Megan & Eve’s Birth Story

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• Due date: 8/24/20
• Birthdate: 8/16/20
• Gained 50 lbs
• Found out in December 2020
  • Little did we know what was in store for the next year…
• First trimester was really hard
  • Tired, but you have to chase after the other kid
  • Depressed
    • On anxiety meds and thyroid meds
• Pandemic started and Sebastian couldn’t come to any appointments
  • Luckily, he got to come to the first one
  • I was lucky that I didn’t have to give birth at the beginning of COVID
• In the wee hours of the 16th, I woke up suddenly at 3:47am
  • Started off like a pang
  • Morphed into period-like cramps
  • I texted Sebastian (who was sleeping in the basement at the time because I was SO uncomfortable sleeping) and he was randomly awake at that time too
  • I started tracking what I believed to be contractions
• Went to the bathroom and was leaking
  • Called the doctor hotline
  • While I was waiting for the doctor on call to call me back, we started getting ready as if we were going to the hospital
  • As I put on a pair of leggings my water broke in earnest
    • Heard back from the doctor who said to come in
• His parents came over around 5am to wait for Marin to wake up
• I ordered Dunkin to pick up on the drive into the city, but I selected the wrong one…bye, $30
• Leaked amniotic fluid in the street in front of the valet attendant
• Got my first COVID test in triage
  • SO PAINFUL I instinctively pushed the nurse’s hand away
  • Thankfully I didn’t have to wear a mask during labor
• The second time around was so chill
  • Got my epidural, watched TV
  • Pushed for 10 minutes and she was out at 2:20pm
• Got to go home the very next day after Eve was evaluated by her pediatrician
• My mom drove over while I was in labor and stayed for a couple days
• The newborn phase, while still exhausting, was “easier” the second time because we had the knowledge and the instincts already
• Twelve weeks later, I was getting a pain in my back
  • I thought it was from exercise
  • Looking back I also had shortness of breath, some pain while breathing, which I thought was from anxiety over baby sleep
• One morning on a Saturday in November around 5am, I had to go downstairs because I was yelping with pain and I didn’t want to wake the baby
  • I decided to go to urgent care
  • I couldn’t take in a full breath
  • A nurse said she thought it was a pulmonary embolism and I should go to the ER right away
    • I didn’t believe that was it and asked if I could stop for food first
    • I got Chick fil A
• Got checked out and ran some tests and turned out I had clots in both lungs and some lung damage from overcompensation
• Shared a room with a lovely woman named Joan
  • She was facing the TV, but I had a view of a big pond
  • My in-laws brought over my iPad, headphones, charger and other essentials
  • My mom came over the next day
• I had a lung cramp that night and I couldn’t breathe, it was so scary
  • Joan offered to hold my hand
  • Tylenol fixed it
• Got to come home after a few days
  • Had to wait for a heart ultrasound that they didn’t do on weekends
  • Took blood thinners for 4 months, very expensive
• Really set me back in terms of postpartum recovery
  • Have to be vigilant for the rest of my life
• If I were to get pregnant again, I would have to take a blood thinner shot every day
  • Pretty much solidified that this is our last child
• But the newborn phase, while difficult, was also easier
  • You know what you’re doing
  • You’re more confident
  • You have what you need
  • We couldn’t go anywhere due to the pandemic, but also because of newborn phase
• Marin was jealous, but pretty good with the baby
  • It took her a while to want to help or play with her

Here’s a link to the funny Tina Fey video about having teenage daughters.