Posted by:
scmd
(
)
Date: February 15, 2015 07:13AM
It surely isn't for everyone, and I feel for those for whom it's not. For me, it's as close to perfect as life will probably ever be. My chronically ill (I've come far too close to losing her her twice in the nearly seven years of our marriage) wife made it through her first pregnancy, in which almost everything that could have gone wrong did, to deliver a healthy if five-week early boy who has caught up in weight and seemingly in every other way. He is the light of our lives except to the extent that we are still the light of each others' lives.
Now here comes the shocker. Wife healed very well and quickly from her c-section. Four weeks after delivery, OBGYN gave us the green light if you get my drift, even though it was early by ordinary standards. On that night or possibly two nights later, despite three simultaneously used methods of birth control, PLUS wife was breastfeeding exclusively, baby #2 found its way to conception.
With our first pregnancy, we were dealing with hyperemesis gravidarium (the same EXTREME sickness as what Kate Middleton experienced) on top of an already chronically ill with cystic fibrosis wife who had trouble keeping on weight under the best of circumstances and had to have a gastro-nasal tube inserted to ensure a constant source of nutrition for herself and the baby throughout the last half of her pregnancy. Baby was breach, and his bead against my wife's stomach was a contributor to constant heartburn.
This time around, wife has had MORNING sickness rather than all-day sickness, as in if she stays in bed until 9:00 or so then eats a few soda crackers and downs a bit of ginger ale, she's good to go for the rest of the day. Her appetite is good. We just had the chorionic villus sampling procedure almost two weeks ago and should receive the last of the results on Monday. All signs at this stage, however, point to a very healthy little girl growing and developing in there.
Our two children (assuming all goes well with this pregnancy, we're considering that we've probably used up most of our good luck in the child-bearing department, and the world at least as we know it really is designed for a family of four, anyway, so when my wife has her Caesarean, her tubes will be tied) will most likely be less than ten months apart, as my wife will probably need to deliver just a bit early again to get back onto her regular CF meds. My mom tells me siblings are called "Irish twins" when they're born in a space of less than a year. That's what we'll have if all continues to go well.
Cystic fibrosis is an ugly illness, but advances are being made every day, and my wife is determined to kick its ugly butt. Still, we cannot know what the future has in store for us, nor can anyone, really.
So for now, we celebrated this year's Valentine's Day with joy and good cheer, though not the kind of cheer I'd ordinarily celebrate it with, as since the wife cannot imbibe, I wouldn't either on a day we're celebrating together. We hope to have many more Valentine's Days to celebrate together, but just in case we don't, we'll make the most of each one we have.
I'm working tonight, as two emergency thoracic surgeries came in, but I didn't get called in until after midnight, so I spent all of the 14th with my love and with the beautiful little product of our love.
I hope I didn't depress anyone with my story. Though it isn't guaranteed a happy ending, neither is anyone else's. Be happy when you can, I suppose, and pull yourself together the best you can and do not hesitate to lean on others during those more difficult times.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/15/2015 07:16AM by scmd.