Things Not Going as Planned-World Health Day Reflection, Birth Story, and Beyond

Hey all! I know it’s definitely been a minute. First of all: Happy World Health Day. I took some time off last month after giving birth to my beautiful daughter (for my mental and physical health), and oh man has it been a major learning process. Everything I had planned: from my birth plan to my content went completely out the window as I transitioned into this new phase of my life. Honestly, it was a lot to deal with and quite the reality check. However, back on the last month, I am proud of myself. There were tons of moments where I questioned everything, stressed about the tiniest things, and had to deal with it all.

Let’s start with the birth plan/story: I worked out until the last day of my pregnancy with the intention of having a natural birth. Until the last day I was able to move around, work out, take walks, etc. Even my doctor said that I was on the right track for a natural birth. So on March 8, at 1:48 a.m. I went to the restroom and realized I started experiencing menstrual-like cramps. I woke up my husband and immediately called my doctor, who confirmed it was an early sign of labor, and thus, we went to the hospital right away. I was 1 cm dilated, and was hooked up to a machine to monitor the baby’s heartbeat and movement. This process was straight up annoying. Because of the amount of weight in front, I was extremely comfortable lying down and I didn’t like being hooked up all. I wanted to walk, and I was hungry and thirsty. Nevertheless, every time I experienced a pain/contraction, my doctor realized that the baby’s heartbeat would drop. Long story short, I was taken in for an emergency C-section and baby girl arrived at 12:38 p.m.

At that time, there was so much going on, that it didn’t fully hit me until after she arrived that I went through an ordeal. And the healing process was a lot. Day 1 I was hooked up to an IV and catheter and wasn’t allowed to have anything to eat or drink until the evening-where I was able to have water and juice. By Day 2, the catheter was removed but getting out of bed was so so painful-yet I was on a liquids-only diet. Day 3-The IV was removed, I was getting better and back to normal food, and the pain was a lot. All of this going on plus learning how to breastfeed and being mindful of the my movements so I don’t hurt my stitches. It even hurt to laugh.

Nevertheless, I am extremely grateful that my parents and in-laws were able to visit and be with my husband and me throughout the day, and even my doctor and the hospital staff were wonderful in helping me move, learn how to feed, etc. In fact, this year’s theme for World Health Day is “Year of Nurse and Midwife.” It’s so well-deserved. I don’t know what state I would’ve been in without the help of the nurses on call day and night. Plus, how much they’ve been working around-the-clock with COVID is commendable.

That being said, the single underlying lesson that got reiterated from this whole thing was that things don’t go according to plan at all, and we do have to move with the flow. Even my content plan went completely out the window. Because I was aware my baby is due in March, I wrote all of the month’s blog posts in advance. However, when it came to actually posting them and engaging online, I couldn’t. I was so mentally spent and exhausted from everything that my body was screaming for a break. So I took one.

Did I loose engagement? Yes Did I lose followers? Yes. Is is discouraging? Absolutely. Postpartum challenges a real thing? 100%. But at the moment, my mental, physical, and spiritual health has to be prioritized. As I continue to heal in all aspects, I’m continuing to work on myself and getting back to a n adjusted lifestyle. Hopefully, I’ll find a new normal soon!  have to power through it all and work on myself in the process.

So that is my birth story: stay tuned for more updates! Any post ideas regarding this whole bit, let me know in the comments. Happy World Health Day to everyone. Our health definitely comes first!