Wyatt & Ryder's Birth Story {05.30.10}

Today I am honored that Emily from They Call Me Mama is here to share her birth story. Emily is mama to two beautiful kids and one angel baby. Her story really hit home as one of my best friends experienced a stillbirth this past summer. It's devastating how many mothers have had to experience such an unbearable loss and so few talk about it. Emily is so strong and so brave to share this both beautiful and heartbreaking story. 

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I didn't think that I would ever write this post, for more than one reason. One, I didn't ever think I would lose a child, that Mark and I would lose a child (not that anyone ever does). Then, after losing a child, I didn't think I would ever be able to write about their "birth story". But, the other day I decided this "birth story" was not only the worst day of my life but also the best...so why would I not want to document the birth of our children?

When I reflect back on the day the boys were born, I don't feel the typical emotions a mom usually does. For me, the day I met my Wyatt and Ryder was not filled normal emotions. We can't go back and change that day. It is and will forever be "our story".

A little background....

October 2009
I was 4 days late. Mark and I had recently come up with "our plan" and both agreed we were going to wait to have children until he was almost out of school. Well, like the title of the book states, "We plan, God laughs". I thought to figure out what was going on with me, I needed to weed out the possibility of pregnancy. We were running to Target that night so while we were there we grabbed a pregnancy test. When we got home I took the test and the rest is history....

According to my calculations, this is one of the last pictures taken as just "us" ;)

May 29, 2010
It was a Saturday. Mark and I worked outside, cleaning up our yard. It was a warm day too! A friend of mine was getting married and the wedding was in St. Louis, about an hour from our house. We attended the wedding that afternoon. I felt nothing out of the ordinary....I mean, I was HUGE at this point.

I can't believe I posted this picture, but words CANNOT DESCRIBE.

jgjgI was 35 weeks and 6 days. We didn't go to the reception, so after the wedding we grabbed a bit to eat with our friends, Malerie and Brent (Mexican I might add). After dinner we went back home. I went to sleep that night just like I had been for almost 9 months, on my side with two pillows. One pillow to hold up my gigantic belly and the other between my legs. I woke up around 1am with back pain. I didn't really have back pain throughout my pregnancy (I owe it all to being adjust my ENTIRE pregnancy. I mean, who can gain over 50 blah pounds, carry twins for 36 weeks and not have back pain? OK, off my soap box) so I knew something wasn't right. 

Last time I had been at the doctor, I was dilated to about 1.5 centimeter and was 80% effaced. My doctor told me once I had 6 contractions in an hour to come in. I started counting and had 6 in 33 minutes! During this time I tried to wake Mark twice and was still not all the way awake. WHen the 7th contraction came I REALLY tried to wake him and finally he was listening to what I was saying. We decided to pack up and head to the hospital. It was around 2am at the point. On the way to the hospital we called our parents and Mark's brother. 

We got checked in and settled at the hospital. The nurses immediately started trying to find the babies' heartbeats using the monitors on the outside of my belly. The boys' heart rates were always really close, so it was hard to find both. This went on for at least an hour. My doctor had just left the building for home, he had delivered 5 babies that night and needed some sleep. The on-call doctor attempted to find the heartbeats. She finally decided to bring in the ultrasound to be able to see where and how they were laying to try and locate both heartbeats. I was still having contractions at this point and they weren't really hurting but were uncomfortable for sure. While looking at the screen she was struggling to find one of the babies, she stated she had finally found him but they were laying right on top of each other so she didn't know if she'd be able to get both heartbeats with the outside monitors. 

At this point they decided to check and see if I was dilated or if they were going to send me home. I was about 4 centimeters and 90% effaced. I was staying!!! When they called my doctor he said he was on his way and they were going to break my water so they could put an internal monitor on one of the boys to be able to watch things a bit closer. The nurses were kind of going crazy at this point because I still didn't have an IV. When my doctor arrived he broke my water, which was not easy. It took a LONG time and when it finally happened it took forever to stop. 

My doctor then began trying to hook up the internal fetal monitor. He tried and tried. After a wile, he decided to do an ultrasound himself. During this ultrasound there was tension. The tension grew until finally out doctor said we needed to go ahead and deliver by c-section! It was just like that my world was turned upside down. I remember Mark praying aloud and me being wheeled off...I was rushed into the OR. Inside there were a lot of nurses and many doctors came running in. I remember asking for Mark. The began prepping me for surgery. I was completely put under and Mark was not allowed in the room. I was finished in less than 6 minutes. There was no magical moment, no holding the baby, seeing Wyatt, hearing Wyatt, looking at Mark. We had none of that. I was all the way put to sleep and Mark was kept outside the room. That situation puts a whole new meaning to emergency c-section.

When I awoke I was in a room with Mark, the doctor and my two precious boys. Mark looked at me, a look I will NEVER forget and said, "Ryder didn't make it." Ryder's cord was wrapped around his neck. Mark was holding both of our boys but one was already sitting on Jesus' lap. While I was put under I was given drugs to help me stay calm in this situation. It hurts my chest to even type this. Words don't describe the feeling. There was already a lot of family there. Mark was the one who had to share the news. What a tough job. My sister called some friends and also explained the situation so we would not have to continue to tell the story. I held him.....Ryder was EXACTLY like Wyatt, a little smaller, but identical.

 

I wish that day we would have spent some more time as a family, a family of four here on Earth, but we didn't. I can't go back...I will cling tight to the time we spent together. 

When I saw Wyatt for the first time, oh, again no words to even describe the feeling. It was really hard to have emotion, I was so numb. It wasn't the normal first time mommy holding her child moment. I look/looked and him and see Ryder then and still now. He was so precious (and still is!!!). The delivery was so fast Wyatt's neck was cut and he had to have plastic surgery within a few hours of his birth.

What a tough boy!

The next few days were so hard. We cried a lot. Smiled and laughed a lot too! There were so many emotions. We had tons of visitors. There and still are so many people praying for us. I know this birth story was written even before we experienced it. God knows what he is doing, for some reason he gave this to Mark and I. He doesn't give us something we can't handle....that's what I keep telling myself over and over and over again. Boy, he must think we are strong!

Mark and I came home on Wednesday and spent time as a family. We cleaned out and reorganized the nursery which was really hard to do. Lots of tears. I remember I kept thinking about this was "supposed" to be...bringing your first child home from the hospital, it's such a joy.

Saturday, June 5th 2010 will forever be one of the worst days of my life. Mark and I buried our child. The same man who married us did the service. He did a great job. We kept the funeral small, just immediate family was there. 

We have enjoyed Wyatt so much. I can't imagine what our life would be like without him. He is such a joy! We continue to stay focused on the Lord. We know this is his plan. Some days are harder than other but we have the Lord to lean on in hard times (and in the good times too). I thank Him daily for Wyatt, and amazing husband and supportive family. It's times like these you either choose to grow closer or let it tear you apart. Mark and I have chose as a couple to grow stronger. We lean on each other and rely on God as our backbone. 

We have realized this isn't something you "get through". It will be here forever, sometimes that's harder to swallow than others. It will never go away but time and the Lord will heal our pain. We look at Wyatt and can see Ryder...smiling at us, laughing at us, watching over his brother. It was spoken "Wyatt will receive a DOUBLE portion, Isaiah 61:7". Wyatt is amazing, he is an amazing little baby, God gave us a gift, we will follow his will. 

You can follow Emily at They Call Me Mama

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To submit a birth story, please email me at mamaandmou@gmail.com

Trace's Birth Story {06.26.13}

I am so excited to have Kate here today to share the details of her son, Trace's birth. I followed along through Kate's entire pregnancy and remember being so excited when I saw the first photo of baby Trace posted on Facebook. Everyone please welcome the beautiful, Kate.

It was a Monday afternoon and I met my parents for lunch. While enjoying our chips and salsa, I happened to mention that I was feeling cramping in my stomach. Cramping that felt like period cramping... and I hadn't felt that since last September! I knew this was the beginnings of the labor process, but didn't know how long it would take for things to progress.

After lunch my mom and I got ourselves a pedicure. The women doing mine rubbed a pressure point in my foot for a very long time, saying that it helps to induce labor and that I should have my baby in the next day or so.

That night a friend came over for a little girl talk. I was increasingly feeling cramping, but overall fine.

I woke up the next morning not feeling like myself. Just in case we needed to head to the hospital, Bryan worked from home that day while I took it easy.

That afternoon my parents came over to our house. My dad took Cali to her yearly vet check-up. Bryan and I headed to my ob. She told us that I was 1-2 centimeters dilated and 90% effaced. My ob told us that his head was very low... to go home, grab our bags and head to the hospital.

Once at the hospital we were sent to triage -- I was checked in at 5:15pm, put on my hospital gown, got hooked up to monitors and was checked by the on-call ob from my practice. At 8:30pm they had me walk the halls for an hour. By 8:50pm my back labor pain was so strong that I felt like I was dying. After being monitored for 5 hours in triage, we were sent home. I felt defeated. I was in excrutiating pain, but wasn't progressing. The ob wanted me to labor at home and come back when my contractions were even more intense and more close together.

We got home at 10:45pm Tuesday night. It took everything in me just to crawl into our downstairs guest bedroom bed and fall asleep. I didn't change clothes or wash my face... I brushed my teeth and attempted to get some sleep through all of my pain. Every hour I would wake up to an extremely painful contraction, I'd moan and groan and then it'd pass. I had several contractions in between, but for some reason once/hour I had a horribly painful one. Bryan slept on the family room couch and was right there if I needed him.

I woke up at around 5:00am and decided that I couldn't go back to sleep. I threw up quite a bit. We sat on the couch and Bryan helped me get through my contractions until he finally said that we had to go to the hospital. He didn't want me to wait any longer. Bry helped me into the car and off we went.

We were leaving home just the 2 of us, knowing that the next time we came home, we'd be a family of 3!

We got back to the hospital at 6:45am. As we pulled into the parking garage, I threw up. Once in the Women's Center, the nurse who helped us in triage the night before was still on. She welcomed us back and checked me. I had progressed quite a bit and was officially admitted. June 26th would be the day our son was born...

I feel like so much happened from 6:45am until I had Trace at 4:43pm that same day, but mostly I was transferred to my labor and delivery room and spent the afternoon there. Thankfully my ob, Dr. Crosland, was on call, so I had her to deliver Trace. I had been throwing up all morning and after seeing the pain I was in she quickly ordered me an epidural at 10:00am... it's the most life changing drug in the history of drugs. I was so calm once I had the epidural. I wasn't in pain, but I could slightly feel my contractions, of which were terribly irregular. My parents and Bryan's parents had arrived and had come to see us in my room. I was 9cm dilated at 1:30pm, but my contractions were all over the place so Dr. Crosland decided to start me on pitocin and an internal monitor (which is never a good sign) and told me I'd be pushing soon.

At 2:00pm Dr. Crosland told me that I would start pushing at 2:15pm. I pushed for 1 hour. It was one of the longest hours of my life. I tried so hard, but Trace just wasn't budging. She used the suction to no avail. After quite a while Dr. Crosland said that Trace was face up and that, based on his erratic heart rate, she thought the umbilical cord was around his neck. She told me that I "had 2 options, both of which you're not going to like - forceps or c-section." She quickly took the forceps option away from me, so before I knew it my room was swarmed with nurses and hospital staff. They were prepping for c-section.

Through my tears, I remember being wheeled out of my labor and delivery room, through the halls and into the operating room. Bryan was told to put on scrubs while they prepped me for surgery.

I. Was. Balling! I was terribly afraid. Afraid that something was wrong with my baby and afraid of this surgery. I hadn't planned on a c-section and never thought I'd need one. This was the first surgery I'd ever had. Bryan stayed strong for me -- he faked his strength so well, as I knew he was just as afraid as I was.

Before they cut me they put an instrument on my belly and asked if I could feel it. I should have been 100% numb, but I felt it. They increased the medication in my iv and before I knew it I was in surgery. I never stopped crying. I was sobbing uncontrollably. They couldn't get Trace out. He was stuck! Stuck in my pelvic bone. While my l&d nurse pushed my stomach Dr. Crosland pulled the baby. I then heard Dr. Crosland ask a nurse to get the resident ob asap... she needed his help. He quickly came in and before I knew it I had my l&d nurse pushing while Dr. Crosland and the resident ob pulling Trace out. They finally got him unwedged and pulled out.

Trace was born at 4:34pm on Wednesday, June 26th.

Immediately after birth they placed Trace on a ventilator. After 1 minute and 15 seconds he took his first spontaneous breath. This was the longest 1 min and 15 secs of Bryan's and my life! I remember laying on the table, looking up at the nurse who was by my head and asking her "Is he okay?" She said "they'll let us know when they can." I started to cry even harder. That was not the answer I had expected. Bryan and I were terrified! But then we heard that cry. That loud cry at 1 min and 15 secs. Trace was okay. Bryan and I looked at each other, both in tears. We had been so scared, but our baby was okay.

It turns out that Trace was face up, but did not have the cord around his neck. He weighed 6lbs 7oz and was 21 inches long. I'm not sure how my tiny baby wedged himself in my pelvic bone so good -- he didn't want to come out vaginally or through a c-section. But he was here and we were thrilled!

I finally got to see him. I honestly don't even remember when. I think Bryan had him in his arms.

After they stitched and stapled me, they wheeled me into a recovery room where I stayed for about 1 hour. This is where you bond and/or breastfeed for the first time, and this is where I held Trace for the first time!

Once in my recovery room, the room I'd be in for the next couple of days, our parents came in to say hello. This overwhelmed Bryan and I tremendously. We had just been put through hell and back and just wanted to relax... and here come our happy, overly excited parents... dying to meet their grandson. I freaked out. Bryan said he freaked out to, but I beat him to the punches. My room was full and I needed some people to leave. My mom was so worried about Trace and I, so my mom and dad stayed with us for a bit longer.

The next couple of days were spent getting to know Trace, having visitors and learning about our new role as parents. Trace slept in room with us, which was fantastic!

I could have stayed in the hospital until Sunday, but I was ready to leave. After Trace's Friday evening circumcision we headed home. Home to our new life as a family....

And what did I do the second I got home? I dove into a big hunk of salami, of which I had been craving for 40 long weeks :)

And this is where I would normally say "the end," but we all know that this is just the beginning...

Follow Kate at Set This Circus Down 

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To submit a birth story, please email me at mamaandmou@gmail.com

Grayson's Birth Story {04.24.13}

I am really excited to have one of my most favorite mama-bloggers here today to share her adorable son's birth story! Celeste and I have a lot in common, primarily our love for the Kardashians, potty mouths and the need to be tan - which makes us sound like bimbos which I assure you were are not. Anyways, Grayson is one of the cutest kids there is and Kenley has a major crush on him, so get excited to hear how this little stud was welcomed to the world! Everyone, please welcome Celeste from Our Fabulous Life in the Suburbs. 

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The details of sweet Grayson's birth are already fading into distant memories, and I want to remember as much as I can about those special first days of his life. So now that I've had time to come out of that sleepy, newborn haze a bit, let me start at the beginning.

From about the midway point of my pregnancy, my doctor had been making comments about the fact that the baby was measuring big and it was concerning her a bit. I'm a small girl, but not incredibly so, so I was always surprised that she thought I might not be able to carry him to term or to deliver him the way I wanted, which was absolutely, positively NO C-section. Around 30 weeks she said that since he was measuring so big we would wait it out until 39 weeks and then talk about inducing if he was still measuring large. Another thing I was 100% against. So for the final few weeks of my pregnancy I was praying/crossing fingers/wishing on stars that I would naturally go into labor on my own before that 39 week mark. Well, that just wasn't meant to be apparently.

On the morning of April 23rd, we went in for my 39 week sonogram. At this point we knew that most likely I would be induced sometime in the next week and we were basically prepared. After the appointment that morning I had plans to get a spray tan (priorities you know),  vacuum the house, clean our guest bathroom...all of the ridiculous things that don't really matter but when you are in that "nesting" phase feel absolutely, positively essential.

When we got the sonogram that morning we were told he was no longer measuring too big, he was pretty much right on track. The ultra sound tech said she was guessing his weight to be around 7 1/2 to 8 pounds. Much better than the 8 plus we had been warned about. She said everything looked good measurement wise...and then she dropped the bomb. My fluid was measuring very low...not quite dangerously, but enough that she said "Well, looks like you'll be having a baby today!". Umm...oh my.

At that point I think all of the reality of what was going on slammed Arsen and I both in the face. After about 10 agonizing minutes of waiting alone in a room with shocked looks on our faces, making little comments about what needed to be done IF in fact today was the day, and me going into a slight panic about the fact that I reallyreallyreally did NOT want to be induced, my doctor walked in and said "OK, so we're having this baby today!".

She told us to go home and grab our hospital bags and then to go get checked in. Everything started happening so fast and I was so overwhelmed...even though I knew in the back of my head that this was a possibility, I still couldn't believe it was really time.

We went home and got our bags, took a few last minute photos, and I said a long, somewhat-tearful goodbye to my baby Addie. That was honestly the hardest thing for me to deal with probably this entire pregnancy, and I know people may think I'm slightly crazy because she's "just a dog", but I knew the minute we came home with a tiny little baby her whole world would be turned upside down. It's something I've stressed about since day one.

We headed off to the hospital, which is just a quick 15 minute drive from our house, around 12:30. Once we got all checked in and I changed in to my gown, they hooked me up to all kinds of monitors and started my IV right around 2 PM. Then after just a few minutes they started that dreaded Pitocin drip.

Going into this whole thing I had very definite ideas of what I wanted my labor and delivery process to be like. I had a birth plan, and being the type of person that I am, I wanted to control the entire situation and stick to the plan as closely as possible. I wanted a vaginal birth, with no meds if at all possible (I wasn't totally against an epidural, but I wanted to see if I could do it), and my number one thing was that I absolutely did not want a C-section. More than anything in this world I wanted to experience everything about delivering my sweet baby, having him put immediately onto my chest, and starting the bonding process right away. I had been dilated to a one for a few weeks, and by this point was "almost" at a two, so I did have some hope that my body was starting things off on its own. But I knew that being induced with Pitocin meant that my contractions would most likely be more painful, and that can lead to an increased risk in having an epidural. I also knew that all of this can lead to an increased risk of C-section. So I wasn't too happy to be starting that way.

After the drip was started, Arsen and I just relaxed for awhile. My contractions started pretty quickly, but they weren't too bad. I played on the iPad, emailed my boss and co-workers, looked around on Facebook and Pinterest a bit. It was strangely calm. It didn't really feel like what I thought it might. Eventually mine and Arsen's parents showed up, and everyone was just sitting in the room waiting on something to happen. They kept upping the dosage they were giving me of the Pitocin because I wasn't really reacting.

Around 5 PM my doctor came to check on me, and I was still just between a two and a three. At this point my contractions were getting to be extremely painful. It's strange how you wonder what they will feel like and no one can really explain it. To me, it just felt like the worst cramps I had ever had in my entire life. It was literally the only thing that I could see, hear or feel. I put in my headphones and played my birth playlist that I had created, but even that wasn't helping. On a monitor we could see when the contractions would start and stop in little peaks and valleys, and at one point I had one that stayed elevated for well over ten minutes. I honestly thought the pain would never end. I pride myself on having a high pain tolerance and not being a big complainer, but that almost broke me. At that point everyone was saying if I needed an epidural to get one. One nurse said "You don't get an award for holding out longer, you know." She checked me to see how I was progressing and I was still just in between a two and three, so I knew this was going to be a long, long process. So around 7 PM I decided to get the epidural.

Everyone left but Arsen, and he stood in front of me and held my hands while they had me bend forward in the bed and sit "Indian Style" (I think they call it Criss Cross Apple Sauce these days haha) to get the shot. The numbing portion definitely was painful, but nothing too ridiculous. However, something happened that caused my left leg to spasm and shoot almost straight out and start twitching a bit. It was the strangest, most involuntary motion I've ever made, and it scared me to death. Of course I had done all the research on the awful side effects of epidurals, and I think the immediate thought that I was going to be paralyzed or something flew through my mind when that happened. That's when I lost it for the first time. I started crying and could barely stop. Thank GOD for the amazing, supportive, sweet, kind-hearted man that I married. He said all the right things and wiped my tears and calmed me down like no one else could. Throughout this entire ordeal he really saved my sanity so many times. I'll be forever thankful to him for that.

My doctor came back around 9 PM to check on me, and at that point I was finally at a four. She said the baby was fine, but that his head was swelling (can't remember the technical term she used) because of being stuck in the birth canal for so long already and that when he was born we could expect a cone head. She went home at that point and said she would be back around 1 AM to check on things.

From there, everyone pretty much started dozing off. Everyone but me, that is. I knew I needed to sleep, but I was so apprehensive about everything that I just couldn't. I mainly just laid in bed staring at the TV but not really watching. Things weren't going how I hoped, and I think it had me a little uneasy.  The next four hours are kind of a blur of listening to the baby's heart on the monitor, a little small talk, and laying around doing nothing but waiting.

When my doctor came back at 1 AM she checked me and informed me that I was still just at a four. She let me know that she just didn't think I would get to where I needed to be. She said we could wait until 3 and check again, but she didn't see me making much progress. We discussed how this was something we had talked about for months, and that it was just probably not going to happen for me the way I had hoped. She was very kind and encouraging, and she told me it was completely up to me. She said the baby wasn't in distress and that I was doing OK. But she made it clear that her opinion was that I needed the C-Section. The nurses said similar things. At this point I was starting to feel all my dreams of my ideal delivery slip away. I asked everyone but Arsen to leave. And that's the second time I lost it.

Making the decision to have the C-Section was the hardest decision I've ever had to make. I was so, so determined to have the delivery that I had hoped for, and it was just so incredibly hard to let that go. Arsen held me and let me cry and mourn the loss of my dream, and he said all the right things to encourage me and let me know he would support whatever decision I made. But he made the point that the little guy had been working hard to get out for hours, and he knew he (the baby) and I both were getting tired. We decided that we would go ahead with the C-Section.

After being prepped for surgery, rolled back to the operating room, and having the procedure done, it was all over in less than an hour. To say that it was strange to lay on a table and know that someone was removing my baby from my womb while I couldn't feel a thing is a major understatement. I kept a smile on my face and tried to convince myself that I was OK with what was happening, but it was definitely tough for me.

But then at 2:08 AM on April 24th, Grayson Cash Aslanyants made his entrance into the world, and the minute he was held up over that curtain and I saw him, it didn't matter anymore. They took him and wrapped him up and handed him to Arsen right away, and he brought him over to me within seconds. Seeing his face was one of the most indescribable things I've ever experienced. I was overwhelmed with feelings, but more than anything I just felt completely overjoyed to finally have him here with us. They did all of his measurements and wiped him down a bit, and then they took him back to my labor room with Arsen while I was being stitched up. Definitely not at ALL the experience I was hoping for, but like Arsen kept reminding me, all that matters is that we had a healthy baby boy.

After I got back to my labor room everything becomes a bit of a blur. Grayson was screaming. And when I say screaming, I can't express how loud these cries were. And he just wouldn't stop. The baby nurse brought him over and we tried to get him to breastfeed to calm him down, we did skin to skin, we did everything she suggested, and he just. wouldn't. stop. It was awful. And terrifying. And then the nurse said something about the fact that we had to get him to stop screaming because it could cause him to have a collapsed lung. Are you kidding??? Worst thing in the WORLD you could say to a brand new first time mama. I was more scared than I've ever been in my entire life, but it was almost like I was in shock. My mom said she could tell I was stressed, but on the inside I felt more like everything was falling apart.

They transferred us to my new room after about an hour in recovery and he continued to scream off and on there. I can't remember how long it was before he completely calmed down, but by about 5 AM we had a handle on things. I was finally able to just lay in bed with my little guy and enjoy him. It was amazing. It was beautiful. It was all of the things I had been hoping and dreaming it would be, and it was finally, finally happening.

We had several visitors over the next couple of days, both family and friends, and it all passed in a blur of sleep, breastfeeding, nurses coming and going, and much more pain than I was expecting. Since I hadn't planned on the C-Section, I was not mentally prepared to be recovering from surgery. I hate feeling helpless, and I totally was. Arsen had to help me to the shower, help me undress, and then basically bathe me. I will never, ever doubt how much that man loves me. To see me in that state and to never flinch and to tell me I was beautiful and doing a great job as a mommy and to continually encourage me....sometimes I'm pretty convinced he is actually the best guy on this planet.

Those first couple of days as a mama were beautiful. It is honestly impossible to explain the love you have for your child, but I'm sure I'll never stop trying. In my eyes, Grayson is the most beautiful, advanced, perfect baby I have ever seen, and I'm sure I will think he is the most amazing toddler, little boy, teenager, and man in the world until the day I die. Seeing Arsen with him melts my heart, and to see how naturally this whole fatherhood thing has come to him has made me fall more in love with him every day.

I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have this gorgeous little baby, the best husband I could have ever hoped for, and the sweetest little pup who I still adore with all my heart. Life is at once amazing, exhausting, overwhelming and blissful, and I wouldn't trade a second of it.

You can follow Celeste at Our Fabulous Life in the Suburbs

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If you would like to submit your birth story, email me at mamaandmou@gmail.com