Keneisha’s first birth was full of a unique set of challenges, from false negative pregnancy test(s), the diagnosis of a genetic disorder and preterm labor. At 35 weeks, Keneisha was admitted to the hospital for signs of pre-term labor, after an overnight stay she was allowed to go home on a strict order of bedrest until 37 weeks. Despite everyone’s doubts, Keneisha made it to 39 weeks and 5 days when she went into spontaneous labor one Sunday morning. The labor was quick and straight-forward with baby boy being born at 10:55pm that night with no complications.
After having their first, the couple knew that with Keneisha’s diagnosis of being a carrier for Duchenne-Becker Muscular Dystrophy, IVF would be the preferred option for them to extend their family. After one cycle of IVF treatment, they had an embryo transfer which ended in a miscarriage. During the wait for their next transfer, they were surprised to find that they’d accidentally become pregnant! This pregnancy also came with much stress and grief early on based on the uncertainty of baby’s potential to inherit the DMD mutation. After having a heavily medicated 1st pregnancy, Keneisha wanted to have as little medical intervention as possible. Keneisha then changed her care provider to a midwife practice, hired a doula, and focused on keeping both mind and body ready for the journey ahead.
At 39 weeks exactly, Keneisha went into labor and just like her first child, the labor and delivery was extremely quick. Within three hours of making it to the hospital, baby girl Amya was born. However, hours after having an empowering drug-free labor and delivery, Keneisha started having a postpartum hemorrhage, a horrifying experience in which she lost 2 liters of blood in a very short period of time, requiring a blood transfusion. Afterwards, Keneisha realized just how traumatic her experience was, but was able to talk through her emotions and grief with her husband, doula, and midwife. Though everyone made it through that dark hour, Keneisha gave herself time and grace to process the trauma that she had just experienced and that her husband had to sit by and witness.
Keneisha Pennyman Bio
Keneisha and her Husband Phil live in the San Francisco Bay Area with their 4 year-old son Maverik, and 3-month old daughter Amya. Keneisha has temporarily shifted careers from Visual Merchandising to a stay-at-home Mom. Even though she has no plans to have more children she still listens to birth stories religiously!
Connect with her on Instagram: @justpennylane
Email: kpennyma@gmail.com
Resources
FamilyAlbum
Today’s episode is sponsored by FamilyAlbum. I’ve been using The FamilyAlbum app for the last year ever since my brother and sister-in-law adopted my baby nephew! My whole family became obsessed with the usability of this app and it brought our entire extended family closer together as we could each leave comments on the photos and give our accounts fun nicknames. I might have teared up when I created that “Aunt Bryn” name for the first time!! The FamilyAlbum app is totally secure and I love that there’s no third-party ads or unwanted eyes, unlimited storage, and it’s totally free!
A few of the cool features I’ve discovered using the app are that it automatically sorts photos and videos by month, allowing you to swipe back in time and see how your child has grown. Another neat feature is you can order 8 free photo prints every month to be delivered to your home. Level up your family photo game with a free photo sharing app with unlimited storage. Head over to the app store today, search “FamilyAlbum” (one word), download the app and start creating and sharing in the day-to-day joys of those precious early years!
