“ Motherhood is a choice you make everyday, to put someone else ' s happiness and well-being ahead of your own, to teach the hard lessons, to do the right thing even when you ' re not sure what the right thing is … and to forgive yourself, over and over again, for doing everything wrong.”
Donna Ball At Home on Ladybug Farm
Alexandra, William, David and Henry Almeida
Alexandra Almeida
Alexandria Almedia and her husband David were high school sweethearts who, although they didn ' t go to the same school,— she went to Notre Dame and he went to Palma( both in Salinas)— their schools were small and shared a band. They had band practice together and David often walked Alexandria back to her school after practice.
They married in 2013 and lived with her parents for a couple years while saving to buy their current home in Gilroy. Their first child, Henry James was born on Christmas Day, 2014. On February 16, 2018 they welcomed their second child, William David to their family. When gmhTODAY asked Alexandria if there were any notable differences in herexperiences with her first child and now her second, she said“ Oh my gosh, less time to worry. With Henry, I worried about every little thing.” She added,“ I also felt that I didn’ t have time to enjoy the wonder of carrying William because I had Henry to think about.”
Both William and Henry were born at home, in a birthing tub with the assistance of a mid-wife. When asked what that was like, Alexandra said,“ It was so relaxing. The water was the perfect temperature. It really reduces the pain.” Although the birthing experience with Henry went off without a hitch, things got a little scary with William. Alexandra experienced an unusually large amount of blood loss. David said teasingly,“ we bought a few pair of cheap sheets, a rubber mat and some of our old towels came in handy.”
Their next challenge would come when William was diagnosed with a fairly rare condition called bilateral congenital cataracts( a lens opacity that can produce profound visual impairment) that would require surgery. The condition happens in about 0.4 percent of all births. They were told that the surgery would need to completed in under 10 weeks of birth to prevent blindness. David contributes the quick diagnoses of the condition to Alexandra,“ I was really impressed. Alexandra kept saying that William’ s eyes looked different, that the black part was cloudy. I kept saying, don’ t worry. But she was persistent. She searched the internet and found out what was wrong.”
During her pregnancy with William, Alexandra worried how Henry would handle having a baby brother. Her fears were put to rest a few days after William was born when Henry seemed to warm up to the idea of having a brother.“ Henry is so gentle with William now,” she said. Then she remembered one morning when Henry came in and asked her if she could just put William down and fix him breakfast.
The difference between the first few weeks of caring for her first child and now her second, she commented,“ I feel less afraid. I know so much more and feel more prepared, which is much less stressful.”
Her advice to new moms:“ Don’ t be to hard on yourself, take things slowly and be really patient with your first child. Henry was the center of attention and now he has to share. That’ s a big adjustment.
“ Trust your instincts,” added David.
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN APRIL / MAY 2018 gmhtoday. com
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