Ok, so this post may be a little late, but I wanted to capture a few of the interesting stories from when I was pregnant with Matthew and had newborn Megan. Definitely a unique phase of life!
We were first contacted by Megan's birthmom when I was 19 weeks pregnant. Our caseworker had actually told us about the possibility of the placement towards the end of my first trimester (at the same time we told her we were pregnant). Megan was born when I was 22 1/2 weeks pregnant and she was 16 weeks 3 days old when Matthew was born at 39 weeks.
I don't think OB offices are used to having pregnant patients show up with a newborn. When I went in for my first visit with Megan, the lady who checked me in told me that I didn't need to leave a sample anymore. It being my first pregnancy, I didn't know any better and figured that I must only need to do that for the first half of pregnancy. I still needed to use the facilities, though. As I was walking to sit in the waiting room afterwards, the same lady asked if I had been told to keep this appointment or if I needed to schedule a 6 week check. I explained that I was 24 weeks pregnant and so was pretty sure I needed this appointment. She said that's what she'd thought but was confused because of Megan. Oh, and I needed to leave a sample if at all possible.
At my 28 week check, the doctor informed me that I was anemic and so needed to take extra iron. He said that being anemic decreases energy levels and could explain why I'd been feeling so tired. And I thought it was just because I had a newborn! Good to know! (Note: I did take iron supplements but didn't notice the increase in energy. Really I think that being able to sleep through the night would have made a bigger difference.)
Another time I was at the OB, I was pushing Megan back to the exam room when the nurse who called me back told me that, "I have the wrong Me." I replied that I was pregnant and was pretty sure I was the right Me. She really wasn't sure but after verifying my name and birthday, she decided I was the right person. I'd actually seen this nurse before with Megan but she'd evidently forgotten the situation.
There was one gal who worked the scheduling desk who always remembered the situation. I told her when I was 20 weeks pregnant that we were going to be adopting a baby and so I might need to reschedule the next appointment. When I came in at 24 weeks, she knew what was going on without me telling her. When nurses and other staff were obviously baffled by the situation, she loved to tell them, "Be prepared to be confused" to which they'd normally reply, "I'm confused." She'd then explain the situation to them.
When we first had Megan, people thought that my extra weight was post pregnancy weight. I got a lot of interesting comments. One of my favorite was when a lady in a different ward at church asked if everything was ok since I was attending their sacrament meeting instead of my own. I explained that we had a newborn at home that we weren't taking out yet so we were swapping which wards we went to. She asked how old the baby was and I said that she was 5 weeks. She said that I looked good. I said thanks and thought to myself that I probably looked good for being 28 weeks pregnant, too.
When Megan had her hospital stay when she was 12 weeks old, I was excited because people could tell I was pregnant (vs having post pregnancy weight). Some of the nurses and doctors figured out that Megan must be adopted while I think others must have thought I was barely pregnant. One nurse actually said, "You just had her (pointing to Megan) and you're like that? Did you forget something?" Pretty funny!
I'm certainly glad I had this experience. Not quite what I'd envisioned for the last half of my pregnancy, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I'm really thankful to have both Megan and Matthew in our family. One of the neatest experiences is the first night we had Megan. We were in the NICU and Megan had had a stressful day. She wanted to be held and so I readily complied. As I was holding her on my tummy, Matthew kicked her repeatedly. It's like he was saying, "Hey sis! Welcome to the family!"
Here are a couple pictures of me and Megan not long before Matthew was born. Notice how much my back curves when I'm holding Megan on my tummy. I think Megan liked her custom seat:)
Here are my pregnancy pictures. I'm wearing the same shirt in most for consistency.
We were first contacted by Megan's birthmom when I was 19 weeks pregnant. Our caseworker had actually told us about the possibility of the placement towards the end of my first trimester (at the same time we told her we were pregnant). Megan was born when I was 22 1/2 weeks pregnant and she was 16 weeks 3 days old when Matthew was born at 39 weeks.
I don't think OB offices are used to having pregnant patients show up with a newborn. When I went in for my first visit with Megan, the lady who checked me in told me that I didn't need to leave a sample anymore. It being my first pregnancy, I didn't know any better and figured that I must only need to do that for the first half of pregnancy. I still needed to use the facilities, though. As I was walking to sit in the waiting room afterwards, the same lady asked if I had been told to keep this appointment or if I needed to schedule a 6 week check. I explained that I was 24 weeks pregnant and so was pretty sure I needed this appointment. She said that's what she'd thought but was confused because of Megan. Oh, and I needed to leave a sample if at all possible.
At my 28 week check, the doctor informed me that I was anemic and so needed to take extra iron. He said that being anemic decreases energy levels and could explain why I'd been feeling so tired. And I thought it was just because I had a newborn! Good to know! (Note: I did take iron supplements but didn't notice the increase in energy. Really I think that being able to sleep through the night would have made a bigger difference.)
Another time I was at the OB, I was pushing Megan back to the exam room when the nurse who called me back told me that, "I have the wrong Me." I replied that I was pregnant and was pretty sure I was the right Me. She really wasn't sure but after verifying my name and birthday, she decided I was the right person. I'd actually seen this nurse before with Megan but she'd evidently forgotten the situation.
There was one gal who worked the scheduling desk who always remembered the situation. I told her when I was 20 weeks pregnant that we were going to be adopting a baby and so I might need to reschedule the next appointment. When I came in at 24 weeks, she knew what was going on without me telling her. When nurses and other staff were obviously baffled by the situation, she loved to tell them, "Be prepared to be confused" to which they'd normally reply, "I'm confused." She'd then explain the situation to them.
When we first had Megan, people thought that my extra weight was post pregnancy weight. I got a lot of interesting comments. One of my favorite was when a lady in a different ward at church asked if everything was ok since I was attending their sacrament meeting instead of my own. I explained that we had a newborn at home that we weren't taking out yet so we were swapping which wards we went to. She asked how old the baby was and I said that she was 5 weeks. She said that I looked good. I said thanks and thought to myself that I probably looked good for being 28 weeks pregnant, too.
When Megan had her hospital stay when she was 12 weeks old, I was excited because people could tell I was pregnant (vs having post pregnancy weight). Some of the nurses and doctors figured out that Megan must be adopted while I think others must have thought I was barely pregnant. One nurse actually said, "You just had her (pointing to Megan) and you're like that? Did you forget something?" Pretty funny!
I'm certainly glad I had this experience. Not quite what I'd envisioned for the last half of my pregnancy, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I'm really thankful to have both Megan and Matthew in our family. One of the neatest experiences is the first night we had Megan. We were in the NICU and Megan had had a stressful day. She wanted to be held and so I readily complied. As I was holding her on my tummy, Matthew kicked her repeatedly. It's like he was saying, "Hey sis! Welcome to the family!"
Here are a couple pictures of me and Megan not long before Matthew was born. Notice how much my back curves when I'm holding Megan on my tummy. I think Megan liked her custom seat:)
Here's a picture of Sarah and me when I was 32 weeks pregnant. She liked posing with me!
Here are my pregnancy pictures. I'm wearing the same shirt in most for consistency.
20 weeks
24 weeks
28 weeks
32 weeks
36 weeks
37 weeks
38 weeks
39 weeks
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