She's Here...(the birth story) Part 3

Warning: This post contains material of a graphic nature

So, this is the part where if you get squeamish about blood, you should move on and avoid reading this post. I am all fine and good now, just lost some blood at the hospital and they had to keep me longer than the normal pregnant woman.



For all you others who care to hear the gory details of birth, I had what you call Postpartum Hemorrhage. You see, you are supposed to feel cramping and a little bit of pain when you finish giving birth because your uterus should immediately start going back to it's normal/non-pregnant state.

Mine did not.

Hence the lack of pain. I mean, my epidural had long worn off at this point and I hadn't had any other pain killers and I felt great. They helped me get in my bed and told me to rest while they would do all the weighing, washing, and basic care for a newborn on Alyenna. She would be returned to me when she was ready to eat. Both Marcus and I drifted off to sleep. I woke up about an hour and a half later to a nurse walking into the room. She wanted me to get up, go the bathroom, and check how my tummy/uterus was doing. I started to push myself up to get out of the bed and it was really wet. Scratch that, it was really bloody. I looked at the nurse and said I was sitting in a lot of liquid and blood and asked if that was normal. She said "not really, but let's get you up and clean you up in the bathroom." I still felt completely fine. *Now, forgive me for the graphic-ness of this next part...there really is no other way to describe it.

I got up and more and more liquid was pouring out of my body. Kinda like when your water breaks, except bloody, not clear. It was extremely uncomfortable, and I kept asking if it was normal. She wasn't really giving me a real answer. Once I was in the bathroom she had me take off my pad and I had 8 blood clots on it the size of half of a dollar. Not a half dollar coin. Half of a dollar bill. They were huge. You are supposed to alert the nurse if you have any(normally one or two) that are bigger than a half dollar coin. So not only did I have 8, but they were 4 times the size they normally are.
It was far from normal. The nurse had me sit down and she tried to clean me up a bit. Finally she decided to move me back to the bed to go and call the doctor and discuss what needed to be done.
We got to the bathroom door and she noticed some more blood on the back of my leg and she wanted to get it off, so I just braced myself on the doorframe for extra support just in case(I had lost a lot of blood).  She was wiping my calf and all of the sudden I felt dizzy. I immediately said I felt dizzy and woke up lying on the cold floor with 6 people staring down at me, non of which I recognized except Marcus who was holding my feet up. I was so confused that I didn't even remember giving birth, going to the hospital, any of it! Once I felt okay enough to sit up, they helped me back into bed and I started to remember where I was and what had happened.

The nurse said I told her I felt dizzy and immediately dropped to the floor. She caught me, but I fell with so much dead weight that she wasn't able to keep me up and had to ease me quickly to the floor while yelling out for help. Marcus popped up when he heard her yell and rushed to help me onto the floor, then raised my legs to get the blood back into my head. The other people around me were the rest of the staff on the postpartum floor. They were all concerned and had heard my nurse call out for help.

They all kept telling me that I gave them quite a scare. Apparently I had lost about 2 quarts of blood, if not more. My midwife was very concerned and came in special on her day off to check on me and get more blood clots out. I believe I had 2 or 3 more. She said they had never seen so many blood clots of that size come out of one person. They gave me a special shot to get my uterus contracting and then put me on pills for the next 24hrs that would continue the contracting.

All that medicine gave me some intense cramping. I finally needed some pain meds.
So, my hemoglobin/iron level dropped to 8.6...not good. Normal people are at 12-16. Pregnant women are normally 10-12. They put me on an iron supplement and checked my blood constantly. I felt like the nurses were in my room every hour. It was exhausting.

The next day, I had dropped to 7.4. It was not looking good for me. They were talking blood transfusions and extra stays at the hospital. I was so ready to go home already, I was dreading having to stay, but transfusions come with all sorts of risks and I was willing to stick it out if there was a possibility I could avoid those risks.

I stayed until Monday. Four and a half days in the hospital, and my iron level had finally stabilized at 7.4. Still ridiculously low, but they decided to let me go home anyways. I had to take iron three times a day though and sign a document that I was going to do so or there would be serious consequences. haha.

It was so good to leave. Having a baby is hard. Taking care of a newborn is really tiring, but being at home, even when you have no energy and feel crappy is so much better than that hospital. It was a relief to be at home and in my own bed again!

If/when I ever give birth again I will always have to have the shot that they gave me to start the contracting in my uterus. Apparently, I am what the doctors call a "bleeder." Once I have that I should recover more "normally."

And that's the birth story! Tada!

She's Here...(the birth story) Part 2

...So I laid down and you wouldn't believe the difference in the pain. It was so much worse than standing up and being able to move around. I would try and brace myself on the side rails, but it was intense!
Marcus and I talked about our dilemma. I had really wanted to go pain med free because I react so strongly to medicines. Ex: when I got my wisdom teeth out...they told me I was okay to go and tried to get up and fell off the bed...sedation--some people can drive home at that point...can you imagine!!!
He looked at me and said this is the point where you make a decision and I will help you hold to it. Just meaning that if I was going to do it med free, he would support me in that and make sure I had everything I needed to do it.
I realized I was being pretty stubborn about this pain med thing. I remember my sister Liz saying that she took the epidural cause you didn't win any awards by doing it naturally. No one is going to give you a trophy for that. haha. So true. I finally decided that it would be more comfortable and less exhausting to do an epidural. The other option probably would have made me feel really loopy and out of it, especially with my problem.
So, epidural in...wow! Quick and painless, numbed up the lower half. I laid back and they told me to get some rest. I couldn't believe how nice it was!
I was able to sleep for a couple hours and woke up with some pressure in my pelvis and on my rectum. It was definitely a different kind of feeling. Not to gross you out, but you basically feel like you have to go the bathroom (#2). I asked the nurse if that was the correct feeling and she said yup!
Alright...well, good, making progress. I was starting the shake and shiver...hormones releasing and my body telling me I was in the late stages of labor! She checked me and I was at 7 cm. It was great to finally make it  that far and they said 10 wouldn't be long. Maybe another 2 hours.
Marcus and I sat up talking about things and I couldn't believe how quickly it went by. The pressure got pretty intense and I knew it was about time. The nurse came in and checked me and I was good to go. 10cm!!!

Time to Push:
The nurse set up stuff quickly and started telling me when to push and teaching me how. It took some time to get the hang of it. You want those pushes to do something!
I had to hold my breath and push for 10sec numerous times while contractions were happening.
Hard stuff. I thought I was good at multi-tasking, but this was a whole new level of that!
I was starting to worry my nurse was going to deliver the baby when she said it was time to call Nancy, my midwife. She was sleeping in the hospital, so it took only a few min for her to arrive.
She hoped right in, sleepy eyed and a bit frazzled, but she still was on her game. She worked hard to keep me from tearing and gave me a mirror to see the baby's head. Weird stuff, but pretty cool at the same time.
Within about 35min she was coming out and Marcus was told to catch her. I was laughing cause he said he should probably go wash his hands and Nancy said, nope catch her now. haha. He tried to help the baby's shoulders out, but she kept slipping. Then, pop! All the pressure was instantly gone. He placed her on my chest and she popped her thumb in her mouth. It was so cute! They told me she was definitely ready to try nursing so I should go for it. She ate the little bit of colostrum I was producing with ease. It was amazing! We got to keep her there for an hour until we would need to be moved to the postpartum care floor and she would need to go and get weighed and bathed, etc. Marcus was getting jealous...hehe...he wanted to hold her so badly! Finally, he got his chance and he melted... melted like chocolate! Holding your baby for the first time is pretty dang amazing! You can't believe that she's yours and how small she is and how beautiful (not that you're biased or anything ;))! It's crazy!

My epidural was wearing off in perfect time and I was able to get up and go the bathroom shortly after I gave birth. They put me in a wheelchair and took me and baby girl and all our stuff up to the postpartum floor.
The nurses settled me into my new bed and started asking me about pain meds. Now, I was thinking there was no need, I felt absolutely amazing other than being pretty shaky again from all the hormones rushing out of my body. (I had been sick the entire 9 months, and now, I was free. Free to drink water, juice, eat ice. You wouldn't believe the things I wasn't able to do because of the acid reflux, but it was gone!!!) The nurses kept giving me funny looks and asking me if I was sure I didn't want any pain meds, but what I didn't realize was I was feeling a little too good...

To be continued

She's Here...(The Birth Story) Part 1

At week 38 I thought she was coming. I had a day of pre-labor craziness. Body cleaning itself out, intense contractions, although they were 9-10min apart, and contractions for a long period of time-7hrs. I was stunned when after 7hrs...it suddenly stopped! And after that...nothing much was happening...

At week 39 I was starting to show signs of Pre-eclampsia - a disease/disorder that basically tells your body that the baby doesn't belong and it should rid itself of it. Nice, I know. So, I did a bunch of tests and had to pee in a jug for 24hrs so they could determine if it was serious enough to have to induce.

Now, I have been convincing myself for over a month now that this baby needs to stay in the cooker for as long as possible because ultrasounds were showing that she was very small and my weight gain was so low. Now I might have this pre-eclampsia and there would be no way they would let me go past my due date.

I got the tests back and they showed I was stable again and not showing signs of the pre-eclampsia. Whew! The midwife was still concerned it might reappear, so she stripped my membranes to see if things might get moving on their own. (this should get labor going within 24-48hrs if your body is ready) Now every day was a waiting game. I felt good though, definitely in the nesting mood. I wanted to get everything ready, cleaning, vacuuming, scrubbing toilets...haha, everything. This was an awesome feeling after months of barely being able to make it off the couch.

My due date past and I was back in the doctor's office. My body hadn't been quite ready for labor just yet. My midwife walked in and apparently, the pre-eclampsia signs were back. Yuck. The thing I dreaded most about this was peeing in a jug again...haha...no really I know this can be very serious stuff, so the midwife decided to check my dilation and asked if she could strip my membranes again, and I said why not, if it was going to get things moving before induction was the only answer, then I was for it. So, she did her thing and all of a sudden, a warm, wet feeling came over me. Yup, my water broke. I never imagined what that would really be like, but it doesn't stop. It just keeps coming and coming, although it does slow down,  until you deliver. To the hospital we would go!

I left the office wrapped in what I call "puppy pads," cause they look like those puppy training pads you use in your house. I had 4-5 on and could barely walk. I imagine it is a similar feeling for sumo wrestlers with those huge diaper things on. Now, I knew once I checked into the hospital they weren't going to allow me to eat anything. I was already starving, so we swung by taco bell...yeah interesting choice for labor, I know... and I got a couple things and ate quickly before checking into the labor and delivery floor. I walked in with "water" running down my legs and all the ladies near the registration desk were looking me up and down and turning to the receptionist saying "Oh!, baby coming, baby coming." I wanted to laugh because other than having my water broken, I couldn't feel much. I was having a few contractions, but nothing serious, so I knew she wasn't coming too soon.

They rushed my into my room and set me to filling out my paperwork, while Marcus ran home and got the dogs situated and grabbed a few more things for us. Once he returned and all the paperwork was done, we set to work trying to get this baby to come. I did squats, walked stairs, walked hallways, sat on the yoga ball, did more squats, and after 6 hours, I had progressed one more centimeter...making a total of 2...who hoo(very sarcastic)... My midwife came in and laid out the dilemma for us. I could keep trying on my own and most likely go another 24 hours without too much progress and then a c-section, I could start on Pitocin, a hormone that the body releases naturally in labor to get things moving, and really move things along, or I could wait a few more hours and see how far I progressed and re-asess the situation. I was already bored of the hospital, so I opted to get things moving. Pitocin was hooked into my IV and gradually increased over the next 3 hours.

By the 3rd hour I was finally starting to feel the contractions. I would hold onto Marcus, or sit on the yoga ball, or brace myself on the wall. My midwife came in and checked how things were progressing. I was almost to 4cm. Ugh. She informed me that getting to 4 is sometimes the hardest part. Unfortunately, I was going to have to stay on the Pitocin and the dosage was going to need to be upped even more. She told me I was looking at another 6-7hours of double the pain I was already experiencing. I also was still experiencing what they call "back labor" meaning the baby's head is facing the tailbone instead of to the front and side like it needs to be to get the shoulders through, so I was going to have to lay down and switch from side to side every hour. She encouraged me to try a painkiller or the epidural, but said that she had seen women get through the Pitocin-induced pain with no painkillers. She left us to decide what we wanted to do...

(to be continued)

9 months later...

It's funny, popping on my blog after 9 months reading my last post about how I would keep everyone updated on my life. I have done a great job of that, now haven't I!

My world has been turned upside down since I last wrote. Marcus and I finally had a wedding (almost a yr and a half after our marriage) and an amazing one at that. We got to celebrate with our friends and family in Colorado. God blessed us with a beautiful day! I couldn't have asked for a more fun, joy-filled day...and right after the wedding we found out we were expecting! What crazy timing! 

We were both excited, but nervous and decided to tell only a few people since we were so early in the first trimester at that time. 

We left Colorado and returned home to Kentucky to settle in for job hunting and pregnancy and man, it was rough. Marcus filled out hundreds of applications only to find that no one was hiring at the time or they just wouldn't respond period. I on the other hand found a couple jobs and realized quickly I wouldn't be able to keep them. I was so sick all the time. The nausea and the vomiting of the first trimester, along with two UTIs and Kidney infections brought my emotional state and my physical state to an all time low. I lost 13 lbs the first four months and couldn't keep anything down. People everywhere tried to boost me up...tell me it would be over soon, give me tips and tricks, even the doctor thought it would all be over soon. As I got past the 5 month mark I realized that it wasn't going to get any better and being hopeful that it would, was only bringing me down, I needed to start living again and learning to deal with the symptoms I'd been given. The doctor finally diagnosed me with severe acid reflux and heartburn and got me on some perscriptions. Once again I was hopeful they would solve the problem, but six perscriptions later, and well, there's been a little taming.

Finding out we were expecting a little girl helped more than anything. I no longer viewed our child as a parasite, but a little girl with tons of girly hormones that could be a major reason I was so sick. Whatever the case, it made it easier to deal with all of it. I kept pressing on with Marcus's amazing support and here we are less than two weeks from the due date. 

I've gained a whole 15lbs, about half of that in the last month alone...crazy! I still get sick most days, but I've learned that pepsi helps the acid reflux as well as sleeping in as late as possible. I have eaten over 350 grilled cheese sandwiches in the last four months. It's the only thing that almost always stays down, and my doctor recently put me on a steady diet of Dairy Queen Blizzards. haha. If only I could eat more than a few bites without heartburn. The only craving I have really had is for Krispy Kreme doughnuts. It might have been because during my birthing and breastfeeding classes I could smell them frying next door. Marcus took all my good symptoms...he craves all the good unhealthy stuff. haha. 

We're still working on a name, but I'm sure that will come once we meet her. 

Hopefully, now that I am getting closer, I will update more often. I don't mean to be such a slacker, I have just struggled to update everyone on how terrible I have been feeling most of these last 9months. My prayer is that once she is here the symptoms with subside and I can eat and feel good again! 

Laura