The magnificent Nicole Miller with her daughter Estelle (20 weeks). Nicole never imagined herself as a mother and at 40, she had never been pregnant and likely never would have tried to conceive otherwise. She says that she and her partner were maybe playing with fire and when she found out she was pregnant they had to talk about what to do. While she never would have tried intentionally, she knew that once she was pregnant she would regret not becoming a mom. Nicole loved being pregnant so much she says that she misses it now. She developed gestational diabetes in her third trimester and was able to manage through blood sugar checks and diet changes.
Estelle was measuring quite large so her doctors were pushing for an induction. Nicole held it off for as long possible but was eventually induced and labored over 36 hours before her daughter was born. Nicole pushed for four hours and Estelle just wasn't coming out. They consulted with an "old school" doctor on staff who suggested forceps. The forceps got her out quickly but Nicole had a third degree tear as a result that is still healing.
Breastfeeding has gone very well and Nicole loves nursing more than she ever imagined she would. Her body has change drastically now that she's become a mother, it was changing already with age, but her pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding experience and relationship with her daughter has created a new woman in every way.