(no subject)
Since the few of you I have on here are also on facebook, it will come as no surprise that I was pregnant and, subsequently, now have a son.
I thought I'd type up the story while I can remember (most of) it so that I can look back on it in later years.
First off, my due date was April 1st. For the most part the pregnancy was very easy, I had little to no morning sickness, never really got gigantically uncomfortable, etc. I was utterly exhausted and pretty much mildly nauseous the entire first trimester into the second but I never puked or anything. My biggest complaint was that if I ate anything sweet I felt horribly nauseous instead of just the normal mild nausea. If you know me you know I have a HUGE sweet tooth and know how horrible this was for me!
During the pregnancy I had very simple doctor's appointments, never any issues. The doctor always seemed surprised when he asked if I had any issues between appointments and I answered no. I was a VERY low risk pregnancy.
Until the glucose testing...then things started to get a little more complicated.
I was considered to have gestational diabetes. Slightly sucky but I was pretty much expecting it due to my family's history so while I was terrified on one hand I knew it was something that I could get through on the other. And to be honest, the main reason I was terrified was because I knew that most cases of gestational diabetes are induced at the 38 week mark (two weeks early) and I did NOT want to be induced.
My diabetes ended up being diet controlled. That meant that while I had to stab myself 4 times a day to check my blood sugar levels, I didn't have to take insulin. I just had to keep an eye on the amount of carbs I ate at each meal. By the way, sugar free? Not carb free. Very misleading products out there geared towards diabetics...
There was a point where the doctor wanted me to start taking an insulin pill. I took it once as directed. A few hours later (while driving home with a friend) I suddenly got very shaky and sweaty. My blood sugar had plummeted! I refused to take the pill again after that and the doctor agreed as long as I could keep my numbers in check.
Because of the diabetes I had to go to the doctor's every week while most women would have gotten away with every 2 weeks as well as seeing a dietitian. There were some times I was at the hospital 3 times a week!
I finally got a break from the every week appointments at 32 weeks. So I went again at 34 weeks and then 36 weeks. 36 weeks is when you start going in every week... Yeah, some break huh?
Anyways, the upside to the diabetes is that I got a couple extra ultrasounds because when diabetes is involved there's a chance of having a gigantical baby. The ultrasound I had at 37 weeks estimated he'd be around 6 1/2 lbs. Definitely not huge.
So that brings us to my 38 week checkup. Technically it was at 37 weeks, 6 days but let's not nitpick here huh?
I had a feeling something was up that (Monday) morning. The weekend had me feeling kind of off and there had been a point early Sunday morning where I actually thought I might be in labor (I wasn't, still not sure what all was happening then). Monday I had a headache while at work and like I said, I just had a feeling something was up. My appointment was at 11 so I just waited it out.
Every time you go in for an appointment they have you pee in a cup. So, that happened, and then I was in the exam room and the nurse took my blood pressure. She gets this look and says "I'm going to try taking it again with another cuff, I don't like that reading". Second cuff, same result. I still don't know what it was, she never told me. She left to talk to the doctor and I was left sitting and waiting. After a while the doctor comes in and with one look at his face my heart stopped. He looked terrified. A doctor looking terrified is never a good thing!
He says "we're going to walk you over to labor and delivery right now". I think I might have stopped breathing. I thought we still had 2 weeks left, I had planned on packing the hospital bag after my appointment that morning! He wouldn't even let me run home to get a bag, that's how worried he was about my blood pressure. Turns out the proteins in my urine was very high, he was more worried about that than the actual level of my blood pressure. I was at the point of severe preeclampsia, "very close to the point of eclampsia"
The rest of my time spent in the hospital is kind of a blur of blood draws, people constantly checking monitors, etc., but I'll see if I can remember the main points...
First I was led into an outpatient room "to run a few tests" and to see if after laying down for a little while my blood pressure went down.
It did not.
I was officially admitted around 1 that afternoon. I had called Eric at work from the outpatient room, told him what I knew of what was going on but had also told him that he should finish work for the day (so he could save all his vacation time for after D was here). That phone call was the first thing that helped me calm down a little, he always knows what to say. He can't have his cell phone on him while he's working so after I was officially admitted I texted him but knew I wouldn't hear from him until after he got out at 3:30.
At 2:15 the doctor inserted the first dose of cervical softener and said he'd be back to check on my progress after a couple hours. I had a nurse that was constantly in and out checking on my vitals and watching the monitors but for the most part I was left to just watch tv on my own.
Until 3. My room overlooked the parking lot and I just happened to see Eric walking in. He had left work a little early, said he couldn't really concentrate and didn't want to start any new projects so there he was. We worked on a list of things for him to grab from home and he left to go get it around 4.
Sometime around 6, after Eric had come back, the doctor came in to check to see if I was dilated. Something no one warned me about, that process hurts like a bitch! At that point I was 3cm dilated so he used the lovely crochet hook looking thing to break my water. That was a truly disgusting feeling, let me tell you. As was getting up to pee sometime after that. Let me just say there was gushing...
At this point it was shift change time for the doctors. The original guy had mentioned wanting to start pitocin which I really didn't want. However, after talking to him and then again with the guy that came in next, it was started (I think it was around 7:30 at this point).
The contractions started sometime shortly after. However the monitor they had on me didn't pick up most of them apparently so they didn't really believe me. Contractions started picking up in intensity and frequency. At this point the monitor was registering some and Eric could actually tell one was coming before I did. That was fun...
The contractions were getting pretty bad but I figured I'd be able to handle them, at least for a little while longer. Then the doctor came to check for dilation again. Remember how I said that hurt like a bitch? Yeah, having that done at the same time as a contraction was happening was apparently my breaking point. I lost it. There were tears and I think I just kept saying "ow, ow, ow". This is when the epidural was called for. I believe I was 4cm dilated at that point.
The anesthesiologist happened to be in the area so that was started pretty quickly. At this point it was about 11pm. The epidural didn't hurt at all, but trying not to move during contractions was fun, let me tell you. The nurse held my head against her chest and just kept whispering "you're doing great, you're doing great".
Shortly after that I felt great! I had what is called a walking epidural so I could still control my legs, they just felt like they were asleep. Since they kind of frown upon you actually walking with an epidural a catheter was inserted at this point.
This was the point where sleep was attempted. A cot was brought in for Eric and we were told to rest as best we could. The overnight is a mess of in and out of sleep, the nurse was still constantly monitoring my blood pressure, contractions and the baby's heartbeat.
I do remember that they came in at one point to stop the Pitocin and start another drug to slow the contractions. Apparently they were coming too quickly and weren't being productive enough. It was causing stress on Damien and they put me on oxygen to help get his heart rate back up. I know he also checked me again for dilation and I had progressed to 8cm rather quickly.
However that was it. After being checked again around 6am it was determined that I had stalled at 8cm. The doctor said he suggested a c-section. I really didn't want one but after talking to him about what was going on it was a go. Damien had been showing signs of distress, you do what you need to do at that point!
So, the team was assembled and the anesthesiologist came back to change the level of epidural so that the numbness went further up than what it was originally. I was wheeled into the operating room, transferred to the operating table and set up for surgery. The doctor poked me to see if I could feel it. I could, so we had to wait longer. Could still feel it so another dose was administered. Finally it was go time and Eric was brought in to sit next to my head.
The c-section was very uncomfortable. At first it wasn't painful, I could just feel everything they were doing. I literally felt when they took Damien out. Hearing him cry for the first time made me cry, I'm not going to lie.
They took him over to the table to clean him up and all that fun stuff and I told Eric to go get a picture. Then he was right back by my side.
And then...the epidural started wearing off. At first it was just mildly painful but that quickly turned into beyond painful. The anesthesiologist shot my epidural line with something and then put a mask on my face. I was out in seconds. I remember hearing them talking while they were finishing up but I felt nothing. I liken the "dream" to seeing a Beatles video, will all the colors and whatnot. I think Eric said it's Yellow Submarine I'm thinking of.
Things get a bit fuzzy for a bit, I remember them moving me off the operating table and I remember hearing that we were going to be in a different room. Next thing I know I'm in said room and there's a nurse hovering over me. Best site was seeing Eric sitting in the corner though, dude barely left my side.
This was a Tuesday morning. Tuesday and Wednesday were spent laying in bed, barely moving. Not only was there the whole cesarean incision thing but I was on an iv of magnesium sulfate to prevent seizures which apparently also acts as sort of a muscle relaxant. So it wasn't that I didn't want to move, I literally couldn't. It took a ridiculous amount of energy just to sit up.
Eric ended up going home Wednesday morning because there were several things in the apartment that still needed to be done (such as flooring in the kitchen, a shower in the bathroom...you know, tiny things...). He would come back at night for a couple hours and then work some more. He busted his ass to get things ready for us to come home.
Which didn't happen until Saturday. So yeah, into the hospital Monday morning, out Saturday afternoon. Was a long week. My blood pressure just refused to go down, no matter what medication they put me on. I ended up leaving with a prescription for blood pressure medication that I then had to take for 6 weeks.
At my postpartum checkup it was discovered that my body was rejecting the stitches that the doctor had used (so as to not have to use staples) and I had developed stitch abscesses. Sounds gross but it was really just the stitches were pulling the skin weird so it wouldn't heal. The doctor removed the stitches and I was asked to come back in two weeks. In those two weeks it became infected. I'm now on antibiotics until tomorrow, I believe it's finally all healed. Two months later!
(I just want to put it out there that I started typing this out on the 6th. Of April...)
I thought I'd type up the story while I can remember (most of) it so that I can look back on it in later years.
First off, my due date was April 1st. For the most part the pregnancy was very easy, I had little to no morning sickness, never really got gigantically uncomfortable, etc. I was utterly exhausted and pretty much mildly nauseous the entire first trimester into the second but I never puked or anything. My biggest complaint was that if I ate anything sweet I felt horribly nauseous instead of just the normal mild nausea. If you know me you know I have a HUGE sweet tooth and know how horrible this was for me!
During the pregnancy I had very simple doctor's appointments, never any issues. The doctor always seemed surprised when he asked if I had any issues between appointments and I answered no. I was a VERY low risk pregnancy.
Until the glucose testing...then things started to get a little more complicated.
I was considered to have gestational diabetes. Slightly sucky but I was pretty much expecting it due to my family's history so while I was terrified on one hand I knew it was something that I could get through on the other. And to be honest, the main reason I was terrified was because I knew that most cases of gestational diabetes are induced at the 38 week mark (two weeks early) and I did NOT want to be induced.
My diabetes ended up being diet controlled. That meant that while I had to stab myself 4 times a day to check my blood sugar levels, I didn't have to take insulin. I just had to keep an eye on the amount of carbs I ate at each meal. By the way, sugar free? Not carb free. Very misleading products out there geared towards diabetics...
There was a point where the doctor wanted me to start taking an insulin pill. I took it once as directed. A few hours later (while driving home with a friend) I suddenly got very shaky and sweaty. My blood sugar had plummeted! I refused to take the pill again after that and the doctor agreed as long as I could keep my numbers in check.
Because of the diabetes I had to go to the doctor's every week while most women would have gotten away with every 2 weeks as well as seeing a dietitian. There were some times I was at the hospital 3 times a week!
I finally got a break from the every week appointments at 32 weeks. So I went again at 34 weeks and then 36 weeks. 36 weeks is when you start going in every week... Yeah, some break huh?
Anyways, the upside to the diabetes is that I got a couple extra ultrasounds because when diabetes is involved there's a chance of having a gigantical baby. The ultrasound I had at 37 weeks estimated he'd be around 6 1/2 lbs. Definitely not huge.
So that brings us to my 38 week checkup. Technically it was at 37 weeks, 6 days but let's not nitpick here huh?
I had a feeling something was up that (Monday) morning. The weekend had me feeling kind of off and there had been a point early Sunday morning where I actually thought I might be in labor (I wasn't, still not sure what all was happening then). Monday I had a headache while at work and like I said, I just had a feeling something was up. My appointment was at 11 so I just waited it out.
Every time you go in for an appointment they have you pee in a cup. So, that happened, and then I was in the exam room and the nurse took my blood pressure. She gets this look and says "I'm going to try taking it again with another cuff, I don't like that reading". Second cuff, same result. I still don't know what it was, she never told me. She left to talk to the doctor and I was left sitting and waiting. After a while the doctor comes in and with one look at his face my heart stopped. He looked terrified. A doctor looking terrified is never a good thing!
He says "we're going to walk you over to labor and delivery right now". I think I might have stopped breathing. I thought we still had 2 weeks left, I had planned on packing the hospital bag after my appointment that morning! He wouldn't even let me run home to get a bag, that's how worried he was about my blood pressure. Turns out the proteins in my urine was very high, he was more worried about that than the actual level of my blood pressure. I was at the point of severe preeclampsia, "very close to the point of eclampsia"
The rest of my time spent in the hospital is kind of a blur of blood draws, people constantly checking monitors, etc., but I'll see if I can remember the main points...
First I was led into an outpatient room "to run a few tests" and to see if after laying down for a little while my blood pressure went down.
It did not.
I was officially admitted around 1 that afternoon. I had called Eric at work from the outpatient room, told him what I knew of what was going on but had also told him that he should finish work for the day (so he could save all his vacation time for after D was here). That phone call was the first thing that helped me calm down a little, he always knows what to say. He can't have his cell phone on him while he's working so after I was officially admitted I texted him but knew I wouldn't hear from him until after he got out at 3:30.
At 2:15 the doctor inserted the first dose of cervical softener and said he'd be back to check on my progress after a couple hours. I had a nurse that was constantly in and out checking on my vitals and watching the monitors but for the most part I was left to just watch tv on my own.
Until 3. My room overlooked the parking lot and I just happened to see Eric walking in. He had left work a little early, said he couldn't really concentrate and didn't want to start any new projects so there he was. We worked on a list of things for him to grab from home and he left to go get it around 4.
Sometime around 6, after Eric had come back, the doctor came in to check to see if I was dilated. Something no one warned me about, that process hurts like a bitch! At that point I was 3cm dilated so he used the lovely crochet hook looking thing to break my water. That was a truly disgusting feeling, let me tell you. As was getting up to pee sometime after that. Let me just say there was gushing...
At this point it was shift change time for the doctors. The original guy had mentioned wanting to start pitocin which I really didn't want. However, after talking to him and then again with the guy that came in next, it was started (I think it was around 7:30 at this point).
The contractions started sometime shortly after. However the monitor they had on me didn't pick up most of them apparently so they didn't really believe me. Contractions started picking up in intensity and frequency. At this point the monitor was registering some and Eric could actually tell one was coming before I did. That was fun...
The contractions were getting pretty bad but I figured I'd be able to handle them, at least for a little while longer. Then the doctor came to check for dilation again. Remember how I said that hurt like a bitch? Yeah, having that done at the same time as a contraction was happening was apparently my breaking point. I lost it. There were tears and I think I just kept saying "ow, ow, ow". This is when the epidural was called for. I believe I was 4cm dilated at that point.
The anesthesiologist happened to be in the area so that was started pretty quickly. At this point it was about 11pm. The epidural didn't hurt at all, but trying not to move during contractions was fun, let me tell you. The nurse held my head against her chest and just kept whispering "you're doing great, you're doing great".
Shortly after that I felt great! I had what is called a walking epidural so I could still control my legs, they just felt like they were asleep. Since they kind of frown upon you actually walking with an epidural a catheter was inserted at this point.
This was the point where sleep was attempted. A cot was brought in for Eric and we were told to rest as best we could. The overnight is a mess of in and out of sleep, the nurse was still constantly monitoring my blood pressure, contractions and the baby's heartbeat.
I do remember that they came in at one point to stop the Pitocin and start another drug to slow the contractions. Apparently they were coming too quickly and weren't being productive enough. It was causing stress on Damien and they put me on oxygen to help get his heart rate back up. I know he also checked me again for dilation and I had progressed to 8cm rather quickly.
However that was it. After being checked again around 6am it was determined that I had stalled at 8cm. The doctor said he suggested a c-section. I really didn't want one but after talking to him about what was going on it was a go. Damien had been showing signs of distress, you do what you need to do at that point!
So, the team was assembled and the anesthesiologist came back to change the level of epidural so that the numbness went further up than what it was originally. I was wheeled into the operating room, transferred to the operating table and set up for surgery. The doctor poked me to see if I could feel it. I could, so we had to wait longer. Could still feel it so another dose was administered. Finally it was go time and Eric was brought in to sit next to my head.
The c-section was very uncomfortable. At first it wasn't painful, I could just feel everything they were doing. I literally felt when they took Damien out. Hearing him cry for the first time made me cry, I'm not going to lie.
They took him over to the table to clean him up and all that fun stuff and I told Eric to go get a picture. Then he was right back by my side.
And then...the epidural started wearing off. At first it was just mildly painful but that quickly turned into beyond painful. The anesthesiologist shot my epidural line with something and then put a mask on my face. I was out in seconds. I remember hearing them talking while they were finishing up but I felt nothing. I liken the "dream" to seeing a Beatles video, will all the colors and whatnot. I think Eric said it's Yellow Submarine I'm thinking of.
Things get a bit fuzzy for a bit, I remember them moving me off the operating table and I remember hearing that we were going to be in a different room. Next thing I know I'm in said room and there's a nurse hovering over me. Best site was seeing Eric sitting in the corner though, dude barely left my side.
This was a Tuesday morning. Tuesday and Wednesday were spent laying in bed, barely moving. Not only was there the whole cesarean incision thing but I was on an iv of magnesium sulfate to prevent seizures which apparently also acts as sort of a muscle relaxant. So it wasn't that I didn't want to move, I literally couldn't. It took a ridiculous amount of energy just to sit up.
Eric ended up going home Wednesday morning because there were several things in the apartment that still needed to be done (such as flooring in the kitchen, a shower in the bathroom...you know, tiny things...). He would come back at night for a couple hours and then work some more. He busted his ass to get things ready for us to come home.
Which didn't happen until Saturday. So yeah, into the hospital Monday morning, out Saturday afternoon. Was a long week. My blood pressure just refused to go down, no matter what medication they put me on. I ended up leaving with a prescription for blood pressure medication that I then had to take for 6 weeks.
At my postpartum checkup it was discovered that my body was rejecting the stitches that the doctor had used (so as to not have to use staples) and I had developed stitch abscesses. Sounds gross but it was really just the stitches were pulling the skin weird so it wouldn't heal. The doctor removed the stitches and I was asked to come back in two weeks. In those two weeks it became infected. I'm now on antibiotics until tomorrow, I believe it's finally all healed. Two months later!
(I just want to put it out there that I started typing this out on the 6th. Of April...)