My Second Pregnancy: I Thought it Was Supposed to Be Easier Than the First!

Twenty seven years old and pregnant. I was going to have another baby. My first one was 7 years old, and was excited to be a big sister. I thought I was going to sail through my pregnancy. They always say that the second one is easier. HAH! Not for me!

It started when I had to begin Heparin injections. I have a clotting problem and they wanted to make sure that I did not get a clot or that one did not form in the placenta, which would be life threatening to me and the baby. I never gave myself a shot, and I was beyond scared. I had to be very careful because I was on blood thinners now. I couldn't do anything that might even scratch me.

I had to go 2 hours away to the specialists because nobody local would see me. I was just too high risk. Well, there goes the easy pregnancy and natural midwives I was ready for. But that was just the beginning.

It was in the third month that I developed hyper emesis. I kept nothing down and had to get infusion therapy. I was sitting in this chemo room with cancer patients getting 3 bags of fluid for my baby. Emotions were high and I was scared. Not a great place for me. After that, it got easier, but I was still nauseous all the time. Just another joy of pregnancy, I guess. The hyper emesis continued until my fifth month.

I was selling my house and buying a new one, so that was an added stress. We moved into a small cabin, and I mean SMALL! There was no stove. But we were going to have a great time grilling every night! Let me tell you, it got old, FAST!

At 7 months pregnant I was dumping sugar into my urine. Not a good sign. So, I went for a test and it was positive for gestational diabetes. After a few days of monitoring my sugar, the doctor decided that I was insulin dependent. More shots, GREAT! Now, I was already on Heparin twice a day and checking my sugar twice a day. We were going to add insulin four to six times a day. I cried. My aunt was with me at the doctor that day. She smiled and told me it was ok. I still think she was scared for me and my baby. Things were not looking great for us. A lot of the things I was supposed to eat, I couldn't. We were still in the cabin and had no stove. My attorney kept telling me just a few more days. We had been in the cabin for over a month by then and I was eight months pregnant.

My sugar was always high, and it was time for the insulin. I cried. I was so scared. My boyfriend, who had been injecting the Heparin almost every time said he would do it. But I was so afraid that my sugar would crash. But he did it and I was ok. In fact I was feeling better.

There was a big field in front of the cabin and my daughter and boyfriend were out playing in it. I was feeling ok so I put the dog on his leash and walked him out to see them. Bad choice. My dog is a Saint Bernard and he pulled on me. At first I thought I just pulled a muscle. But a few hours later when we were eating out, I was having contractions. It was a month early and we weren't in our house yet! Thank goodness, they stopped them, and told me to rest for the next few days.

My next appointment was another fright. The baby was breech and there was too much amniotic fluid around her. Now, I was going to have to make the two hour trip once a week to be monitored. The doctor never looked panicked. But I was. An ultrasound when you are pregnant is considered to be a gift. You get to see your baby. I got to see mine once a week, and it was always scary. Because it was not for fun, it was to make sure she was alive and I was not making too much fluid. After a week, the decided I needed to come in twice a week because of the risk and complications.

We set a date to be induced, and we finally closed on the house, 12 days before the closing. Clean freak that I have become, we were unpacked and clean before the day I went to the hospital.

My boyfriend was by my side. They did one last ultrasound and were ready to induce. Six hours or so, they tell me. They insert a small pill to start contractions. For two hours I have irregular weak contractions. My mother and daughter show up and hug me. The doctors give me pitocin and the contractions quickly get worse but I am still not getting past 4 centimeters. After eight hours of a natural labor, no drugs, the doctor breaks my water. She and the nurse stare in amazement at how much comes out. I told you, the doctor tells the nurse, there was too much.

An hour after that, I can no longer take it without drugs. Morphine, however, made me a very mean person. I hit and yelled at my boyfriend, a lot. It had been 10 hours and I was exhausted and in pain. Every hour, depending on my sugar levels, I was given IV glucose or given an insulin injection. I had a urine catheter in and an internal monitor. I had boots that inflated every few minutes because of the risk of clots since I had to stop Heparin the day before labor. I was hooked up to so many machines.

Another hour passes and I get the epidural. It never made the pain go away. It made the contractions feel shorter, but just as intense. I keep telling them it is time to push. The time finally comes. I push for about ten minutes and the doctor tells me to lie on my side and close my legs. Because I am so high risk, I have to deliver in the operating room. I was excited, my baby was going to be placed on my belly and my boyfriend was going to cut the cord. She was going to come out healthy and pink.

In the operating room, there were so many people. There was a pediatrician, four or five nurses, my doctor, and a few interns. I was at a large teaching hospital because of the high risk status, so these people were there to learn. The baby came out and she was whisked away. Never on my belly and the doctor cut the cord. Too high risk. Have to check her sugar.

The next day she was sent to the NICU, she had spinal taps and all kinds of tests. Turns out she wasn't ready for life outside yet. Her sugar was too low. I was discharged but never left. I stayed in the NICU and nursed my baby every chance I got.

We were 2 hours away, so family couldn't really make it. I had no cards, no balloons, and I was so alone and afraid. I got lots of calls, but it wasn't the same. It was very different than my first baby. With her, everyone came to visit and I had a pretty room with balloons, cards, and teddy bears. But we were ok and came home after six days. She is now almost two and is very healthy and happy.

I still wonder who decided that the second baby was easier than the first.

My first baby had only one complication, toxemia. I was in eight hours of early, not too painful labor and then a little over four hours of hard labor, with 45 minutes of pushing. The second one came with MANY complications and I was in early labor for 2 hours, then hard labor for 10 and ½ hours, pushing for almost 30 minutes.

I don't know what happened, but my second pregnancy, labor, delivery, and recovery were harder and longer!

Go figure.