Greetings Humble Readers...
Life is slowly beginning to resemble something akin to normal around the hobbit hole. At least as close to normal as things can get these days.
Not that I'm complaining one little bit!
My Beloved has been a superstar over the last several days (not that now is any different than any other time). He changes diapers, plays with Ginny, helps me with feedings & pumping & formula, cleaning, cooking, and everything else that I can't do. He even took the first late night shift at home with Pippin so that I could sleep. I don't know what I'm going to do when he goes back to work.
I'm so incredibly thankful that our time at home has been relatively peaceful and calm, considering that there is a new little hobbit around. Our time in the hospital was anything but. Let's just say that if we hadn't already decided that our family was done with two, there is NO WAY IN HELL I would go through that again.
(Fair warning... this is a little bit rambly)
When I got to the L&D ward on Thursday, it was a zoo! The place was jumping... and this was at 6:30 in the morning. I got settled in my room, which sadly turned out to be a shared room. Normally, the scheduled c-sections get the private rooms, but not this week.
The lab came and took blood, and I had to get into my gown and everything. I was scheduled for 11:05am, but they ended up coming to get me about an hour early.
My mom walked down to the surgical waiting area with us, and then it was just my Beloved and I. We sat, looking oh so stylish in our hospital garb. First the surgical nurses came and talked to us. Then the anesthesiologist came and talked to us. Then Dr. W came and talked to us. And finally someone came and took me into the OR.
Before I knew it, I was up on the OR table, having needles jabbed into my spine repeatedly, as the anesthesiologist attempted to get me numb. It took five jabs, after the local, before I felt the effects of the drugs. My feet felt like bricks, and my legs were all tingly. It took a little while after that for them to get me situated, and for them to bring my Beloved in.
Just after my Beloved took his seat at my head, they started the procedure.
And I could feel it.
(Let that sink in a little.)
Yup, I could feel them cutting into me. I could feel it as they cauterized the opening (felt like an electrified metal comb sliding over my stomach repeatedly). It burned, stung, and generally took everything I had to not scream. I told the anesthesiologist through clenched teeth that I could feel it, and he said, 'Yes, you'll feel some pressure.' Ha!
That's when they (Dr. W, her assistant, nurses, etc) started telling me to not move, specifically my legs. And that's when the anesthesiologist finally clued in that something wasn't right. He stopped them for a minute, injected me with some sort of local freezing, and they continued. But it was too late. I could feel them poking, prodding, pulling, and cutting. It felt like it was going on forever.
When they finally got our wee little man out, I was almost too freaked out to even realize it. I remember Dr. W commenting on his hair, and calling him by name (she had asked for our chosen names before the surgery), and saying that he was a lot littler than we all thought he would be. My Beloved got up and went to the table where they had Pippin.
Dr. W and her assistant got to work on the tubal ligation. I tried to focus on the little bit of our wee guy that I could see, but I could still feel it. My Beloved and Pippin were whisked from the room fairly quickly at that point, although I did get to give Pip a quick kiss on the forehead.
I don't remember a whole lot from when they took me out of the OR, but I very clearly remember both Dr. W and the anesthesiologist telling the nurses in the recovery room that my spinal was 'very patchy' and that I was in a great deal of pain (no sh!t). Every time the nurse pushed on my abdomen I was very vocal. Less than five minutes in recovery and I could feel it when she touched my navel. Not fun.
I was on a lot of pain meds for the first 12 hours. I felt really stoned, and the word 'fundus' started to bring tears to my eyes (the nurses were pressing on my stomach every two hours). I wasn't able to get out of bed until after 8:30pm, and that was only to take two steps to a wheelchair so that I could go to the NICU to see my boy.
While I had been in recovery, the nurses had checked Pip's blood sugars and discovered that he was sitting at 1.1 (very scary low). He had been taken to the NICU immediately, and they began giving him formula and iv dextrose. They were also monitoring his vitals regularly (due to his irregular heartbeat).
I was able to get as good a night sleep as I possibly could, while alternating being stoned and in pain, because my initial roommate had been discharged. It wasn't until the next morning that the psycho-biotch-from-hell moved in.
The first thing I heard from her was an expletive laden diatribe leveled at her boyfriend as to why his parents were already at the hospital when she specifically told them not to come. The next 36+ hours were filled with her shrill voice bickering with her boyfriend, her family, his family, and the nurses. She also had lovely personal hygiene issues (including sucking back snot as loudly as she could, and not washing her hands when she would come out of the bathroom). Oh, and she made more than one comment to the atmosphere at large about how it would be so nice to be able to have nurses look after her baby so she could get some rest (as if having a child in the NICU, even for a short time, is at all conducive to rest).
On Saturday morning, when the nurses wheeled Pippin into my room, I was so happy, I practically jumped out of bed to get to him, until my incision reminded me that I couldn't do that yet. We had a good morning and afternoon, making our first attempts at breastfeeding (I had been pumping up to that point) and spending a lot of time just holding and looking at him. That night, I had a bit of a meltdown... I couldn't handle my roommate's obnoxiousness and all I really wanted was quiet. Pippin was fairly mellow, only getting really upset when we had a bad go round of bf-ing. Saturday also brought the advent of jaundice, but that seemed minor in comparison to everything else.
And as I told you previously, we were given the all clear to head home on Sunday morning.
It's hard to believe it's all over. I'm so incredibly thankful that he's here, he's healthy, and that we are both able to be at home. Our little family is complete.
Showing posts with label the birth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the birth. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jog
Good Evening Humble Readers...
Thank you so much for your good thoughts, kind words, and for sharing in our joy! (And a huge thank you to Kristin for taking the time to bring our good news to all of you.
Tonight's post will be short. I'll give you details in the days to come.
Pippin and I are home, with my Beloved and Ginny. Our time in the hospital wasn't easy, but mercifully short, given where it started. Thankfully, I am healing on a good pace, and I think being at home will speed that along.
Pip spent almost 48 hours in the NICU, due to extremely low blood sugars. There was some concern about his heart (irreguluar heartbeat) and muscle tone as well, although those were minor and corrected themselves once his blood sugars were better.
He was released from the NICU yesterday, and even though he has a bit of a tongue tie, he is a champion nurser! And, I'm actually producing a fair amount of colostrum/milk. It's early days, but I'm hopeful.
We had a minor set-back late yesterday, when Pip developed jaundice. They were concerned enough to do a billirubin test this morning, and it came back in the safe zone, so we were given the all clear to come home.
Ginny is adjusting. She's not sure what to make of this new little person in our world. But she's curious, and that's a good sign for right now.
We're taking everything, one moment at a time.
Life is good.
Thank you so much for your good thoughts, kind words, and for sharing in our joy! (And a huge thank you to Kristin for taking the time to bring our good news to all of you.
 |
| Our wee little family |
Pippin and I are home, with my Beloved and Ginny. Our time in the hospital wasn't easy, but mercifully short, given where it started. Thankfully, I am healing on a good pace, and I think being at home will speed that along.
 |
| Pippin & Ginny at home. |
Pip spent almost 48 hours in the NICU, due to extremely low blood sugars. There was some concern about his heart (irreguluar heartbeat) and muscle tone as well, although those were minor and corrected themselves once his blood sugars were better.
He was released from the NICU yesterday, and even though he has a bit of a tongue tie, he is a champion nurser! And, I'm actually producing a fair amount of colostrum/milk. It's early days, but I'm hopeful.
We had a minor set-back late yesterday, when Pip developed jaundice. They were concerned enough to do a billirubin test this morning, and it came back in the safe zone, so we were given the all clear to come home.
 |
| Pippin, looking a little orange. |
Ginny is adjusting. She's not sure what to make of this new little person in our world. But she's curious, and that's a good sign for right now.
We're taking everything, one moment at a time.
Life is good.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Beautiful Stranger: The Birth Story
Howdy Humble Readers...
This post has been a long time coming, and it's a ridiculously long story, so I apologize. Because everything was so long and drawn out, it took me a long time to collect all my thoughts and memories. And then, honestly, I was embarrassed that it took so bloody long to get this written, and I couldn't decide when to post it. As Ginny's birthday approached, I decided that it was time. If you make it all the way through this post, you deserve a gold star!
Thursday, November 25th, 2010
Beloved and I woke up at 6am, and just stayed in bed for twenty minutes or so, talking about what was coming and enjoying what we thought would be our last morning in bed without a baby in our lives. We called the hospital at 6:30 to confirm that we were indeed on for that day, and oh, by the way, they wanted us there right away. I woke up my Mom, who had arrived the evening before, and then we all dashed around trying to shower, eat, and get organized.
We managed, miraculously, to get our poop in a group, and to the hospital by 7:20. My Beloved dropped me off at the front doors, and then both he and Mom went to look for parking. They ended up finding spots okay, but the pay parking meters were out of order. The last thing we needed was for one of them to get towed or something. They ended up having to go down to the bowels of the hospital to talk to someone in the security office while I headed up to the L&D unit by myself.
When I got there, I was taken into a room that for all intents and purposes looked like a storage room with two beds in it. No windows, and tons of 'extra' equipment, and just generally dismal. The nurse told me that they couldn't have someone being induced 'taking up one of the good rooms for days and days'. Fun stuff!
Dr. U arrived shortly after I got settled, and after a quick check (1cm dilated/30% effaced), he administered my FIRST dose of cervadil. One of the perks of the day was that I was allowed to eat real food while we waited....
And waited...
And waited...
At the end of a day of unproductive cramping and boredom I was making hardly any progress. Only 2cm and 70% effaced. Dr. U administered another dose of cervadil, and we settle in for the night. My Beloved and I played cards and then tried to get some sleep. Mom went back to our place, and my Beloved sacked out on one of those super uncomfortable hospital recliners. I didn't end up sleeping well at all, even though the nurse gave me a sleeping pill (which left a disgusting metallic taste in my mouth).
Friday, November 26, 2010
My mom came back in the morning, and after a third dose of cervadil it felt like maybe something was going on. I started to contract every 5 minutes or so, and the contractions were lasting 30-45 seconds. In the middle of the afternoon Dr. U stopped by for a check and I was STILL only 2cm and 70% effaced. Ugh! He stripped my membranes again. Double ugh!! And then he sent me home for the night.
Talk about frustration!
We got home around 4pm and I took a nap. By the time I woke up, the contractions had stopped completely. We had a quiet evening, watched a movie, and Mom bought Chinese food. I was totally worn out from the last two days and ended up falling asleep sitting up fairly early in the evening. Amazingly I ended up getting the best night sleep I had in months.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
We were back at the hospital at 8am, and this time I was given a 'good' room. It had a window and everything... woohoo! Dr. U checks me, and big surprise I was 2cm and 50% effaced. The nurses hooked me up with my first (of many) iv... fluids and pitocin. Dr. U broke my water and things got going pretty quickly. By 8:30 the contractions are going like gangbusters, but I was still able very able to talk and joke around. The nurses were increasing my pitocin every half hour and by 10:00 the contractions were becoming challenging, coming every 2 minutes. It was around this time that I started experiencing some pretty intense pubic bone pain. I was using my 'happy place' picture (taken from the top of Rockefeller Center, overlooking Central Park) for focus.
I was allowed to have lunch, but that was my last real food for quite a while. Right after lunch the nurses hooked me up to another IV... insulin, dextrose, and potassium. I had tubing going into both hands, and it made much movement challenging. The contractions felt really intense, but when the nurse checked me I was still only 2cm dilated.
After much debate and some acrobatics with all my IVs, I was allowed to get up to try different positions for comfort. I tried standing, swaying, bending over the bed, and sitting on the birthing ball, but I still had a lot of pubic bone pain. By 1:30 I was ready for my epidural (I never claimed to be a hero). They placed an internal monitor, and the anesthesiologist arrived shortly after 2pm. He had some trouble getting me stuck properly (took 3 tries) but eventually I got some relief.
Once the epi was doing it's thing, I tried to get some sleep, but the pain in my pubic bone came back very quickly. I wasn't feeling the contractions themselves, but Ginny was pressing hard against my pubic bone with every contraction.
Finally, when Dr, U checked me at 5:00pm I am making some progress. I was 5cm and 100% effaced!! Yay! Sadly, the pain in my pubic bone was so strong that I was ready to quit. I was still only at -3 station. Dr. U asked me to try to tough it out for another couple of hours. They top up my epi and I agree, but by 6pm I could no longer talk because of the pain in my pubic bone. My Beloved grabbed some dinner (which I made him eat in the hallway because the smell made me nauseous) and then I demanded that he brush his teeth. The nurses found that incredibly amusing.
At 7:00pm Dr. U came back and checked me. No surprise, no progress was made. As an aside, one of the nurses mentioned that I had some scar tissue or something on my cervix (wha?? no one has ever said anything about that before) that could be causing some of the problems, but it was mostly determined that Ginny was just in a bad position. After a few minutes conversation, we decided that it would be a c-section. Immediately, the nurses stopped the pitocin and my contractions stopped.
From there, everything felt like it moved at hyper speed. My Beloved donned his too small blue coverall outfit, and before I knew it, I was being rolled off the L&D ward and down to surgery. Beloved had to wait outside the surgical suite while they got me situated, which ended up taking a ridiculously long time. It turns out that the epidural wasn't in really solidly, and as they helped me shift from the bed to the surgical table the stupid thing came right out. There was a great deal of rushing around at that point, because they needed to get me frozen again right quick. It was a different anesthesiologist, and he managed to get me hooked up to a spinal in record time
Shortly after, my Beloved was able to come in, and they were draping the blue cloth everywhere and I was strapped down (what a freaky feeling!). The sensations of the incision were so strange. I could feel it, and I remember wincing, but there was no pain. It felt like they were digging around inside me for quite awhile, and it turns out that Ginny's head was jammed up against my hip bone (to the point that her left ear was completely flat, no ridges at all for a couple of days after birth) and her shoulders were stuck sideways in my pelvic bone. They had to use forceps to get her unstuck.
At 8:42pm, Dr. U (who was being assisted by Dr. B), told my Beloved he could stand up if he wanted to see her being born. As they pulled her out, my first question wasn't 'boy or girl?', but 'is there hair?'. Again, that made all the nurses laugh, but after all the wretched heartburn I had, I wanted there to be some serious hair!
I saw her briefly as they took her to the bassinet to check her out. I could see her red squirminess and instantly I started to bawl. And just as they brought her over to me, all wrapped up, the song playing in the room changed to Madonna's "Beautiful Stranger"... so amazingly fitting! I got to give her a kiss and spend a few brief minutes staring at her before they whisked her and my Beloved away to the Special Care nursery (to check her blood sugar levels) and they closed me up. That process was just as weird as when they cut into me... tugging and pulling, but no pain.
I had to go to recovery for about an hour or so afterward, and it was after 11pm before I finally got taken back up to L&D. I was given a different room again, and foremost on my mind was to see my wee sweet girl... and get something to eat! I was starving!
I had just taken a bite of the piece of toast they had given me when they wheeled in the most precious thing I had ever seen. She was red and squalling, her dark hair sticking up in every which direction. I honestly don't remember holding her for the first time... but just knowing that she was finally here was so incredibly overpowering. I bawled and bawled.
The next few days were amazingly fun (watching my Beloved change his first stinky diaper) and brutally gut wrenching (breastfeeding did not start well, and the nurses were really no help. They all told me different things and they all contradicted each other). Kind of like the last 365. And I imagine just like every day that will come on this journey.
If you made it this far, you are a super star! Thanks for reading!
This post has been a long time coming, and it's a ridiculously long story, so I apologize. Because everything was so long and drawn out, it took me a long time to collect all my thoughts and memories. And then, honestly, I was embarrassed that it took so bloody long to get this written, and I couldn't decide when to post it. As Ginny's birthday approached, I decided that it was time. If you make it all the way through this post, you deserve a gold star!
Thursday, November 25th, 2010
Beloved and I woke up at 6am, and just stayed in bed for twenty minutes or so, talking about what was coming and enjoying what we thought would be our last morning in bed without a baby in our lives. We called the hospital at 6:30 to confirm that we were indeed on for that day, and oh, by the way, they wanted us there right away. I woke up my Mom, who had arrived the evening before, and then we all dashed around trying to shower, eat, and get organized.
We managed, miraculously, to get our poop in a group, and to the hospital by 7:20. My Beloved dropped me off at the front doors, and then both he and Mom went to look for parking. They ended up finding spots okay, but the pay parking meters were out of order. The last thing we needed was for one of them to get towed or something. They ended up having to go down to the bowels of the hospital to talk to someone in the security office while I headed up to the L&D unit by myself.
When I got there, I was taken into a room that for all intents and purposes looked like a storage room with two beds in it. No windows, and tons of 'extra' equipment, and just generally dismal. The nurse told me that they couldn't have someone being induced 'taking up one of the good rooms for days and days'. Fun stuff!
Dr. U arrived shortly after I got settled, and after a quick check (1cm dilated/30% effaced), he administered my FIRST dose of cervadil. One of the perks of the day was that I was allowed to eat real food while we waited....
And waited...
And waited...
At the end of a day of unproductive cramping and boredom I was making hardly any progress. Only 2cm and 70% effaced. Dr. U administered another dose of cervadil, and we settle in for the night. My Beloved and I played cards and then tried to get some sleep. Mom went back to our place, and my Beloved sacked out on one of those super uncomfortable hospital recliners. I didn't end up sleeping well at all, even though the nurse gave me a sleeping pill (which left a disgusting metallic taste in my mouth).
Friday, November 26, 2010
My mom came back in the morning, and after a third dose of cervadil it felt like maybe something was going on. I started to contract every 5 minutes or so, and the contractions were lasting 30-45 seconds. In the middle of the afternoon Dr. U stopped by for a check and I was STILL only 2cm and 70% effaced. Ugh! He stripped my membranes again. Double ugh!! And then he sent me home for the night.
Talk about frustration!
We got home around 4pm and I took a nap. By the time I woke up, the contractions had stopped completely. We had a quiet evening, watched a movie, and Mom bought Chinese food. I was totally worn out from the last two days and ended up falling asleep sitting up fairly early in the evening. Amazingly I ended up getting the best night sleep I had in months.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
We were back at the hospital at 8am, and this time I was given a 'good' room. It had a window and everything... woohoo! Dr. U checks me, and big surprise I was 2cm and 50% effaced. The nurses hooked me up with my first (of many) iv... fluids and pitocin. Dr. U broke my water and things got going pretty quickly. By 8:30 the contractions are going like gangbusters, but I was still able very able to talk and joke around. The nurses were increasing my pitocin every half hour and by 10:00 the contractions were becoming challenging, coming every 2 minutes. It was around this time that I started experiencing some pretty intense pubic bone pain. I was using my 'happy place' picture (taken from the top of Rockefeller Center, overlooking Central Park) for focus.
I was allowed to have lunch, but that was my last real food for quite a while. Right after lunch the nurses hooked me up to another IV... insulin, dextrose, and potassium. I had tubing going into both hands, and it made much movement challenging. The contractions felt really intense, but when the nurse checked me I was still only 2cm dilated.
After much debate and some acrobatics with all my IVs, I was allowed to get up to try different positions for comfort. I tried standing, swaying, bending over the bed, and sitting on the birthing ball, but I still had a lot of pubic bone pain. By 1:30 I was ready for my epidural (I never claimed to be a hero). They placed an internal monitor, and the anesthesiologist arrived shortly after 2pm. He had some trouble getting me stuck properly (took 3 tries) but eventually I got some relief.
Once the epi was doing it's thing, I tried to get some sleep, but the pain in my pubic bone came back very quickly. I wasn't feeling the contractions themselves, but Ginny was pressing hard against my pubic bone with every contraction.
Finally, when Dr, U checked me at 5:00pm I am making some progress. I was 5cm and 100% effaced!! Yay! Sadly, the pain in my pubic bone was so strong that I was ready to quit. I was still only at -3 station. Dr. U asked me to try to tough it out for another couple of hours. They top up my epi and I agree, but by 6pm I could no longer talk because of the pain in my pubic bone. My Beloved grabbed some dinner (which I made him eat in the hallway because the smell made me nauseous) and then I demanded that he brush his teeth. The nurses found that incredibly amusing.
At 7:00pm Dr. U came back and checked me. No surprise, no progress was made. As an aside, one of the nurses mentioned that I had some scar tissue or something on my cervix (wha?? no one has ever said anything about that before) that could be causing some of the problems, but it was mostly determined that Ginny was just in a bad position. After a few minutes conversation, we decided that it would be a c-section. Immediately, the nurses stopped the pitocin and my contractions stopped.
From there, everything felt like it moved at hyper speed. My Beloved donned his too small blue coverall outfit, and before I knew it, I was being rolled off the L&D ward and down to surgery. Beloved had to wait outside the surgical suite while they got me situated, which ended up taking a ridiculously long time. It turns out that the epidural wasn't in really solidly, and as they helped me shift from the bed to the surgical table the stupid thing came right out. There was a great deal of rushing around at that point, because they needed to get me frozen again right quick. It was a different anesthesiologist, and he managed to get me hooked up to a spinal in record time
Shortly after, my Beloved was able to come in, and they were draping the blue cloth everywhere and I was strapped down (what a freaky feeling!). The sensations of the incision were so strange. I could feel it, and I remember wincing, but there was no pain. It felt like they were digging around inside me for quite awhile, and it turns out that Ginny's head was jammed up against my hip bone (to the point that her left ear was completely flat, no ridges at all for a couple of days after birth) and her shoulders were stuck sideways in my pelvic bone. They had to use forceps to get her unstuck.
At 8:42pm, Dr. U (who was being assisted by Dr. B), told my Beloved he could stand up if he wanted to see her being born. As they pulled her out, my first question wasn't 'boy or girl?', but 'is there hair?'. Again, that made all the nurses laugh, but after all the wretched heartburn I had, I wanted there to be some serious hair!
I saw her briefly as they took her to the bassinet to check her out. I could see her red squirminess and instantly I started to bawl. And just as they brought her over to me, all wrapped up, the song playing in the room changed to Madonna's "Beautiful Stranger"... so amazingly fitting! I got to give her a kiss and spend a few brief minutes staring at her before they whisked her and my Beloved away to the Special Care nursery (to check her blood sugar levels) and they closed me up. That process was just as weird as when they cut into me... tugging and pulling, but no pain.
I had to go to recovery for about an hour or so afterward, and it was after 11pm before I finally got taken back up to L&D. I was given a different room again, and foremost on my mind was to see my wee sweet girl... and get something to eat! I was starving!
I had just taken a bite of the piece of toast they had given me when they wheeled in the most precious thing I had ever seen. She was red and squalling, her dark hair sticking up in every which direction. I honestly don't remember holding her for the first time... but just knowing that she was finally here was so incredibly overpowering. I bawled and bawled.
The next few days were amazingly fun (watching my Beloved change his first stinky diaper) and brutally gut wrenching (breastfeeding did not start well, and the nurses were really no help. They all told me different things and they all contradicted each other). Kind of like the last 365. And I imagine just like every day that will come on this journey.
If you made it this far, you are a super star! Thanks for reading!
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