Motherhood Second Time Round

name: Elbi

date entered: 12/07/2009

country: Australia

story:

It has been a few years since my first entry about my daughter Arwen, who is now 3.  She was born with Hirschbrungs disease.

I now have a little boy 3 months old who was conceived via IVF, ICSI with genetic testing so that he wouldn't be born with Hirschbrungs. The testing has been successful and we have a baby with a normal bowel and he is quite delightful. Interestingly he only does a poo every 9-14 days which initially sent me into a tiz as I thought the genetic testing was unsuccessful. I have been reassured that he is behaving normally for a fully breastfed babe.

One of the most stressful times for me was deciding with my husband whether or not to have a second child as we both found parenting extremely difficult at times. I did not find the IVF process too stressful and this was partially due to the fact I had a child already and the IVF process was successful first time round.

My second labour was a fairly routine normal delivery, where I used a TNS machine for the first 4 hours and then went into hospital for a water birth. The first month was hard work with lots of sleep deprivation and the normal emotional rollercoaster. However I had lots of support overnight and managed to establish a good sleep routine for my new son.

So I am now a mother of 2 children and I am kept very busy. I feel I am able to enjoy each day and realise how much stress I endured with my daughter. I didn't enjoy much of the first 6 months of her life due to worry and going in and out of hospital. My son has helped me to understand how wonderful it is to have a little baby around. I am very relaxed about making the decision about when to return to work, this time round being a mother full time is more important to me.

Administrators note: Elbi first submitted in this section but this entry can also be found in the 'IVF Your Story' section

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