MissusP's Not So Personal Life

On this day eight years ago, my husband Rich and I were surrounded by boxes, after having just moved into our new home two days before. I was still working – thinking that I had a good 4-5 weeks to unpack, settle in and wrap up work items before maternity leave. But as it turns out, moving in your last month of (your first) pregnancy can be kind of stressful….

I was planning to attend a meeting to meet the new VP of Marketing at a client’s company, but after some (caring) pressure from my husband, agreed to first swing by the doctor for a quick check up due to some issues with swelling in my ankles (no cankle jokes!). I was expecting to be in and out and on my way – but as I would later learn, with kids the best laid plans are meant to be changed. The doctor told me that I should call my client and tell them I wouldn’t be at the meeting …. because I was in labor!

And as fate would have it, Rich – who had never before and has never since – forgot his mobile phone and was offsite at a meeting all day! I drove myself to the hospital while my sister-in-law tried to calm me down on the phone. She also helped me track Rich down. Turns out I had preeclampsia (high blood pressure) and that’s why I had swelling. It’s also the reason I ended up having a c-section. While waiting for the operating room to open up, I made several work calls and negotiated a new hire’s offer from the gurney. At 8:59 p.m., our first son was born. He was about 5 weeks early and unfortunately, he wasn’t able to eat and breathe at the same time. So when we were discharged from the hospital, we had to leave our baby behind. It was an awful feeling and one I will never forget. For the next week we spent every day at the hospital as long as we could, just watching him, feeding him, holding him. It was definitely one of the hardest weeks of my life. But look at him now! He turned eight today – time truly does fly when you have children. He’s happy, healthy, handsome and smart. Thumbs up to our own little super man – Happy Birthday RP! We love you!

….My life changed forever!

On this day eight years ago, my husband Rich and I were surrounded by boxes, after having just moved into our new home two days before. I was still working – thinking that I had a good 4-5 weeks to unpack, settle in and wrap up work items before maternity leave. But as it turns out, moving in your last month of (your first) pregnancy can be kind of stressful….

I was planning to attend a meeting to meet the new VP of Marketing at a client’s company, but after some (caring) pressure from my husband, agreed to first swing by the doctor for a quick check up due to some issues with swelling in my ankles (no cankle jokes!). I was expecting to be in and out and on my way – but as I would later learn, with kids the best laid plans are meant to be changed. The doctor told me that I should call my client and tell them I wouldn’t be at the meeting …. because I was in labor!

And as fate would have it, Rich – who had never before and has never since – forgot his mobile phone and was offsite at a meeting all day! I drove myself to the hospital while my sister-in-law tried to calm me down on the phone. She also helped me track Rich down. Turns out I had preeclampsia (high blood pressure) and that’s why I had swelling. It’s also the reason I ended up having a c-section. While waiting for the operating room to open up, I made several work calls and negotiated a new hire’s offer from the gurney. At 8:59 p.m., our first son was born. He was about 5 weeks early and unfortunately, he wasn’t able to eat and breathe at the same time. So when we were discharged from the hospital, we had to leave our baby behind. It was an awful feeling and one I will never forget. For the next week we spent every day at the hospital as long as we could, just watching him, feeding him, holding him. It was definitely one of the hardest weeks of my life. But look at him now! He turned eight today – time truly does fly when you have children. He’s happy, healthy, handsome and smart. Thumbs up to our own little super man – Happy Birthday RP! We love you!