Me? A Mom?

I’ve never really thought of myself as the motherly type. Don’t get me wrong; babies are cute and all that. But I’ve never been drawn to them like most women are. I don’t go ga ga whenever I see a random baby.  I’ve never had baby fever. In fact, the maternal pull seems to have skipped over me entirely. Honestly? Most babies cry when I pick them up or hold them!

Something that bothers me is the whole pregnancy and childbirth thing. Watching TV and movies where women have babies is a whole dramatic mess of pain, agony and torture (SHAME ON YOU, HOLLYWOOD!). What woman wants to go through that?! Not I. Plus, being diagnosed with a chronic illness made me swear off any extra doctor visits. I’ve had enough thank you very much!

Three Years Ago

On April 15th, it will be my third colectomy anniversary. I can hardly believe so much time has passed. Being rid of an evil colon is awesome. If I had the option to do it all over again, I most certainly would. I love my j-pouch. I feel like it has given me my life back. Sure, it comes with it’s own set of problems, but seriously? It’s a lot better than being tortured by an evil, relentless colon.

Facebook has been reminding me all week with it’s little “On This Day” feature of the time just before I had my colon removed. I ran around getting stuff together, mentally preparing for surgery and cooking freezer meals. Emotional overdrive for sure! Fast forward to today…

And Baby Makes Three…

Now I’m running around getting baby stuff together. My preparations this time around are fun! Freezer meals, putting a nursery together, reading up on childbirth and labor… The emotions preparations that come with a baby, while different from surgery, are still just as real. I’m nearly 23 weeks into this pregnancy now. I can’t believe how fast the time has flown. Nerves and excitement run rampant in my house right now. It’s scary, but I keep telling myself that having a baby is not a disease and therefore it will be much different than battling a diseased colon.

My Experience Thus Far

I’ve gotten many questions since becoming pregnant. The top two are, Was it difficult to conceive? and Will you be delivering via c-section? The answer to both questions is a no.

Fertility

It was not difficult at all to conceive. Some things that may be important to note are that I’ve never used “the pill” and my husband and I have practiced natural birth control methods. Nothing against anyone using the pill, but I some of my friends have had trouble because of the pill. Plus, I’ve had enough medications in my life. I like to limit them the best I can. I’ve not had the best health, but one thing I can be thankful for is that my female organs have always functioned normally (except when I was on high doses of Prednisone).

Now, I understand that IBD can sometimes mess with a person’s ability to conceive. I know there are a few women out there with j-pouches who’ve had trouble getting pregnant. I don’t know their stories intimately, but one lovely lady I know for sure who has shared her journey is Cozzie Corinne. Be sure to check out her YouTube channel where she documents her journey. I’m sure she would be more than happy if you came to her with questions on Twitter.

Childbirth

All my life I’ve seen those horrible TV shows and movies portraying women in extreme pain, distress and utter horror when delivering babies. To Hollywood and the makers of those shows and movies, I say SHAME ON YOU! I remember one day watching one of these portrayals on TV, turning to my mom and saying, “I NEVER WANT TO HAVE BABIES. EVER.” She shook her head and assured me that it wasn’t as bad as they made it out to be. “It doesn’t hurt that badly. It is more of a burning sensation.”

This definitely gave me some comfort. Especially considering she gave birth to 5 babies, all-natural, no meds. One of those births was a home delivery with my sister, and another was in a hospital when she delivered my twin brothers. That’s right… she delivered TWO babies at once. And she also, if you’ll recall from the blog post I wrote, lives with Crohn’s and lives without some of her colon.

All Natural

My mother’s experiences inspire me to go as natural as possible, too. If she can go through all that she went through and if the childbirth experience really can be “not that bad,” then I can do it, too. Therefore, I’ve also chosen the non-surgical route. I understand that sometimes things happen and there is the possibility that I will have to deliver via c-section, but I’m doing my darnedest to avoid it. My body is designed and created to do this. And my husband is my coach and advocate. Yay!

Reflection

Upon reflection of my life three years ago, I feel extremely thankful. I feel blessed. Three years ago, I was preparing for the worst experience I was ever going to face. Now I prepare for a new chapter in my life; a new blessing. And I cannot wait to share that part of my journey with all of you. Until next time, I wish you a very Happy Easter!