The radiant Monica Riedsel and Felix (5.5 months). Monica and her husband tried to conceive for about 18 months before getting pregnant with Felix. At 16 months she went to see a doctor who thought she likely wasn't ovulating every month so he prescribed Clomid. She talked to her husband and decided that since she liked the idea of things happening for a reason in the time they were meant to, they wanted to give it another month without medication. They tried for a month and then used the Clomid the following month and were able to conceive on their first cycle.
Monica's pregnancy was going very well but she was experiencing a lot of pain in her stomach and ended up going to the ER to see what was happening. Once there, they told her there was a GI bug going around and sent her home without any testing. After some time, the pain passed and she knew her baby was doing well so she didn't think much about it. A few months later the pain returned and Monica learned she had a lot of gall stones and had been having gall bladder attacks.
Monica was given the option of having her gallbladder removed entirely or having her bile duct opened to allow the stones to pass without intense pain. She opted to have the second procedure done under general anesthesia knowing there was a risk her baby would need to be delivered via cesarean if anything went wrong. Thankfully the surgery went well for both of them.
Shortly after surgery Monica began itching and explained to the doctors what was happening. They told her she'd be just fine and ended up discharging her. He consulted doctor google and thought that she may have developed cholestasis but the testing hadn't come back just yet. Monica didn't hear anything else until her midwife told her they needed to schedule an induction at 38 weeks because the doctor called and her tests had come back positive.
Monica had hoped to have a labor and delivery as free from interventions as possible so she was worried that an induction would derail the water birth she had prepared for. She tried to mentally prepare and enjoyed her Sunday with her husband before her scheduled induction on Monday. On Sunday evening she went to her prenatal yoga class and joked with her instructor that if she had a pose that would put her in labor that would be great. She made it through most of the class when the instructor pointed at her and had them begin deep squats. As she was squatting she felt a gush and thought for a moment she might be peeing herself. She realized that her water had broken and took a moment before her class gathered around her. She was thrilled that she had gone into labor on her own and wouldn't have to be induced. Her yoga classmates sat in a circle around her before she left and each person gave her a word to carry her through her birth.
Monica went home and then to the birthing center where she learned that there had been meconium in her waters so she wouldn't be able to use the birthing tub but she labored in the shower and then on a birthing stool. Felix was born without complication and they worked to establish breastfeeding. Latch was difficult for them at first but Monica was given a nipple shield which has been the greatest thing for them.
Monica had a lot of help just after Felix was born. It wasn't until he was about 2 months old that she was on her own and realized that she was now fully responsible for this new human and also had to find a way to take care of herself. It's been a wonderful learning experience and just in the moments she feels like she's going to give up he smiles at her or does something new. Reading others experiences helped Monica understand that whatever happened with her story and her body and her baby she would be okay, things have a way of working themselves out and people need to hear that things work in the most awesome ways.