The amazing April Malgioglio and Mia (21 months). April and her husband needed some help to conceive but were thrilled that on their first cycle of Clomid and IUI they were able to get pregnant with Mia. The first 20 weeks of pregnancy were very hard to enjoy as April was quite sick but on the other side she felt really good and loved being pregnant. April was induced at 41 weeks but never progressed past 6cms. After laboring for over 24 hours, she chose to deliver via cesarean. Her birth went well and Mia latched to nurse right away.
April's cesarean incision became infected and had to be reopened in two spots in the weeks after her birth. She was given antibiotics and her husband had to pack her wound for three weeks before she healed properly. Otherwise, she remembers the early postpartum period fondly. After a few weeks of nursing without complication Mia started refusing the breast in favor of the bottle. She would trick her by starting with the bottle and then switching her to her breast but decided the confusion wasn't worth it so she was happy to transition back to just breastfeeding. April had another nursing hiccup due to milk protein allergy and was devastated when she was told she should just switch to formula. Thankfully, with an elimination diet she was able to continue nursing, without upsetting Mia's stomach.
Motherhood has been an amazing gift for April and she hopes that Mia grows up knowing, not only how loved she is but also how beautiful she is, just because she is. As a woman who has always been very athletic and fit the changes to her body through pregnancy and postpartum were difficult for April but she's learning to love the shifts and says her daughter is worth every one.