In our biracial household, race is a topic that’s discussed openly. Otherwise… it would be rather awkward. This is something I don’t normally discuss publicly/with others, but today I’ve decided to share some experiences that left me scratching my head.
“Why is he not crawling/sitting yet?” This is a question that I get quite often from people, so today I thought I’d shine a little light on Braveheart’s progress.
This week I’m not going to talk about baby boy fashion or about Braveheart’s heart, but rather about something we don’t discuss much. His vocal cord. When Braveheart was born, he had a healthy, loud cry. After that, we didn’t hear him cry again until after his first surgery, and what we heard was not the cry you’d expect from a baby. It was breathy and weak, almost silent. A squeak of sorts. Rather heartbreaking, really.
Developmental delays are one of the things that hubby and I feared most when we were told of Braveheart’s diagnosis. It was ‘expected’ that because of potential surgeries and recovery times, that Braveheart would fall behind. With all our might, we denied this possibility. We had faith that he would be, not only right on time but ahead of the curve. Ironically, he was rather ‘advanced’ until his second surgery. Before his second surgery, around 4-5 months old, he already seemed as though he was preparing to crawl. Fast-forward to after his surgery, he didn’t even want to be on his tummy, understandably.
June 9, 2017, a day before my baby shower, a month before our little Braveheart came into the world, and another day I will never forget. It was the first time that we were told, “You may be holding your baby by tonight”.
Most people have heard about the stereotypical pregnancy symptoms. The morning sickness, the headaches, the mood swings, fatigue, backaches, and the waddle. However, there were quite a few elements of my first pregnancy that definitely caught me off guard. Today, I’ll list the first six that came to mind.
Continue reading “Surprising Occurences in my First Pregnancy”
The other day, someone asked me how pregnancy had treated me. I actually had to really think about it. I wasn’t sure if I’d had a bad pregnancy or if Braveheart’s diagnosed condition was what made it difficult. I came to a conclusion: the pregnancy itself wasn’t bad, but the repeated hospitalizations for Braveheart’s condition made the majority of the experience a rather traumatic one.
March 3rd, 2017. I can never forget the day. My hubby had returned from a month in Belgium the day before, and we were so incredibly excited and nervous to find out if we were having a boy or a girl. Prior to the week of this very important ultrasound, we were so sure that we were having a girl. Fast forward to the week of the ultrasound, I phoned my hubby and said in dismay, “babe… I’m starting to think it’s a boy.”
In my mind, it was perhaps the worst scenario ever. (Don’t judge me lol).
For as long as I can remember, I have been a fan of stories. Fiction, Literature, Fantasy. Blogs. I’ve savored the memories and imagination of others, their experiences vividly woven through words as bright as paint on canvas. For this reason I’ve been knitting together stories of my own since I was 7 years old. They were always about love, family, and happily ever afters. Childhood was a blissful oasis in the desert of reality. Adulthood was a shock to the system. Like being submerged in freezing cold water and having no choice but to swim.
Perhaps happily ever afters rarely seem to happen in real life, but our journeys, our obstacles, our fears and our triumphs come together to create the greatest plot of all. Life.
Life is a heartsome journey, filled with excitement, curveballs, and oh so many plot twists.
My biggest plot twist, by far, has been baby boy Braveheart. Born with a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) and the ability to melt other hearts with one adorable gaze. He’s also the inspiration for “A Heartsome Journey” so he’ll also be the inspiration behind most blog posts. I will post about the medical and emotional aspect of raising a child with a CHD, fun (and not-so-fun) pregnancy and parenting stuff, baby boy fashion (and shoooooes!) and all the other random tidbits of life.
Disclaimer: I have an immense baby shoe obsession. #givemeallthebabyshoes
Thank you for stopping by, and stay tuned!
A Heartsome Journey 