Finally catching up on my blog. (kind of)
On Wednesday night at 5pm they gave me something to start softening my cervix. This would start the labor process. That night they gave me Ambien to help me sleep because Thursday would be a "long" day. This is when I found out Ambien and I do not get a long because I had 2 very WEIRD dreams that night that consisted of 5-6 imaginary people and Care Bears. I started having contractions that night. That next morning they gave me the medicine that would induce me. The contractions were a cramp feeling (from what I remember). I don't remember when I got the epidural but I don't remember it being painful or scary, I just remember I got it. I'm assuming that was the least painful thing that happened that day. I also don't remember them checking dilation or the numbers even mattering to them as was explained in my class. It was just "hey do you want the epidural now, the anesthesiologist is available right now?" YES PLEASE!
Now as you remember my doctor is out of town this week so we have Dr. Lopez (Dr on call that day) who I've never met before but who was very nice. She did come check me a few times but I don't remember being told how far I was or wasn't. Around 4:00 or 4:30 they decided I was ready to start pushing. I remember it being hard trying to grasp how I needed to push since I couldn't feel everything clearly. Once I got the hang of it everyone felt that she would be there within the hour. Well 2 hours later she still was not here but she was so close. Supposedly you could see her head starting to come out as I pushed and then go back in when I would stop. It was like this for an hour or more (or at least it felt like that long). Towards that 2 hour mark my sciatic nerve and tailbone started to really bother me, a pain I can barely explain in words. I was in so much pain and supposedly the epidural wasn't going to be able to address this pain. They had given me a button I could push to give me more and more pain medicine via the epidural, which I kept forgetting I had but they refilled the darn thing several times because my nurses were awesome and they didn't forget to remind me to hit it.
Around that 2 hour mark the doctor came and tried to help get Aubrey out but we were still having the issues with her not coming all the way out for whatever reason. Then the doctor realized that she had turned her head to the side and she couldn't get her to turn her head back the way it needed to be. At that time she told me I could either A - Keep pushing and probably be at this same point within another hour or B - Have a C-Section. I wasn't ready for this decision but I was worn out beyond words. After some questions and answers we decided the c-section would be the best way. Dr. Lopez told me she could tell I was hitting that wall and my body was exhausted which I fully agreed with. The next 5 minutes were utter chaos between a shift change so a brand new nurse to me got me thrown at her and a c-section prep which I am sure she was just delighted to get....NOT! So she's stressed out, we are stressed out, and lets just say you could feel the stress in the room. I'm pretty sure my husband was ready to snap on her and had I had any energy I probably would have too, but I also understood that she was just thrown a not so ideal situation.
They wheeled me to the surgical room and got me all situated. The anesthesiologist was very nice and gave me the "good" drugs to take the pain away from my sciatic nerve and tailbone. I can't even describe how instant that pain was gone. We had Dr. Lopez and Dr. Walters (my old OBGYN) conducting the c-section. All I remember from that point was asking the nurse a few questions, the doctors making sure I couldn't feel them poke me (which thank God I couldn't), and then lots and lots of pressure. I heard the doctors say that they were going to have to push Aubrey up so she wasn't as low since she was already so low from me pushing and then they made the comment that they were going to have to pull her up and out from that low position. The next thing I remember is hearing Aubrey and the doctor saying "he's here and healthy" and my heart hit the floor as I slightly in my high drugged up state tried to muster the words "HE!!!??!!" But before I could even figure out how to speak that one word the doctor quickly said "no no, she, I meant SHE!", to which we all laughed and in my head I thought "You better have meant SHE!" So they lifted her over the curtain so I could see her before they whisked her away to get weighed, clean her, and do whatever else they do. Dave followed her to take pictures for me while the doctors closed me up. At this point I remember nothing else but a few days later I found that there were pictures of Dave, Aubrey and I on my camera that the anesthesiologist took of us. Dave and Aubrey look great, me on the other hand look like I am high as a kite, drugged up beyond belief; which I was! I'm still not sure why the heck they took those pictures and can't use any of them because I look awful in them, like beyond bad. You can tell I have no idea where I am. ha ha From this point I have been in labor (if you count the softening cervix; whch I do since that had to be done to start the process) for approximately 27 hours.
Next thing I know I'm being wheeled back to my room and told they are having to put me on something called Magnesium (or Mag for short) because of my blood pressure. I am warned this drug sucks, I'm going to feel like I have the flu, I can't get out of bed, and I have to stay in Labor/Delivery until I am off of this Mag which I have to be on for at least 24 hours. Since they didn't officially start me on this until midnight Thurs night, I am told that we won't be released to Recovery until midnight Friday. They ask if they want the nurses to do Aubrey's bath and measurements in our room or in the nursery to which I replied my room because originally I wanted to be able to assist with these "firsts"; however, now know I will only be able to watch and hope I remember anything they say since I'm still coming down from my high. At this time they tell us she is 7 pounds and 20 inches. She hated her bath and screamed the whole time. I got to cuddle with her some and attempt to feed her (which I don't really remember). We were told we could send her to the nursery and they would bring her to us to feed every 3 hours; which I agreed to and was glad they offered to do this. That night went well and she fed great. However, throughout the night we had so many nurses in and out to check my blood pressure which was still VERY high, take blood work, check vitals, adjust meds, give pain meds, ect, ect.
On Friday, my blood pressure was still high but coming down. I was flushing fluids as I needed to and the nurses had hopes that I would be released by 8pm instead of midnight to go to the recovery side. My family stayed with me during the day on Friday and they were such good sports because on the Mag I was burning up and kept having them lower the temperature.At one point everyone was in jackets or hoodies because I was freezing them out. I found humor in this because I felt great and still a tad warm but you would have though it was winter according to them. I still could not get up but one of my nurses on this day told me to start practicing coughing because it would help get stuff moving (or I think that was her reason). Coughing hurt like no other but I was determined to get this down because I wanted to get out of Labor/Delivery. That afternoon Dr Cope (who was on call for my doctor) came by and decided that since I was doing so well that she would allow me to be taken off the Mag at 8pm and then I could be transfered to Recovery. Woohoo!!!
The nurses started the process of getting me off the Mag and off the catheter and making the transition smooth. Aubrey was taken back to the nursery until we were moved into our room where she would return to us until we requested her to go back to the nursery. My mom and David take all our bags; which by the way appears as if we have moved into the hospital, to our new room while the nurse gets me ready to transition to the wheelchair. Now remember I haven't been able to get up or move since the c-section and now they want me to stand, get out of bed, take a few steps to wheelchair and sit into the wheelchair. I had my nurse and David to support me but the pain that came with those movements was intense. I felt like I was ripping inside out because everything was so stiff. Typically with a c-section they want you up and moving within the first 24 hours because your recovery is easier, but I didn't have that option.
I then was told that not only would I be recovering from a c-section but also a vaginal birth because I had pushed for so long and she was so low. Fantastic! :) So I transitioned to Recovery.
The nurses I had in L/D were fabulous and I couldn't have asked for a better team, even the few that may have started out bad and had us concerned. I had them relaxed and being nice within an hour to which I attribute to the manners I was raised with. A please and thank you can get you a long way as does the saying if you give respect you will get respect. Thank you to all my L/D nurses, I won't forget all they each did to make me comfortable and relaxed.
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Blood Pressure Concerns!
On Monday March 11 we went to our normal scheduled OB appointment. By this point I am 38 weeks and 3 days. I mentally had prepared myself for the thought that they might say "You need to go to the hospital because it is time." I took my camera with me just in case this happened, but not my hospital bag. Yes a little backward thinking, I know. ha ha
So we show up at the appointment and everything is as it usually is besides my doctor being on vacation so we are seeing a nurse. They go to check my blood pressure which up to this point has always been perfectly normal. However, today it was high. They did it again and still high. So they then did a non-stress test where I had to hit a button every time I felt Aubrey move. Well of course she refuses to cooperate and only moves 4 times throughout the entire session. So then we are told we will need to do a sonogram to check her breathing. By this point I'm kind of freaking out and so glad that Dave is with me because he's keeping me calm. The sonographer determines all is fine with Aubrey and she is not showing any distress. She tried to get us a good profile picture but once again Aubrey was not cooperating, however she was completely fine with giving us a good, clear picture of her butt. It was hilarious, she was showing us how she truly felt about all the tests they were being run. So we think all is well and go back to the room where they then inform us we need to go to the hospital for monitoring. If at the hospital my blood pressure does not go down then we will be having Aubrey as soon as possible. So needless to say I'm freaking out again because I want her to be fine and safe and this all scares me.
Once at the hospital they hooked me up to monitors that both monitored me and Aubrey separately. They ran various labs as well. At this time we text my mother who is on her way to San Antonio that same day just to let her know what was going on. She decides to turn around and head back towards DFW just in case. Fortunately, at the hospital my blood pressure did go back down and the entire time Aubrey never was showing distress; Praise God! So they sent us home but on strict bed rest orders and I needed to go back to my doctor on Wednesday to have my blood pressure re-checked. I also was supposed to do a 24 hour urine collection to check for protein. The nurse stated that if my blood pressure did go down that I would remain on bed rest the remainder of the pregnancy but if not then we would have to go back to the hospital on Wednesday to start the whole labor process. At this point I am not diagnosed with Preeclampsia but they want to do everything possible to avoid this from happening and since I am so close to my Expected Delivery Date they are 100% ready to get her out of there if need be.
Bed rest was hard but I caught up on some shows and got all of Aubrey's flower pins completed. We also got all the bags completed for the "just in case" on Wednesday. On Wednesday we head back to the OBGYN and they run their tests and my blood pressure has not gone down but rather gone up. Now on Wednesday we saw a nurse that I have never seen before and she was a different nurse than who I had seen on Monday. Well this nurse sees that my blood pressure has not gone down and acts like this is no big deal. She tells me to go do some more lab work and then to come back to the office on Monday for my normal appointment and we would go from there. At this time I am confused and have to tell her what happened on Monday and what the nurses at the hospital had told me that if the BP had not gone down that we were to go back to the hospital and start the process, so why where we waiting? She acted like this was news to her and then said that she would put a "STAT" on both the blood work and urine tests and call me with the results this afternoon. If those results were also showing no improvement they would instruct me to come back up to the hospital. I asked to speak to the doctor that was in charge of us on Monday but she was not in so I figured her response on wanting to wait and see what the labs said was fine. We drove over to the lab and luckily I thought to ask the technician how soon "STAT" meant and when I could expect to hear from my doctors office. She said the blood work would be ready in 4 hours but that the urine test can not be done STAT and that those results would be ready the following day. Now I am concerned and frustrated. So I call my doctors office and of course have to leave a message for my doctor's nurse (not the nurse I saw today) and leave a very stern, to the point message about "wanting to have a doctor; someone who actually knows what they are talking about and how to do their job to call me back ASAP" (Yup these are the words I used plus a few more). So we headed home and I'm frustrated, in tears, and pissed beyond belief. I did not want to have Aubrey over Spring Break but I know this isn't right and that if my BP did not change in just 2 days why the heck would we wait 5 more days? I felt like I was having to fight a battle for my daughters safety and if she needed to get out of there then we needed to do that and we needed to do that NOW before she did show distress!! I wasn't going to let up until they did their darn jobs! Within 10 minutes of getting home my nurse called me and said after she talked to the doctor in charge that day that I was correct and she wanted me to go up to the hospital for more monitoring but to expect that I would not be released until Aubrey decided to make her debut or until they decided to induce. She profusely apologized to me because she understood how upset I was.
So as relieved as I am, I even more infuriated that it had to take us who have no nursing experience or parenting experience to ride their butts and get what needed to be done, done. We finish packing up all our bags and gathering everything we would need while at the hospital. According to my husband and mother I had packed the entire house, which I am not sure why that was a surprise seeing that I do that when I pack just for me for a 2 night stay anywhere so of course I had to do the same for my daughter. We then headed to grab lunch because I remember that the nurse at the hospital on Monday had warned us to eat before we came to the hospital because once there, if they decide to pursue with labor then they wouldn't let me eat. Once we arrived to the hospital they checked us in and put us in room 1 which supposedly was one of the better rooms because it had more windows. Our nurse seemed excited for us which I took to mean today had been a slow day/shift. Over the next few hours my blood pressure did not go down and they gave me the news that they would be inducing labor at 5pm and we would have a Aubrey by the end of Thursday.
This was exciting and scary all at the same time because in 48 hours I would have my daughter in my arms!!!
So we show up at the appointment and everything is as it usually is besides my doctor being on vacation so we are seeing a nurse. They go to check my blood pressure which up to this point has always been perfectly normal. However, today it was high. They did it again and still high. So they then did a non-stress test where I had to hit a button every time I felt Aubrey move. Well of course she refuses to cooperate and only moves 4 times throughout the entire session. So then we are told we will need to do a sonogram to check her breathing. By this point I'm kind of freaking out and so glad that Dave is with me because he's keeping me calm. The sonographer determines all is fine with Aubrey and she is not showing any distress. She tried to get us a good profile picture but once again Aubrey was not cooperating, however she was completely fine with giving us a good, clear picture of her butt. It was hilarious, she was showing us how she truly felt about all the tests they were being run. So we think all is well and go back to the room where they then inform us we need to go to the hospital for monitoring. If at the hospital my blood pressure does not go down then we will be having Aubrey as soon as possible. So needless to say I'm freaking out again because I want her to be fine and safe and this all scares me.
Once at the hospital they hooked me up to monitors that both monitored me and Aubrey separately. They ran various labs as well. At this time we text my mother who is on her way to San Antonio that same day just to let her know what was going on. She decides to turn around and head back towards DFW just in case. Fortunately, at the hospital my blood pressure did go back down and the entire time Aubrey never was showing distress; Praise God! So they sent us home but on strict bed rest orders and I needed to go back to my doctor on Wednesday to have my blood pressure re-checked. I also was supposed to do a 24 hour urine collection to check for protein. The nurse stated that if my blood pressure did go down that I would remain on bed rest the remainder of the pregnancy but if not then we would have to go back to the hospital on Wednesday to start the whole labor process. At this point I am not diagnosed with Preeclampsia but they want to do everything possible to avoid this from happening and since I am so close to my Expected Delivery Date they are 100% ready to get her out of there if need be.
Bed rest was hard but I caught up on some shows and got all of Aubrey's flower pins completed. We also got all the bags completed for the "just in case" on Wednesday. On Wednesday we head back to the OBGYN and they run their tests and my blood pressure has not gone down but rather gone up. Now on Wednesday we saw a nurse that I have never seen before and she was a different nurse than who I had seen on Monday. Well this nurse sees that my blood pressure has not gone down and acts like this is no big deal. She tells me to go do some more lab work and then to come back to the office on Monday for my normal appointment and we would go from there. At this time I am confused and have to tell her what happened on Monday and what the nurses at the hospital had told me that if the BP had not gone down that we were to go back to the hospital and start the process, so why where we waiting? She acted like this was news to her and then said that she would put a "STAT" on both the blood work and urine tests and call me with the results this afternoon. If those results were also showing no improvement they would instruct me to come back up to the hospital. I asked to speak to the doctor that was in charge of us on Monday but she was not in so I figured her response on wanting to wait and see what the labs said was fine. We drove over to the lab and luckily I thought to ask the technician how soon "STAT" meant and when I could expect to hear from my doctors office. She said the blood work would be ready in 4 hours but that the urine test can not be done STAT and that those results would be ready the following day. Now I am concerned and frustrated. So I call my doctors office and of course have to leave a message for my doctor's nurse (not the nurse I saw today) and leave a very stern, to the point message about "wanting to have a doctor; someone who actually knows what they are talking about and how to do their job to call me back ASAP" (Yup these are the words I used plus a few more). So we headed home and I'm frustrated, in tears, and pissed beyond belief. I did not want to have Aubrey over Spring Break but I know this isn't right and that if my BP did not change in just 2 days why the heck would we wait 5 more days? I felt like I was having to fight a battle for my daughters safety and if she needed to get out of there then we needed to do that and we needed to do that NOW before she did show distress!! I wasn't going to let up until they did their darn jobs! Within 10 minutes of getting home my nurse called me and said after she talked to the doctor in charge that day that I was correct and she wanted me to go up to the hospital for more monitoring but to expect that I would not be released until Aubrey decided to make her debut or until they decided to induce. She profusely apologized to me because she understood how upset I was.
So as relieved as I am, I even more infuriated that it had to take us who have no nursing experience or parenting experience to ride their butts and get what needed to be done, done. We finish packing up all our bags and gathering everything we would need while at the hospital. According to my husband and mother I had packed the entire house, which I am not sure why that was a surprise seeing that I do that when I pack just for me for a 2 night stay anywhere so of course I had to do the same for my daughter. We then headed to grab lunch because I remember that the nurse at the hospital on Monday had warned us to eat before we came to the hospital because once there, if they decide to pursue with labor then they wouldn't let me eat. Once we arrived to the hospital they checked us in and put us in room 1 which supposedly was one of the better rooms because it had more windows. Our nurse seemed excited for us which I took to mean today had been a slow day/shift. Over the next few hours my blood pressure did not go down and they gave me the news that they would be inducing labor at 5pm and we would have a Aubrey by the end of Thursday.
This was exciting and scary all at the same time because in 48 hours I would have my daughter in my arms!!!
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Sunday, March 10, 2013
38 Weeks!
As of Friday I am officially 38 weeks! Only 2 weeks left. Baby girl is approximately the size of a watermelon. Estimating 19-22 inches in length and 7 pounds. We have not had another sonogram so we are not sure of her actual estimated length or weight but this is just according to an app on my phone.
I have been really bad at posting weekly but life has been busy and been trying on focusing on getting her room ready, sleepers cleaned, blankets cleaned, items organized and placed somewhere besides our formal dining room, plus trying to get things wrapped up at work for the "just in case she comes early" situation. I will post pictures soon of the final nursery set-up. I am very proud of how it all has come out. Dave has been hard at work putting the many items together ranging from furniture, decorations hung, and all Aubrey's must haves put together. Aubrey's bag is almost completely packed and I have started on my bag (FINALLY!). People have been telling me to do this for weeks, I hate packing though so I keep putting it off. But it's starting to come together.
I've had 3 OB visits from my last post because we are now going weekly. I am still measuring right on time, occasionally a week ahead. My doctor has had no reason to think she is coming early. My feet have decided to swell beyond recognition. I now call them my elephant feet and I can't even remember what they looked like before but pray I will get my skinny ankles back soon. My blood pressure has been great though so my doctor isn't concerned about the swelling. My back pain and tailbone pain have increased so during week 38 I decided to start going to PT twice a week and getting a massage weekly. This has helped tremendously with keeping the pain manageable.
On Feb 23 we had our last baby shower which was hosted by my wonderful co-workers. I am beyond blessed by the many people I work with who all came out to help me celebrate Miss Aubrey. We got our swing, high chair, and baby carrier plus so so much more. I love that Aubrey will get to know many of these amazing people since she will be at our school in our daycare next year. She'll even have several playmates from coworkers that have had or are expecting their little bundle of joys.
On March 3rd I went to the Just Between Friends Sale in Fort Worth with a girlfriend of mine who is due in June. I was able to stock up on a great toy collection, headbands, a baby sling, approximately 20 outfits, 2 tutu's, and many other cute items.
A few funny situations have occurred this past week (Week 38) ranging from the ladies at the post office practically processing my entire order as I walked up to the counter because they didn't want me to stand in line. All I had to do was hand over my card and I was done. I guess they didn't want the pregnant lady going into labor in their office. ha ha Many people (strangers) have felt the need to tell me how big I am and that I look like I'm going to give birth any day now. Then there was the sweet stranger who saw me sitting in my car and knocked on my window wanting to know if I was in labor because he saw me take a deep breath. It made me laugh and I explained I was just breathing but thanked him so much for being kind enough to check on me. I sure have been entertained this week.
I have been really bad at posting weekly but life has been busy and been trying on focusing on getting her room ready, sleepers cleaned, blankets cleaned, items organized and placed somewhere besides our formal dining room, plus trying to get things wrapped up at work for the "just in case she comes early" situation. I will post pictures soon of the final nursery set-up. I am very proud of how it all has come out. Dave has been hard at work putting the many items together ranging from furniture, decorations hung, and all Aubrey's must haves put together. Aubrey's bag is almost completely packed and I have started on my bag (FINALLY!). People have been telling me to do this for weeks, I hate packing though so I keep putting it off. But it's starting to come together.
I've had 3 OB visits from my last post because we are now going weekly. I am still measuring right on time, occasionally a week ahead. My doctor has had no reason to think she is coming early. My feet have decided to swell beyond recognition. I now call them my elephant feet and I can't even remember what they looked like before but pray I will get my skinny ankles back soon. My blood pressure has been great though so my doctor isn't concerned about the swelling. My back pain and tailbone pain have increased so during week 38 I decided to start going to PT twice a week and getting a massage weekly. This has helped tremendously with keeping the pain manageable.
On Feb 23 we had our last baby shower which was hosted by my wonderful co-workers. I am beyond blessed by the many people I work with who all came out to help me celebrate Miss Aubrey. We got our swing, high chair, and baby carrier plus so so much more. I love that Aubrey will get to know many of these amazing people since she will be at our school in our daycare next year. She'll even have several playmates from coworkers that have had or are expecting their little bundle of joys.
On March 4th I had another OB appointment but this was the first appointment where they checked me for dilation.Which was a painful surprise, very much like the pain I had with the 3rd IUI. The doctor reported that I was at a 1 so Aubrey more than likely wouldn't come that week, thank the Lord!!! I really want her to wait to come until the week she is due, preferably her due date. Her heart beat was perfect and she was measuring on track.
A few funny situations have occurred this past week (Week 38) ranging from the ladies at the post office practically processing my entire order as I walked up to the counter because they didn't want me to stand in line. All I had to do was hand over my card and I was done. I guess they didn't want the pregnant lady going into labor in their office. ha ha Many people (strangers) have felt the need to tell me how big I am and that I look like I'm going to give birth any day now. Then there was the sweet stranger who saw me sitting in my car and knocked on my window wanting to know if I was in labor because he saw me take a deep breath. It made me laugh and I explained I was just breathing but thanked him so much for being kind enough to check on me. I sure have been entertained this week.
As for work I am finally done with all my high school students which means off-campus trips are done! Thank Goodness because I'm not sure how much more I could handle.I am hoping that all was completed on Friday that needed to be completed. Due to unexpected meetings I am not 100% confident that all was done or is ready in case she does come this week but I've reached the point that I just don't care. It's Spring Break this week and I am going to enjoy my rest, sleeping in, and enjoying time with friends. Also hoping to get all my clips done and completed so I can get her flower pins finalized.
A 38 Week picture will be posted in the next few days (hopefully). And hopefully no Aubrey until after the 18th! I keep talking to her and trying to convince her to wait. We go back to the OB tomorrow to see if I am making any progress and I really hope I'm not because I want to enjoy this week just Dave and I, plus would like to get back to work on the 18th to make sure I actually did do everything I was supposed to. :)
Nursery Projects
Over the past month I have been working on several projects for the nursery and they are finally completed! Here is a look at what I have completed. I am very proud of it all.
Her Letters!
Bow Holder
Light Switch
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