It felt like I was thrown into an episode of the Twilight Zone. The story would have been about long, endless, sleepless nights. My 24 hours were broken into 2 hour sets. There were no mornings, afternoons or nights. There were no days. There were only feeding, changing, bathing, and soothing our newborn. Our son …
I was flipping through a magazine in the doctor’s waiting room when I came across this ad: I felt a flood of emotions. After all, I AM a mom who has to take a sick day, every single day. I felt ashamed. “That’s right. As a mom, I should not be taking sick days. …
We got the call Valentine’s Day morning. After 16 days in the NICU, the doctors advised that if all goes well, our baby would be able to go home the next day, so we should be prepares and also, to bring a car seat. We could not believe it. Even though we hoped and asked …
First there is the gown wearing and hand washing. Then, when you enter the NICU, there is a thick silence punctuated by the beeping noises of the medical devices and soft cries of its resident preemies. The room feels heavy, seemingly weighed down by the collective worries of the parents sitting next to the incubators …
January 30, 2011 Motherhood started unexpectedly for me at 4:11 AM on January 30, 2011. Unexpectedly – because Harry, my son, entered the world 7 weeks earlier than his due date. I guess it should not have been totally unexpected since 50% of lupus pregnancies end before 40 weeks. Of course, hindsight is always 20/20. …
When I went on early maternity leave four years ago, I did not know that I would not be returning to my office. When I left in January of 2011, I left with my laptop and my blackberry, as I did every night for the past four years on the job. My baby was due …
“How do you want to deliver your baby?” Missing from this inquiry was “How do you (lupus patient) want to deliver your baby (since it is a high risk pregnancy)“? During my pregnancy, I got close to friends who are pregnant and became friends with pregnant women. What I didn’t do was talk with women with …
“Up, mom, up” , , , my two year old son moaned during his sleep. At the time, he did not understand why his mom was always laying down and not playing with him. I did not know that my illness touched him so deeply that he would dream about it. It broke my heart. …
The assumption is that since I do not work, and I have a toddler at home, I must be a “SAHM” – a stay at home mom. Yes, I am a mom and I do stay at home. But this belies the real truth of why I am home . . . I’m sick! I …
It wasn’t until I couldn’t hide it anymore that I started to share news of my pregnancy with family and friends. I was about 20-22 weeks in, already into my third trimester. If I could have given birth without telling anyone, that is the way I would have preferred it. It was not that I …
Lupieliving 