Friday, December 7, 2012

Termie after a Preemie

I'm back!  I haven't blogged for a long time because I was growing a baby!  Rhys was born 14th November at 38 1/2 weeks weighing in at 7lbs 2oz.  I would have chronicled our pregnancy, but for the first and second trimesters I didn't want to talk about it too much.  I was hopeful that the baby would make it past 28 weeks, but there was a high probability we would have another preemie this time around too. 

Having a full-term baby after a preemie is such an incredibly healing experience.  We held our breath, waiting to reach certain milestones.  We went about our normal everyday life for the first 20 weeks.  The doctor said I would probably be on bedrest anytime after 20 weeks, so I just willed myself to get there.  There was no, 'This week your child is the size of a fig' excitement.  I actually hardly read or thought about anything to do with babies until we reached the end of the second trimester.  We were so relieved and shocked when we reached 28 weeks.  To think that this baby was staying in there longer than Lydia had, and would be bigger too!

Experiencing the third trimester was truly wonderful.  It was such a healing process and I enjoyed every bit of it.  I don't think I was as uncomfortable as many pregnant people seem to be.  I thought it was incredibly funny that complete strangers would approach me and ask when the baby was due.  At least I didn't look like I had gotten greedy and put on a ton of weight!  People would also say, 'Oh, you have a girl?  Well then you know what to expect!' and I'd really want to tell them that I had no idea what to expect as we were in unchartered territory! 

Now, I have a beautiful baby boy at home.  We're all adjusting to a different routine and schedule, but it's a termie routine and schedule.  There's nothing like it.  It's hard to describe how much easier it is to be present with my baby when there's not the constant worry and stress of what tomorrow will bring. 

 
Lydia described it the best.  She said, 'Rhys is home!  Now we're a whole family!'  We're so incredibly lucky and I can't believe I have TWO kiddos at home :)  LOVE!