Becoming Mum
Hi, I’m Siobhàn. The woman behind the camera here at Capture the Rainbow Photography. But, before that, I am mum to Harrison, Seb, and Jude. The Trilogy! My 3 amazing sons.
With Mother’s Day coming, I wanted to share a bit about my journey to Motherhood, and invite you to share yours in a celebration I’m calling Becoming Mum.
I like a plan
I’m one of THOSE people; I like a plan. I had a plan. Right from being a little girl, I wanted to grow up, meet ‘The One’, get married, have children, live happily ever after.
I met my husband Steve when I was 20, it was a whirlwind romance and we moved in together a couple of months later. We bought our house a year after that. Engaged and married a few years later.
Next on the list? Children.
I’m the youngest of 10 children, he’s the middle of 3. We wanted lots of children. This was going to be a fun adventure. We had a plan, we were ready to make it a reality.
But Mother Nature had different ideas.
Not quite as expected...
We didn’t get pregnant that first month. Nor the second. Not the 3rd, the 4th, the 5th. Months turned to years and still, not a positive pregnancy test in sight.
The plan needed adjusting. Fertility tests were added. Months of back and forth, ups, downs, hope, and crushing blows. We’d have 1 or 2 chances to get pregnant naturally per year, but the likelihood of pregnancy, or maintaining a pregnancy, was low.
We booked IVF, and, in the meantime, were given medications to help me ovulate. To give us a chance to get pregnant.
A few months down the line and POSITIVE PREGNANCY TEST!!!
The most incredible day. We were ecstatic. This was it!
Until it wasn’t…
The bubble burst
A few weeks in our exciting bubble before it burst. Pain, bleeding, a lonely walk down a long corridor in the hospital, a dark waiting room away from the happy mums and bumps, a sombre scan to confirm the loss of our much loved little one.
We were devastated.
Over the next few months, we kept trying, continued with the medications we had, hoped against hope.
Soon after, we got pregnant again…and lost it again.
Another time, and another loss.
Then another.
After 4 losses, more pokes, prods, and tests, we had a new plan. New medications, and a new Doctor.
Another positive pregnancy test! Let’s put this plan to the test.
It was a scary wait. Days became weeks and we were starting to feel hopeful until the familiar pain and bleeding took us straight back to that long corridor and dark waiting room.
Tests to confirm the miscarriage were taken, we were prepared for the familiar routine.
Something different
But this time was different. The tests didn’t confirm a miscarriage. The tests showed increasing numbers, a possibility of something better.
A scan proved them right as a little heartbeat flickered at us on the screen. The medication was working.
Fortnightly scans, checks, tests, and appointments helped us count down the days until our little miracle, Harrison, was born.
We were terrified the whole way through. It was hard to trust my body to do this spectacular job, when it had failed so many times before.
But, on January 12th, 2015, it did it. Harrison was born, 9lb, 7oz, perfect.
But that wasn’t the happily ever after…
What happened next?
I’ll continue my story of Becoming Mum in my next post, but I would love to share yours too.
Becoming a parent looks so different for us all. Different situations, feelings, routes. Let’s add some voices to all of those stories.
If you’d like to be included in my Becoming Mum feature that I’ll be sharing in the run up to Mother’s Day, please get in touch using the form below.
You can write as much or as little as you’d like. You don’t have to have had a difficult journey. I’d love to celebrate all journeys, the straight forward, the wiggly, the less common. How did you feel when your baby kicked for the first time, when they were placed in your arms. How are you doing right now? Once the new has become older. The long days, but oh so short years. Tell me 🙂
As a thank you, every Mum whose story I feature will receive a £25 voucher to use towards a maternity, newborn, family, or cake smash photoshoot.
Tell me your story...
Hi, I’m Siobhàn. Mum (and mischief manager) to 3 crazy boys; Harrison, Seb, and Jude.
When I’m not being outnumbered by my own brood, I am chief memory catcher of yours.
I am a newborn and family photographer in County Durham, specialising in natural, timeless photography, that captures the beauty and magic of your family.
Do you have a new addition on the way? Find out more about my Newborn Baby Photoshoots here.
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