Archives for August 2022

I’ve officially been a mom for 48 hours, and let me tell you…

It’s been absolutely amazing. I welcomed my little boy into this world on the 16th. He’s the most perfect little 8 lb ball of baby I’ve ever seen in my life. He’s adorable and I know I’m biased because I’m his mother, but he really is.

I’ve tried my hardest to keep it real with you guys since I found out I was pregnant, and I intend to do the same thing as I walk this journey of single motherhood. My first 48 hours have been a whirlwind of emotions for me. I believe they’re like that for every mom after having a baby because of the major hormone surges and shifts. It’s an experience for sure.

First of all, everyone is right – you will not sleep. However, not sleeping while pregnant is completely different from not sleeping with a newborn. I can’t exactly say one is worse than the other. They both have their own complications. I think I’ve slept maybe 8 hours total in the last 48 hours. I’m exhausted and my body is definitely feeling it. And while we’re on the subject of my body – it feels like I just ran a marathon or spent 2 days in the gym with no breaks. My thighs, butt, and ab muscles are all sore and my lower back hurts. For the past 24 hours I’ve felt like I could eat everything in sight which is so different from pregnancy where I could hardly eat anything. I’m thirsty all the time. It’s just so interesting to me how quickly things change. I can pee like a normal human again and I don’t have to go every 15 minutes. My belly is mine again. My mind is in a complete fog. I can’t think straight and sometimes my sentences really don’t make any sense whatsoever. I have cried a lot in the last 24 of the 48 hours. It’s very unlike me.

Eventually I’ll share my birth story with you guys, but I need some time to get settled in with my little guy first. I think it’s an interesting story considering I’m a labor and delivery nurse. I had to share it with some of my nurse friends because some parts were just too weird to be true. My little guy is sleeping right now as I write this and I wanna take the opportunity to sleep as well, so I’m going to finish this out. You guys have a great day.

Xoxo,

Ash, RN

I’m still pregnant!!!

By the time you guys see this post I will have been in labor for almost 30 hours. First babies are no joke. I have every intention on sharing my entire birth story with you guys, but today is not that day. It’s been a rough 30 hours filled with some interesting stories. I can’t wait to share how different my experience has been as the patient compared to what life was like as the nurse.

Anyways!!! I’ve been with my parents at their house since I was discharged from the hospital yesterday. M is still trying to finish up some last minute work projects while we’re still in this stage of early labor since we have no idea how long it will last. So far, the experience has been like nothing I’ve ever dealt with before. It’s definitely got me rethinking how many kids I actually want 😂.

I think this is going to be it for now. I’m going to continue to try to rest in between these painful contractions. The next time I post should be with a brand new baby in my arms 🥰. Enjoy your Monday everyone!!

Xoxo,

Ash, RN

Yes, I’m still pregnant.

I’m 39 weeks today and my child seems to have no interest in vacating the premises. I’m hoping that he decides to make his grand entrance this week. I was for tomorrow so he could have 8/8 as his birthday, but I guess he has his own plans. I don’t really have much to share with this post. I’m just waiting semi-patiently for my little guy. I’m having more contractions though which I think is a good sign. My dog is becoming even more clingy which also makes me wonder if things are going to happen soon.

Either way, I’m hoping this week is it. I really just wanna meet my little guy face to face. I plan on continuing to do all the things this week to help encourage him to come out, but if he’s anything like his mama he’ll come when he’s good and ready.

All prayers and well wishes for a speedy and safe labor and delivery would be appreciated. Healthy mom, healthy baby is all we’re hoping for 💙.

Xoxo,

Ash, RN

38 WEEKS!!!

I’m not going to lie to you guys – I seriously hope this is my last post of this pregnancy. I would love for my next post to be about my first few days of motherhood, but we’ll see how it goes. I’m hoping to have this little guy out before next Monday, but babies do what they want. So, I’ll do what I can on my end and just hope that he cooperates on his end.

As far as getting ready for my little guy’s arrival – his nursery is somewhat finished. I just have some clothes to put away; it’s mostly small pieces like socks, hats, and onesies. All of his little pacifiers and things like that need to go away. That’s mainly what is on the agenda for tomorrow. I’ve pretty much accepted the fact that his nursery doesn’t and probably won’t look like what I had always imagined my first child’s nursery would look like. But after all, that seems to be the theme of this entire situation. Nothing about it looks the way I thought it would or has gone the way I planned, but it’s okay. I’ve had a healthy pregnancy and I’m hoping to have a healthy and safe delivery.

In other news…

My cousin and his wife (who are currently stationed in Germany) just had their second child – a baby boy named Henson Lee. He is the absolute cutest thing. He looks just like my cousin did as a baby, but their first son looks just like my cousin too so it was to be expected. It’s exciting but also very sad because I actually never got to meet their first son. While they were stationed at Fort Rucker my entire family drove down to Alabama to visit and I didn’t go. The coco loco was still a big thing and I was at the hospital working at least five days a week, so going on a trip in a 15-passenger van with my family (a few of whom are considered members of the high risk population due to health issues) was just not the move. Now my cousin and his wife have had their second child, and they’re all the way in Germany. I think they’ll be there for another year so it’ll be a while before I get to meet those kiddos, but I’ll have a little cousin to introduce them to when it’s time.

This past weekend my other cousin (who happens to be the older brother of the cousin mentioned above) and his girlfriend had a gender reveal. They’re expecting their first child in December, and it’s a boy 💙💙💙. I have to admit – I’m still a little upset about that because I really wanted it to be a girl. For this particular cousin…I needed him to have a girl, but no. It’s a boy and I am super happy for them. His name will be Vincenzo – super Italian, but I would expect nothing less from my cousin’s very Italian girlfriend. I love it. As if a gender reveal wasn’t enough to celebrate on Saturday, my cousin also proposed. It was the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen and she was super surprised. I can’t wait to celebrate everything with them.

Our family just keeps growing in the best possible ways. It’s truly a blessing. At some point I hope to be able to share more pictures on here, but not without everyone’s consent. At 38 weeks, I’m having all kinds of symptoms similar to what I had in my first trimester and today is one of those days where it’s a bit worse than others. That’s why this post is super late today. But like M continues to remind me, it’s almost over. Even in the midst of being and feeling the way that I do in this moment, I’m still grateful for this kiddo moving around in my belly and he is MOVING! Y’all stay cool in this heat; I’m going to get some rest.

Xoxo,

Ash, RN