Jenni Travolo: Why my miracle baby helps me work out

Miracle baby. Conceiving a baby with Type 1 diabetes was not easy. Five years ago, on December 19, 2017 I experienced the scariest day of my life.

One of the scariest days of my life

I was unrecognizably swollen from my eyelids to my toes and gasping for air as I could hardly breathe. I was living in a nightmare and afraid to even lie down to sleep. What had I done to deserve this?!

Back up 7 weeks to when I was 24 weeks pregnant. I won’t lie. The journey to conceiving a child with Type 1 diabetes wasn’t an easy one. But once I was finally pregnant, other than a few minor scares early on, I was feeling great! I was eating well, exercising and taking good care of my blood sugar levels.

I even had that mama-to-be glow that radiated the life inside of me to the world.

Everything changed

But within a matter of days, everything changed.

Early onset pre-eclampsia–a serious blood pressure condition that can develop during pregnancy–started taking over my body. And no matter how much I rested or what medications I took, I was losing control. This was no longer a fight just to keep my diabetes in check, this was now becoming a fight for my life and the life of my precious unborn baby!

My body swelled so much that I could barely walk. The only shoes I could fit on my feet were the biggest, ugliest things ever made, and even then I could barely slip them over my fluid-filled feet and ankles. I was being monitored daily, but the night came, 5 years ago tonight, when I could no longer manage the complications. My body was out of control.

After many tests and ultrasounds, it was decided that it was no longer safe for me or for my baby to continue with this pregnancy, so my baby would have to be born at 31 weeks.

She was only at the 12th percentile in her growth.

I begged and pleaded with the doctors to allow her to stay inside of me to grow a little bigger, but the answer was a unanimous “NO”. It was simply too dangerous for both of us.

My mind was flooded with worries for my baby. Would she survive being born so young and small? Would she be healthy? I couldn’t bear the thought of something happening to her. What had I done in my life to cause all of this uncertainty with my daughter? I was a wreck.

My miracle baby

And then a miracle happened.

With many prayers and a skillful medical team, my beautiful daughter, Gabby, was born on December 19th, 2017 at 4:16 pm weighing just over 3 pounds. A miracle baby.

And thanks to our local NICU, maternity ward and RT teams, she only had to be intubated for a few days and that was it! There was still a journey of many dark days and weeks in the hospital when things were uncertain and the future unknown, but I can say today that I am so relieved and truly blessed for such a beautiful outcome and a healthy daughter.

It has taken me 5 years to be able to share this part of my story as it took a long time for me to process everything and wrap my mind around why things had to happen the way they did.

But I have finally found clarity and peace of mind knowing that there are some things we may never get answers to. And that’s ok. We may never truly know why we have to face all of the challenges that we face in life. But believe me, I am grateful.

To all the mothers and families that have experienced loss or struggled with their own challenges, I feel you…I’m one of the lucky ones.

Forever grateful

Some moms, babies, or both, ultimately haven’t survived, so on this day, I am reminded that I am forever GRATEFUL for my miracle baby.

Grateful ultimately for my beautiful firstborn daughter, my husband for being beside me for the whole ride, my mom for visiting me often even though she was in a leg cast (long story lol), my late father-in-law for picking me up each morning for a month to bring me to the hospital to be with Gabby when I couldn’t drive, and grateful for the visits and messages from many of my friends and family and many of you.

We are stronger and better together.

My miracle baby helps me work out

This is my true story of WHY I work out consistently. I HAVE the ABILITY to move my body and take control of my physical and mental health, especially since there was a time in my life when I couldn’t.

My only competition is with the person I was yesterday. My goal is to be a better version of myself for me, for my girls, for my husband and family, and for my friends and all the others I interact with.

Although our number of days on this earth is unknown, I want to make sure the ones I have are of quality.

It’s about progress, not perfection….which is a daily mantra of mine.

It’s about the confidence, clarity, joy and grounded-ness I find when I allow myself the time each day to push play on that workout. This is the way I find health esteem – finding satisfaction in who I am today while striving to make changes that will make me feel better.

And for those who are curious about what happened to those big ugly shoes?

They still remain in my closet.

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You can follow Jenni on Instagram @jennitravolo and Facebook Jenni Travolo.

You can connect with Jenni for Fitness Abs Nutrition Coaching anytime on line. Or in person if you live in Thunder Bay. We all need encouragement in the area of fitness so here’s a young lady who would love to help you get started on a your health journey.