My previous blog posts highlight my never ending battle with my thyroid. So when I was told by my doctor that I was pregnant it was a complete surprise. A good one.

Fast forward 38 weeks later and my little change-maker wanted out. After a couple nonstress tests at the hospital my appointment soon turned into 12 hours of natural labour (don’t ask) & a c-section. Well, not that soon. I was at the hospital for 29 hours by the time Maya was out and into my arms — well Adam’s arms because I was convulsively shaking from being on the operating table. She was placed on my chest but that ended quickly as all I felt like doing was vomiting from nausea.

This blog post is gonna get a whole lot more real from here.

It was a powerful moment to see the babe that had lived in me for almost 9 months.  I was filled with lots of different kinds of emotions but I was also shaking, nauseous and exhausted. Definitely nothing like the movies.

The team at Royal Columbian Hospital (nurses, surgeons, & anesthesiologists) were amazing! And I have no idea how one can get the calling to be a nurse. My 1-2hr recovery period was such a humbling experience. My nurse was half my size (height, wide & probably age) but I felt like a full grown toddler from all the dressing & undressing she was doing.

Eventually I was moved into the maternity ward where Adam and Maya waited. Seeing her properly for the first time brought on a huge wave of emotions. I looked at her and felt that the span of life just became a little more finite. The words ‘Life is Too Short’ became so much more real. As I entered the motherhood stage, I thought about my own mom becoming a grandma then that all my grandmas are already deceased. And since then I’ve been a ball of emotion.

My stay at the hospital lasted for another three more days. Between my c-section recovery and Maya having jaundice we were delayed discharge until Friday.