Prego Mego

Thursday, May 31/18 This post won't be too long, but it's something that I found pretty interesting. I'd been in hospital for 4 days after giving birth, and my daughter stayed an additional day in the NICU before we all came home together. To set the scene, the hospital I gave birth in was just over an hour away from our apartment, and our apartment is on the first floor of the building accessible only by a flight of stairs. I thought I'd share my story, kind of just for fun. LEAVING THE HOSPITAL Leaving the hospital was honestly a little bit funny. We had been waiting for a couple of hours for our daughter, Ivy, to be discharged. She had to be seen by a paediatrician before they'd let her go, and he was a bit busy that afternoon. We were antsy to go after quite a long stay in hospital, and when we finally got the all clear it actually felt a little strange. We passed all the nurses who had cared for her and said goodbye, and walking through the doors of the NI...

Sunday, May 27/18 Today's post is all about c-section recovery, what I wish I knew, and my overall experience. For those who don't know, I had an emergency c-section with about 15 minutes between the warning of "you may need a c-section" to being wheeled into the operating theatre. Most caesareans don't pan out that way, but I think it's good to be somewhat prepared even if you're a low-risk patient who has delivered 12 babies vaginally. Things can change quickly and I realize I hadn't got a clue about what a c-section entailed until I had to live through it myself, so if I could go back to pre-delivery Megan, I would tell her to research c-sections and be prepared for all eventualities! And I don't mean that to be scary- it's just something I wish I had known before experiencing it myself! WHAT TO BRING Whether you know you're having a c-section or not, here are some items I'd pack in your hospital bag (or leave in your car) just ...

Thursday, May 24/18 Having a baby taken to the NICU (Neonatal intensive care unit) is pretty daunting for any parent, so I thought I'd share my experience, the positives and negatives and overall how it made me feel. I will say my baby's stay in the NICU was very short compared to many others at only 5 days, but I thought it was still worth writing about. WHY MY BABY WAS THERE My baby was born at 11:47pm and she was a healthy 9lb 2oz bundle of joy delivered via emergency c-section. I'm a type 1 diabetic, and at the end of my pregnancy my insulin need had decreased by almost 80%. When my daughter was born, her blood sugar was low, so they tested it each hour to see if she'd adjust to a normal level. For every hour that her blood sugar stayed low, they needed a vial of blood from her heel which was a horrendous experience for me, I was stuck in bed after the surgery and all I could do was watch the nurses squeeze her tiny foot to fill the vial. It genuinely makes me ...

Tuesday, May 22/18 To pick up where I left off, I had been in labour for about 12 hours when I decided to go for an epidural. The anesthesiologist had just left and said he'd be back in 15-20 minutes to see how things were feeling (or not feeling, I suppose) and I was promised an hour's nap from my lovely nurse, Brenda. SIGNING THE WAIVER My toes were feeling a bit tingly, I was laying back on the bed and my nurse pulls the sheets printing from the non-stress test I've been attached to for 12 hours now. Soon after, a resident doctor (the one who broke my water) comes up to me and says there's a chance I might have to have a c-section. She doesn't say why, and I don't ask. I just say I'll do it if I have to. I look at my husband and he agrees, neither of us really pressed why it had to potentially happen or not. The doctor explains the risks to me, and then the phone in my room rings. She walks over and picks it up, talks to a few seconds, unplugs some o...

Sunday, May 20/18 Now this is a biggie, the actual labour and delivery story! It's going to be quite a long one, so get comfy and maybe pour yourself a drink/grab a snack/both. I want to preface this story by saying my labour did not go as planned, and I'm all for sharing positive stories (particularly regarding pregnancy), so if you are expecting and want to read this I'd like to say that despite my delivery not going as planned and being a little traumatic, overall the whole experience was very positive and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I hope that's a good enough disclaimer! Let's get on with it. GETTING THE CALL/DRIVING TO THE HOSPITAL I knew I was going to be induced at 37+3 due to the size of my baby and the fact that my insulin needs had severely decreased before delivery (about an 80% reduction!). I had gone in the day prior for a Foley Catheter and my second steroid injection, and anticipated getting the call anytime after 6am. I had bar...

Friday, May 18/18 I can't lie and pretend these weeks of pregnancy were even remotely fun, but, now that I have my baby here in my arms I will say there were certainly enjoyable parts during this period where you get absolutely humongous, sore and downright exhausted.* It's going to be a hefty post, so get a cup of tea and settle in. It's also important to note at the beginning that my pregnancy only went until 37 weeks, so I apologize for any readers who may be at week 42, jealous of my baby's swift arrival. I am sorry. *Top tip: Find a pool and float in it. You are weightless, you don't feel sore and you can pretend your huge pale belly is a beluga whales head sticking out of the water. 33 WEEKS At 33 weeks I had another appointment with my OB, and she told me that with her handy tape measure she predicted my baby was measuring a whole two weeks ahead of schedule. Because my baby was measuring so large, she had told me that I would have to anticipate being ...

Wednesday, May 16/18 The first half of the third trimester was really one of my favourite parts of pregnancy, baby was moving constantly, I looked properly pregnant and the really huge belly hadn't arrived, so while I thought I had a sore back I really felt pretty good. Lot's of exciting things happened for me during these weeks, my husband and I enrolled in a local prenatal class and learned a fair amount, I met my wonderful OBGYN, and plans for labour and delivery really started taking shape! Not only that but I had an incredible baby shower hosted by my two best friends and it was more than I could have ever hoped for! Let's start describing things in far more detail... MEETING THE OBGYN For some reason I didn't meet my OB until 29 weeks, and this was kind of a fault from my family doctor who should have referred me earlier as I'm a type one diabetic and considered high-risk, and also the fault of an Ontario winter and not being able to make it to my first a...

Sunday, May 14/18 Finally, somewhat of a honeymoon period! This and the first part of the Third Trimester were honestly the easiest for me, I was getting bigger and more noticeably pregnant to friends, family and strangers, I felt much better than I had before, and I spent Christmas and New Years hangover free! It was amazing! THE GOOD I felt like I properly looked pregnant. Baby was moving, really moving and I was growing. I wore a maternity dress for New Years Eve- the first real piece of maternity clothing I'd bought (apart from some jeans and leggings!) and the reactions I got from friends I hadn't seen since my wedding in September was awesome. Like, actual "whoa!" reactions at my belly. I was the most body confident I had ever been in my life and it felt truly incredible. The movements made me endlessly happy, I could feel really strong kicks and now I could begin seeing the kicks under my skin which was awesome. I had friends and family members who had fel...

Saturday, May 12/18 WHAT TO EXPECT FOR THE 20 WEEK ULTRASOUND The 20 Week Ultrasound, or the "Anomaly Scan" is an ultrasound done between 18 and 20+ weeks, midway through your pregnancy. At this ultrasound your ultrasound technician or sonographer will check to see that you're just having one baby (particularly if you haven't had an earlier dating ultrasound), and take an overall look at your baby, placenta and uterus in general. This is also the ultrasound where you may be able to find out the sex of your baby! This isn't always an option, apparently some hospitals have policies where they don't tell you just in case a mistake it made, or perhaps your baby isn't in a good position to be certain. WHAT I EXPERIENCED AT THE 20 WEEK ULTRASOUND Before I begin this story, I should start by saying at this point in my pregnancy I was still feeling a huge loss of appetite, I had nausea but hadn't been physically sick, and I was still absolutely exhausted...

Thursday, May 10/18 This portion of pregnancy for me was honestly the most boring. There were practically no appointments (apart from the 20 week ultrasound which I'll be posting about next!), and although you're somewhat out of the woods now that you've emerged from the first twelve weeks, the symptoms for me just continued to be the same. I had no appetite (I had actually lost weight by this point), and I still felt mildly nauseous all day, despite not actually vomiting (yet!). THE HONEYMOON PERIOD Most people seem to refer to this stage as the 'honeymoon period', but I couldn't disagree more! In fact, my first trimester symptoms just seemed to carry through and actually get worse during these weeks, although looking back and comparing what the last few weeks of pregnancy felt like these weeks weren't too bad at all. I kept a very simple monthly journal at this stage, and all I can see as glance through those pages is me writing and potentially exagg...

Tuesday, May 8/18 SHARING THE BIG NEWS I'd never second-guessed myself so much as when my pregnancy was confirmed by a doctor and then it was time to let family members know. We had already discussed announcing the pregnancy publicly, and although I had originally thought 12 weeks I'm pretty sure we ended up making the announcement at 21 weeks (despite people I saw often already knowing much sooner). Our parents and close friends were a different story, however. As I had mentioned in a prior post, we had gotten engaged in March and here we were, 7 weeks pregnant in August. The wedding was planned in September (and went off without a hitch, I took plenty of shots of water and shivered when I took them, astonished there wasn't an Oscar nomination for Best Actress...) so we wanted to tell the bridesmaids, groomsmen etc before the big day so that they could back me up in not drinking and sneakily drink things that other guests had poured for me. Also, because they are our cl...

Sunday, May 6/18 I think when you first find out your pregnant a lot of things change in your mind. Firstly, you're nervous as hell that it's actually real and that in a short nine months you'll be a parent. Secondly, you're constantly worried (or at least I was) that it could end any day, at any point. The countdown to the 12 week mark seems like it lasts a lifetime, and as each day passes by you are simultaneously relieved and even more worried that perhaps you'll miscarry later than most women do, and find yourself doing endless hours of research of what the symptoms are. And thirdly, you really do research everything- for hours upon hours. YouTube videos, blogs, WebMD and various other sites, within days of finding out I was pregnant I had 3 pregnancy apps- one which I had already decided to pay to get the full version (despite deleting it when at 35 weeks it told me my baby was the size of a watermelon) and I feel it was at this point that I had decided I nee...

Friday, May 4/18 FINDING OUT The first trimester seems like the perfect beginning of this blog, so that's where I'll start! I found out I was pregnant last July, at the very end of the month. My fiancee and I were sat on the beach on a beautiful evening and I just had a feeling that I should get a pregnancy test. At this point my period was maybe two days late, and although he was enjoying the sunset and thought I was being a bit dramatic ("shouldn't you wait a week or something?") he gave in, and succumbed to an 8pm jaunt to the local drugstore. I can't imagine there's anything great about going to the drugstore to pick up a pregnancy test at any point of your life, but my inner high-schooler was downright embarrassed, and luckily I was served at the cash register by my younger sisters school friend who was probably 17 at the time. This didn't seem like a great sign, but I awkwardly made a joke while my fiancee stood hiding about 30 feet away and...

Wednesday, May 2/18 Hello! Welcome to my blog, "Prego Mego". My name is Megan, I'm 24 years old and a new mother of a little girl named Ivy. I've decided to start this blog 6 weeks post-partum because since having this baby I find I really can't talk about anything else! To give a quick summary of how I am and what my experience has been, I'm a British immigrant to Canada, married my grade 10 boyfriend, I'm a type 1 diabetic and I always knew that I wanted children. I thought I could use this blog as a journal/record of my journey with pregnancy and parenthood, and I hope you enjoy!