Pregnancy

I'm a mom of six. Before you spit out your coffee, take a moment to know this is me, not you. Now I'll tell you three of those babies are in heaven. Yes, I'm what is known as a Loss Mom. And it sucks more than you can possibly imagine, I don't need you to tell me how much you can't imagine. In 2014 I was 8-9 weeks pregnant when I started cramping and spotting. I called my doctor in a panic, but there was really nothing that could be done. We'd seen the baby, even it's tiny heartbeat, and over that weekend, I literally felt their life leave my body. It wreaked me. My baby died, there's no...

It was a Thursday morning, and I was scheduled to be induced the following Tuesday. I went to my Maternal Fetal Medicine appointment as usual. The ultrasound revealed Baby B was measuring a lot smaller than Baby A. When the doctor saw the babies, I knew I would be delivering them soon. I was sent directly over to Admitting to start filling out paperwork then upstairs to begin my induction. I was full of emotions….excited to meet them, anxious they wouldn’t be ok, and relieved that I wouldn’t have to be in so much pain anymore. My husband gathered all our stuff at home (luckily the majority had been packed in the “hospital bag” for a couple of weeks)...

“My body failed me during my first pregnancy. Why again?” “I take care of myself … why me?” I struggled during my pregnancy with my twins who were born at 30.1 weeks, but before that I also struggled with the birth of my first-born son. I asked tons of questions, not just those two. My first son was born on time, head down and I did not have to be wheeled back for an emergency c-section like my twins (two years later). The only problem? My epidural did not work, and I felt everything. I felt the contractions, the sharp pain, the “ring of fire” and my episiotomy because my son would not come out. I felt everything. When my doctor...

Disclosure :: This post is sponsored by Ochsner Baton Rouge.  Accepting Your Postpartum Body In today’s social media world, we are bombarded with what others are doing: what diet and exercise routines they are following, how they raise their kids, what jobs they have. This can cause many people to second guess themselves, especially moms, wondering if they should be on the same path as others. There is also a lot of pressure on moms to quickly get back to the way they looked before they had kids. Whether you gave birth yesterday or 15 years ago, your body helped bring life into this world, and that is something to be proud of and celebrated. Here are five tips to embrace your postpartum...

The journey to parenthood looks different for everyone. For some it is an unexpected surprise for others it is the culmination of years of struggle.  No matter which side of the spectrum you’re on there are a lot of unexpected emotions. For those dealing with infertility, it’s up and down, positive and negative. Infertility steals joy, sparks fear, and stokes feelings of failure and resentment. It crushes self-esteem and makes you question yourself, it pushes you down. It also teaches you to fight, and compassion and empathy, and gratitude. You feel so isolated. You feel like you’re the only one when really you’re 1 in 8. This is how I felt. Hope to Hopeless If you look at birth control statistics...