Families logo

What You Don't Expect When You Become a Mom

When entering motherhood, you can prepare by reading books, blogs, and other materials to help you bring a life into this world. But nothing can prepare you for bringing your baby into this world before it's supposed to be here.

By Kayla Willis DupontPublished 6 years ago 2 min read
Like
My son, only a day after he was born

When I got pregnant the first time two years ago, I had no idea what to expect from motherhood. Most people have everything planned to the "T" and have a "perfect" pregnancy. Me? I took it one day at a time. I downloaded an app to track the baby's growth and checked out a women's center with the idea of using a midwife and no drugs and being able to labor a little more "freely" than in a hospital. As my belly grew, so did my anticipation. Around the beginning of the third trimester, women usually go in to take a glucose test to check for gestational diabetes. I never got to take mine.

At the time, I was working at a fast-paced, well known, southern, food chain. The day I turned 31 weeks, I started feeling period-like cramping in my abdomen. One of my coworkers made me drink lots of water and sent me home to rest in case of Braxton-Hicks contractions (the fake contractions that occur in many pregnancies). After being home for a couple of hours I realized the contractions were growing in intensity. So I did what anybody else would do—I Googled "Braxton-Hicks vs. real contractions," and after reading two sources I immediately called my OB office. The secretary who answered my call couldn't get a hold of ANY of the nurses—which does not calm down a panicky first time mom who doesn't know what's happening to her or why. It was hours before I got a call back from them, and they advised I come in to the hospital immediately. My husband luckily had the day off and drove me as quickly as he could without getting pulled over. I laid in the passenger seat in agony every couple of minutes.

After getting triaged in Labor and Delivery, (which was a trick itself because there were no wheelchairs nearby, forcing me to walk) a nurse came in to check how dilated I was—and I was promptly whisked away to a delivery room (later, after I asked what I had been dilated to, the nurse told me I had been a nine). Getting stuck with needles and having to read and sign a rights form while my body was trying to expel my under-developed baby boy was extremely infuriating to say the least. Finally it was time to push.

When they say, "Your body knows what to do, you'll know when to push," they aren't lying. It only took one and he was here. The few seconds it took to hear him cry were agonizing. But it was the most beautiful sound in the world to me. They took him straight away, I didn't get to even see him right away. While I was busy in labor, my husband had contacted my family for me and my grandparents, mom, and my brother were all anxiously waiting to hear what was happening. After they took our son away to be weighed (3 lbs, 7 oz), my mom and my husband were able to see him briefly in the nursery. The first view I got of my first born was on a phone screen. This was by far the part I hated the most- still do to this day. As I'm typing this, I have to hold back tears. The second, was of him intubated and strapped into an isolette for ambulance transport another 30-45 minutes away—the closest Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to us at University of Tennessee, Knoxville. And that is where my journey as a NICU mom begins.

pregnancy
Like

About the Creator

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.