Pregnancy... What in the World Am I Getting Myself into?

Great post! I will be watching. My hubby and I are having the same conversation.

Did you try to get pregnant or just happen to stumble upon it?
My hubby and I didn't plan our pregnancy but it was definitely a pleasant surprise.

How did you find out that you were pregnant (did you have any symptoms before you took the test)?
I found out I was pregnant after feeling just a little "icky" for a couple of days. I was a tad bit nauseous and my manager told me flat out, "your pregnant!" lol I was in denial but she told me to go to the Dollar Tree & get a pregnancy tests... [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] she swore they were accurate! My hunny and I went and bought 2(just to be sure) and sure enough it came out positive, both of them. Seriously though, how accurate could a $1 pregnancy test be. So we head to WalMart and buy a real pregnancy test(2 just to be sure lol). I come home and take one and it says NEGATIVE... I was sad [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] because although we didn't plan it the idea of being pregnant had already gotten me excited. I wait to take the next one in the morning(your first urination of the day is supposed to be best). That test is in between ( 1 1/2 lines show up) [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] WTH!? So we go get 2 more $1 tests...both positive! OMG...I can't take the inconsistency. We go to the Dr. and find out we are indeed pregnant and I was 7 weeks in. YES!! We were happy to say the least!

How did you tell your SO that you were expecting?
There was no way I could keep it a secret from home so he was with me through everything except when I was peeing on the stick or in the cup lol

How was your pregnancy?
I had a super easy pregnany although I dealt with placenta previa early on but it fixed itself. Hubby and I had to abstain from any baby making activity for 6 weeks. He wasn't too pleased but it was for the safety of me and baby so he was cool lol.

I had a low risk pregnancy once we got past the placenta previa. It was so low risk I decided to have our baby at home. (We didn't find out the sex until he was born--my decision, not hubbys) He was delivered happy and healthy at home via midwives and we've been loving him up ever since July 9th!

Any advice that you would like to share would be soooo much appreciated.
Envision the kind of birth you want and make it happen! Don't listen to all the horror stories that people will undoubtedly try to tell you because every pregnancy is different. Always try to stay positive because its believed baby can feel our negative energy and the only thing baby needs to be worried about in utero is "baking" fully and coming out as healthy as possible.

I'd also like to HIGHLY recommend Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth. Its full of birth stories and information that is simply inspiring and informative. I typed up my birth story if you care to read it just let me know.

PS. If you can't tell I love all things babies(pregnancy, breastfeeding, infants, toddlers, etc. ) [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] I'm thinking about training to be a doula.

Your very welcome. Here's my birth story. I was going to send it in a message but thought I would share it with whom ever wanted to read it also. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] I've been meaning to go over it with my hubby to see if there's anything I left out seeing as though he saw everything while I was actually going through it.

Birth of Taj

I went to bed on Wednesday, July 8th not feeling any different than I
had felt in previous days. The spotting had stopped and I had
reconciled that our little one was on his own time and any superstition
that may have applied before went out the window. I woke up at
4:40am with what I thought could’ve just been some cramping but noticed
that it was a pain that wasn’t constant. It came and went, came and
went, and after a few of these I started to time them. They were about
7 minutes apart. I decide that maybe NOW would be a good time to take a
shower because they definitely weren’t cramps and within the next
however many hours we would have a baby!! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]:

The shower felt heavenly and I figured that I would be able to endure
for a while before we needed to call our midwife. After getting out the
shower I wake my snoozing hunny and let him know that I am having
contractions. He gets up and starts to rub my back which worked
wonders. The constant pressure on my lower back was nice. I call my
sister and let her know that I am having what I think are contractions
because I wanted at least one person in my family to know that our baby
would be here soon. My hunny jumped in the shower so he could wash out
the tub for me to labor in. Our tub is big enough that I didn’t find it
necessary to rent one or buy a pool.

The contractions are still coming and my sister calls back around
6:20am to see how I’m doing. She asked how far apart my contractions
were and I tell her 5 minutes. She’s like, “You should probably go
ahead and call your midwife.” I hear her husband in the back ground
say, “5 minutes!!!!” So my hunny calls one of our midwives who says
she’s on the way. While we wait for her to arrive I am laboring both in
the bed and on the toilet. That toilet was working wonders ladies!! My
babe is rubbing my back constantly. Cortney(one of our midwives)
finally arrives and asks me the usual questions. She listens to the
babys heartbeat and begins to time several of my contractions to see if
they are constant because they began to become irregular going from 7
minutes, to 5 minutes, to 3 minutes. After she timed a few contractions
I decided that it was time to get my butt in the water. The
contractions instantly felt better after I got in the water. After
being in the bathtub for quite some time my hunny comes in with
the camcorder and ONLY because the contractions aren’t kicking my butt
do I let him film me. So Cortney listens to the babys heartbeat again
while I’m in the water and he’s still doing well. She sits on the
bathroom floor and times some more contractions. I’ve avoided having
her check to see how far dilated I am up until this point because I
didn’t want to be disappointed if I was still in the same place an hour
later.

After I get out the tub I’m again laboring back and forth between the
toilet and our bed. I found that leaning over the side of the bed and
having my hunny rub my back felt good. I was starting to feel quite
tired and I hadn’t even done much work in the sense that it hadn’t been a
hard labor. I wanted to try to lay down in the bed and labor but it
didn’t feel comfortable at all. So more time passes and the
contractions are getting closer together and more intense. We decide
its finally time to check to see how dilated I am. This was pretty damn
uncomfortable to say the least and caused the one of the WORST
contractions that I had. She says, “You’re 5cm dilated.” I say, “YES!”
and raise my hand to the maternal GODDESSES watching over me. I had no
way of knowing how fast I would get to 10cm but 5cm sure sounded nice
right then.

Within the hour it was time to migrate to the bed in our guest bedroom
where all the stuff was setup. Cortney had previously told me to let
her know when it felt like I had to poop but couldn’t and I’ll be
damned if that’s not exactly what it felt like. lol I was back in the water
when that urge to poop hit me so I lifted my butt up and leaned over
the side of the tub. I said, “Baby go tell Cortney I feel like I have
to go the bathroom.” She comes in and smiles and tells me I can get out
of the tub after the current contraction stops. I get out of the tub
and go to our bed where I have another contraction before going to the
guest room.

Here is where the magic happens!! Lol I continue to get hit with
contractions and still feel like I have to poop. My water has yet to
break and I’m pushing. First push, my water bag makes an appearance.
Second push, my water bag makes an even bigger appearance and you can
see the baby as well. Third push, my water bag bursts (it got on my
hunny) and out comes our baby’s head. With one more immediate push my
baby is here and his cry was music to my ears. He was born at 11:07
weighing 6lbs 3 oz. and measuring at 19 inches.

I went from 5cm to 10cm within a hour! (Apparently that’s not expected
of a first timer) I went through the motions of labor as if I were on
my second child according to all 3 of my midwives. The 3rd midwife to
arrive who was actually the “main” midwife got to our house as soon as
Taj made his appearance. She was in awe. They didn’t expect that I
would deliver so quickly. My perineum stayed in tact. YES!! I did have
2 small labia tears but no stitching or anything was necessary. They
are healed nicely. Our baby is growing beautifully. Mommy and Daddy
are beaming with excitement!! Our [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] was born!

Such an amazing story! you make it seem like it was quick fast and in a hurry! i don' thave any kids so i don't have any experiences to share but still wanted to say something! LOL

@pnuttie...Thank you. I didn't know what to expect but I knew what I wanted. Speaking it into existence was big for me. I tried to stay as positive as possible bc I'll tell ya...people tried to tell me some horror stories. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

@Naturalnurse... [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] I'm too dark to blush lol. I share my story partly because my midwife told me I should and partly because all too often people will only tell you the bad/scary things that can/do happen. WHO WANTS TO HEAR THAT?! lol Its crazy. I'll gladly be your muse.

I didn't do anything it just happened...twice.

LuvMeLuvMyFro wrote:I didn't do anything it just happened...twice.

Oh you did something! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

LOL yes, it's definitely one of the many great things about having a baby!

My husband and I have been talking about getting pregnant for months now but we just felt that it wasn't the right time. Now, the desire is stronger and we are also thinking more about making it happen.
I stopped the bc pills a few months ago because my body didn't like them and am happy I did since I am on a all-natural/vegetarian journey. I can't wait to be pregnant! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Us too !!! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] we're also thinking early 2010 to start trying.
Thanks and good luck to you too!!!

1. Did you try to get pregnant or just happen to stumble upon it?
- My ex-husband did plan it... I didn't...
2. How did you find out that you were pregnant (did you have any symptoms before you took the test)?
- I knew I was preggers as soon as I got up. Yes...really I just knew.
3. How did you tell your SO that you were expecting?
- He didn't believe me when I originally told him he got me preggers so I dropped it. I wanted to believe that I was overreacting, but I wasn't. My period was MIA and then I started feeling bad. So I took a pregnancy test at the clinic. The nurse said that was the fastest response she's ever seen. So that night I took the paper to him after I got off work...to prove my point. He's only response was, "Oh did I do that"...ummm yeah!
4. How was your pregnancy?
- While I was preggers I thought it was ok - I was young and didn't know all that I know now. I was sick and didn't know it. My son was born at 28 weeks, weighted 2.6 lbs and was in the hospital for 3 1/2 months. It wasn't easy at all, but now he's a healthy 13 year old who just ran his first marathon last June. He has had some delays from his prematurity, but overall he is a normal 13 year old. you couldn't look at him and tell he was so close to not making it on many of nights.
5. Any advice that you would like to share would be soooo much appreciated.
- Sisters take care of yourself now, during your pregnancy, and between your pregnancies. Don't hide from chronic diseases that you have or are proned to have. Educate yourself so that you can advocate for yourself. And breastfeed, breastfeed, and breastfeed! As a result of having my son I became a breastfeeding counselor/advocate, providng support specifically to African American families. We don't take advantage of the benefits that we were created with and we are hurting ourselves and our babies. If you don't feel like you're getting support from your healthcare provider find someone else to help you regardless of the issue. Get a second opinion, do your own research, but whatever you do don't ignore that small voice in your heart. If you feel like something is wrong address it. If you need breastfeeding support find it - I'll help you! Also, I would advocate to going the natural route as much as you possibly can. From my research the benefits are numerous. Of course, if you're dealing with serious medical issues a good midwife will help you with a birthing plan that is safest for you and your baby.

Lastly, remember that we are wonderful creations. Don't sell yourself short in any area especially childbirth and breastfeeding. I agree invision the birth you want to have and invision being the parent you want to be. If you wanto breastfeed see it for yourself. you can do it!

Did you try to get pregnant or just happen to stumble upon it?
My son was definitely not planned. I was waiting for my health insurance at my new job to kick in so that I could get on birth control (guess I hadnt heard of condoms LOL). Anyway, literally one week prior to my insurance kicking in I found out I was pregnant.

How did you find out that you were pregnant (did you have any symptoms before you took the test)?
I honestly had no clue until my cycle was late, and even once it was late I was hoping and praying it would come because I was having menstrual like cramps. After being about a week late I finally took a test and it was positive. Turns out those cramps were my body and my baby growing.

How did you tell your SO that you were expecting?
It was early in the morning and I was getting ready for work, he was still asleep. I woke him up and told him. Nothing cute or romantic, I was in shock and had to share.

How was your pregnancy?
I had a typical pregnancy. I loved being pregnant in hindsight but there were parts of it that sucked, but it went with the territory. The end result made up for the hard parts. I was nauseous for most of the first trimester, had a normal problem free second trimester and had back pain and pressure in my vaginal area for 1/2 of the third so it sounds horrible but really its not that bad. I had a text book "what to expect when you're expecting" experience.

Any advice that you would like to share would be soooo much appreciated.
My advice would be to know what you want in advance and stick to it. I wanted a natural birth (no drugs, no c-section, etc etc). Well I labored at home for 8hrs and while the contractions were uncomfortable they were manageable. Once I got to the hospital the nurses immediately insisted I get an epidural. I declined the first time but after the second insistance I gave in and got it and ended up needing a c-section. I believe if I hadnt given in and allowed my body to do what it needed to do I couldve avoided the c-section.
Also I loved breastfeeding but the first week was painful, so I say know that the first week will be hard but the pain will go away and the bonding time will soon become enjoyable.

I honestly cant wait to finish school so I can have another baby. Good luck to you and your hubby.