First Post

My first blog post... ever. Not quite sure where to start. Not quite sure what I plan to talk about. I guess I can start with myself.

My name is Rachel. I'm 25 years old, I live in metro Detroit. My last (current) job was at Arby's. However, I'm on hospital bed rest so I'm not working right now and I'm hoping when I return to the work force it will be at a much better paying job. I go to Wayne State University to get my Bachelors in Social Work. It seems like I've been in school forever. Circumstances might delay my degree even further, but I am incredibly determined to receive it and finish school.

I like cooking, shopping, home decorating, being pampered, sleeping, watching tv, taking baths, long walks, candles, dancing, exercise, occasionally partying with friends, wine, chocolate, small dogs. I dabbled in local modeling, which may seem interesting, but being from the Detroit area it's really not an accomplishment. I hope to return to it in the fall because I did enjoy it and you make a lot of friends that way.

My number one priority is my 22 month old son, Triston. He's a trip. One of those incredibly active kids, wants to spend all day running back and forth. He's smart though too. Learning his ABC's and how to count, can put on his own shoes, knows how to say "hey baby" and give someone a kiss (ladies man apparently). I love him with all of my heart and more. Probably every ounce of my blood.

So I'm on hospital bed rest with a second pregnancy. Everything was looking good until 21 weeks when I found out I had oligohydramnios, which is extremely low amniotic fluid. It was a very scary time for me because I automatically assumed the worst would happen. But my significant other and I didn't decide to terminate the pregnancy. We decided to ride it out and see what transpired. At 24 weeks and 5 days my water broke. I have been on hospital bed rest since then- 13 days to be exact. There was about a 75% chance I would have gone into labor by now. This is extremely difficult for me. This entire pregnancy has been very challenging for me. As much as I would love to start from the very "beginning" I probably never will. There was a "decision" I had made early in the pregnancy and I hold a lot of guilt thinking that "decision" is what has caused these problems. Out of shame, and out of wanting to protect my kid I will not vocalize what this "decision" was and from here on out, that's what it will be referred to if I decide to talk about it.

So most likely for the duration of my bed rest this blog will be about my hospital experience. I will probably talk about other things from my past as well, it just depends on the emotional journey I feel like taking that day. That's basically where the name of the blog comes from "The Life of a Champion." I think *hopefully crosses fingers* that we will name our son Champion. It just seems perfect. He is not even here and yet he has been through so much and seems to be striving despite this. The name is not 100% yet, but it is the one I am rooting for, so please don't none of you bitches steal it from me.

I'm going to stop here. I could probably type for another 30 minutes and make this the world's longest blog post, but I'm going to stop and leave this as an introduction. I'll start tomorrow. I'm tempted to start now, but I'm going to wait. I hope whoever stumbles upon this will enjoy.