Aleksandr Robert "Bug"

I started this blog when Bug was nine weeks old so I have shared lots of pictures and stories over the years. I wanted to share with you though the story of how he came to be and just how special and wonderful he really is.
Meet Aleksandr Robert, or Bug as you know him. He just turned 9 years old and his favorite thing in the world is dinosaurs and playing in dirt. He loves his family and he is basically just the best kid ever. He was recently diagnosed with Autism and ADHD. He doesn't let his diagnosis define him though. He is a great friend and he is the best big brother ever.

When Hubby and I had been married just over two years we had our first loss. It was in October of 2008. I was very early along. We were sitting in a small diner eating breakfast and suddenly I was running for the front door and lost my meal all over the ground. (The bathroom had been occupied). I came back to the table, did some quick math and realized I was late. I planned to take a test the next day, but lost the baby before I ever got to. I took one a few days later and got a very faint positive. I couldn't have been more than 4.5 weeks along.
However this made us realize we wanted to start TTC. So we tried and we tried.. and nothing was happening. We even had discussions about how long should we try before we see a doctor. We agreed on a year. The Holidays came and we relaxed a bit. It was our first Christmas since we had become puppy parents and we were very excited to spend time with our furbaby Odin. He was about 6 months old.
Then one day in mid January I was at work and quietly mentioned that I was 5 days late. My co workers, knowing we had been trying made me leave work to buy a test and take it in the bathroom. The result was a very very very faint positive. So faint that I really had no idea if I was pregnant or not. I thought back to my first loss and knew, that if I was pregnant, I would most likely lose this baby too. The next morning I took a fresh test and got my answer... a negative.. clear as day. I told Hubby the sad news and we continued on with life.
However 3 days after that I was back at that little diner with a friend and let it slip that I was now 9 days late. She was very frustrated I had not taken another test yet, so we paid for our lunches and she dragged me to the drugstore across the street and told me to buy a test. I did and about 10 minutes later I was taking it in my bathroom with her standing over me. The test no more than hit the urine and a BOLD and BRIGHT blue cross appeared. We were overjoyed! Jumping up and down giddy overjoyed. Hubby and I couldn't wait to share the news so we shouted it all over the place that day. That was January 18th 2009.
My pregnancy was relatively easy. I didn't have GD, I didn't have any complications. I was pretty happy the whole time. I got bigger and bigger. We planned an all natural birth. I saw a midwife the whole pregnancy. I was going to either have a water birth or labor in water and then birth in bed. We had the whole thing planned out.
On April 28th 2009, we went in to find out the gender. We had selected two names, one for each gender. Aleksandr Robert if it was a boy, and Annika Marie if it was a girl. The ultrasound tech showed us the parts and proudly announced our child had a third leg. I was confused until it dawned on me what that meant. We looked at each other and I said "Well I guess Aleksandr it is." We were having a BOY!

Knowing what we were having changed things, we started planning for a boy. I had never even thought about having a boy so I now really had to get used to the idea. The more I thought about it the more excited I got.
Finally my due date came. My due date September 18th 2009 was also my 26th birthday. I did not give birth that day but I did have a fun birthday with friends and that night, a Friday, started the weekend of craziness that lead to Aleks' birth. That night when Hubby came home from work he told me his tooth was very infected and painful and that we needed to go to the hospital. He had already set up a dentist appt but they couldn't take him until the following Friday. So we walked the two blocks to the hospital (we did not own a car in those days). When we arrived they assumed a 40 week pregnant woman and her husband in the middle of the night, must be here because she is in labor. It took us a minute or two to wave off the onslaught of helpful nurses and techs. When we had finally explained that we were there for Hubby's tooth, they admitted us to the ER instead of the Maternity Ward.
We were sent home that night with a plan to go get prescriptions for more pain meds and antibiotics in the morning and so over the next two days Hubby had to take work off and stay home with me and they were the last two days we spent relaxing before we became parents.
On Monday morning I went in for my last ultrasound and had all my hopes of a natural birth ripped away from me. I got to see my beautiful boy on the screen and then was told my beautiful boy would weigh aprox 11-12 lbs at birth and would have shoulders so wide that if I tried to birth him naturally I would separate his shoulders. I was crushed. We were told a c-section was the only way. It was our choice but we were not ready for it, we didn't know the truth and the doctors pushed us into a decision that to this day I still regret. So we went home for a few hours and tried to get things in order knowing that at 4 AM the next morning we would be on our way to the hospital to meet our son.
We arrived at the hospital at a little after 4:30 AM and I was brought up to what would be my room for the next week. It was now early Tuesday morning on the 22nd of September 2009. I was prepped for surgery, washed, and then brought to the OR where I was given a spinal, a catheter and then before I knew it I was holding Hubby's hand as they began to cut. They started the surgery at 8:00 AM. I heard his first cry at 8:17 AM. In 17 short minutes we were holding our son. He as it turned out did not weigh 11 lbs but was almost 10, he weighed in at 9 lbs 7 ounces and 21.5 inches long. I know now I absolutely could have gone natural but I have made my peace with it. His birth was what it was and him being here is worth everything.














Over the next year he outgrew everything faster than we could keep up. He wore a size 3-6 months by 3 weeks old, a 12 months by 3 months old, a 2t by 12 months. He wore a size 5 shoe by 8 months and a size 7/8 shoe by 12 months. He walked while holding onto things by 6 months and unsupported by 9 months. I breastfed him exclusively for 9 months and lovingly cataloged much of my days with him after 9 weeks in this blog. He was our fast growing wonderful boy!















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