I'm a
planner. I plan. I'm fairly good at it. By Thursday, I know I'm going to the
movies on Saturday night and by Friday I know what I'm going to see. Sometimes
I live on the edge and wait until Saturday afternoon to decide which theater
I'm going to visit. On November 1st of every year I shop for my children's
Purim costumes for the Jewish "dress-up holiday" that takes place in
the spring. And I often use Google maps to get directions to new locations.
Even though I have a GPS in the car. You get the picture.
I'm a teacher. I don't
“work” from June through August. So when my daughter approached her first
birthday, we slowly began to wean so that I could "try" to get
pregnant so we could *plan* to have a baby by the following spring. Because I'm
a teacher. And I plan.
August 28, 2004
I woke up Shabbat
morning and nursed Gavriella. She was inches shy of 13 months and as delicious
a nurser as she was, she was weaning so, so beautifully. All our friends had
weaned in the weeks before and were expecting babies. But I had taken a
pregnancy test a week or so before and it was negative so I felt like I had
some time and it looked like we only had a few days/weeks left to our nursing
anyway...
So after a quick
nursing, I moved her to her high chair to feed her breakfast. I rose from my
chair and saw that there was blood on the seat. I went to go get cleaned up and
James and I commented on how strange it was that I would get my period so soon
after completing my last cycle.
Fast forward about an
hour and two saturated sanitary napkins and I enter the kitchen with a
blood-stained pregnancy test in my hand and say, "I think I have to go to
the hospital. And the reason I think I have to go to the hospital is that I'm
pregnant. And I think I'm miscarrying." James had me call a cab and
instruct them to come as quickly as possible to take me to the nearest
hospital. He would stay with Gavriella, probably taking her to synagogue.
About twelve hours of
heavy hemorrhaging, multiple doses of Methargine, and several i.v. sticks
(remember that) later James walked in the emergency room and they prepared to
discharge me. My doctor didn’t think surgery was necessary; I would probably
complete the miscarriage on my own. I begged the doctor not to make me leave
the hospital. I just knew that I would bleed out and die. As she signed the
final discharge papers, I said, "I don't feel well." The doctor said,
"I know. It's me." "No," I said. "I feel like I'm
going to throw up." She leaned over to take my hand and I fell back on the
table. It was like a scene from a prime time drama when the doctor shoved my 6
foot husband out of the way and yelled for help. It was clearly time to operate.
By the time we knew I
needed surgery, I had been away from Gavri for 12 hrs. I had asked for Gavri a few times during the
day because they didn't want me to nurse following the Methargine injection so
I wanted to nurse before they gave me the shot. But they didn't want a baby in
the emergency room.
The
procedure (D and C) would be done under general anesthesia, then the doctor was
going to prescribe one week's worth of antibiotics--Gav was only nursing once,
MAYBE twice, a day. I knew, going that long between nursing sessions meant, in
fact, that we were done. Gavriella would never nurse again. The best I could do
was look forward to getting home and snuggling her.
August 29
We all slept in the
family room and I wheeled her early in the morning to the corner store to get a
banana when she woke. It was a treat and succeeded in distracting her from the
fact that I wouldn't...couldn't?...nurse her. But when I went to pick her up, I
realized how painful the bruises on my arms were. My veins had collapsed from
the multiple accessing/de-accessing the day before. We could no longer nurse
and for days, I couldn't even pick her up. James was staffing a local political
convention so our friends filled in the gaps and helped pick up the pieces
(literally). I often look back at that time and wonder what people who don't
have an established community do in times of crisis...
September 5
About a week after my
surgery, I found that I could still express milk. I called a girlfriend all
excited--maybe Gav and I could pick up nursing again! Debra asked if I really
wanted to do that, only to go through the emotional pain of weaning her again.
I sulked a little. She was right. So I pumped...and continued pumping for the
next couple of weeks. Gavri ate cheerios and breast milk for breakfast, drank
yogurt and breast milk for lunch. It helped ease me through that mourning
period. Quite frankly, I felt a little bit like a rock star.
October, 2004
Not long after the
loss of the pregnancy and the resulting loss of my best nursing experience, I got pregnant with Her: the child I was *meant*
to have. The one GOD had planned for me. Because if I had given birth to the
baby *I* had “planned,” there would be no Sarit. Ann plans and God laughs.
I’m
a planner. I plan. I’m fairly good at it. By Thursday, I know I’m going
to the movies on Saturday night and by Friday I know what I’m going to
see. Sometimes I live on the edge and wait until Saturday afternoon to
decide which theater I’m going to visit. On November 1st of every year I
shop for my children’s Purim costumes for the Jewish “dress-up holiday”
that takes place in the spring. And I often use Google maps to get
directions to new locations. Even though I have a GPS in the car. You
get the picture. - See more at:
http://www.mamascomfortcamp.com/ann-pregnancy-loss-1/#sthash.F4iFGu9o.dpuf
’m
a planner. I plan. I’m fairly good at it. By Thursday, I know I’m going
to the movies on Saturday night and by Friday I know what I’m going to
see. Sometimes I live on the edge and wait until Saturday afternoon to
decide which theater I’m going to visit. On November 1st of every year I
shop for my children’s Purim costumes for the Jewish “dress-up holiday”
that takes place in the spring. And I often use Google maps to get
directions to new locations. Even though I have a GPS in the car. You
get the picture.
I’m a teacher. I don’t “work” from June through August. So when my daughter approached her first birthday, we slowly began to wean so that I could “try” to get pregnant so we could *plan* to have a baby by the following spring. Because I’m a teacher. And I plan.
August 28, 2004
I woke up Shabbat morning and nursed Gavriella. She was inches shy of 13 months and as delicious a nurser as she was, she was weaning so, so beautifully. All our friends had weaned in the weeks before and were expecting babies. But I had taken a pregnancy test a week or so before and it was negative so I felt like I had some time and it looked like we only had a few days/weeks left to our nursing anyway…
So after a quick nursing, I moved her to her high chair to feed her breakfast. I rose from my chair and saw that there was blood on the seat. I went to go get cleaned up and James and I commented on how strange it was that I would get my period so soon after completing my last cycle.
Fast forward about an hour and two saturated sanitary napkins and I enter the kitchen with a blood-stained pregnancy test in my hand and say, “I think I have to go to the hospital. And the reason I think I have to go to the hospital is that I’m pregnant. And I think I’m miscarrying.” James had me call a cab and instruct them to come as quickly as possible to take me to the nearest hospital. He would stay with Gavriella, probably taking her to synagogue.
About twelve hours of heavy hemorrhaging, multiple doses of Methargine, and several i.v. sticks (remember that) later James walked in the emergency room and they prepared to discharge me. My doctor didn’t think surgery was necessary; I would probably complete the miscarriage on my own. I begged the doctor not to make me leave the hospital. I just knew that I would bleed out and die. As she signed the final discharge papers, I said, “I don’t feel well.” The doctor said, “I know. It’s me.” “No,” I said. “I feel like I’m going to throw up.” She leaned over to take my hand and I fell back on the table. It was like a scene from a prime time drama when the doctor shoved my 6 foot husband out of the way and yelled for help. It was clearly time to operate.
By the time we knew I needed surgery, I had been away from Gavri for 12 hrs. I had asked for Gavri a few times during the day because they didn’t want me to nurse following the Methargine injection so I wanted to nurse before they gave me the shot. But they didn’t want a baby in the emergency room.
The procedure (D and C) would be done under general anesthesia, then the doctor was going to prescribe one week’s worth of antibiotics–Gav was only nursing once, MAYBE twice, a day. I knew, going that long between nursing sessions meant, in fact, that we were done. Gavriella would never nurse again. The best I could do was look forward to getting home and snuggling her.
August 29
We all slept in the family room and I wheeled her early in the morning to the corner store to get a banana when she woke. It was a treat and succeeded in distracting her from the fact that I wouldn’t…couldn’t?…nurse her. But when I went to pick her up, I realized how painful the bruises on my arms were. My veins had collapsed from the multiple accessing/de-accessing the day before. We could no longer nurse and for days, I couldn’t even pick her up. James was staffing a local political convention so our friends filled in the gaps and helped pick up the pieces (literally). I often look back at that time and wonder what people who don’t have an established community do in times of crisis…
September 5
About a week after my surgery, I found that I could still express milk. I called a girlfriend all excited–maybe Gav and I could pick up nursing again! Debra asked if I really wanted to do that, only to go through the emotional pain of weaning her again. I sulked a little. She was right. So I pumped…and continued pumping for the next couple of weeks. Gavri ate cheerios and breast milk for breakfast, drank yogurt and breast milk for lunch. It helped ease me through that mourning period. Quite frankly, I felt a little bit like a rock star.
October, 2004
Not long after the loss of the pregnancy and the resulting loss of my best nursing experience, I got pregnant with Her: the child I was *meant* to have. The one GOD had planned for me. Because if I had given birth to the baby *I* had “planned,” there would be no Sarit. Ann plans and God laughs.
- See more at: http://www.mamascomfortcamp.com/ann-pregnancy-loss-1/#sthash.F4iFGu9o.dpuf
I’m a teacher. I don’t “work” from June through August. So when my daughter approached her first birthday, we slowly began to wean so that I could “try” to get pregnant so we could *plan* to have a baby by the following spring. Because I’m a teacher. And I plan.
August 28, 2004
I woke up Shabbat morning and nursed Gavriella. She was inches shy of 13 months and as delicious a nurser as she was, she was weaning so, so beautifully. All our friends had weaned in the weeks before and were expecting babies. But I had taken a pregnancy test a week or so before and it was negative so I felt like I had some time and it looked like we only had a few days/weeks left to our nursing anyway…
So after a quick nursing, I moved her to her high chair to feed her breakfast. I rose from my chair and saw that there was blood on the seat. I went to go get cleaned up and James and I commented on how strange it was that I would get my period so soon after completing my last cycle.
Fast forward about an hour and two saturated sanitary napkins and I enter the kitchen with a blood-stained pregnancy test in my hand and say, “I think I have to go to the hospital. And the reason I think I have to go to the hospital is that I’m pregnant. And I think I’m miscarrying.” James had me call a cab and instruct them to come as quickly as possible to take me to the nearest hospital. He would stay with Gavriella, probably taking her to synagogue.
About twelve hours of heavy hemorrhaging, multiple doses of Methargine, and several i.v. sticks (remember that) later James walked in the emergency room and they prepared to discharge me. My doctor didn’t think surgery was necessary; I would probably complete the miscarriage on my own. I begged the doctor not to make me leave the hospital. I just knew that I would bleed out and die. As she signed the final discharge papers, I said, “I don’t feel well.” The doctor said, “I know. It’s me.” “No,” I said. “I feel like I’m going to throw up.” She leaned over to take my hand and I fell back on the table. It was like a scene from a prime time drama when the doctor shoved my 6 foot husband out of the way and yelled for help. It was clearly time to operate.
By the time we knew I needed surgery, I had been away from Gavri for 12 hrs. I had asked for Gavri a few times during the day because they didn’t want me to nurse following the Methargine injection so I wanted to nurse before they gave me the shot. But they didn’t want a baby in the emergency room.
The procedure (D and C) would be done under general anesthesia, then the doctor was going to prescribe one week’s worth of antibiotics–Gav was only nursing once, MAYBE twice, a day. I knew, going that long between nursing sessions meant, in fact, that we were done. Gavriella would never nurse again. The best I could do was look forward to getting home and snuggling her.
August 29
We all slept in the family room and I wheeled her early in the morning to the corner store to get a banana when she woke. It was a treat and succeeded in distracting her from the fact that I wouldn’t…couldn’t?…nurse her. But when I went to pick her up, I realized how painful the bruises on my arms were. My veins had collapsed from the multiple accessing/de-accessing the day before. We could no longer nurse and for days, I couldn’t even pick her up. James was staffing a local political convention so our friends filled in the gaps and helped pick up the pieces (literally). I often look back at that time and wonder what people who don’t have an established community do in times of crisis…
September 5
About a week after my surgery, I found that I could still express milk. I called a girlfriend all excited–maybe Gav and I could pick up nursing again! Debra asked if I really wanted to do that, only to go through the emotional pain of weaning her again. I sulked a little. She was right. So I pumped…and continued pumping for the next couple of weeks. Gavri ate cheerios and breast milk for breakfast, drank yogurt and breast milk for lunch. It helped ease me through that mourning period. Quite frankly, I felt a little bit like a rock star.
October, 2004
Not long after the loss of the pregnancy and the resulting loss of my best nursing experience, I got pregnant with Her: the child I was *meant* to have. The one GOD had planned for me. Because if I had given birth to the baby *I* had “planned,” there would be no Sarit. Ann plans and God laughs.
- See more at: http://www.mamascomfortcamp.com/ann-pregnancy-loss-1/#sthash.F4iFGu9o.dpuf
’m
a planner. I plan. I’m fairly good at it. By Thursday, I know I’m going
to the movies on Saturday night and by Friday I know what I’m going to
see. Sometimes I live on the edge and wait until Saturday afternoon to
decide which theater I’m going to visit. On November 1st of every year I
shop for my children’s Purim costumes for the Jewish “dress-up holiday”
that takes place in the spring. And I often use Google maps to get
directions to new locations. Even though I have a GPS in the car. You
get the picture.
I’m a teacher. I don’t “work” from June through August. So when my daughter approached her first birthday, we slowly began to wean so that I could “try” to get pregnant so we could *plan* to have a baby by the following spring. Because I’m a teacher. And I plan.
August 28, 2004
I woke up Shabbat morning and nursed Gavriella. She was inches shy of 13 months and as delicious a nurser as she was, she was weaning so, so beautifully. All our friends had weaned in the weeks before and were expecting babies. But I had taken a pregnancy test a week or so before and it was negative so I felt like I had some time and it looked like we only had a few days/weeks left to our nursing anyway…
So after a quick nursing, I moved her to her high chair to feed her breakfast. I rose from my chair and saw that there was blood on the seat. I went to go get cleaned up and James and I commented on how strange it was that I would get my period so soon after completing my last cycle.
Fast forward about an hour and two saturated sanitary napkins and I enter the kitchen with a blood-stained pregnancy test in my hand and say, “I think I have to go to the hospital. And the reason I think I have to go to the hospital is that I’m pregnant. And I think I’m miscarrying.” James had me call a cab and instruct them to come as quickly as possible to take me to the nearest hospital. He would stay with Gavriella, probably taking her to synagogue.
About twelve hours of heavy hemorrhaging, multiple doses of Methargine, and several i.v. sticks (remember that) later James walked in the emergency room and they prepared to discharge me. My doctor didn’t think surgery was necessary; I would probably complete the miscarriage on my own. I begged the doctor not to make me leave the hospital. I just knew that I would bleed out and die. As she signed the final discharge papers, I said, “I don’t feel well.” The doctor said, “I know. It’s me.” “No,” I said. “I feel like I’m going to throw up.” She leaned over to take my hand and I fell back on the table. It was like a scene from a prime time drama when the doctor shoved my 6 foot husband out of the way and yelled for help. It was clearly time to operate.
By the time we knew I needed surgery, I had been away from Gavri for 12 hrs. I had asked for Gavri a few times during the day because they didn’t want me to nurse following the Methargine injection so I wanted to nurse before they gave me the shot. But they didn’t want a baby in the emergency room.
The procedure (D and C) would be done under general anesthesia, then the doctor was going to prescribe one week’s worth of antibiotics–Gav was only nursing once, MAYBE twice, a day. I knew, going that long between nursing sessions meant, in fact, that we were done. Gavriella would never nurse again. The best I could do was look forward to getting home and snuggling her.
August 29
We all slept in the family room and I wheeled her early in the morning to the corner store to get a banana when she woke. It was a treat and succeeded in distracting her from the fact that I wouldn’t…couldn’t?…nurse her. But when I went to pick her up, I realized how painful the bruises on my arms were. My veins had collapsed from the multiple accessing/de-accessing the day before. We could no longer nurse and for days, I couldn’t even pick her up. James was staffing a local political convention so our friends filled in the gaps and helped pick up the pieces (literally). I often look back at that time and wonder what people who don’t have an established community do in times of crisis…
September 5
About a week after my surgery, I found that I could still express milk. I called a girlfriend all excited–maybe Gav and I could pick up nursing again! Debra asked if I really wanted to do that, only to go through the emotional pain of weaning her again. I sulked a little. She was right. So I pumped…and continued pumping for the next couple of weeks. Gavri ate cheerios and breast milk for breakfast, drank yogurt and breast milk for lunch. It helped ease me through that mourning period. Quite frankly, I felt a little bit like a rock star.
October, 2004
Not long after the loss of the pregnancy and the resulting loss of my best nursing experience, I got pregnant with Her: the child I was *meant* to have. The one GOD had planned for me. Because if I had given birth to the baby *I* had “planned,” there would be no Sarit. Ann plans and God laughs.
- See more at: http://www.mamascomfortcamp.com/ann-pregnancy-loss-1/#sthash.F4iFGu9o.dpuf
I’m a teacher. I don’t “work” from June through August. So when my daughter approached her first birthday, we slowly began to wean so that I could “try” to get pregnant so we could *plan* to have a baby by the following spring. Because I’m a teacher. And I plan.
August 28, 2004
I woke up Shabbat morning and nursed Gavriella. She was inches shy of 13 months and as delicious a nurser as she was, she was weaning so, so beautifully. All our friends had weaned in the weeks before and were expecting babies. But I had taken a pregnancy test a week or so before and it was negative so I felt like I had some time and it looked like we only had a few days/weeks left to our nursing anyway…
So after a quick nursing, I moved her to her high chair to feed her breakfast. I rose from my chair and saw that there was blood on the seat. I went to go get cleaned up and James and I commented on how strange it was that I would get my period so soon after completing my last cycle.
Fast forward about an hour and two saturated sanitary napkins and I enter the kitchen with a blood-stained pregnancy test in my hand and say, “I think I have to go to the hospital. And the reason I think I have to go to the hospital is that I’m pregnant. And I think I’m miscarrying.” James had me call a cab and instruct them to come as quickly as possible to take me to the nearest hospital. He would stay with Gavriella, probably taking her to synagogue.
About twelve hours of heavy hemorrhaging, multiple doses of Methargine, and several i.v. sticks (remember that) later James walked in the emergency room and they prepared to discharge me. My doctor didn’t think surgery was necessary; I would probably complete the miscarriage on my own. I begged the doctor not to make me leave the hospital. I just knew that I would bleed out and die. As she signed the final discharge papers, I said, “I don’t feel well.” The doctor said, “I know. It’s me.” “No,” I said. “I feel like I’m going to throw up.” She leaned over to take my hand and I fell back on the table. It was like a scene from a prime time drama when the doctor shoved my 6 foot husband out of the way and yelled for help. It was clearly time to operate.
By the time we knew I needed surgery, I had been away from Gavri for 12 hrs. I had asked for Gavri a few times during the day because they didn’t want me to nurse following the Methargine injection so I wanted to nurse before they gave me the shot. But they didn’t want a baby in the emergency room.
The procedure (D and C) would be done under general anesthesia, then the doctor was going to prescribe one week’s worth of antibiotics–Gav was only nursing once, MAYBE twice, a day. I knew, going that long between nursing sessions meant, in fact, that we were done. Gavriella would never nurse again. The best I could do was look forward to getting home and snuggling her.
August 29
We all slept in the family room and I wheeled her early in the morning to the corner store to get a banana when she woke. It was a treat and succeeded in distracting her from the fact that I wouldn’t…couldn’t?…nurse her. But when I went to pick her up, I realized how painful the bruises on my arms were. My veins had collapsed from the multiple accessing/de-accessing the day before. We could no longer nurse and for days, I couldn’t even pick her up. James was staffing a local political convention so our friends filled in the gaps and helped pick up the pieces (literally). I often look back at that time and wonder what people who don’t have an established community do in times of crisis…
September 5
About a week after my surgery, I found that I could still express milk. I called a girlfriend all excited–maybe Gav and I could pick up nursing again! Debra asked if I really wanted to do that, only to go through the emotional pain of weaning her again. I sulked a little. She was right. So I pumped…and continued pumping for the next couple of weeks. Gavri ate cheerios and breast milk for breakfast, drank yogurt and breast milk for lunch. It helped ease me through that mourning period. Quite frankly, I felt a little bit like a rock star.
October, 2004
Not long after the loss of the pregnancy and the resulting loss of my best nursing experience, I got pregnant with Her: the child I was *meant* to have. The one GOD had planned for me. Because if I had given birth to the baby *I* had “planned,” there would be no Sarit. Ann plans and God laughs.
- See more at: http://www.mamascomfortcamp.com/ann-pregnancy-loss-1/#sthash.F4iFGu9o.dpuf
’m
a planner. I plan. I’m fairly good at it. By Thursday, I know I’m going
to the movies on Saturday night and by Friday I know what I’m going to
see. Sometimes I live on the edge and wait until Saturday afternoon to
decide which theater I’m going to visit. On November 1st of every year I
shop for my children’s Purim costumes for the Jewish “dress-up holiday”
that takes place in the spring. And I often use Google maps to get
directions to new locations. Even though I have a GPS in the car. You
get the picture.
I’m a teacher. I don’t “work” from June through August. So when my daughter approached her first birthday, we slowly began to wean so that I could “try” to get pregnant so we could *plan* to have a baby by the following spring. Because I’m a teacher. And I plan.
August 28, 2004
I woke up Shabbat morning and nursed Gavriella. She was inches shy of 13 months and as delicious a nurser as she was, she was weaning so, so beautifully. All our friends had weaned in the weeks before and were expecting babies. But I had taken a pregnancy test a week or so before and it was negative so I felt like I had some time and it looked like we only had a few days/weeks left to our nursing anyway…
So after a quick nursing, I moved her to her high chair to feed her breakfast. I rose from my chair and saw that there was blood on the seat. I went to go get cleaned up and James and I commented on how strange it was that I would get my period so soon after completing my last cycle.
Fast forward about an hour and two saturated sanitary napkins and I enter the kitchen with a blood-stained pregnancy test in my hand and say, “I think I have to go to the hospital. And the reason I think I have to go to the hospital is that I’m pregnant. And I think I’m miscarrying.” James had me call a cab and instruct them to come as quickly as possible to take me to the nearest hospital. He would stay with Gavriella, probably taking her to synagogue.
About twelve hours of heavy hemorrhaging, multiple doses of Methargine, and several i.v. sticks (remember that) later James walked in the emergency room and they prepared to discharge me. My doctor didn’t think surgery was necessary; I would probably complete the miscarriage on my own. I begged the doctor not to make me leave the hospital. I just knew that I would bleed out and die. As she signed the final discharge papers, I said, “I don’t feel well.” The doctor said, “I know. It’s me.” “No,” I said. “I feel like I’m going to throw up.” She leaned over to take my hand and I fell back on the table. It was like a scene from a prime time drama when the doctor shoved my 6 foot husband out of the way and yelled for help. It was clearly time to operate.
By the time we knew I needed surgery, I had been away from Gavri for 12 hrs. I had asked for Gavri a few times during the day because they didn’t want me to nurse following the Methargine injection so I wanted to nurse before they gave me the shot. But they didn’t want a baby in the emergency room.
The procedure (D and C) would be done under general anesthesia, then the doctor was going to prescribe one week’s worth of antibiotics–Gav was only nursing once, MAYBE twice, a day. I knew, going that long between nursing sessions meant, in fact, that we were done. Gavriella would never nurse again. The best I could do was look forward to getting home and snuggling her.
August 29
We all slept in the family room and I wheeled her early in the morning to the corner store to get a banana when she woke. It was a treat and succeeded in distracting her from the fact that I wouldn’t…couldn’t?…nurse her. But when I went to pick her up, I realized how painful the bruises on my arms were. My veins had collapsed from the multiple accessing/de-accessing the day before. We could no longer nurse and for days, I couldn’t even pick her up. James was staffing a local political convention so our friends filled in the gaps and helped pick up the pieces (literally). I often look back at that time and wonder what people who don’t have an established community do in times of crisis…
September 5
About a week after my surgery, I found that I could still express milk. I called a girlfriend all excited–maybe Gav and I could pick up nursing again! Debra asked if I really wanted to do that, only to go through the emotional pain of weaning her again. I sulked a little. She was right. So I pumped…and continued pumping for the next couple of weeks. Gavri ate cheerios and breast milk for breakfast, drank yogurt and breast milk for lunch. It helped ease me through that mourning period. Quite frankly, I felt a little bit like a rock star.
October, 2004
Not long after the loss of the pregnancy and the resulting loss of my best nursing experience, I got pregnant with Her: the child I was *meant* to have. The one GOD had planned for me. Because if I had given birth to the baby *I* had “planned,” there would be no Sarit. Ann plans and God laughs.
I’m a teacher. I don’t “work” from June through August. So when my daughter approached her first birthday, we slowly began to wean so that I could “try” to get pregnant so we could *plan* to have a baby by the following spring. Because I’m a teacher. And I plan.
August 28, 2004
I woke up Shabbat morning and nursed Gavriella. She was inches shy of 13 months and as delicious a nurser as she was, she was weaning so, so beautifully. All our friends had weaned in the weeks before and were expecting babies. But I had taken a pregnancy test a week or so before and it was negative so I felt like I had some time and it looked like we only had a few days/weeks left to our nursing anyway…
So after a quick nursing, I moved her to her high chair to feed her breakfast. I rose from my chair and saw that there was blood on the seat. I went to go get cleaned up and James and I commented on how strange it was that I would get my period so soon after completing my last cycle.
Fast forward about an hour and two saturated sanitary napkins and I enter the kitchen with a blood-stained pregnancy test in my hand and say, “I think I have to go to the hospital. And the reason I think I have to go to the hospital is that I’m pregnant. And I think I’m miscarrying.” James had me call a cab and instruct them to come as quickly as possible to take me to the nearest hospital. He would stay with Gavriella, probably taking her to synagogue.
About twelve hours of heavy hemorrhaging, multiple doses of Methargine, and several i.v. sticks (remember that) later James walked in the emergency room and they prepared to discharge me. My doctor didn’t think surgery was necessary; I would probably complete the miscarriage on my own. I begged the doctor not to make me leave the hospital. I just knew that I would bleed out and die. As she signed the final discharge papers, I said, “I don’t feel well.” The doctor said, “I know. It’s me.” “No,” I said. “I feel like I’m going to throw up.” She leaned over to take my hand and I fell back on the table. It was like a scene from a prime time drama when the doctor shoved my 6 foot husband out of the way and yelled for help. It was clearly time to operate.
By the time we knew I needed surgery, I had been away from Gavri for 12 hrs. I had asked for Gavri a few times during the day because they didn’t want me to nurse following the Methargine injection so I wanted to nurse before they gave me the shot. But they didn’t want a baby in the emergency room.
The procedure (D and C) would be done under general anesthesia, then the doctor was going to prescribe one week’s worth of antibiotics–Gav was only nursing once, MAYBE twice, a day. I knew, going that long between nursing sessions meant, in fact, that we were done. Gavriella would never nurse again. The best I could do was look forward to getting home and snuggling her.
August 29
We all slept in the family room and I wheeled her early in the morning to the corner store to get a banana when she woke. It was a treat and succeeded in distracting her from the fact that I wouldn’t…couldn’t?…nurse her. But when I went to pick her up, I realized how painful the bruises on my arms were. My veins had collapsed from the multiple accessing/de-accessing the day before. We could no longer nurse and for days, I couldn’t even pick her up. James was staffing a local political convention so our friends filled in the gaps and helped pick up the pieces (literally). I often look back at that time and wonder what people who don’t have an established community do in times of crisis…
September 5
About a week after my surgery, I found that I could still express milk. I called a girlfriend all excited–maybe Gav and I could pick up nursing again! Debra asked if I really wanted to do that, only to go through the emotional pain of weaning her again. I sulked a little. She was right. So I pumped…and continued pumping for the next couple of weeks. Gavri ate cheerios and breast milk for breakfast, drank yogurt and breast milk for lunch. It helped ease me through that mourning period. Quite frankly, I felt a little bit like a rock star.
October, 2004
Not long after the loss of the pregnancy and the resulting loss of my best nursing experience, I got pregnant with Her: the child I was *meant* to have. The one GOD had planned for me. Because if I had given birth to the baby *I* had “planned,” there would be no Sarit. Ann plans and God laughs.
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