Over The Moon To Be A Mom!

About Me

Motherhood is an incredible journey that I didn't think I would be able to go on! I was so wrong!

Hi, My name is Trish and I want to share my story with other mothers who might be in the same position I was in. I'm here to tell my story and share tips and tricks that helped me get through caring for my daughter Olivia.

From the beginning I was a high risk pregnancy and I was well aware of the chance that I wouldn't be able to have my own children. It all started when I was 29 years old and struggling to find a birth control that I could be on and live a normal life. I bounced from the Nuva Ring, the pill to Merina IUD until I ended up on the Depo shot. I did 2 rounds of the shot and decided that I didn't have many options left to try. My fiancé decided I should stop getting them and try to have our own. We weren't in a position to really try just yet as my OBGYN informed us that coming off the shot I should expect 18 months before I could try to get pregnant. After a few months I started to feel better and had more energy. I was approaching 5 months off the shot when I started feeling odd, tired, sore boobs and hungry all the time. I thought to myself.... there's no way I'm pregnant I just had a negative test a month before.

I never had a normal cycle and my periods would go months without making an appearance and other times I would have heavy period cramps for weeks on end. I figured it couldn't hurt to take a test for peace of mind. Then next afternoon I went to the store and bought a few 0.99 cent tests. When I got home I took it and I knew that it could be a false negative since it was 6pm in the evening and everyone knows they are most accurate in the morning first thing. As I awaited for the results and watching the window fill up to display the results I thought to myself.... there's no way its going to be positive. I pull myself out of my thoughts and there they are the cross lines confirming that I indeed was pregnant. Before freaking out too much I decided to sleep on it and take another first thing in the morning.

The chances of a negative test after a positive was slim. I waiting in silence for the second round of results to finish up. This was the longest 3 minutes of my life. The positive results showed up again and I started freaking out. Could it be? Could my worst fear have just been a fear? I was pregnant without trying and without waiting 18 months. As I stood there looking at my reflection in the mirror I took off running to the kitchen to deliver the exciting news to my fiancé who was cooking dinner. 

I started the conversation with Guess what? Of course he said What? When I screamed "I'm Pregnant... We're Pregnant" The biggest smile lite up his face and I knew he never expected that kind of news so soon. 

That week I scheduled my first prenatal appointment and ultrasound to confirm my pregnancy. They asked when was your last period and my response was I'm not sure. I went onto explain I never had a normal cycle. She estimated I was about 6 weeks along. They scheduled me about 4 weeks out and waiting for the appointment seemed like a lifetime away. Finally the day came and we showed up for the appointment not knowing what to expect. The nurse called us into the ultrasound room where it all the shades were drawn and it was super dark. She explained what they were going to and walked me through the process. The nurse started looking for the baby as she said "don't worry it takes time to find the fetus, but we will find it." As she was finishing the sentence she let out "OH" "there you are." We got to hear the heart beat and the nurse talked to us about the next step in the process of prenatal care. She told us the baby was measuring at 8 weeks which was much further along than they thought. They walked me down to my exam room to await the doctor to come in and talk to us.

I'm going to fast forward a few weeks to the 20 week anatomy appointment as the few I had before that were just to check the heartbeat. We had our second ultrasound to find out the gender of our baby. Unlike most of my friends I didn't pay for the blood test to find out the gender early. The nurse started scanning the baby and settled on her legs telling us that she was trying to get a good picture to show us what gender our baby was. After 5-10 mins of waiting she says congratulations your having a girl! The nurse informed me as we were walking out with our pictures that I would get a call for a high risk doctor to see to make sure that the baby was growing properly with all my health concerns. Most women don't have to be on so many medications while pregnant. I was on medication to treat high blood pressure, Ulcerative Colitis and I was just diagnosed with MS at 14 weeks pregnant.

After making it it to 30 weeks my doctors started getting worried as I was needing more blood pressure medicine to keep my numbers around 120/70. I started having swelling and my stress testing were showing Olivia was struggling. My OB told me if I could just make it to 35 weeks we would be good to deliver at my hospital near our home. I got my steriod shots to help with lung development and RH shot because I am B-. 35 weeks came and I was having a hard time with headaches, shakes and dizziness. I informed my doctor after my high risk appointment took 4 hours. They struggled to get her active and she was struggling to breath. They informed me at that time that Olivia was breeched. The doctor said I needed to go to the hospital if I felt sick or dizzy that night we went to the labor and delivery wing. 

Next thing I know they are telling me that I should settle in for the night. They couldn't deliver till the following morning. I started to get comfy when my OBGYN came in with an ultrasound machine and started looking at the baby. Right then she decided they were doing an emergency C section. They started prepping me for surgery.... I wasn't doing very good as my blood pressure kept climbing and my thoughts became jumbled. They pushed me into the delivery room as the nurses set up for the doctor. Another doctor came in and started prepping me for my epidural. They stuck me 5 times before they were able to get the catheter in properly.. Well almost. The catheter started coming back out so they rushed me to lay down so they could start the delivery process. Next time I know I feel some weird sensations in my stomach and I hear my daughter cry for the first time. They told us she would be in the NICU and I wouldn't be allowed to visit till I was stable and doing better. My fiancé went for me to take pictures and videos so I could see my baby. 

By the time I was able to go visit it had been the longest 24 hours of my life and I just wanted to hold my baby girl. They informed me she couldn't regulate her body temperature and that's why she needed to be in an incubator as well as had a IV for feeding. We gave breastfeeding a try for a few days.  The doctors told me I had to stop due to the additional medication they need to put me on to keep my blood pressure stable so I could go home. The NICU gave her a feeding tube since she refused to eat and wasn't gaining enough weight. 

Fast forward 3 weeks of going back and forth to the hospital to visit, hold and feed her. We were able to take her home and it was the best day of our lives! We got her all loaded up and realized we weren't ready to be all alone because our daughter was barely 5 lbs. The week we brought her home we had to invest in preemie diapers and cloths as we had only prepared for a newborn sized baby to come home with us. We were lucky to be home so soon as many of the other families there had been there for months before going home. Something we were very thankful for! Once we got home we started using a bassinet next to the bed for sleeping. Olivia wasn't doing much crying or making any other noises. I had to check her every few hours along with using an owl sock to monitor her heart rate. One thing we were very lucky for was her ability to sleep all night long. We fed her around 11pm and she would sleep till 6am the next morning. Being on an high protein formula gave her really bad tummy issues so we were on pepcid to help her deal with it. She was often fussy around feeding time for this reason and required extra burping to clear the gas. 

Fast forward 6 months and we have 6 teeth, crawling and eating puree along with solid food. She is still on the preemie growth chart, but we were growing at a steady rate and moving toward the normal growth chart. Her first word was Dada. Next word was Mama and now that is all she says regardless what she wants. Her doctor informed us that she was slowly catching up, but was way ahead mentally.

Now she is 14 months old and thriving like any other baby her again. She's walking and on the verge of running. She's talking and eating tons of food. Join along in our journey and follow our story as I learn tips and tricks to raising a girl in 2022.