In order to make my daughters bookshelves, I first had to gather materials. I got my 3 bookshelves from IKEA. Next, I chose to paint the shelves grey to match my daughters room. I used Glidden Paint in the color Satin and Dollar Tree paint brushes. It took me about two days to paint because I only painted when my baby was asleep, and I did 2 coats.

Link for Shelves: (https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/bekvaem-spice-rack-aspen-20487175/)

Link for Paint: (https://www.homedepot.com/p/Glidden-Premium-8-oz-Base-1-Satin-Interior-Paint-Sample-GLU6211N-16/302428040)

All that was left was to put them on the wall. My husband placed the screws in the walls to mount these shelves. I used a tall children’s book to figure out the space I wanted between the shelves. I decided about 15 inches of space between. See the final result below!

Month 1 (Weeks 1-4)= November 5th- December 3rd 2020

Most Likely, my husband and I conceived near November 5th, which is his mom’s birthday. However, we did not find out we were pregnant until November 26, 2020. During this time period, my husband and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary on November 18th. We also went to San Francisco to celebrate our anniversary November 22nd-25th. I did not have any symptoms at this time, except not having my period. We were surprised, yet not surprised. We were “trying” because I was off birth control and we knew somewhat when I was ovulating, but we weren’t trying hard. I was definitely surprised when I got pregnant because I thought we missed the optimum ovulating time that month. I took multiple tests to be sure before calling our parents. I also went to our first doctor’s appointment to confirm I was pregnant.

Month 2 (Weeks 4-8)= December 3rd- December 31st 2020

During this month, I did not have any real pregnancy symptoms. I worked like normal and participated in our school’s Christmas Program. This month ended with the beginning of my pregnancy struggles. I was fine until right before Christmas Eve. I was having a lot of gas pain and constipation. I made it through the holidays, but I spent a lot of time in pain. The pain got worse and worse, to the point where we chose to take me to the hospital. I went to the Placentia Yorba Linda Hospital on December 26th, and thankfully Quincy was perfectly safe. I had my first ultrasound and heard the heartbeat in the hospital. However, I had an ovarian cyst the size of a grapefruit. This was the reason for my pain and discomfort. They told me to go home and take Tylenol for the pain, so I did. I saw my doctor, and he said the same thing as well.

Month 3 (Weeks 9-12)= December 31st- January 21st 2020

I continued having minimal pain and discomfort. Also, I was still having gas and constipation issues, and to make matters worse, I had a cough. These factors probably put pressure on my cyst. On January 2nd, I was in so much pain, and I threw up due to the pain. My mom picked me up, and this time my doctor said to go to his hospital, Orange County Global. I was in this hospital for about 3 days. I was in such bad pain that they gave me a tiny bit of morphine to help me sleep, despite the small risk to the baby. They were worried I might have an appendicitis, but I couldn’t get an x-Ray, so they had me get an MRI. I had never had one before. The appendicitis came back negative, and they said it was just the cyst once again. I was so defeated because I wanted the pain to go away. If it was an appendicitis, at least they could take it out and I wouldn’t have anymore pain. However, it was just the cyst, and there was nothing they could do without risking the baby. I went to stay at my parents house, and I could not move for a week and a half after leaving the hospital due to the pain. I had to crawl or bend over to get to the bathroom. My doctor said I was not allowed to do any strenuous activity except walking, that we would need to see a specialist, and that the doctors would watch the cyst because it may have to be surgically removed before I gave birth. After the week and a half, I returned to work, but told them I had to sit a majority of the time. I still had pain, but it was manageable when sitting.

Month 4 (Weeks 13-16)= January 21st- February 18th 2020

After a stressful first trimester full of hospital visits and pain, I started my second trimester. I was nervous that the pain would return, or that I might lose the baby. I was also nervous that I would be a bad mom because I never felt I was “good” with kids. I teach Middle School and High School for a reason. I still had occasional pain while working, but as long as I didn’t move too much, I could handle it. My second trimester turned out to be my easiest trimester with the least amount of pregnancy symptoms. I enjoyed going to work and spending time with my husband. For Valentine’s Day, we went to Pei Wei. We got our Chinese food and I got a caffeine free soda. He also bought me flowers, chocolate, and a pretty heart shaped necklace from Kay’s jewelers.

Month 5 (Weeks 17-20)= February 18th- March 17th 2020

At the end of this time period, we were supposed to learn the sex of our baby. We were also going to have our gender reveal. However, all these things were put on hold because of the pandemic. The numbers were getting worse, and a stay-at home order was on the horizons. I was still not having too many pregnancy symptoms. My cyst pain was pretty much abated, and I went to work like normal. During this ultrasound, week 20, we could have known the gender, but we kept it a secret and I gave it to my brother. He was the keeper of the gender.

Month 6 (Weeks 21-24)= March 17th- April 14th 2020

On March 19th, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom issued the stay-at- home order. I was devastated because I wanted to know my baby’s gender and throw my gender reveal party. However, this was put on hold. I thought once April came, I could have my reveal, but that was put on hold too, so I scheduled for after Easter. I continued to have my monthly check ups and ultra-sounds to check on the cyst. I also was starting to show during this month, but not enough that anyone else would notice. I was glad to be working from home because the anxiety of teaching with the cyst or during pregnancy was relieved. I continued to not have any cyst related pain. It was a quarantined life with my husband, my fur babies, and the little one growing inside me.

Month 7 (Weeks 25-28)= April 14th- May 12th 2020

Easter was April 19th, but the stay-at-home order was still not looking like it was being lifted. At this point, I was frustrated. I wanted to throw my gender reveal that I had planned so thoroughly and spent so much time and money on. I decided to schedule it in May and no matter what not change it. The end of this month marked the end of the second trimester. I continued to get my monthly checkups and ultrasounds to check on the cyst. I started having the pregnancy symptom of acid reflux. I tried tums, but they were not cutting it. My doctor advised Pepcid complete. I began eating these as often as I could. They helped, but I basically always had acid reflux. I also feel like I was somewhat starting to show during these months, but I was not really sticking out much, and I was getting wider.

Month 8 (Weeks 29-32)= May 12th- June 9th 2020

On May 16th, I finally had my Gender Reveal. We had a Harry Potter themed gender reveal. I wanted a boy, but my husband wanted a girl. To reveal the gender, we put smoke bombs in a pumpkin. When they started igniting, they let off a grey smoke that I thought was blue, so I started jumping for joy. However, it then changed to pink and I fell over in despair. I felt like I wouldn’t know how to care for a girl and that it would be much more difficult than having a boy. Although I was upset for a few weeks, I began to get excited for having a girl. Here is the link to my gender reveal: Harry Potter Gender Reveal. My pregnancy symptoms were worsening and the acid reflux and heartburn was terrible. My doctor advised to double the amount of Pepcid Complete I was taking. This definitely helped, but the acid reflux was a constant battle. Also, I started getting headaches in the mornings and at nights. During these months, I started seeing the doctor every 2 weeks instead of every 4 weeks. I also received news that it seemed like my cyst was getting smaller. I was showing and growing, but I was definitely wide and not as much outwards like normal pregnant women.

Month 9 (Weeks 33-36)= June 9th- July 7th 2020

During this month, my acid reflux and headaches continued to bother me and my feet were so swollen it was ridiculous. This was also when sleep began being an issue and I felt like I could never get comfortable. My Baby Shower was on June 20th. It was Alice in Wonderland themed, and we had a tea party. To see my baby shower click here: Alice in Wonderland Baby Shower. I loved being able to celebrate Baby Quincy, and enjoying the company of my friends and family. During this month, I began nesting and trying to prepare as much as possible for this baby.

Month 10 (Weeks 37-40)- July 7th- Aug 4th 2020

On July 9th, I was starting the first of my weekly visits leading up to giving birth. However, this visit ended up being my last visit. At this visit, the doctor noticed I had very high blood pressure. She said I needed to go to the hospital and act like it was time to give birth. At the time, I was staying in a hotel because the night before my husband was having Covid symptoms. He had a fever and was feeling terrible. I picked up my stuff at the hotel, and I asked my mother in law who was helping her son while he was sick to prepare a bag for Quincy and I in case I wasn’t allowed to leave the hospital. The hospital told me I wasn’t going to be leaving. They said I was hypertensive and had preeclampsia. Therefore, they were going to induce my labor. I called my husband, he said he was feeling better and that his fever was gone, so I urged him to get a same day Covid test. It turns out he was negative, but the hospital would still not risk him be present with me in the hospital. Therefore, my mom was my labor partner and helped me give birth.

To be continued… (I will post my entire birth story soon!)

July 9th- July 13th 2020

On June 9th, I went to my routine 36 week check up doctors appointment. I did the routine prep stuff, and the nurse said my blood pressure was a little high and that she would inform my doctor. Meanwhile, I was freaking amour because I could sense a false calm and I didn’t know what that meant. My Doctor came in and said she was concerned by my high blood pressure and that she wanted me to go to the hospital. She said to act like it was time to give birth.

At the time, I was staying at a hotel. My husband had a fever the night before, so I was staying at a hotel to protect myself and the baby. On the way to the hotel, I called my mom, husband, and mother in law freaking out and asking for help. Before going to the hotel, I stopped at Starbucks to eat a breakfast sandwich and coffee. I wasn’t sure when I would get food or caffeine again, so that was a necessity. When I got to the hotel, I gathered all my stuff from the hotel, and off to the hospital I went. I got to Saint Joseph’s and was sent to the maternity ward. I checked in and got settled. They ran tests, confirmed I was hypertensive, I had preeclampsia, and that they were going to induce my labor.

I frantically asked about my husband who had a fever the night before, but his fever was now gone. They advised that he get a rapid covid test so that he could be there for the birth. However, they later told me the nurse in charge would not allow him to come even with a negative covid test. My husband was very saddened that he wouldn’t be there for the birth of our first born, especially because his covid test came back negative. However, the positive was that my mom was able to be my birthing partner. I always wanted to have them both there. My mom is the most comforting and nurturing person I know, and I knew I needed her. my mother in law met my mom at the hospital to give a hospital bag based off my text instructions. I had not even made my hospital bag yet because I still had four weeks.

The actual labor was a very long and tiring process. I was induced midday Thursday, but I wasn’t really dilating, so they put a balloon inside to speed up the process. The balloon was very painful, but It got me dilated enough to officially be in labor. I got an epidural as soon as the anesthesiologist was available because I was afraid I wouldn’t get the medication before it was too late. Despite having an epidural, I was able to move around very well and easily. My nurses and doctors were shocked. Apparently the epidural didn’t work as well on me because I felt pain and cramping throughout my entire labor. During labor, they put you in a variety of awkward positions, as you can see from my pictures above. This is all to help dilate you.

When going through the contractions, I remember feeling a weird tightening or cramping feeling. They eventually got stronger and more painful. The worst part for me was intense back cramping. I had to have my mom massage my back because the cramps were so intense. Once I was dilated to 8-9 cm, the Doctor said she was concerned because the baby seemed under duress (It turns out she was coming out at an angle which is why she was under duress and natural birth was so difficult). She advised a C-Section, but said we would try for another 30 minutes and see if she looked better. After trying for another hour and a a half, the Doctor asked what I wanted to do. It was late Friday night or early Saturday, I was tired, and I just wanted to meet my daughter, so I asked for the emergency C-Section.

One side note I want to make is do not judge yourself to harshly for what you say when you are in labor. I said many terrible things that I didn’t mean because of the pain and being so tired. Give yourself grace. Also, another side note is that if you expect to be lady-like, it ain’t gonna happen. You will be naked, peeing in front of people, and exposed the whole time.

Going to my C-Section, I wasn’t scared, and I was excited to finally meet Quincy. However, my C-Section was incredibly scary when it started. The anesthesiologist gave me more spinal tap meds because of my reaction to the epidural. Because of this, I lost my ability to talk and felt like I couldn’t breath. I closed my eyes and focused on my shallow breathing. I eventually fell asleep. I did not wake up again until the doctors were calling my name and showing me my baby. She was perfect and looked just like her Daddy!

Quincy Leia was born at 6:04 AM on Saturday, July 11th, 2020. She weighed 6 lbs 11 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. My husband and I chose the name Quincy because it was cute and unique. I had coached a girl named Quincy in the past, and I liked her name, so I told my husband, and he liked it too. Her middle name is Leia because we wanted a Princess name, and we like how Leia flowed. Because Quincy was born prematurely (3.5 weeks), they were nervous of complications and took her away for awhile. I anxiously waited to have her returned. When they finally brought her back, I couldn’t believe I was carrying her for 9 months, gave birth to her, and how beautiful she was.

After giving birth, I recovered very quickly. Once again, my doctors and nurses were shocked with how quickly I could move about. I was very determined to leave as soon as my 48 hours were up. I wanted to see my husband, and I wanted him to meet our baby girl for the first time. The first 48 hours were tiring, but it was exciting getting to know Quincy and learning how to nurse. I really suggest a nursing pillow because it made learning how to nurse, and especially nursing a newborn infant much, much easier. Overall, I know my recovery story is probably unusual. I think I was so mobile because of my sports history. I always played through my injuries, and I never let sickness or pain stop me from playing. I think I had the same mentality after giving birth. For me, recovery was the easy part.

Overall, my birth story was nothing like I thought it would be. I never thought I would be in labor 4 weeks early. I never thought I would have hypertension and preeclampsia. I never thought my husband would not be present for the birth. I never thought I would need a painful balloon. I never thought I’d need a C-Section. I never thought I’d have weird reactions to anesthesia. I never thought I’d be scared, unable to talk, and unable to breath. I never thought I’d sleep through my delivery. I never thought I’d recover so quickly. And lastly, I never thought I would love being a mom as much as I do!