Channing’s Story

I became a parent on November 21, 2005. On this day, Eden {my first born} took her first breath and entered this world.

I was 22 and newly married. Eden’s father and I were married just a couple of months before finding out that we would have a new addition. A few weeks later, he learned that he would be deployed with the Coast Guard, and I spent the next several months sharing my pregnancy with my friends and family. My entire pregnancy was a roller coaster. At 24 weeks I started having strong contractions in the middle of the night, and I was immediately sent to the hospital. This was my first of five trips to the hospital before giving birth. During this time I was told that my fluid was low, and in order to keep my baby safe – I was to go onto strict bed rest.

So, for the next 12 weeks I laid at my parents house, watched a TON of Food Network {I was pregnant!}, and waited on this sweet little girl. At 36 weeks my blood pressure was high and her dad had just made it home. We went in to meet with the doctor and they determined it was time to induce and baby day was here! My actual labor was good. I had an epidural, there was minimal pain, and her delivery was smooth.

But then things turned.

All I can remember thinking is something is not right. I knew that I was loosing way too much blood. It was evident to everyone in the room, but the doctor felt I would be okay. I could not think straight and kept saying that I needed to sleep. This was not the kind of sleep you feel after long labor. I was on the verge of passing out…and I think I did. When I woke up, I remember having a horrible pain in my back. It was right in the center, between my shoulder blades. They told me it was nothing. Actually, they said it was {I’m sorry!} gas…but lets get real, who doesn’t know what that is?! I knew something was wrong. But 24 hours later, I went home.

I went home and the pain just got worse. I had never seen someone go through something like this after having a baby. I could not focus on her. I could not hold her or tend to her. My body was not producing milk, and I could not feed her. Here I was with my baby, and I could not be mom to her. I WANTED her, and I WANTED to snuggle and bond with her. But I had moments where I could not even move. I sat hunched over just trying to breath. My body was in reserve mode. I started gaining weight, and when I say I gained weight – I am talking about 30 pounds of fluid within days. My breathing was becoming more and more labored. I was scared.

A few days later, my mom walked in the door and saw me. She had been there just the day before, but when she walked in this morning, she knew something was wrong and rushed me to the hospital. When I got there, my heart was beating out of my chest. I could not breath, and my body was getting weaker and weaker. I sat in the ER not being able to focus. I remember the door to my room opening and seeing the look on my dad’s face. He was scared. And this is when it set in that something was really wrong with me. They gave me something to sleep, and I do not remember much of the next couple of days.

After many hours of testing, they came to the conclusion that I was in the middle of full on heart failure. I was diagnosed with Post Partum Cardiomyopathy. This was something I did not even think was possible. I was only 22, and my body was attacking my heart. I spent 3 days in the Cardiac ICU and 3 additional days on the Cardiac floor. This time was not spent with my baby, it was spent fighting to live. I beat not having to get a transplant, and I was getting stronger everyday. After a few days, things started to become more clear. The fluid was subsiding, I could breath, and I started feeling like myself again. The most difficult thing was that I did not get to spend this time with my sweet baby. The first 2 weeks of your newborns life are meant to spent cuddling and snuggling, but I could not even see her. I will never forget the pain of not being able to see her.  Here I was in a hospital bed, and she was miles away. I have no memories of who she was in that moment of time – only what others have told me. I longed to hold my baby, and I could not wait to get home.

I will never forget the day I walked through that door. I had spent over a week in a fog that is still hard for me to remember. But this moment finally getting to SEE her is as clear as day. I walked into that room and saw my Eden there. She was perfect and was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. I got that feeling, you know the one you get when you see your baby, I mean really see them for the first time. I remember thinking – I cannot believe that she is mine. At that moment, nothing else mattered. I would go through everything I had just conquered over and over again for this little one. My entire world as I knew it changed. That is the moment I became a mother.

[hr] Please Note :: Bassett Baby Planning is graciously sponsoring our ‘How I Became a Mother Series’…and we would not have it any other way!  We are passionate about all that they are doing for new and expecting moms, and we encourage you to contact them to help in your journey to becoming a mother too.

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