Inconceivable: Our new normal
I’ve finally made it to the third trimester. I didn’t ever think I’d get this far. After going through so much the past couple of years, it took a while for me to start feeling comfortable and secure in this pregnancy. When I started to feel the baby moving, I finally started exhaling.
Not to say things have been easy. That’s why I’ve been so quiet! In January I got the flu and then had a bad reaction to Tamiflu. Last month, my first child – my fur baby, Faith – had some health problems. In a couple hours, she went from being a happy, nearly 14-year-old, Shitzu Poodle to being lethargic and struggling to breathe. An emergency visit to the all-night vet revealed she was suffering from congestive heart failure. I thought we were going to lose her that night. She looked like she was near death.
I’m already an emotional wreck, so the idea that my sweet dog was going to die sent me into a tailspin. I cried off and on for 24 to 36 hours. Then we got the all clear that her lungs were good again. She needs medication for the rest of her life, but she can manage this condition. It was a terrifying experience that I just wasn’t ready to deal with.
Our dogs are our children too. Faith taught my husband and I about caring for another life. She was truly our first child, and I wasn’t ready to have her go just yet. I wanted her to meet her new baby sister. Faith is literally my shadow, she follows me around everywhere. She has to know where I am in the house at all times. I’m her person.
The entire experience was rough but we have learned a new normal. I’ve got my phone alarm set to remember to give her meds four times daily, and she is seeing a cardiologist later this month for more tests.
We are making sure to give her plenty of hugs and love – just not traditional store bought treats because they contain sodium. We ended up getting her some Zookies, an all-natural treat made by a Raleigh company. She gets Zookies once a day.
It’s a new normal – one of many we are learning to navigate. How did you deal with stress or grief while you were pregnant?
Kathy is a mom of one and Out & About editor for WRAL.com. She writes for Go Ask Mom about her experience with secondary infertility, followed by her pregnancy.
