Recovery sucks (And I haven't been this slim since high school!)
As most of you know, we welcomed Emily Ann into the world on Oct 11th; she was 8 lbs 7 oz. She's doing great! She eats ALOT and is so cuddly. :)
Her birth, however, was the WORST DAY OF MY LIFE. We tried for natural labor first. The epidural did absolutely SQUAT for the pain. I honestly was never in so much pain in my entire life. I pushed for what must have been about 2 hours before the dr finally called it and agreed to an emergency c section. (The baby was facing up rather than down, and apparently her heart rate kept dipping during the contractions.)
So we finally get prepped for the C, and within minutes the baby is born. The dr comes around the curtain and tells me and Ken, "I am so sorry, but..." - she gets that far and my heart is in my throat. I know the baby is alive because we can hear her crying, but I'm thinking "WHAT? DOWN'S SYNDROME? Some other devastating malady? WHAT?" She tells us that she'd cut the baby's arm when cutting me open. Thankfully it was just a 'superficial wound'. I breathed. Then I asked "What is it?" The dr was so stunned, she said, "I don't know" and ran over to see the baby's gender. Then we hear, "It's a girl" and I started crying and told everyone her name is Emily.
After cleaning up the baby and swaddling her, Emily is given to Ken who brings her around for me to see for about 2 minutes. Then she is taken up to the nursery, and I am operated on for the next two hours, repairing tears and ripping that apparently occurred during labor, then checking my bladder and bowels to make sure they weren't ripped or affected in any way.
Then apparently when I was to be stitched up, my uterus hemorrhaged and I lost a ton of blood. My blood pressure dipped dangerously low, and eventually I was sent up to recovery for the next 4 hours while they worked to monitor my blood pressure and heart rate (which was too high).
Ken didn't even know I was still in surgery for those 2 hours until after the fact. Thanks for keeping him informed, Hospital Staff.
Finally, close to 10pm, I am taken to a room and finally given my baby to hold - Seven hours after she was born. She's beautiful. I cry.
The hospital stay absoulutely sucked my ass. God, that experience could be another entire journal entry.
Fast forward a few days, and we're finally home. And I've been confined to the 2nd floor of the house since I got home last week (we only have one bathroom). I ran out of the pain meds, and the dr won't refill it, so now I'm in more pain again than I'd been. Thanks for that.
And I'm BORED out of my skull. October is my favorite month, Fall my favorite season, and here I am stuck inside indefinitely. Sheebs won't let me come downstairs for at least another week. I know, I know - but it's just easier to give in than to fight her. Trust me.
On the plus side, I've lost over 30lbs (which is pretty cool since I'd only gained 15lbs during the pregnancy!). Tho Bev observed that that's like tossing a lounge chair off the Queen Mary. THANKS!
I can't wait til I feel better again. And can maybe not have to get up every 2-3 hours to pee.
The dr says I have a good 8 weeks of recovery from "major abdominal surgery" ahead of me. Yippee.
So, that's that. Entertain me. Please.
Her birth, however, was the WORST DAY OF MY LIFE. We tried for natural labor first. The epidural did absolutely SQUAT for the pain. I honestly was never in so much pain in my entire life. I pushed for what must have been about 2 hours before the dr finally called it and agreed to an emergency c section. (The baby was facing up rather than down, and apparently her heart rate kept dipping during the contractions.)
So we finally get prepped for the C, and within minutes the baby is born. The dr comes around the curtain and tells me and Ken, "I am so sorry, but..." - she gets that far and my heart is in my throat. I know the baby is alive because we can hear her crying, but I'm thinking "WHAT? DOWN'S SYNDROME? Some other devastating malady? WHAT?" She tells us that she'd cut the baby's arm when cutting me open. Thankfully it was just a 'superficial wound'. I breathed. Then I asked "What is it?" The dr was so stunned, she said, "I don't know" and ran over to see the baby's gender. Then we hear, "It's a girl" and I started crying and told everyone her name is Emily.
After cleaning up the baby and swaddling her, Emily is given to Ken who brings her around for me to see for about 2 minutes. Then she is taken up to the nursery, and I am operated on for the next two hours, repairing tears and ripping that apparently occurred during labor, then checking my bladder and bowels to make sure they weren't ripped or affected in any way.
Then apparently when I was to be stitched up, my uterus hemorrhaged and I lost a ton of blood. My blood pressure dipped dangerously low, and eventually I was sent up to recovery for the next 4 hours while they worked to monitor my blood pressure and heart rate (which was too high).
Ken didn't even know I was still in surgery for those 2 hours until after the fact. Thanks for keeping him informed, Hospital Staff.
Finally, close to 10pm, I am taken to a room and finally given my baby to hold - Seven hours after she was born. She's beautiful. I cry.
The hospital stay absoulutely sucked my ass. God, that experience could be another entire journal entry.
Fast forward a few days, and we're finally home. And I've been confined to the 2nd floor of the house since I got home last week (we only have one bathroom). I ran out of the pain meds, and the dr won't refill it, so now I'm in more pain again than I'd been. Thanks for that.
And I'm BORED out of my skull. October is my favorite month, Fall my favorite season, and here I am stuck inside indefinitely. Sheebs won't let me come downstairs for at least another week. I know, I know - but it's just easier to give in than to fight her. Trust me.
On the plus side, I've lost over 30lbs (which is pretty cool since I'd only gained 15lbs during the pregnancy!). Tho Bev observed that that's like tossing a lounge chair off the Queen Mary. THANKS!
I can't wait til I feel better again. And can maybe not have to get up every 2-3 hours to pee.
The dr says I have a good 8 weeks of recovery from "major abdominal surgery" ahead of me. Yippee.
So, that's that. Entertain me. Please.