind of wrist bands. So if you want to give a non-medicine, non-food thing a try, than go with the Sea-Bands, they definitely have worked for my nausea, pregnant and not.

Acid Reflux/ Heartburn

Acid reflux was one of those lovely symptoms that I saw through my first, second, and third trimesters. With all of that heartburn, it wasn’t a surprise for me that the old wives tale of heartburn indicating lots of hair on your newborn’s head held true, as my little girl was born with a full head of dark brownish blackish hair. But even though I wondered the entire pregnancy if the old wives tale would be true for me, I was still desperate for some relief. In fact at the end, it had gotten so bad that I had to take Zantac, doctor approved and perfectly safe to take at the end of pregnancy, everyday to try to deal with the burning feeling inside that just wouldn’t budge. But at the beginning it wasn’t too bad and I could usually get some relief from some gluten free Tums. Just a note, I usually buy the Target brand that are not only cheaper but also marked gluten free on their bottle. These are absolutely safe to take even early on in your pregnancy so if you don’t get any relief from diet changes than give Tums a try.

If you are experiencing acid reflux, aside from trying Tums, you can also check out some food and diet adjustments that may help too. There are definitely some foods that can cause that burning sensation without any problem in the average individual, let alone in a pregnant woman. Eating chocolate, caffeine, really fatty foods, but most of all citrus foods or juices can all cause acid reflux. I know for me, I loved eating fruit when I was pregnant and drinking juice but I had to limit it because of all of the acid reflux. So if some of these are staples in your diet, try scaling back a little and see if you get some relief that way.

Aside from diet adjustments, try changing a few habits that could worsen your naturally, pregnancy caused acid reflux. Avoid eating too close to going to bed at night. Try to limit what you eat before bed to something light and easily digested so your body isn’t working in overdrive when you lie down. Also, when it is time to get some sleep make sure you prop yourself up on a couple pillows to keep your upper body angled. As I’m sure many of you realize, lying with your head or upper body elevated can help a number of ailments, so I personally always sleep like that but especially when it comes to acid reflux, sleeping like this can help prevent stomach acids from creeping up and giving you that burning feeling in your throat.

Bloating

This was one of my biggest symptoms since Day 1 of my pregnancy, but thankfully it just stuck around for the first trimester and lessened quite a bit during the latter part. But when I say bloated, I mean stomach was hard as a rock and stuck out a few inches. That feeling was sadly all too familiar for me and took me back to my gluten days where I’d wake up feeling that same balloon feeling every single day; thankfully the reason for that same feeling now was a much happier one.

As far as relief for this symptom, that’s a tough one, especially since I had such severe bloating but there are definitely some tips and tricks that I tried that gave some relief. The first route you should go is to avoid food and drink that may worsen your situation. For example, things like cauliflower can cause really bad bloating for me, so even though I really enjoy it, I avoided it completely. Other food/drink items that might be triggers to worsen your pregnancy bloating could include some other vegetables like beans, too much dairy or sugar can contribute, and finally carbonated drinks. The carbonation along with the sugar, let’s say in soda can be a huge problem, but at the same time drinking Ginger Ale for example was a necessary evil for me to relieve some nausea. So if you still want to or need to enjoy a carbonated beverage here and there, try stirring a small glass of the drink until the bubbles go away, several minutes or so, and that way you can still enjoy the taste or flavor, and also the relieving effects too, but without the bubbles.

One last thing that can help with your bloating is to get moving. Trust me, I know going for a walk or doing yoga isn’t the first thing you want to do while you’re dealing with a multitude of pregnancy symptoms but moving around can lessen some of these. Something as simple as going for a walk can break up some of that bloating just enough to give you some relief. So why not give it a try, it may just work for you!

A little tip to my fellow gluten free mommy-to-bes, when you’re gluten free and expecting it’s very important to keep being as vigilant with your gluten free diet as you normally would be. We all remember what we felt like when we used to eat gluten on a daily basis and if that was so long ago that it’s a faint memory, I’m sure we can all recall a glutened event in our gluten free life that left us feeling far from spectacular. Intentionally or accidentally consuming gluten or wheat can worsen your first trimester symptoms, especially since gluten/wheat already are triggers of bloating in the average individual, for us they’re even more detrimental. So if you’re experiencing the pregnancy bloating that I definitely did, try some of the tips that I offered for relief and also make sure that there’s no gluten or wheat slipping into your diet by accident, but mostly just remember that this to shall pass and there will be a day of relief in your future.

At any point during my pregnancy, especially the first trimester, you could open my purse and see a bottle of water, tons of ginger candies, ziploc bags of crackers, sea-bands, and Tums, a pregnancy purse of champions I like to say. While every trimester has it’s tough parts, in the first trimester you’re facing so much uncertainty and anxiety, along with new physical challenges that you have to be prepared to deal with at the drop of a hat, hence the purse of remedies. It can be tough but always make sure you talk to your doctor about all of your symptoms. Taking to your doctor can not only assure you that that symptom is perfectly normal, but they’ll also be able to provide you with some safe treatment options. But what’s most important is that you can’t be afraid to try them out. Just remember, as long as your doctor says that those treatments are perfectly safe for your baby, there’s no need for you to be uncomfortable and ill, so try them out.

So good luck to all of you newly, expecting mommies, gluten free or not! Make sure you share with me what pregnancy symptoms you’re facing and how you’re dealing with them. Through so much of my pregnancy I hoped there was someone else out there that was experiencing and feeling exactly how I was, but I just couldn’t find them. So please share what you’re first trimester is looking like and I’m sure you’ll meet some other expecting mommies that are feeling the same way!

Sincerely,

Lindsay

October 29, 2014

2 Days And Counting Until Trick-Or-Treating, Are You Ready For The Teal Pumpkin Project?

Can you believe we are in the last week of October already? I know, time has just flown by this month, as I think it always does this time of year thanks to the over abundance of things to do. Aside from the unfortunate increase in colds and flus, fall is one of my favorite seasons. From the crisp and cool fall air to the amazing festivals and activities of all kind that seem to surround us. This year, with our little girl being a hundred percent mobile, our annual fall activities of apple picking, going to the pumpkin patch, pumpkin carving/painting, and attending fall festivals here and there looked very different from last year. She just loved each and every one, from picking out her favorite miniature pumpkin/gourd and sitting on top of our big carving pumpkin to picking those little baby apples off the trees and yelling apples while placing them in her bucket. Life has changed so much in only a year, but in so many good ways.

Seeing as we’re only a couple days away from the highlight of October, this week we’re in full Halloween prep mode. This past weekend, our little girl painted her pumpkins while Mommy tried her hand at our first serious pumpkin carving, which for my first time I am very proud, if I do say so myself. Earlier in the week, we ran some errands to scout out some more Teal Pumpkin Project treat ideas and made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes for dinner. And today we’re going to take full advantage of the unseasonably warm air that’s rolling in by spending some time outside and maybe making some Halloween shape cookies later on too. So like I mentioned, among our Halloween week travels, little one and I were scouting out a few more ideas for Teal Pumpkin Project friendly treats. Having a food intolerance myself, as well as a nephew with severe food allergies, has changed my view entirely on holidays, especially those that are centralized around food. As a little girl, I remember running from house to house on Halloween, collecting buckets full of candy that my siblings and I would then hold a formal trading session for later on that night. While half of the fun of Halloween is definitely the dressing up and running around part, the other half is easily the candy and treats that you work hard to accumulate. Even though I can’t imagine what my holidays would have looked like as a child if my food intolerance were active at that time, I’ve been able to get a pretty good idea from watching my nephew. Now almost 8 years old, each year he’s been a really good sport about the limitations for him for Halloween. He loves dressing up and trick-or-treating with his brothers and cousins but the candy side of things doesn’t hold much excitement for him. Thankfully, with a ton of family local, ever since he was small we’ve been able to make sure that he gets plenty of edible and non-edible treats that will make his Halloween just as exciting as his siblings. My nephew isn’t the only child with stories like these from Halloween; in fact there’s far more children with food allergies/intolerances than many realize, hence the inspiration for the Teal Pumpkin Project. Through the Teal Pumpkin Project, on Halloween, children with food allergies will feel included but safe at the same time with the ability to trick-or-treat for fun, non-food items. What an amazing and community unifying idea and all you have to do to participate and make these kids smile is paint a pumpkin teal or hang one of these flyers in your window/door and provide a simple, allergy friendly non-food option in addition to or instead of candy.

After perusing the Halloween section at Target and Walmart and getting over the sticker shock of how much candy is now, I figured that many of you probably spend a good $10 dollars at least on bags of candy. Why not take a few dollars out of what you’re already spending and get a small selection of non-food items to pass out too! These things don’t have to be expensive, in fact they can cost just as much or less than the candy that you normally purchase. Need some ideas? You’re in luck, I’ve got some great ones that are affordable and will fit right in with your candy budget too! Check out some of my recommendations in my vlog, along some more ideas below.

Here’s a whole list of cheap and fun ideas, along with where you might find them.

Target finds:

Spider rings (a bag full for $1)
Stretchy creatures or skeletons (package for $1)
Tattoos ($3 for a container full)
Glow in the dark fangs (1 for a bunch)
Festive erasers ($1 for a bunch)
Halloween bouncy balls ($3 for a package)
Halloween shaped crayons or chalk ($2 for a package)
A bowl full of crayons ($2.49 for a huge box)
Glow bracelets/sticks

Craft stores like Michael’s or Acmoore and the Dollar Store too has similar finds (Michael’s has 70% off their Halloween stuff already too!):

Spooky witch fingers (a bag full for $1.99)
Different color rubber bracelets (a bag full for $1)
Eyeball rings ($1.99 for a bag)
Halloween stickers books ($1, you can always give out a page to each child)
Coloring books ($1 each)

Party City has some fun treats too:

Multipack of black spiders (99 cents)
Pumpkin bookmarks (a bunch for 99 cents)
Halloween activity pads (a bunch for 99 cents)
Spooky eye patches (a bunch for 99 cents)
Eyeball ping pong balls ($1.99 for a package)
Halloween whistles ($1.99 for a package)
Halloween bubbles ($2.99 for a bunch)
Halloween puzzle cubes ($2.99 for a bunch)
Halloween eyeball glasses ($3.99 for a multipack)
Halloween punch balloons ($5.99 for a big package)

If you do end up purchasing any of these Halloween goodies, keep in mind that they make great little treats for your own little ones too. I could pick out a handful that my nephew who’s 8 would have a kick out of and a ton more that my little girl, who loves everything that’s small and little, would love to cart around with her too. In fact earlier in the season, I bought her a bag of the spider rings just for fun and ever since she puts one on each finger and stuffs the rest in a cup, insisting on carrying it wherever we go and I mean wherever. On our errands the other day, her toy of choice to bring along with us was the cup of goodies that now includes the spider rings, a necklace, and a pair of sunglasses, along with any other small odds and ends, all of which found itself splattered across the craft store floor and an “uh-oh” echoing from within the stroller. No worries, the cup of treasure was retrieved and nestled snugly back in the arms of my little girl, but I think I’ll have to burst her bubble and insist that the cup of treats stays inside when we go our on adventures outside of the house.

So make sure you take advantage of these last few days before Halloween and head out to pick up some of these non-food treats. And don’t forget to hang your Teal Pumpkin Project sign or get your kids involved (or have a little fun yourself) and paint a pumpkin teal, to tell everybody around you that you have some allergy friendly treats! It’s such a fun holiday that we all look back on with fond memories, let’s make sure all of our kids can do the same.

Have a Happy Halloween,

Lindsay

October 23, 2014

Living Life As A C-Section Mommy: Dealing With Judgment, Criticism, And Competition

Many c-section mommies would probably agree with me that having their babies via c-section was far from their desired delivery method. I, like many other women, dreamed of having my daughter the old fashioned way, getting that instant gratification of pushing her out and seeing her beautiful little self placed on top of my chest to share her first few minutes of life together. Unfortunately for me, this version of child birth just wasn’t in the cards for me and God had a much different plan.

As some of you might remember from my daughter’s birth story post, my reasons for having to have a c-section were far from the norm which took me even more by surprise. For nearly 8 months I had prayed for an easy delivery and it seemed as if the stars had aligned when each appointment as delivery drew near our little one was head down and ready to go. Sadly, just before Thanksgiving my doctor delivered the news that I would have to have a scheduled c-section. And with quite a few tears shed and a lot of useless begging later, we had chosen our delivery date and we were in countdown mode until baby girl would arrive.

Countdown To Our Little Girl’s Birth Day:

From the day our fate was decided for us, my world changed in more ways than I could have ever imagined. You see in my entire family and sector of friends I would become the only one to have c-section. It’s already a scary path to walk down but without friends and family who can empathize and understand what you’re feeling, it becomes even more scary and lonely. For the weeks leading up to our little girl’s birthday, in their attempts to be supportive, I had heard so many comments from friends and family trying to ease a mommy-to-be’s fears of her upcoming surgery. Unfortunately, since most of these comments came from people who hadn’t actually had a c-section before, the context didn’t hold much value for me nor the delivery hold much sincerity.

Some of the most memorable pre-c-section comments that I can recall include:

“A c-section is so much easier.”
“It’s not as painful.”
“I wish I had had a c-section.”
“I know tons of people who have had c-sections, and it’s no big deal.”
“I was up and walking around the same day after I had my c-section.”

Trust me, I totally understand and believe in positive thinking, however anyone that knows me knows that I am a realist. Although I think positively constantly, I also like to know all of the facts, risks, and potential ways something can go wrong, from the good stories to the bad stories too, I want to hear them all. Unfortunately, my pool of mommy stories mostly did not include c-sections, so leading up to the day of my daughter’s birth I felt just as much fear and anxiety as I had only 3 weeks before when my doctor had delivered the news.

And The Day Had Arrived:

When the day had finally arrived, with barely any sleep, me and baby, Daddy, my parents, and my sister were headed up bright and early to the hospital. I just remember it being a really mild December day, cool and crisp and as I approached the brand new hospital in front of me I just took a deep breath, squeezed my husbands hand a little tighter, and rubbed my belly to tell my little girl that we’d be okay. As many of you probably know from my birth story, from there things didn’t quite go as planned, which you can check out more about in my birth story post, but nonetheless by lunch time our little one had arrived.

While the first few days of being Mommy were beautiful in every way imaginable, I also remember being extremely overwhelmed with emotion and in an extraordinary amounts of pain. Long story short, turns out that I wasn’t given the right kind of medicine for a c-section causing me to be in excruciating amounts of pain only hours after having our little girl. It was a horrible way to spend my first few days as a new mommy but thankfully just one look at my little girl made all of it seem to get better.

Because of the extra complications that I had during and after my c-section, my recovery as a whole was really tough physically not to mention the emotional toll that it took on me. I remember lying there one night in the hospital when baby and Daddy were sleeping and just feeling so angry about my situation. I just kept crying and asking God why I had to go through all that I did to become a mommy and why I was still suffering in so much pain. While I never got my answers to those questions, I am firm believer in the idea that everything happens for a reason. I truly believe that for some reason my c-section had to go the way it did, if for nothing else it made me so much stronger and prepared me for the challenges that we’d face down the road but also remind me just how lucky we were to have our precious our little girl.

My Recovery While Battling Postpartum Emotions:

Thanks to the c-section, we had an extended stay in the hospital, another downer of having a c-section. I wanted to so badly to take our little girl home immediately but I was by no stretch well enough to be on my own at home yet, so the extra few days were much needed. While we were there we had tons of visitors stopping in to meet our little one, each one hearing about our scary adventure. And while their presence was so supportive, they all expressed the same sentiment on our experience, “at least you’re both here and healthy.” This was incredibly true and I too felt enormously grateful that that was the case, but I couldn’t help but feel like it diminished my feelings at the same time. I was already so overwhelmed with my emotions postpartum as it was, the added stressor of dealing with the c-section, recovery complications, and now filtering my emotions with family and friends just took the stress to another level.

I remember during one of our days, the lactation consultant stopped by to check in on the breastfeeding and was just chatting with me about how I was doing. That single question was all I needed to unload all of my emotion on this poor stranger standing in front of me. I realized that up until that point, that even though plenty of family and friends stopped in to see how we were doing, I hadn’t been able to unload everything that I had been feeling on anyone. This woman, I must say, was the most supportive, understanding, and influential person that I ran into during my recovery. I remember telling her how upset I was that I didn’t get to do any of the things that I hoped or planned on doing before my little one was born. Even aside from having the c-section I hadn’t wanted, nothing beyond that had gone as planned either, from being unable to do skin to skin with our baby to not seeing or holding her until a good hour after she was born. Because of the extraordinary amount of pain that I was experiencing during my recovery I couldn’t even take care of my daughter the way that I had wanted to. I just felt so deprived and cheated of the experience as a whole. I felt like I had missed out on so many of the beautiful parts of giving birth that I’d heard so many others tell me about. I was so angry and frustrated about what had happened to me. And with all of the venting, the consultant said very simply that I was allowed to feel that way and that what I had gone through was traumatic.

That was all I needed that whole time, an understanding voice who validated my feelings without turning the glass half full. And while my feelings of frustration and sadness didn’t go away for quite awhile afterwards, this one conversation stuck with me and reminded me that I was entitled to feel however I felt. I had been through a traumatic experience that left me feeling a boatload of different emotions that I needed to talk about and work through in anyway I could. I’m incredibly thankful that I’d had this 15 minute conversation, that although it didn’t speed up the physical recovery, it helped me heal emotionally in ways that I was incredibly grateful for.

Welcome Home Family Of Three:

Finally after four days in the hospital, I was packed up and ready to go home to enjoy my family of three. As the days ticked by during my recovery, I felt myself getting stronger and stronger as a new mommy. My new role came so naturally to me and I truly had fallen in love with our little girl which made the process of recuperating, at least my body, a little bit easier.

But all while I was enjoying motherhood, I was dealing with constant waves of postpartum emotions. I felt horrible feeling sad as I looked at this beautiful little baby that God blessed us with but I just couldn’t erase the moments of her birth day out of my mind. Unlike my family and friends who constantly regaled me with the beautiful moments of their births, I felt so bad for myself and my daughter that I wouldn’t be able to share a similar story with her one day. Our story would be a scary one that didn’t include my embrace right after she entered this world or her daddy cutting her cord or even us sharing a blissful first family picture moment together. None of those things were part of our birth experience and that’s a very difficult realty to accept and move on with.

With time, the freshness of the events of that day, along with the emotions, subsided some allowing me to move on a little. By no stretch though would I say that my recovery was anything but easy. I had to deal with a level of physical pain that many others could only admit that they’d never felt before, along with an emotional struggle that kept flashing through my mind over the next few months. It took a long time physically to resemble my former self and take care of my little girl on my own. And as my scar began to fade, so did the ever so present feelings of anger and sadness that I had about that day. They had begun to be pushed aside by new feelings and memories of all of my little girl’s first, from her smiles and giggles to her first holiday experiences too.

Moving On & Living Life As A C-Section Mommy:

Even though it’s been almost two years since my little girl’s birthday, I still find myself getting sad from time to time when I think about the events of that day. But along with the sadness and even a little anger too is this tremendous feeling of pride now. The fear, pain, and anger that I had fought through and overcome has made me the amazing mommy that I am today, and I truly am so proud of myself for conquering that.

This however doesn’t mean that being the only c-section mommy in my circle of friends and family is easy. In fact, since having a baby, many of my friends and family have added more babies to the mix, but none via c-section. And even though I feel like I’ve come so far in dealing with the events of my daughter’s birth, I feel like I’m sent right back to that day each time a new baby enters this world around me. When I hear each and every birth story it brings back lots of those feelings of anger and sadness, no matter how long the labor or how difficult the pushing was, I still wish that I could’ve experienced that too. As you can see, even though it’s been a long two years since that day, thanks to the baby boom that’s been taking place around us, it feels like just yesterday sometimes, and becomes even fresher as more and more mothers pop up around me wanting to share their birth story.

One of the hardest things to do now as a c-section mommy is to participate in conversations with the new moms around me. Since I’ve been bitten by the baby bug again, every time we stop by to meet a new little baby I feel tears well up inside reminding how much I want to experience that again but also in fear of the conversation that will be had. I’ll surely be hearing about the delivery reminding me of the moments that we missed out on in our family and that’s the tough part that never seems to go away no matter how far out from my daughter’s birth we get. I’m so excited and happy for the new mommies and daddies around us of course, but I can’t help but reminded of the experience that we were deprived of.

On many occasions, I’ve taken part in a number of conversations where other mothers are sharing their birth stories with one another. Sadly, during these conversations, even though I too am a mother who gave birth to my daughter, I find myself sinking back in my chair and feeling like I have nothing to contribute, tossing out the obligatory “I know how you feel” or “I experienced the same thing” comment here and there, even though everyone around me knows that I didn’t. And even sadder, many of the mothers haven’t hesitated to remind me that I don’t belong in the group because of my c-section. I’ve heard many a judgmental comment about my experience that have just crushed me down farther as a c-section mommy:

“You’re lucky that you had a c-section.”
When discussing push presents, “Well you didn’t push so you didn’t really deserve a push present.”
“You don’t know what labor feels like.”
“You don’t know what contractions feel like.”
“Your recovery wasn’t as bad as mine.”
“At least you’ll be able to get your tubes tied at the same time as your last delivery That would be a big deal for me.”

And after hearing all of these comments, I can’t help but feel the judgement and almost competitiveness between other mothers and myself. Even though neither one of us knows exactly what each other felt during their birth, each of our experiences were different and should be valued as just that. I feel as though other mothers look at c-sections, especially, as the easy way out to becoming a mom and that you didn’t truly earn your stripes to be a mom if your baby arrived that way. The scrutiny and criticism that I’ve heard as a c-section mother has torn me down on many an occasion, and each time a comment like this is made I turn to my husband who stood by me on that day and experienced the fear, pain, and sheer terror along with me and he just reminds me that I am just as much a mommy as they are, if not an even stronger one.

As time has passed, I’ve grown alongside my daughter and have realized the value in sharing my experience with others. While I had my husband who stood by me and let me cry on his shoulder on more than one occasion, it’s just not the same as having another mother who went through exactly what I had and could share in every fear, ache, pain, or anxiety that I experienced. In a world where judgement and competition seems to surround us everyday, it’s so important to find others that you can share an experience as important as a birth, without needing to validate it or without feeling judged. So here’s our opportunity. Open up and share with myself and any other mother out there about your birth experience. Find some solidarity and comfort from others without a feeling of competition or being made to feel like you’re not being grateful for your precious gift.

For me, becoming Mommy was one heck of a journey but it was a journey that I’ll never forget. I’ve learned a tremendous amount about myself and the strength that I have as a new Mommy, about my husband who stood by me and always does despite the emotional or physical obstacle that stands in our way, and about life itself. I’m a firm believer in the mantras that everything happens for a reason and whatever was meant to be will be. I know that there was a reason for my little girl having to enter the world this way and for whatever reason that was I need to accept it and reach out and help others do the same. How we become mothers is a different story for everyone but becoming a mom is the thing we all have in common. By sharing our stories with each other we can provide much needed support and comfort to heal and move on to enjoy motherhood and all the joys it has to offer. Because after all, being Mommy is so much more than just having your baby, it’s a lifetime of love, laughter, and sheer happiness that you’ll share with that little one.

Sincerely,

Lindsay

October 17, 2014

This Halloween Pass Out Treats For All Kids To Enjoy By Participating In The Teal Pumpkin Project

As you might remember, I’ve mentioned a couple times my nephew who has severe allergies to milk, egg, peanuts, and shellfish. At only 7, this poor little boy has experienced more health wise than some of us in our twenties. With countless emergency visits to the doctor to the dreaded food challenges at Children’s Hospital, his life at 7 is not enviable by many. So when Halloween rolls around, a day that kids countdown to in anticipation of the boat loads of candy that they’ll get, my dear little nephew who can eat a grand total of 3-4 candies out of the entire candy aisle isn’t entirely thrilled with the idea of getting candy. Sure he looks forward to dressing up and the act of trick-or-treating but giving the bulk of his loot up at the end of the night to his brothers or his favorite aunt over here isn’t his favorite part. In the past, I always try to make sure that we have some non-candy treats for him, as well as some of his special allergy free candy treats too. At least this way he’ll always have a few houses that he’ll get treats that he won’t have to surrender at the end of the night. This year however I stumbled upon the Food Allergy Research & Education’s Teal Pumpkin Project.

Make sure you head over to FARE’s site for more non-food treat ideas and to print out their Teal Pumpkin Project flyers to hang in your door or window. Also, get your kids involved and have them paint a pumpkin teal to keep on your doorstep! Help make this Halloween fun and safe for all the kids out there!

Sincerely,

Lindsay

October 16, 2014

Gluten Free And Trying To Conceive: From Ovulation To Fertility

Okay so you’ve picked out your gluten free prenatal vitamins and started taking them and you’re all on board for your diet adjustments, so all you have to do now is get pregnant, right? Ah, if things were only that easy. As many would probably agree, trying to get pregnant is almost as stressful as the actual pregnancy itself, from ovulation schedules to fertility issues and for some of us the impact of a gluten free life. There are so many ways that the stress of getting pregnant can become overwhelming; thankfully though there are some methods and some studies to relieve at least a few of your worries. Thanks to ovulation kits and so many other indicators of fertility, conception has been made simpler in a lot of ways. In addition to predicting the best time for conception, some of us also have the added worry of whether or not our pre-gluten free life or current gluten free diet will affect our ability to get pregnant. There’s just so many questions and worries that I for one faced when I was trying to conceive; so by sharing what I experienced during my pre-pregnancy time before little one, some of these questions may be answered for you.

Ovulation: One of our best friends when we were trying to get pregnant with our little one were the Clearblue Digital Ovulation Tests. We tried the line reading ones but the digital by far were easier for result reading, no guessing if a line was darker because it’s actually darker or because you’re willing it to be darker. Back then my days were so much more predictable so I had some idea of when things were supposed to happen, which is a huge help if you’re able to do that. The digital ovulation tests just took so much of the guess work out, confirming the specific days that were most promising. These tests can really be your best friend especially if you’ve never had a regular cycle or are not quite as regular for trying for baby number two as you were for baby number number one. Either way, the digital ovulation tests are a godsend and really helped us out and will hopefully be helpful for us next time around too.

Gluten Free & Fertility:

Unfortunately, predicting your ovulation days is only a small piece of the puzzle of conception. Before my husband and I had tried to get pregnant with our little girl, I was concerned about the effect of my gluten free life not only on a pregnancy, but also on our attempts to get pregnant. I had no idea if a gluten free diet could negatively impact our chances of getting pregnant or have the opposite effect. So to take away some of the worries that I had before we even tried to have a baby, I googled away trying to find some type of evidence that would make me feel better.

What I learned from all of my research is that there is definitely a link between gluten sensitivity and fertility, but not in a way that I was fearing. Research has actually convinced medical professionals that an undiagnosed gluten sensitivity or celiac disease, while negative in a lot of ways, may contribute to or actually cause fertility issues in both men and women. This theory suggests then that a gluten free diet is in no way a hindrance on conceiving but can rather be a beneficial adjustment if fertility issues are known to exist.

While everyone knows in the gluten free community that if individuals with celiac disease and gluten sensitivity were to consume gluten they would suffer from physical distress in the form of noticeable symptoms along with internal damage. An impact of gluten consumption in these individuals that was relatively unheard of until a few years back were fertility issues. In 2010, there was a study that demonstrated undiagnosed celiac disease to be a common denominator in women who had unexplained infertility, recurrent miscarriages, and other pregnancy complications. From this study, it was suggested that if women are experiencing infertility or any other pregnancy complications then they should consider getting tested for celiac disease. In those with celiac or a suspected gluten sensitivity, treating with a gluten free diet could then resolve or at least reduce risks of pregnancy complications. Feel free to read more of Dr. Kumar’s fertility study here.

Reading studies of that nature definitely eased my worries of a gluten free diet possibly affecting our ability to get pregnant in a negative way. In fact, I was incredibly grateful that I had gone gluten free before we had contemplated adding children to the mix seeing as the damage that gluten was doing to my body could have gone as far as inhibiting our ability to get pregnant. That connection is incredibly disturbing and saddens me that so many individuals may succumb to this negative side effect without ever realizing the culprit. This is yet another reason why doctors should be thoroughly educated on diagnosing not only celiac disease but also gluten sensitivity too. Since I had gone to a doctor who never suggested the possibility of a food intolerance or celiac disease, I had never heard anything about either one of these let alone their possible effects on my ability to have children. As a woman, and let me just say that there is proof that gluten can affect men’s fertility as well, who has lived her life almost entirely consuming gluten until the past few years of gluten free living, it’s extremely overwhelming to hear side effects of this nature that could affect you and your future family.

As I always say, there’s so much more to living a gluten free life than just literally living gluten free. From the day you realized that your body couldn’t handle gluten or wheat your world changes drastically and becomes so much more than just omitting certain things from your diet. It’s so much harder than that, you truly feel like you live in a world that just wasn’t made for you. Aside from the challenges of just eating, the lack of knowledge and/or understanding of the severity of this lifestyle in the general public and medical field is really tough to adjust to. You really do feel like you have to justify your lifestyle to everyone around you, not to mention with minimal help from anyone with a medical know how. Hopefully though, by doing just this and getting the word out, the knowledge and importance of understanding this diet will grow and we’ll find ourselves in much better company in a few years.

So, if you find yourself ready to take the next step to trying for a baby make sure you’re aware of your own health. If you’ve just gone gluten free, congratulations! Give your body some time to recuperate and then hop on board the baby making train. If you’ve been gluten free for some time, go for it, and don’t worry about your gluten free diet during this stage of the game. If you’re not gluten free but are having some difficulties conceiving, talk to your doctor first and discuss trying a gluten free diet, there’s no harm in trying. Regardless if your gluten free or not, try to enjoy this time. I’ll let you in on a little secret, my husband and I are hopefully on the road to adding baby number two and I have to say that I forgot how tough and stressful this whole process can be. I welcome all of you to feel free to share your experiences, remember your story could help someone else or at least make others feel like they aren’t alone.

I hope all of you are blessed with that little one that you’ve been praying for. I’ll send some prayers your way too!

Sincerely,

Lindsay

October 7, 2014

Fearing The Enterovirus: From One Mother To Another

Today I had planned on sharing another vlog on a blogging book that I’m loving right now but I thought today’s vlog could be dedicated to a health scare that has certainly scared this mom. Over the past month, news has really grown about the enterovirus and how it’s impacting children throughout the country. It seemed to slowly creep from the west coast to the east coast where I am and as it reached our town it did something that none of us thought it was able to do. Unexpectedly and without any warning, the enterovirus caused the death of a little preschooler who attended the preschool my nephew goes to.

To see this virus come so close to us is terrifying and to see it claim the life of a little boy is heartbreaking. Just as there’s no vaccine to prevent this virus and no cure for it either, there unfortunately is no explanation as to why this virus is now potentially lethal. It’s a terrifying world that we live in where sending our children to school, running to the store, or having a play date could be risking the lives of our kids. So what do we do to protect them? Take a look at my vlog to see how we’re coping with the scariest cold/flu season that we’ve had to deal with as parents.

I know my family is overwhelmed with fear due to the proximity of this recent tragedy and is even more overwhelmed with how to protect our little girl. As mothers and parents we all posses the instinct to protect our families from anything and everything that can cause harm. I think that this is exactly why this is even more difficult to accept, that we’re unable to give medicines, vaccinate, and really protect our children from this virus. As a mom or mom-to-be, are you as overwhelmed with these feelings of fear and helplessness as I am? Feel free to share how you’re feeling on this health scare and what you’re doing to protect your family.

Sincerely,

Lindsay

September 19, 2014

My Little One’s Birth Was Anything But Textbook, But Bringing Her Into This World Was A Complete Fairy Tale

So, I seem to have babies on the brain lately, and with the apparent baby boom that seems to be erupting all around us I can’t help but reminisce about my birth story with my little girl. I suppose if I’m going to be blogging about pregnancy, I should share my road to motherhood too. As much as I wish that my story was picturesque and something straight out of a movie, the birth of my little girl didn’t quite go as planned, but the end result, was just as remarkable as I had dreamed. Before we get there though, I think I should probably start a little bit earlier, in my pre-married life, when a certain diagnosis would change the future more than I knew.

Before Baby

At 20 years old, while I had my digestive and tummy troubles, I also suffered from ongoing headaches and migraines. With so many issues coming out of the wood work I finally made my way to doctor after doctor. The diagnosis for the stomach side of things gave me the same result as always, that it was just my body and I would have to just get used to it, a very unsatisfactory response yes, but my other ailments were more of a bother at the time. Headaches wise, I was sent for an MRI just to be sure all looked fine, little did I know I’d be signed up for these annually for the rest of my life. I reported back to my neurologist for the MRI results and I honestly can’t recall anything past his first sentence of something being abnormal. After the doctor told me that I had an irregular venous formation in my brain called a venous angioma, VA, my mind literally went blank and his voice turned into the teacher from Charlie Brown, blurting out unrecognizable words.

Before I knew it, I found myself seeing the best neurosurgeon on the East Coast for an angiogram to test the functionality of my malformation. Pretty overwhelming stuff for a 20 year old in college, but thankfully, I had my family by my side. The angiogram was less than pleasant and pretty scary for a surgery novice. Afterwards though, the doctor stopped in to check on me and let us know that my venous angioma was benign and functioned normally, whew finally a sigh of relief. The only catch was that I would have to go for annual MRIs from then on to make sure everything stayed the same. Not very much fun to have an annual reminder of this thing but altogether something I could live with.

We’re Expecting

Years later and still getting my annual MRIs, I was 26, married, just graduated from grad school, and hoping to start a family. Ever since my angiogram, everything had remained stable and with a pre-pregnancy visit to my neurologist I was given a go for pregnancy. But as the reality of becoming pregnant drew closer the fears of how this condition may affect a pregnancy, delivery, and maybe change afterwards were a constant concern. Soon enough though, God blessed Dan and I with our little one and our road to parenthood was underway. While we were overwhelmed with excitement and joy, the fears that I had before pregnancy about my VA were now magnified by hundred, adding a million more questions at my appointments with my OB. Thank goodness though, I have a fantastic doctor who perfectly balances my overly concerned and somewhat paranoid personality and with a great bedside manner to boot, making the whole experience a little less stressful.

Like many, throughout my pregnancy I envisioned the story book birth scenario, your contractions starting at home, maybe your water breaking too, a rush or at least quick drive up to the hospital, a progressing labor (preferably quick and not the dreadfully long labor our moms always told us about), and a few quick pushes and out comes your precious little baby. With some research of my own and some answers from my OB, I knew at the very beginning that my delivery might not be as I had hoped, thanks to my VA. During a vaginal delivery, the act of pushing and the actual epidural alone could affect my pressure and cause a possible hemorrhage, obviously a big and scary problem. However, since my VA had been stable for quite some time, with the approval of everybody on my team then I would be able to bring my little girl into the world just as I had hoped. So my entire pregnancy I played phone tag with my neurology specialist, OB, and anesthiologist trying to get approval for a vaginal birth with an epidural. Throughout this time, we received many a reassuring written and verbal okays but then things changed in my 8th month. The week of Thanksgiving, I had heard that despite 8 months of planning and getting the okay from every doctor under the sun for a vaginal birth, it seemed that I’d be undergoing a scheduled c-section after all, quite the opposite of my dream delivery.

So with that, the questions were gone, it was c-section for us and there was no more debating it. To say I was disappointed would be putting it lightly, I was hysterically crying after this news was delivered. I was 8 months pregnant, being ordered to a c-section contrary to all of the go aheads I had already heard, terrified of this form of delivery since we knew nothing about all that it entailed, and oh yeah, we picked out a delivery date just 3 weeks away. It was an appointment I’ll never forget that’s for sure, but with all of the guess work gone, the official countdown until our baby girl arrived had begun.

The Delivery

Flash forward 3 weeks and we had arrived at c-section day. Besides starving beyond belief, I was in tears on our way up to the hospital, both out of excitement to finally see that little one who had her toes jammed in my ribs for the past few weeks but also out of complete and utter fear of the unknown. We had arrived, were checked in, changed into my hospital gown, and hooked up to an IV and monitors of all kinds, all within a matter of a half hour. Unfortunately, we were delayed by about 2 hours making the anticipation, nerves, and anxiety that much greater. Finally though, we made it back to the operating room, Dan was shuttled over to a waiting area while I was sent in to get set up. Before I stepped foot inside, the anesthiologist met me at the door and decided to inform me just moments before I was about to deliver that he didn’t feel comfortable giving me the necessary, and already approved by the way, c-section spinal nor the medicine that goes with it, WHAT!!! Yup, just what you want to hear moments before you’re about to get a c-section. He had planned to instead give me an epidural and a different medicine but assured me that all would be just fine. To be honest, I wanted to turn and run for the hills but clearly it was too late for that, so I put on my brave face and marched into the operating room alone.

After some trouble with the epidural, we were finally underway and Dan was beside me yet again. Only 10 minutes in and my OB announced that she was here. A dark haired, 8 lb 9 oz baby girl had been born and we couldn’t have been happier. I sent Dan over to capture her first moments of life on camera and to give my precious baby girl a kiss from her Mommy. I’ll never forget that cry, it was the most beautiful sound that brought tears to my eyes. I wanted so badly to meet my little girl but I knew that she was being kept company by her loving Daddy.

While I was basking in my new Mommy glory, I all of the sudden was overwhelmed by a difficulty to breathe, then a numbing of my left arm, throat, and dizziness that made me feel like I was about to pass out. Since all of the doctors seemed to be alarmed by these symptoms, I took it they weren’t your standard c-section feelings. Before I knew it, I was being given oxygen and told that my epidural had gone to high, a high block, a serious and life threatening complication with epidurals. I heard the anesthiologist tell Dan that they may need to put me under and that he had to wait outside. I was terrified and heartbroken as I watched my equally as terrified husband be shuttled outside in a matter of a few seconds, leaving my little one alone in her first minutes of life. My eyes started filling with tears as I had yet to meet my little girl, hadn’t done skin to skin bonding time, Dan hadn’t cut the cord, and now this, nothing seemed to be going how I had hoped.

After the scariest moments of our lives had passed, Dan was beside our little girl again. Meanwhile, even though I had started to feel a little bit better, I still laid helpless as the doctors were in “operation get the epidural medicine out of my upper body so I could breathe again mode.” But as they were explaining that I needed to remain in the operating room for awhile yet, I tuned everybody’s voices out as I caught my first glimpse of my little girl in a nurse’s arms coming towards me. I couldn’t hold her yet thanks to my upper body being totally numb but she laid her beside me so I could meet her for the very first time in person. I breathed her sweet smell and kissed her on her chubby little cheeks and forehead, something that I waited a little extra time to do. I couldn’t take my eyes off of the little angel that laid beside me, and wished my numb arms would start working so I could scoop her up.

A short while later and we were finally being moved into recovery. In the meantime, seeing as the operation took way too long for your standard c-section, Dan’s phone had filled up with worried texts and voicemails. But for those moments in recovery, it was our time to recoop from the events earlier on and the world outside just didn’t seem to exist. It was finally time for us to enjoy being a new family of three and to finally give this mommy what she had been so desperately been waiting for. After waiting for 9 months and a long operation, I finally had my little girl in my arms. Our first picture with her in my arms says it all. I’m crying looking at the camera, so overwhelmed with emotion and couldn’t get enough of my little girl. I knew at that moment that that little one would be my whole life and I was so excited for the moments to come.

My delivery and recovery were less than ideal, filled with a lot of pain, some complications, and a lot of tears but the end result is a loving, friendly, and happy little girl that has made our family that much more complete. I had a hard time recovering physically, but the emotional toll that her birth took on me was something I still have hard time dealing with. It’s difficult at times to understand what happened and why but I do thank God everyday that I’m here to be her Mommy and share the rest of her life with her.

From time to time, we thumb through pictures of her early days and I’ve realized even more how fantastic my husband is. He captured all of the first moments that I missed, from the doctor holding her, to her first bath, getting weighed and fingerprinted, and getting swaddled with her knit baby hat on, all of the precious moments that I wished I had been a part of in person but I can now remember fondly thanks to Dan. My little one’s birth was anything but textbook, but bringing her into this world was a complete fairy tale.

While I’ve seen many around me have babies since, it only reminds me more that everybody’s story is different. Some live the movie scene while others are faced with a couple more challenges. It’s difficult to move on passed the events of my daughter’s birthday but holding that beautiful baby in my arms made the details of how she got there a little less scary. Stay tuned for my next pregnancy post about Being A C-Section Mommy!

Sincerely,

Lindsay

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