Neonatal herpes simplex virus

I had never considered myself a very maternal person, so when I fell pregnant unexpectedly I was shocked by the sudden array of unconditional love and overwhelming sense of protectiveness I suddenly felt. My pregnancy was relatively stressful but when I gave birth to my beautiful son, Tayden, all of the anxieties I'd had were replaced by a feeling of intense joy. The night after he was born, I couldn't sleep, despite my exhaustion—I was so in awe of him. It felt surreal that after 9 months of wondering how he would look and what it would feel like to be a mother, he was there, the most precious and perfect gift I had ever received. I spent hours just looking at him, not believing he was really mine. I adored his every feature, movement and expression, and felt like the luckiest woman alive. Tayden was the first true love of my life.