Real Women. Real Experiences. – Madison C
Q: Tell me about yourself. Where are you from? How many kids do you have?A: Hi, I am Madison - I am 27 years old from St. Charles/St. Louis, MO born and raised. I have been married to my amazing husband for 2 years now, and we have two incredible children. One is my step son who is 10 and I met him and his dad when he was 3 years old, and then we have a 1 year old little boy who was born in October. I am a business owner of a bridal boutique in St. Louis, MO.
Q: How was your pregnancy? The good? The bad?
A: My pregnancy was amazing, we were trying to get pregnant and we were so blessed after a few months of trying with our sweet boy. The hardest part of my pregnancy was my round ligament pain. Otherwise, I did not have any nausea and truly enjoyed my pregnancy. I ended up losing weight at the beginning of my pregnancy because I was craving water 24/7, and then only gaining back to my pre-pregnancy weight by the end. No swelling which was a blessing!
Q: How was your labor and delivery? Did you birth at home? Hospital? C-section?
A: I ended up having a scheduled c-section at 37 weeks because my baby boy was measuring close to 11lbs on the ultrasound and I had polyhydramnios. There are a lot of risks with vaginal births with polyhydramnios because of the chance of cord prolapse and with his size there was a high possibility of him getting stuck in the birth canal. We went in for our scheduled c-section at 5am and the procedure was at 7am, it was very calm and relaxed, truly a beautiful experience because it was in a controlled setting which calmed my nerves. Our sweet boy was born at 7:41am at 10lbs 11oz and 21.5" long, and my placenta was also 10lbs. He came out with one big scream, but after that he needed help breathing so he was rushed to the NICU where he ended up spending 7 days. These were the longest and hardest 7 days of my life. Most of the time spent with him in the NICU is a blur because it was so hard for me as a mom not being able to hold my baby, feed, and snuggle him because he was hooked up to monitors and intubated on a ventilator.
Q: Describe your postpartum experience. Did you experience postpartum depression? Postpartum anxiety? Postpartum rage? Were you aware of these things postpartum?
A: The pain of my c-section healing after delivery was more difficult than I expected, but understandably so once I learned more about what happens during the c-section procedure. I am glad I did not learn about the procedure before having it, but very glad to be educated after. I unfortunately ended up with food poisoning on my second day home from the hospital with my baby, so about 10 days post-delivery. This was a very odd scenario and would not say this is normal by any means! Postpartum- I experienced very intense baby blues the first two weeks, followed by postpartum anxiety that I have a good control over now, but I definitely went through a long period from about 3 months- 7 months where I would over analyze, panic and create irrational worries about my baby and what would happen to him from this anxiety. The hardest thing I experienced postpartum was the adjustment and mourning period of my previous life. I absolutely love my baby, but it was very traumatic to just completely flip my life upside down overnight, and there was absolutely no way to prepare for this.
Q: Did you breastfeed? If so, how did that go for you? If it was challenging, what were your challenges?
A: I was unable to breastfeed, but I did pump for 6 months and mixed this with formula. I believe I was unable to breastfeed because since he was in the NICU, he was receiving feedings from a bottle when I was not able to be in the NICU and this gave him the satisfaction of a faster feeding then from the breast which led him to frustration and not latching when I did try to breastfeed. I was disappointed that I didn't really get the opportunity to try at least, but that's no one's fault, just a part of the journey, so I was happy that my baby was healthy and fed so I looked at the positive and pumped for the first 6 months of his life. We bottle fed with Earth's Best formula and he took from it wonderfully!
Q: Did you have any pregnancy cravings?
A: Yes- Water water water and strawberries!
Q: What’s something you never knew about until you were pregnant?
A: The coolest thing I learned about during pregnancy was about how the body creates a milk specifically for your baby, so if they are sick and need certain things to help their body, the milk glads will use the babies saliva to create a special "milk" to help them while sick. The roughest thing I learned about during pregnancy was round ligament pain- I knew moms had pain from their body adjusting, but you really can't explain round ligament pain to someone.
Q: What was something that surprised you about your postpartum journey?
A: That every day can be a little different for a while and that’s okay! I had this thought in my mind that it would only be the first month for some reason, but it changes and flows with you for a while and you can have a wide range of emotions.
Q: If there was a gift to give a new mom, what would it be?
A: Honestly, anything that has to do with colds, etc. Moms don't want to think about the "bad stuff" for their baby so things like a great ear thermometer, clean tylenol, vaseline, boogie spray, and the prize possession the Nose Frida!
Q: If you could give a new mom some advice what would it be?
A: Take a deep breath you will get through it one way or another. There is no wrong way to parent as long as your baby is happy, healthy, and loved. Every first that your baby has will be the last first time they will do that... so just be present when you are there.