We recently celebrated my daughter’s first birthday, and I cannot get over how fast that went. I kept reflecting on how her first year was so different from my son’s. I’m not sure if it was the fact that she was a breeze for a baby and I was able to get a ton of sleep, or if there were other differences that made it easier.
So here is what I felt went differently between my son’s and daughter’s birth and first year:
C-Section
Every pregnancy is indeed different, and it’s also true that every delivery is different. For my son, I was induced, and it took FOREVER for him to come out. He wanted to stay in there as long as possible. For my daughter, she decided to come early. She had a flair for the dramatics because I had to have an emergency C-section. Long story short, I was gushing blood and took an ambulance ride to the hospital. After trying to induce me, the doctors were concerned with the sizes of the clots they were pulling out of me. So they decided to proceed with a C-section.
No Pandemic
The biggest difference between the two was that there was no global pandemic going on during her first year. We were able to bring her out to restaurants at six days old. People were able to come over and visit, which was HUGE since I needed extra help since I was recovering. We were able to send my son to school to keep him in his routine. It was a whole different world raising her in a “normal” world than raising her in a pandemic. We were obviously still careful, but it was a definite change being able to go out and do activities and not be stuck in the house. I think that made a huge difference in my recovery and even my postpartum mental health.
Extra Follow-Up Appointments
When my son was born, the pediatrician would always say he was “perfect,” and we would just have his usual weigh-in and monthly appointments. When my daughter was a week or so old, we got a call that we had to get her blood work redrawn because her thyroid levels were off. OH GREAT. Since I have a condition called congenital hypothyroidism, which in non-medical terms means I was born without a thyroid. I started panicking, thinking my daughter would have the same issue or some issue with her thyroid. I know how difficult it was for my mom with me as a baby, so I didn’t think I was equipped to handle it. It turns out she was fine; they think it was just residual from my high medication dose throughout pregnancy.
The pediatrician also heard a murmur in her heart, so they wanted us to get that checked out to make sure it wasn’t more serious. Seeing my tiny baby attached to the EKG machine was no fun. She and I were both sobbing the whole time. I think mine was more just from being overwhelmed. The cardiologist stated that it was minor and that she would grow out of it at 6 months. PHEW. Fast forward to her 6-month appointment, and her pediatrician still heard the murmur and said it was still louder than she’d like, so she sent us to get it checked out again. The consensus was that she’s fine and she doesn’t need to be seen about it again. *Deep breath* I appreciate the thoroughness, but I was so annoyed, tired, and overwhelmed, so I just wanted to cry.
Needing Physical Therapy
The follow-ups and “diagnoses” continued. Her pediatrician noticed she favored one side of her neck and diagnosed her with Torticollis. For those of you who don’t know, torticollis is when the baby favors one side of their neck and tilts their head to one side. So the neck seems tighter or stiffer. They referred us to Early Intervention/ physical therapy to loosen everything up. She was about 2-3 months old when she started the services, and she has come so far. The combination of physical therapy and chiropractic care fixed her torticollis, and everyone would see improvements in her weekly.
Overall, I found the newborn phase easier and more enjoyable this time around. Different factors played in this feeling, but the above reasons, combined with the fact that she allowed me to get rest played a huge role.
