For Unto Us a Child is Born!

Now that the newest Pierson is officially seven weeks old, I think it's about time we make our official introductions ...

[Cues "The Circle of Life"]

naaaaaa, savetnahhhhh, abbageeseeahooo

ah-hem.

...

Let's try that again.

Henry Allan Pierson

Born:

Thursday, October 30, 2014

8:43am

6 lbs, 13 oz

20.5 in

A wise person once told me that every pregnancy, labor and delivery has its own surprise. No matter how much you plan for the event and process, there are elements you cannot control. So you just have to wait, with an open mind, until you find out what your unique surprise will be. 

I think it's safe to say that my pregnancy surprise was the DVT (blood clot) that appeared at 30 weeks. After conquering that hurdle, one would think I was in the clear; how much bad luck can one person have? But I had lots of surprises headed my way: 

• a super quick labor of 3.5 hours (this is obviously a welcome surprise!)
• not feeling labor pains the way most women do (also a welcome surprise but it made it hard for the nurses to gauge my contractions, which might have contributed to how things progressed - or didn't progress - later)
• not being allowed to have an epidural due to my blood thinner medication. I wanted a natural childbirth anyway, but not even having the option to fall back on was unexpected and scary
• a long and drawn out second stage of labor - 3.5 hours of pushing!
• not having a supportive nurse or doctor for part of my delivery. It's easy to blame others, but you cannot underestimate the power of a positive birthing environment. 
• only getting five hours of sleep over the course of three nights - starting your recovery so sleep deprived is an added hurdle
• postpartum complications due to my blood clot medication that landed us back in the hospital when Henry was just 10 days old (the youngest "visitor" on the maternity floor!)
• finding out I have a genetic blood clotting disorder (Factor V and II mutations)

[above: the littlest "visitor" back on the maternity floor]

The thing is, I don't see any of these surprises as bad luck. In fact, they are part of my story that has now become Henry's story, so how can those chapters, no matter how stressful or painful, be bad? And of course there are other advantages to having gone through these experiences: 

• I've come to realize that I have a high pain tolerance. Blood clots, natural childbirth, and crazy postpartum procedures (D&C w/o meds!) are just a few of my "tests" these last few months. I don't normally boast about such things, but I think it's okay to let people know that these experiences were hard and I'm proud to have gotten through them. A.A. Milne said it best: "You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." 
• Now that my blood condition is known, other family members are able to be checked and I can take adequate precautions in the future to ensure I remain healthy and well
• Now that I'm through all of the complications, life with a newborn is relatively easy!

Of course life with a newborn really isn't "easy" per say, but mixed in with all of that hard work and sleep deprivation there is JOY! I'm the type of person who is used to accomplishing a lot with her day and checking stuff off the ol' to-do list. Sure, it's hard adjusting to a slower pace and being okay with not getting much done in any given day. But then I realize how cool it is to be something that doesn't, for a change, require you to accomplish stuff every day.

Yes, there's laundry and nursing and a huge responsibility on my hands now that I'm a mom, but I can sit inside, cozied up with my baby all day and my title doesn't change.

To become a mother:

It's kind of like magic, isn't it?