By Dana Moss
Pregnancy can be a bitch.
Pregnancy can also be awesome.
Either way, you’re a literal human vessel for sometimes more than 10 months. Your organs literally move around, just to make room for this tiny human you’ve created. You can endure swollen feet and pelvic pain. You eventually can’t bend over and tie your shoes, sleeping becomes almost impossible, and you’re always sweaty.
If pregnancy can be crazy, then labor and delivery can be absolutely insane. It can be quick and easy or it can last hours and hours. Sometimes, you can have a smooth and uncomplicated delivery; unfortunately, many complications can arise.
Once it is all said and done, and your baby is finally here, the last thing you’re probably thinking about is when you’re going to have another—at least that’s what one Florida woman thought.
Stephanie Hollis of Delray Beach, Florida, had a relatively easy pregnancy. She didn’t suffer from morning sickness, just some pretty gnarly heartburn, sciatica 24/7, and some awkward pelvic pain towards the end of her pregnancy. Everything looked great, and she opted for an elective induction at 39 weeks.
When the date approached, she was all checked into the hospital, hooked up to the monitors, and just waiting for her baby to be here.
She was dilating pretty slowly, but everything was still going smoothly. They had administered Pitocin at around 7:30 the next morning, and by 1:00 in the afternoon, she was doing practice pushes with a nurse. It only took 20 minutes and her son was finally born.
Everyone was relishing in those beautiful seconds after delivery, until the unthinkable happened.
As Stephanie was delivering her placenta, a nurse, while standing down by her feet, looked at her with a wide smile and asked, “So, when are you guys thinking about baby #2?”
Stephanie was speechless. She glanced, nervously, over at her husband, as he gestured with his hand across his neck for her to not say anything.
All she could do was laugh nervously and change the subject, silently praying that literally no one else would ask her.
After everyone had cleared out and Stephanie, her husband, and the baby were resting comfortably in their recovery room, Stephanie found herself constantly paranoid.
Every single time a nurse would come in throughout the night to check her or the baby’s vitals, Stephanie’s palms would get sweaty and her heart would race.
What if she got asked again when she was going to have another baby? The first time happened so quickly, so it was only a matter of time before someone else couldn’t mind their own business.
The rest of the hospital stay went off without a hitch, and Stephanie could finally breathe a sigh of relief as her discharge papers were being signed. She packed her things, put on her momiform of leggings and a worn-in college sweatshirt, and got comfy in the wheelchair as her husband went to pull the car around.
She snuggled her baby tight to her chest as the discharge nurse wheeled her out to the front of the hospital.
Her husband took the baby from her arms and began to get him buckled into the car seat for the car ride home.
Stephanie turned towards the hospital with a smile, took a deep breath in, and was beaming with pride at this large accomplishment.
The discharge nurse wheeled her right up to the passenger door and helped her in.
Stephanie turned her face up the nurse to thank her, but before she could get out the words—
“So, when is baby #2 happening?”
*****
About the Author
Hi! I’m Dana. I’m a wife and first-time mama to a badass, little dude. I’m literally as clueless as they come in this parenting game, but I survive each day with insane amounts of caffeine, baby giggles, and parenting memes. I think I’m pretty funny, but don’t ask my husband his thoughts.