Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Heavy On My Mind

This is a topic I honestly think about many times a day…having a Second Child. I have one son, “My Little Munchkin”, who is 2 ½. I was experiencing a wonderful pregnancy with Kyle and at 24 weeks my water unexpectedly broke and I gave birth to my son six days later at 25 weeks gestation. He weighed 1 lb. 10 oz. was 12 inches long and spent 86 days in the NICU. He had a few ups and downs during his journey, but is now happy and healthy with only developmental delays. I say “only” because I know things could have turned out to be much worse and he is definitely making huge and exciting strides in his progress. My husband and I both come from very small families. My husband is an only child and both his parents have passed away. My parents live out of state and my one older sister has passed away. I worry about my son growing up with little to no family down the road. The thought of this just breaks my heart!
Since we got married, we always planned on having two children and I know Kyle would love having a younger sibling. I am 38 years old and my husband is soon to be 43, so we are definitely in the higher age bracket for conceiving and we’re not getting any younger. There are lots of “risks” to consider. After our unexpected turn of events with our last pregnancy I am so afraid to have another baby. Going into a high risk pregancy from the beginning is very scary! I have known and read many stories of other women who had preemies who went on to experience a full term pregnancy. There are so many components to think about…such as having a healthy pregnancy and having a happy and healthy full term baby. We are in the midst of thinking about this and will need to decide within this next year. Of course, I will need to have a heart to heart talk with doctors to determine the best plan of action. If you are reading and happen to have any advice, suggestions, or words of encouragement please feel free to share. Ultimately, I realize the decison is up to my husband and me, but felt I needed to get the subject out in the “open”. I will certainly keep my blog readers posted with what hubby and I decide is best for all three of us.
I have also posted this thread on BabyCenter.

2 comments:

Lauren @ Adventures of a Southern Newlywed said...

Oh my goodness. That is a hard choice. Maybe you will have a better idea after you talk with you doctor.

Preppy Lizard said...

I can only imagine how difficult this decision will be. I hope once you talk with your doctor and you and the hubby have a real heart to heart you will be able to make the decision that is right for you.
My girl friend had her twins at 26weeks and they spent a long time in the NICU so I know how scary and draining that probably was for you and your family.