My "Cleftie"

Chapter One: The beginning of my bad "JU JU"

The day I found out that I was pregnant again, all I could think was “No! I am not ready for this!” I thought, for some insane reason, that if I ignore it, it will go away. HA! I was definitely wrong, and those hormones did not let me get away with it for long. Soon the nausea started, then the overwhelming need to sleep all the time, and the moodiness. None of that mattered though, I was a stay at home mom with a very hyper and mischievous 15 month old little girl, and I needed to go! go! go! with her. To make matters a little more complicated, my younger sister was also pregnant, about 1 month ahead of me and living in the same apartment as us. Needless to say, cravings and moods were all over the place!

Around 4 months of pregnancy my already natural clumsiness was intensified. While going out one day, I fell down a flight of stairs while carrying my daughter, Shauna. That of course resulted in me being immediately taken to the emergency room to make sure that nothing happened to the baby. Shauna was just fine since I made sure to keep her safe and away from the impact. The only thing that was wrong was my back and butt being sore and slight bruises from hitting the metal and concrete stairs.  

During the ultra sound at the hospital they decided to do a full on physical of the baby. The resident doctor was given permission to review any findings and report back to my OB/GYN since he was out of town and would be returning within the next few days. The ultra sound technician said that she saw a shadow on her face but was not sure. The doctor looked as well and said it was just a shadow from her arm that was near her face.  After being seen by my regular doctor and letting him know about what was said, he decided to look again and while we were at it, find out the sex of the baby.

What initially was a follow up visit to see how I was doing after the fall, ended up being the day I found out I was having another little girl. The doctor spent a good hour looking and taking measurements and getting close ups to see if he could find anything out of the ordinary. That entire time, the baby kept her hand firmly over the left side of her face. The doctor said “Well she’s a stubborn one, but I don’t see anything that is cause for concern. We will continue to monitor her closely and continue with the blood work that test for down-syndrome and a few other things” All results came back normal and all ultrasounds had the same results. The baby would face away or cover her face with her hand.

When I hit 6 months I did the silliest thing. I managed to fall again and fracture my left ankle. I still to this day, have NO idea how I did it. All I remember was walking out of the house, next thing I know I was on the floor at the entrance with my keys 5 feet away and my legs out in front of me. After standing up, I felt the pain of when you sprain or twist your ankle. So back inside I went to put some ice, only to find it rapidly swelling and looking bruised. Of course my, oh so helpful conscience, said, “Good job genius! How do you plan to get around and still watch Shauna now!?” I love how that little voice is so sarcastic!

Another trip to the E.R and many hours later, after being sent up and down from the maternity ward, being forgotten in a cubical, x-rays, my wheel chair being taken away, “lost” by the nurses, registration, I was finally put in a “pretty”, black, heavy, and too big for me, walking boot. The nurse’s assistant helping me thought it was hilarious that he needed to find me “kid size” crutches due to my short height. Yes, make fun of the pregnant lady with a fractured ankle….

To say I was “unfortunate” or had bad JU JU was an understatement. I seem to have a magnet on me for bad luck. Sometimes I can sit back and laugh but when it gets like this I just want to scream and throw a tantrum that would make any bratty terrible two year old proud. Ahhh yes life was definitely keeping me on my toes. So when, I thought to myself, “It can’t possible get any worse!” I, of course, challenged the universe and the challenge was accepted!

It started out with Shauna being extra bratty and wanting to be picked up and held when I could no longer lift her because of the pregnancy and my ankle. She would get into EVERYTHING! And whine and cry and spill her milk or spit it at me when I was ignoring her tantrums. Living with my in-laws at this point was both a blessing and a curse at the same time. It was a house full of men, when I was used to living with mostly women. Let me just saw that it is DEFINTELY a culture shock…

The best part was I had help with Shauna when they got off of work and my husband was working odd schedules, and dinner, can’t complain about the fact that I didn’t have to cook.  Which brings me into month 7 almost 8. Yes ladies and Gentleman, I thought I was safe… I started having ear aches and headaches. Then came the pain when I would eat ice. Let me just say that every pregnant woman’s best friend is ice chips, so I figured I would slow down on it, but the pain continued to get worse. Well, as it turns out I had a bad tooth that needed either a root canal or to be pulled. So off to the dentist, who was recommended by my sister, since her mother in law worked there and could get me seen almost immediately. I ended up getting the tooth pulled. The doctor had to give me the numbing shot 3 times before he could even attempt to touch it without me wanting to throw my fist in his face. Poor man, was just doing his job, but hey, when it comes to my mouth I am a giant baby with pain.

I think I ended up taking more pain medications (which I was assured by my doctor were perfectly safe for the baby) during that span of 3-4 months then I did in my entire 22 years of life. Luck did finally find me again. We found a house on the other side of town for rent and ended up moving. Life was finally looking good. January brought many good things for us, new home, my niece being born and no incidents. Even Shauna was starting to settle down. The beginning of February was also quiet. We got a new big screen TV and bigger bed with our income tax and I was MORE than ready to get this baby out. We had finally picked a name as well. Things were definitely looking up and luck was on our side. I had no idea about the whirlwind of events that were going to happen starting on the day my little one came into this life.