Christopher Matthew Valero was born on May 9, 2017 at 1:03 pm, weighing 7 pounds 12 ounce with a length on 20 inches. And I have to confess, I enjoyed the entire process. This is because it went so smoothly. I was fully expecting all the things that other moms warn you about: misery, pain, trauma, horrifying, awful, excruciating...just to name a few. Especially being that he was my first. But contrary to their stories, mine was good. It was actually a fairly pleasant, and dare I say, peaceful process.
Finding Out
Well it turns out that even if you are on the pill, following it to the t (taking it at the same exact time EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.-making sure you never miss one), you can still fall in the 0.01% of women who get pregnant! And that's what happened to me. So obviously getting pregnant was not even crossing mind at the time. But when I realized that my monthly friend, who came around at the same time without missing a beat, didn't make her arrival, I knew right away that I was pregnant.
So after a week of being late I decided to share with my husband (at the time my boyfriend). I did a weird cry-laugh, because as I told him I realized that we were only nineteen, living with his mom, me working at Keva Juice while being a full-time student, and him just being fired from the job he had. So how we're we going to afford a baby when I could barely afford the gas in my truck? But he was amazing. He just grabbed me, smiled, and told me that he already knew! Then we went out to buy multiple tests from multiple brands. Six to be exact. And guess what? Every test came out negative!
BUT I had all the symptoms-nausea, sore boobs, swollen gums, weight gain, and a nonexistent period. At this point I started turning into a hypochondriac, thinking that there must be some other underlying disease going on then, right? So I decided to go see my primary care physician who directed me to an ultrasound and blood drawn.
And on September 14, 2016, I first laid eyes on my little surprise. Who was displayed immediately on that black and white screen. I was only five weeks at the time, which explained the negative tests...it was just way too early to tell!
Telling Family and Friends
We decided to actually keep the information to ourselves for a few weeks. I wanted to get to an actual OBGYN for my first appointment, which was around 8 weeks of gestation, to make sure there was an actual heartbeat before sharing with the rest of the world. And when it was time to share, I was so damn scared!
I came from a family where you're supposed to get married, then have the kids. I was supposed to finish college first and do all the things that I wanted to before settling down. Let alone with a guy I had just gotten back together with just a few months ago. But that wasn't how things turned out.
So we told his family first. Turns out they had already known, being that we lived with them and you could hear EVERYTHING going on there. Including my throwing up day and night for more than any actual sick person would. Of course they weren't happy with how young we were, but they made sure that we knew that we were going to be supported no matter what.
And for my family? Well it was a totally different story in the beginning. My mom was a young mom herself with having my sister at eighteen. And where I thought she would be more understanding with it, she was actually more disappointed than I anticipated. Although we did catch her at the absolute wrong time when we did tell her. Then I had to tell the other more important people in my life, my grandparents. My grandma was the same as my mom, offering her support along with disappointment, but my grandpa offered just disappointment. He was furious. To the point where he voiced his opinion in the option of adoption. And understandably I was hurt. I didn't talk to my family for a few months. And it was emotionally draining!
Sure, it's nice to have my husbands family on my side, but it isn't nice when it's not your own damn family. But after giving them time and space they all came around to it. My mom began to tell other family and friends, and my grandpa gave up the notion of me not keeping the baby. And from there on, it has been nothing but happiness for me, my family, and for my baby. As for everyone else, they found out from this picture on my Instagram.
IT'S A...BOY!
Fast forward to December 23rd - the day of the anatomy scan! At first we wanted to keep it a secret to do a full-blown gender reveal in front of all of our families. You know? The new norm for having a baby now-a-days.
We both wanted exactly two kids in the order of a boy then girl. So we obviously wanted this one to be a boy. Plus my husband comes from an all boy family, so how could it not be a boy? And as soon as we got to the appointment, we decided that we couldn't wait, and wanted to know that day! So we did. It was actually the first thing that we saw. Clear as day, a boy! And we pretended we didn't so that we could still see our families faces when they found out too. So on Christmas Eve before opening the presents we sliced open a cake to reveal blue frosting. Everyone was ecstatic, another crazy boy to add into the Valero gang.
The Pregnancy
I am not going to lie. My pregnancy was AMAZING! I only threw up the first two months, was barely fatigued, and had no swelling. Shoot I was even dancing at a party one week before I delivered! And let me tell you. I took it for granted as you'll see if you read AnnaLynne's birth story.
NAMES.
Early on we had decided on names. We had them picked out before we even knew the gender. If it was a girl, Elena (no middle name) and a boy, Christopher Matthew. If you watch vampire diaries then you know exactly where the girl name came from. And as for Christopher Matthew, well it was an easy choice because it was the only two names that we liked (Thank God we never had another boy). So we just mashed them together. We actually got Christopher from the name of my husband's friend who passed away shortly before we got pregnant, and Matthew from countlessly looking over those baby name lists online.
CRAVINGS/FOOD.
I absolutely loved bananas! Don't know how good or bad it was, but I would have AT LEAST three bananas a day. Sometimes one with each meal and sometimes just all at once. And let me tell you, this little Mexican boy did not like spicy food at all in the belly! So of course that was my biggest craving my entire pregnancy. Ugh.
MOVEMENT.
Wow, what a magical and crazy thing a baby moving in your belly is! It was probably the biggest highlight of both my pregnancies. It not only eased my mind to letting me know that he was healthy, but also just amazing to see. Christopher was definitely a mover. Especially when either his dad and great grandma were around. And especially in the middle of the night.
Ultimately, it was a good pregnancy. Honestly I didn't even feel much different than not being pregnant. Except for of course having a big basketball attached to the front of me.
MAY 9, 2017
The day that I got to become the best role in life yet, a mom.
AT ABOUT 2 AM.
My husband and I were sound asleep when I felt this little gush. At first I just laid there. Is it just another piece of mucus plug coming out? Is it just a little discharge? Did I just pee myself? Or is it actually time? I wasn't sure. Because it is NOTHING like the movies. There was no dramatic moment, there was no waterfall spilled across the floor, and there was no immediate intense pain. In fact it was nothing big at all. It was more like I laughed way too hard on a full bladder.
3-4 AM.
BOOM. It was definitely game time. Those not so friendly contractions started coming in. Since they were only like having some period cramps and still at about five minutes apart, I decided to wait it out a bit. During that time I called my mom to let her know. Then after another hour wait, they came at three minutes and a bit stronger. That's when I woke up my husband and mother-in-law to make our way to the hospital.
Once we got there, I was checked in and brought to the room. They immediately checked how dilated I was and made sure that my water had broken. I was at 4 cm and 80% effaced so they hooked me up to the machines and started an IV. That's when I called my mom and texted everyone else who needed to know that it was finally time to meet my little man!
AT ABOUT 8 AM (6 HOURS INTO LABOR).
Now my contractions were only and minute apart and I felt like I was dying. At this point, all I wanted to do was sleep! But I couldn't. Right when I would start to feel even the slightest bit of comfort, here came contractions ringing in my back again. So despite my intentions, I got the epidural. And let me tell you, it felt like heaven on Earth! At the time I was till only sitting at 6 cm and 80% effaced. I couldn't feel a thing and I was able to actually rest.
12 PM (10 HOURS INTO LABOR)
I started to feel a little pressure coming down, so it was time for another check. Finally at 10 cm and 100% effaced. But the baby was still very high up and that meant waiting another 30 minutes to an hour until the next check. The nurse decided to go do a round up on her other patients and would be back to check me out afterwards. The nurse had me do a practice push and immediately had me stop. The baby was coming...NOW. That's when everything got a little crowded. The doctor, CNA, lactation consultant, and a whole lot of nurses started prepping the room. It was go time. Like actual time. And I was more than ready. At exactly 1 pm I started pushing.
Three minutes later I heard the sweetest cry in the whole entire world! They suctioned him his mouth and nose, wrapped him up, and laid him across my chest. I looked down at him and kissed his tiny forehead. The truth is I had no idea that I was capable of loving anything quite like i did the first time I saw his beautiful face. You always wonder if it's going to be like people say, but it's as if everything in my whole body and soul changed the moment we met. It really was something out of a fairy tail. He had the cutest wispy tuffs all over his head and the softest skin. Truly precious in every way. That's when it hit me...I'm a mom. And what a beautiful thing it is to carry a child and deliver them into this world.
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