How 3 became 4

After my first experience with labor and delivery i was very hesitant to have any more kids. One day my husband came home after seeing his Captains new baby girl and asked when we were going to have another baby (im sure he will deny this story) James was 2 years old. I was not really ready when he had first asked, but i thought about it and went of birth control. Travus was conceived in February of 2008.

4 months along with Travis

So this pregnancy went a little differently. I was seen by civilian doctors and they knew my past labor and delivery didn't go very smooth. I was considered high risk this time around. The doctors in Greenville thought I had something called H.E.L.L.P. syndrome. that is where your blood pressure gets very high and your blood platelets pop. Its a severe case of toxemia, or pre-eclampcia. I did not think that what I had because I never had protein in my urine, nor did I have high blood pressure. But that's the only way they could explain what was happening to my body while pregnant.

This time around I was very nauseous during my first trimester. I was always tired and having to lay down because of how sick I always felt. When i was 8 weeks along we made a trip to CA and went on Matthew Uncles boat, that was a mistake. Everyone had a blast, being sea sick and having morning sickness is not a fun time for a preggo! that firs trimester passed quickly thank goodness, and I started to feel great again! Since I was high risk I had more doctor appointments, and more ultrasounds, which I was very ok with! It was nice to hear the heartbeat and see your baby more often then most.

Travis and his little hand

3D is a little creepy, but still cute of Travis

This time around I was not reading things on the internet about pregnancy, and i was not reading books. I stayed very far away from that stuff, and if I had a question about anything I would call my nurse. I recommend this to all mommies to be and mommies. Its a lot worse to look things up online and read about horror stories of what could be wrong, and what the symptoms mean, and what could happen. It will put your mind at ease to speak with a real professional. So at one of my ultrasounds, I believe I was 30 weeks, they had told me that Travis kidneys were measuring a little larger then normal. Normally I would go onto the internet and research what could be wrong, but I refrained from doing so. I spoke with the doctor on what he thought could be the problem, and what the outcome would be if they continued to grow large. At the next ultrasound the kidneys were perfectly normal, so this was a great relief!

Cute James having to be in the pictures! me at 6 months along pregnant with Travis

4 months along with Travis

Me as big as a house pregnant with Travis the day before I went in to get induced

    Time went on and of course my blood platelets started to drop, the doctor said that at 38 weeks I would be induced. My platelets were at 119,000 when I was admitted. This time around I was very excited to have an epidural! I was admitted the night before on November 19th, I was given a sleeping pill, and i was woken up at 5 am to start my pitocine. At 6am is when everything was pretty much set and my IV was started. I was already at 3 CM so i was hoping for a bit faster labor this time around. The contractions weren't as bad in the beginning this time around, I think it was because it was a little bit more of a relaxed setting. At 9am the doctor came in and broke my water, that is when it really starts to hurt. I asked for the epidural about 20 minutes after they broke my water but they needed to do a blood test just to make sure my platelets were still good. So that took a very long hour and the results were great! I got my epidural. I was on cloud 9. I hear lots of people talk bad about moms who get the epidural. Im sorry but you do what you want, and make sure you are happy doing it!! I had 2 labors without and epidural, and I would take that epidural any day! If you feel its a sign of weakness, then so be it! As soon as I got that epidural i went to sleep, at 2:45 i felt pressure and they got me all set up to push, i pushed 3 times and that baby was out!!!! 3:12pm we had a sweet baby boy.I could not have been more happy with this pregnancy or labor.

Travis Michael born November 20 2008 7Lbs 12oz 20 in