Jacqueline’s Journey

Visualizing that my delivery could go beautifully, that it could even be the best day of my life, helped me have a wonderful, profound experience. Prayer and Scripture also played important roles during my son’s birth.

My husband, Andrés, and I welcomed our son, Lucas Andrés, on September 20, 2021, at Our Lady of Lourdes Women’s & Children’s Hospital.

Andrés is from Ecuador, and his family moved to Lafayette when he was in high school. We have lots of family living here, and we’re raising Lucas in a bilingual home. We chose Lucas’ name because it’s pronounced similarly in English and Spanish. We also love the meaning of Lucas, which is light.

A Normal Pregnancy in a Very Unusual Time

I was pregnant during the Delta wave of COVID-19, so I was super isolated and didn’t really get out ever. I did get vaccinated at the end of my pregnancy, which was a big decision. Luckily I didn’t have any weird symptoms or anything from the vaccine. And I was able to pass on some protection to Lucas when he was born and through breastfeeding.

I missed out on a lot of community aspects of being pregnant. I didn’t have a real baby shower, but a drive-thru shower at my house and everyone had to wear masks. It was not what I wanted, but I also knew it was worth being extra cautious. I was thinking about and protecting Lucas by staying home, so I did that all of the time.

For me pregnancy was a spiritual connection and I felt utterly connected to my son. That was probably the most positive part of pregnancy for me—being connected to someone so deeply and having that connection to him, that life inside me. I remember being at a coffee shop and being super aware that I wasn’t alone while sitting by myself. It was a weird, beautiful thing.

Realizing and Sharing the Happy News

My husband and I had just started trying to get pregnant, and we were on a trip to Austin. When we watch TV and a woman character throws up we always joke: “PREGNANT” because that’s such a cliché. When I threw up on the trip, we looked at each other like “OH!”

I bought an early pregnancy test and saw a super faint line. A few days later I took another test and the line was darker.

My mom had struggled with infertility for seven years before having me, so I assumed I would have trouble too. We definitely were not expecting it to work out so quickly and feel very, very lucky.

Because of COVID, I told my family about the pregnancy on Facetime. No one was expecting it, and my mom was super reactive, while my dad kept his hand on his mouth in disbelief.

We found out Lucas was a boy at our 20-week ultrasound appointment, but we didn’t have a gender reveal or anything. I had little note cards and wrote on the envelope “Hello, My Name is” and when you opened the card it read “Lucas.” I gave them to my parents, in-laws and a few other special people. We wanted something sweet and exciting to share the news.

Managing Symptoms

I was so tired during my pregnancy, and I’d thought I’d be able to do many more things than I did. I aimed for walking 30 minutes each day, which was about as much as I was able to do. I did give up coffee, which I probably didn’t need to do. We’re big coffee people, so trying to avoid caffeine was challenging.

The gestational diabetes screening was not really a big thing for me, and I didn’t think the drink tasted gross. Andrés is a Type 1 diabetic, so we eat a very low glycemic index diet at home, so I’m sure it would have been easy to manage. But I was glad I didn’t have gestational diabetes.

I intended to continue my normal diet, lots of salads and salmon, but eventually my diet became a little less healthy. I remember being frustrated about that because I really wanted to be healthy, but my lack of energy led to a lot of Earl’s Plate lunches that sustained me and the baby during this pregnancy!

Preparing Online

Pregnancy during the pandemic is a part of my story. I did what I could to prepare even while isolating, and I was grateful for the spiritual aspect of my care at the hospital.

Because in-person classes weren’t being offered, I was able to take online courses from Our Lady of Lourdes Women’s & Children’s Hospital. I did the breastfeeding class and baby basics. I even did a class with my mom about grandparents. That was the main preparation I did before birth, although I made sure to read a lot of online positive birth stories.

The hospital’s pregnancy navigator was a big help as well. I had a lot of fear because of the pandemic, and with so many unknowns in the world I just felt comfortable talking to her. I remember being nervous but she was supportive and helpful. Being able to tour the space in advance helped me visualize it, talking with her helped me understand my feelings.

I didn’t write up any sort of birth plan because I had other people who had told me how utterly disappointed they felt with their experience when it didn’t go according to plan. I didn’t want a mindset that this needs to happen, and I decided to leave it to the professionals. I knew I probably wanted an epidural, but otherwise I was open to what would be.

Everyone experiences birth differently. I kept waiting, wondering if the pain would get a lot worse. I did get an epidural. It was just as I was starting to feel like “OK, this is intense and if it were twice as bad it would be pretty unbearable.” But almost right after I got it, I was able to start pushing and had a vaginal delivery. It was not traumatic at all.

While I was pushing my husband started playing my favorite composer, Vivaldi. My mom was in the background just praying over me, and she was reading Bible verses on peace the whole time I was having intense contractions. I had my eyes closed the entire time. My husband knew he wasn’t to coach me but remind me of his love and tell me I was doing a good job, so that’s what he did.

Breastfeeding Journey

One of my best friends breastfed her baby for more than two years, and she would talk to me and encourage me while I was pregnant. So even before I had kids I always knew I wanted to breastfeed.

Taking the breastfeeding class and learning what I could helped me realize how much of breastfeeding is instinctual and that I should trust my body. Our bodies know what to do. I had a good support system, and the class helped me know the potential issues and what to do mechanically.

Lucas hadn’t peed within the first 24 hours of life, so they almost put a catheter in to make sure he wasn’t dehydrated. That might have led him to needing formula.

Learn From My Car Seat Mistake

My husband installed our car seat, and I hadn’t even looked at it until we were ready to bring Lucas home from the hospital. Literally that day, as my hormones were flying, we realized it was not adjusted to fit a newborn. We had to call my brother who was able to explain and walk us through it on the phone. My advice: make sure your car seat is installed properly before you need to go to the hospital for birth.

Postpartum Recovery

My birth experience was so incredible, but at home things were much harder than I thought they were going to be. I was in pain and didn’t realize it at first. I had back pain and some pelvic floor issues. I went to a physical therapist to figure out what to do.

I think I had some anxiety, but I was also so in love and happy with Lucas. My anxiety wasn’t because of him but more about worrying something bad would happen to him and about my house being clean in a way I’d never felt before. Slowly I came out of it, and now I feel like myself again.

Motherhood to Me

Motherhood is unconditional love, the absolute giving of myself to another person. Motherhood has taught me to value my intuition. At first I was focused on trying to do everything right, but now I’ve realized that deep down, I know what’s best for Lucas.

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