Well, I'm really behind and I see this taking more than one entry so please be patient with me. L's first week was really eventful in the I really need to document this kind of way.
Here are the photos from the first week: Hospital and Home
L came into the world via a scheduled C-section. I had a rough time the entire pregnancy trying to decide what option was best for the two of us (me and L). There were opinions everywhere and I finally stopped and listened to my heart and decided I did not want to deal with the possible dramatic situations that could arise with a natural birth.
In the OR we learned that I had made a smart decision to have the c-section. You could see L's hair through my uterus. First of all.. I was shocked that MY child had hair. The first two did not have hair for the first two years. After that shock I asked if that would have impacted an attempted natural delivery and they said yes. So, the best decision was made and we both came out healthy in the end. In the OR I learned a few other things.. epinepherin in small doses can raise a girls heart rate and blood pressure.. spinals rock and if someone offers me an epidural for a c-section again, I'll run away like a mad woman... no more morphine in the spinal, not even a very small dose.. The anesthesiologist was way cool and talked to me the whole hour I was in the OR.. An hour in the OR means you have an AWESOME OB who takes an extra flap of skin off your belly and makes a big effort to make it pretty.
The night of the C-section was fairly uneventful. L roomed with me part of the night and then went to the nursery for a few hours (actually it was that way the whole stay.. They do the big daily assessment at midnight which is awesome because you don't have your baby ripped away during the day other than the pediatrician visiti). The next morning my IV became a heplock and the catheter was gone. I took a shower by myself (this is the start of me making the nurses feel like they aren't needed) and it was wonderful to feel clean. P, Mom, and the kids came up for a short visit but went home pretty quickly. I had many phone calls from family and friends. L and I bonded as we walked the halls to relieve my gas pains. The next days were about the same. I wanted pain medicine more for the gas pains than the incision/uterus pain. L and I did pretty well with the nursing and we did not introduce a bottle to him at all during the hospital stay. I was however warned by the lactation consultant that I may not be able to sustain him on a gastric bypass diet. (Whole 'nother story there)
The third day of our stay L had his circumcision and we were released to go home. My Mom called just as I was getting prepped to go home and said that she was having a lot of weakness/headaches/and her blood pressure was scary. She asked me if P would take her to the community hospital ER. I called him because she was worried about asking him (silly of her) and he swiftly had the family out of the house to get her to the ER and pick me up. After I made the call to P, I broke down and the nurses were worried that I should not go home under so much stress. I told them I would be better of at home where I could be in control. The nurses were awesome and got me out of the hospital within 10 minutes of P and the kids getting to the hospital. I was a bit sore but got upstairs to rest with my kiddos. A few phone calls were made to check on my Mom and she said they got the blood pressure down and were monitoring her for a bit. She was released within 6 hours of arriving and we thought everything would be better.
On Day 5 L had his first pediatrici appointment. It was pretty normal. She agreed to recheck his bilirubin levels because I was sure he was jaundiced. She was/is concerned about my caloric/fat intake and told me to work on increasing my calories with fatty/unhealthy foods (this is part of that 'nother post.. but we are doing healthy fats now and more calories). She also told me not to take L out in public. I almost laughed when she said that.. I knew what I had to do that day. So, we left the appointment and took the kids to the fountains to play. After that we had hotdogs at Sam's Club where I got a call stating that the bilirubin levels were up to 13 and I needed to contact the Home Health Agency (HHA) to setup delivery of the bilibed. I called HHA and lo and behold L's nursery nurse was his home health nurse. I believe I scolded her for telling me his bili was OK when I was so sure it was going up.. She couldn't say much then. :) So we went on with our errands to the Pediatric Dentist (T will be sedated for 3 fillings and two baby teeth extractions) and Karate practice. We arrived home 5 minutes before the HH nurse. I can't tell you how reassuring it was to have her there.
So the evening of Day 5 - Day 7 we were bound to the bilibed and the breast pump as we needed to get my breastmilk flowing as much as possible. My Mom was awesome on the first night as she sat up and patted the poor baby's back (she was still suffering from high BP .. but we were sure it would be resolved anytime with the medication.. oh we were wrong). There was little true rest for Mom, Luke, or myself those days. The bilibed covers were soaked through with sweat, poop, and pee. If we have to do that again we will request 4 not 2 covers. I will also make sure to put a blanket or something that smells like me in the bed as soon as I put a baby in there. A cover that we used on L while we held him made him so much calmer on the bilibed. Why didn't I think of that sooner?
So we ended L's first week with the removal of the bilibed and all of us in our own beds. Oh.. and we went to karate practice right after the bilibed left the house. :)
Here are the photos from the first week: Hospital and Home
L came into the world via a scheduled C-section. I had a rough time the entire pregnancy trying to decide what option was best for the two of us (me and L). There were opinions everywhere and I finally stopped and listened to my heart and decided I did not want to deal with the possible dramatic situations that could arise with a natural birth.
In the OR we learned that I had made a smart decision to have the c-section. You could see L's hair through my uterus. First of all.. I was shocked that MY child had hair. The first two did not have hair for the first two years. After that shock I asked if that would have impacted an attempted natural delivery and they said yes. So, the best decision was made and we both came out healthy in the end. In the OR I learned a few other things.. epinepherin in small doses can raise a girls heart rate and blood pressure.. spinals rock and if someone offers me an epidural for a c-section again, I'll run away like a mad woman... no more morphine in the spinal, not even a very small dose.. The anesthesiologist was way cool and talked to me the whole hour I was in the OR.. An hour in the OR means you have an AWESOME OB who takes an extra flap of skin off your belly and makes a big effort to make it pretty.
The night of the C-section was fairly uneventful. L roomed with me part of the night and then went to the nursery for a few hours (actually it was that way the whole stay.. They do the big daily assessment at midnight which is awesome because you don't have your baby ripped away during the day other than the pediatrician visiti). The next morning my IV became a heplock and the catheter was gone. I took a shower by myself (this is the start of me making the nurses feel like they aren't needed) and it was wonderful to feel clean. P, Mom, and the kids came up for a short visit but went home pretty quickly. I had many phone calls from family and friends. L and I bonded as we walked the halls to relieve my gas pains. The next days were about the same. I wanted pain medicine more for the gas pains than the incision/uterus pain. L and I did pretty well with the nursing and we did not introduce a bottle to him at all during the hospital stay. I was however warned by the lactation consultant that I may not be able to sustain him on a gastric bypass diet. (Whole 'nother story there)
The third day of our stay L had his circumcision and we were released to go home. My Mom called just as I was getting prepped to go home and said that she was having a lot of weakness/headaches/and her blood pressure was scary. She asked me if P would take her to the community hospital ER. I called him because she was worried about asking him (silly of her) and he swiftly had the family out of the house to get her to the ER and pick me up. After I made the call to P, I broke down and the nurses were worried that I should not go home under so much stress. I told them I would be better of at home where I could be in control. The nurses were awesome and got me out of the hospital within 10 minutes of P and the kids getting to the hospital. I was a bit sore but got upstairs to rest with my kiddos. A few phone calls were made to check on my Mom and she said they got the blood pressure down and were monitoring her for a bit. She was released within 6 hours of arriving and we thought everything would be better.
On Day 5 L had his first pediatrici appointment. It was pretty normal. She agreed to recheck his bilirubin levels because I was sure he was jaundiced. She was/is concerned about my caloric/fat intake and told me to work on increasing my calories with fatty/unhealthy foods (this is part of that 'nother post.. but we are doing healthy fats now and more calories). She also told me not to take L out in public. I almost laughed when she said that.. I knew what I had to do that day. So, we left the appointment and took the kids to the fountains to play. After that we had hotdogs at Sam's Club where I got a call stating that the bilirubin levels were up to 13 and I needed to contact the Home Health Agency (HHA) to setup delivery of the bilibed. I called HHA and lo and behold L's nursery nurse was his home health nurse. I believe I scolded her for telling me his bili was OK when I was so sure it was going up.. She couldn't say much then. :) So we went on with our errands to the Pediatric Dentist (T will be sedated for 3 fillings and two baby teeth extractions) and Karate practice. We arrived home 5 minutes before the HH nurse. I can't tell you how reassuring it was to have her there.
So the evening of Day 5 - Day 7 we were bound to the bilibed and the breast pump as we needed to get my breastmilk flowing as much as possible. My Mom was awesome on the first night as she sat up and patted the poor baby's back (she was still suffering from high BP .. but we were sure it would be resolved anytime with the medication.. oh we were wrong). There was little true rest for Mom, Luke, or myself those days. The bilibed covers were soaked through with sweat, poop, and pee. If we have to do that again we will request 4 not 2 covers. I will also make sure to put a blanket or something that smells like me in the bed as soon as I put a baby in there. A cover that we used on L while we held him made him so much calmer on the bilibed. Why didn't I think of that sooner?
So we ended L's first week with the removal of the bilibed and all of us in our own beds. Oh.. and we went to karate practice right after the bilibed left the house. :)
1 thoughts:
Anonymous said...
Beautiful photos, especially the family pics at the hospital :)