June 4th 2014
6 lbs 7 oz
19 inches long
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Postpartum
Let's talk postpartum. As in the hours, days and weeks after you've delivered that precious bundle who steals your sleep and sanity. I say that with love. I really do.
My situation is obviously mine alone, but here are my thoughts.
After Charlie was born, she nursed and the nurses took her off to be registered I was able to get a shower. The initial getting off the bed you just labored in is gross. Absolutely gross. Because with each movement you make, you gush blood. It's a period but way worse. Be prepared to just feel gross. The shower will help with that and if you have the energy, just stand under that hot spray for as long as possible. [Insert here Pinterest Lie Number One: Do NOT bring your own towels for yourself.] You will continue to bleed for several weeks but those first few days in the hospital will be the gushing sort. You'll want those icky, scratchy hospital towels to get blood stains rather than your own. Do bring a nice towel for the husband. Seeing as the hospital towels supplied to us were similar to hand towels, my poor 6'5" husband was short changed. Thankfully I had thought ahead on that one.
I did pack my own granny underwear and pads just in case the hospital supply was not comfortable. The first day and night I used the mesh underwear and pads provided. By the second day the bleeding had slowed and become much more manageable so I switched to my own things and was comfortable. In my opinion pack 'em and be safe. Your body just went through some serious trauma, no sense being even more uncomfortable if you don't have to.
Pinterest tells you to get witch hazel pads and Dermoplast. Witch hazel pads are amazing. Take those suckers and line them along your pad. Relief. I used the Dermoplast once and about lost my mind. I know that every one says to get the BLUE can. And I emphasize for the love of all things get the damn BLUE can, not the red. I couldn't find a blue can any where to save my life. The Dermoplast website said that there wasn't any major differences between the two but they recommended the blue can. However, all I had was the red. Once was all it took for me to toss that cursed can in the garbage. Get the BLUE can.
I am 3 weeks postpartum as of today and my bleeding has finally slowed to a very light period. In fact the only time I bleed is when I nurse and my uterus contracts. Oh and on that note, if you're going to nurse, you feel your uterus contracting when you nurse. Yup. I knew it did that but I had no idea how very much you could feel it doing that.
So to sum up my postpartum recommendations
1. Don't bring a towel for yourself. DO bring a towel for the husband.
2. Bring those granny panties you don't care if you throw away and your own pads just for your sanity.
3. Buy a surplus of witch hazel pads and line them along the pad every time you put a new one on. Thank me later
4. Buy the BLUE can of Dermoplast. BLUE CAN.
5. Uterus contractions. Ibuprofen every 4-6 hours. Do it.
6. Not mentioned above but walk every so often. Keep those muscles from cramping up. Trust me, they cramp up.
7. Also not mentioned above, but note worthy, take a stool softener daily. Trust me. And start the day you give birth.
My situation is obviously mine alone, but here are my thoughts.
After Charlie was born, she nursed and the nurses took her off to be registered I was able to get a shower. The initial getting off the bed you just labored in is gross. Absolutely gross. Because with each movement you make, you gush blood. It's a period but way worse. Be prepared to just feel gross. The shower will help with that and if you have the energy, just stand under that hot spray for as long as possible. [Insert here Pinterest Lie Number One: Do NOT bring your own towels for yourself.] You will continue to bleed for several weeks but those first few days in the hospital will be the gushing sort. You'll want those icky, scratchy hospital towels to get blood stains rather than your own. Do bring a nice towel for the husband. Seeing as the hospital towels supplied to us were similar to hand towels, my poor 6'5" husband was short changed. Thankfully I had thought ahead on that one.
I did pack my own granny underwear and pads just in case the hospital supply was not comfortable. The first day and night I used the mesh underwear and pads provided. By the second day the bleeding had slowed and become much more manageable so I switched to my own things and was comfortable. In my opinion pack 'em and be safe. Your body just went through some serious trauma, no sense being even more uncomfortable if you don't have to.
Pinterest tells you to get witch hazel pads and Dermoplast. Witch hazel pads are amazing. Take those suckers and line them along your pad. Relief. I used the Dermoplast once and about lost my mind. I know that every one says to get the BLUE can. And I emphasize for the love of all things get the damn BLUE can, not the red. I couldn't find a blue can any where to save my life. The Dermoplast website said that there wasn't any major differences between the two but they recommended the blue can. However, all I had was the red. Once was all it took for me to toss that cursed can in the garbage. Get the BLUE can.
I am 3 weeks postpartum as of today and my bleeding has finally slowed to a very light period. In fact the only time I bleed is when I nurse and my uterus contracts. Oh and on that note, if you're going to nurse, you feel your uterus contracting when you nurse. Yup. I knew it did that but I had no idea how very much you could feel it doing that.
So to sum up my postpartum recommendations
1. Don't bring a towel for yourself. DO bring a towel for the husband.
2. Bring those granny panties you don't care if you throw away and your own pads just for your sanity.
3. Buy a surplus of witch hazel pads and line them along the pad every time you put a new one on. Thank me later
4. Buy the BLUE can of Dermoplast. BLUE CAN.
5. Uterus contractions. Ibuprofen every 4-6 hours. Do it.
6. Not mentioned above but walk every so often. Keep those muscles from cramping up. Trust me, they cramp up.
7. Also not mentioned above, but note worthy, take a stool softener daily. Trust me. And start the day you give birth.
Monday, June 9, 2014
Charlie's Birth Story
On Tuesday June 3rd I was sent home with instructions to return that Friday for another NST. It would have been my 7th. Through the beginning half of the pregnancy my mom and I had planned to start making trips to the maternity ward via both the main entrance and the ER entrance after each OB appointment so that we had a fairly good idea of where to go. That planning was carried out just not in the way we thought. With so many NST under our belts we felt like a couple of regulars and go to know the nurses in Triage pretty well.
Tuesday night was spent at home, relaxing with my husband as best as we could. I decided for the first time in weeks I was going to sleep in the bed. I wasn't as swelled as I had been and that had been my main reason for sleeping on the couch, in order to keep my feet propped. I didn't have my normal period like contractions. There was nothing out of the ordinary. The next morning I got up with the husband at 6 and went to pee. I did my business and as I was walking back out of the bathroom suddenly felt wet again. Like I had peed myself. Back to the bathroom I go, feeling less than awesome at the prospect of peeing myself. Again, after finishing up, I go to stand up and it happened again. I sent my husband to work regardless because I honestly didn't think it was my water breaking. It was such small amounts. There was no big gush, no continuous flow. I continued to leak for another hour. At 7 I decided I better get a shower because if this was indeed my water I wanted my hair to be washed. I showered, called my mom and told her to get her shower. This was at 7:35. At this point I was starting to cramp. Similar to the cramping I had been having for the past two weeks. They continued to intensify. I paced in my bathroom and counted when the worst ones hit. At 7:46 I called my husband and told him he better head home. I called my mom back at 8 and told her what was going on. She mentioned she needed to dry her hair and I told her to do what she needed to do. At this point I'm still in denial. The contractions are coming pretty close together. It felt like one had just mellowed out when it would start to rise and peak again. By 8:35 I was downstairs with my bag and Charlie's. I called my mom repeatedly to get her to hurry and made the call to my husband that he needed to meet us at the hospital. Contractions were intense. So incredibly painful. But still period type cramping. It was all very low type pain. My belly didn't get rock hard like I was told to look for. I had no pain going along the top of my belly and seizing up my entire belly. Rather it was all really low, low pain. I put the dogs in their cages and stood in our downstairs bathroom and ran cold water over my hands. Bending over with the high peaks of each contraction seemed the best option. I screamed and was completely vocal. I figured what the hell, I'm home alone anyways. My poor dogs were traumatized by the experience and I feel so bad. Also at this point I am having the incredible urge to poop. Note to all those - DO NOT TRY TO POOP. Thankfully I was pretty aware that this was bad considering I was still in my house and a 40 minute drive away from my hospital. My mom got there I would guess around 8:40ish. It took us a little while to get me in the car because I was contracting about every 2 minutes. I didn't realize this until I was in the car and able to just stare at the clock as the waves of pain hit. I can remember that I couldn't sit back and I couldn't sit on my butt at all. I turned my body to the side and held on to the "oh shit" handle at the roof above the door. Ya know that breathing technique that everyone in the movies uses when in labor? Do it. No joke. For whatever reason it helped immensely to focus on puffing out air when those high peaks hit. My mom drove 85 mph down the highway to get us to our destination. With each low point I was tell her to watch her speed and that everything was fine. When the high peaks hit I was begging her to let me poop and I swear I'd clean it up when this was all over. I knew I couldn't poop or push but I will secretly admit there may have been a time or two my body just did it without my control. We arrived at the hospital at 9:29 according to my mom's car clock. She pulled into the valet parking, jumped out of the car, leaving it still running and her door hanging open, yelling at the attendants that we were in labor. Lucky for us, I was at a high peak as we came rushing into the valet and one of the attendants had already rushed inside to get me a wheelchair. An adorable older and very scrawny looking older woman came over to assist us getting up to maternity. She was rushing with all her little body had. I was at a low here and told her it was all going to be fine, she didn't have to over tax herself. I apologized for being too heavy. She was incredibly sweet and she went flying up the hallway towards maternity and rushed me through. As we wheeled up to the nurses station they all seemed to be standing around very calm. I could feel another contraction rising up and quickly mentioned that I had been 4 cm dilated on Monday and I was in intense pain. My mom tells me I apologized several times here too. I distinctly remember seeing a girl I went to school with and tried to have small talk but another contraction hit and I was wheeled in a labor and delivery room.
Things begin to get blurry here. I remember several nurses. I know that there was a nice, petite woman who introduced herself as Patty and my mom and I were so excited to actually meet her. Her name had been mentioned several times over my NST trips but we had never met. She was the Midwife that worked the maternity ward Monday through Friday. She was the midwife who delivered my little girl and God bless that woman. Another contraction hit as we were trying to get me undressed. I vaguely remember asking for my epidural and Patty said she'd like to check me and see where I'm at first. Fine, no problem, I was helped out of my shorts and underwear and told to lie back on the bed. I did the best I could but quite frankly that position sucked and I really didn't want to. When Patty checked me, I remember looking at her face as her eyes got serious and she nodded to the nurses. A secret code I guess. Her words to me were "when you feel that urge to poop again, you go ahead and push." I hadn't remembered telling her that I wanted to poop, but I must have. Quickly I was pushed back to lay down on the bed and stir ups were brought out. I asked about any type of pain medication and I was informed that the baby was right there. I wouldn't be getting anything. Another contraction hit and I feebly pushed. I know I slacked on that first one. I was terrified. No pain meds? Nothing??? I know I had said if I could I would try to but damnit at this point I couldn't. I was in immense pain and I did NOT want to do this natural. I also noticed the mirror that folds out from the ceiling. I asked that it be put away and everyone questioned if I was sure to which I became adamant that the mirror needed to GO. With the next contraction Patty encouraged me and said it would be over so quickly if I just gave it my best. So I pushed. The nurses kept trying to get me to hold my own legs up to my chest and that wasn't what I wanted to do at all. At some point when Charlie was crowning when my husband got there and walked into the room. He got to see that. The man who didn't want to be in the room at all got to see all the glory. But he did so good. He came up by my head and I held his index finger, squeezing with everything I had as I pushed. Patty at some point gave me two numbing shots. She apologized for the pinch I would feel and I think I may have laughed at her or said she was crazy if she thought I cared about any pinch at this point. The nurse to my left tried to put an IV in my hand to get me some fluids but that was forgotten. Patty also was awesome and continued to use something that was really cold feeling as Charlie crowned to help with any tearing. There was definitely the ring of fire as they call it. In some ways, it was better because I knew if I could get past that ring, push through that pain, the rest was way easier. And its so true. Once you push out the head, the rest of the body seems to just gush out. I felt so dirty to be honest because it was a big gush. Ew. They put her up on my chest and I remember stating, my gosh there's really a baby. I think in some ways I have been distant during the pregnancy. I wasn't able to totally emotionally connect to Charlie because that just isn't the type of person I am. But there she was, squishy and screaming on my chest. Patty asked Steve to cut the cord and he refused, telling her to let Grandma get that option. He kept kissing my head and telling me how awesome I did. They took her away to get weighed and checked out. At this point Steve went with her while Patty continued to help me birth the placenta. The pain does not stop when the baby exits. The placenta wasn't brutal but it was definitely uncomfortable. As was when Patty was cleaning me up and checking for any tears. I didn't need any stitches. Thanks to that wonder woman of a midwife.
Things are blurry and my sense of time is completely out of whack. I know that they brought her back over to do skin to skin and thats' when I went through the registration process. Steve signed a bunch of papers etc. Odd. Doing it all AFTER the baby has arrived but the little lady was not waiting. They asked if I wanted to breastfeed and if I had taken any classes. They all got a chuckle when I mentioned I had intended to go to the class being offered the following night. The nurse, Amy I think was her name helped me get a latch and how to hold the breast etc. She has 4 kids herself and breastfed all 4. She was the nurse that stayed with me for the duration and I absolutely loved her.
Steve had called his mom and she arrived not long after Charlie was born. In fact she was walking into the maternity ward when the nursery rhyme went off which indicates a birth. So after I was cleaned up, everyone got to pass her around while the staff got a room ready for me. I had sent the entire system into backward motion. I was honestly so relaxed and content at that point. There was relief that it was over and it hadn't taken several hours. Joy that she was here. Pure amazement and gratitude for my mom and for my husband. Even then though I don't think it completely hit me how close we had been to having a baby on a main highway. I mean.. one traffic light too many and I'm not sure how this story would have gone.
Patty mentioned that if there is a next pregnancy I will need to have my cervix length measured at 20 weeks and up to ensure that isn't the reason I delivered so fast. A shortened cervix can cause preterm labor. Oh and I also had to provide a pee sample to ensure that I wasn't on drugs. Everyone was apologetic about it but I could've cared less.
So in conclusion, Charlotte Lynn was born June 4th at 9:40 am after mom pushed for a measly, excruciating 10 minutes. She weighed in at 6lbs and 7 oz and was 19inches long. And my gosh are we so very blessed to have her in our lives.
Tuesday night was spent at home, relaxing with my husband as best as we could. I decided for the first time in weeks I was going to sleep in the bed. I wasn't as swelled as I had been and that had been my main reason for sleeping on the couch, in order to keep my feet propped. I didn't have my normal period like contractions. There was nothing out of the ordinary. The next morning I got up with the husband at 6 and went to pee. I did my business and as I was walking back out of the bathroom suddenly felt wet again. Like I had peed myself. Back to the bathroom I go, feeling less than awesome at the prospect of peeing myself. Again, after finishing up, I go to stand up and it happened again. I sent my husband to work regardless because I honestly didn't think it was my water breaking. It was such small amounts. There was no big gush, no continuous flow. I continued to leak for another hour. At 7 I decided I better get a shower because if this was indeed my water I wanted my hair to be washed. I showered, called my mom and told her to get her shower. This was at 7:35. At this point I was starting to cramp. Similar to the cramping I had been having for the past two weeks. They continued to intensify. I paced in my bathroom and counted when the worst ones hit. At 7:46 I called my husband and told him he better head home. I called my mom back at 8 and told her what was going on. She mentioned she needed to dry her hair and I told her to do what she needed to do. At this point I'm still in denial. The contractions are coming pretty close together. It felt like one had just mellowed out when it would start to rise and peak again. By 8:35 I was downstairs with my bag and Charlie's. I called my mom repeatedly to get her to hurry and made the call to my husband that he needed to meet us at the hospital. Contractions were intense. So incredibly painful. But still period type cramping. It was all very low type pain. My belly didn't get rock hard like I was told to look for. I had no pain going along the top of my belly and seizing up my entire belly. Rather it was all really low, low pain. I put the dogs in their cages and stood in our downstairs bathroom and ran cold water over my hands. Bending over with the high peaks of each contraction seemed the best option. I screamed and was completely vocal. I figured what the hell, I'm home alone anyways. My poor dogs were traumatized by the experience and I feel so bad. Also at this point I am having the incredible urge to poop. Note to all those - DO NOT TRY TO POOP. Thankfully I was pretty aware that this was bad considering I was still in my house and a 40 minute drive away from my hospital. My mom got there I would guess around 8:40ish. It took us a little while to get me in the car because I was contracting about every 2 minutes. I didn't realize this until I was in the car and able to just stare at the clock as the waves of pain hit. I can remember that I couldn't sit back and I couldn't sit on my butt at all. I turned my body to the side and held on to the "oh shit" handle at the roof above the door. Ya know that breathing technique that everyone in the movies uses when in labor? Do it. No joke. For whatever reason it helped immensely to focus on puffing out air when those high peaks hit. My mom drove 85 mph down the highway to get us to our destination. With each low point I was tell her to watch her speed and that everything was fine. When the high peaks hit I was begging her to let me poop and I swear I'd clean it up when this was all over. I knew I couldn't poop or push but I will secretly admit there may have been a time or two my body just did it without my control. We arrived at the hospital at 9:29 according to my mom's car clock. She pulled into the valet parking, jumped out of the car, leaving it still running and her door hanging open, yelling at the attendants that we were in labor. Lucky for us, I was at a high peak as we came rushing into the valet and one of the attendants had already rushed inside to get me a wheelchair. An adorable older and very scrawny looking older woman came over to assist us getting up to maternity. She was rushing with all her little body had. I was at a low here and told her it was all going to be fine, she didn't have to over tax herself. I apologized for being too heavy. She was incredibly sweet and she went flying up the hallway towards maternity and rushed me through. As we wheeled up to the nurses station they all seemed to be standing around very calm. I could feel another contraction rising up and quickly mentioned that I had been 4 cm dilated on Monday and I was in intense pain. My mom tells me I apologized several times here too. I distinctly remember seeing a girl I went to school with and tried to have small talk but another contraction hit and I was wheeled in a labor and delivery room.
Things begin to get blurry here. I remember several nurses. I know that there was a nice, petite woman who introduced herself as Patty and my mom and I were so excited to actually meet her. Her name had been mentioned several times over my NST trips but we had never met. She was the Midwife that worked the maternity ward Monday through Friday. She was the midwife who delivered my little girl and God bless that woman. Another contraction hit as we were trying to get me undressed. I vaguely remember asking for my epidural and Patty said she'd like to check me and see where I'm at first. Fine, no problem, I was helped out of my shorts and underwear and told to lie back on the bed. I did the best I could but quite frankly that position sucked and I really didn't want to. When Patty checked me, I remember looking at her face as her eyes got serious and she nodded to the nurses. A secret code I guess. Her words to me were "when you feel that urge to poop again, you go ahead and push." I hadn't remembered telling her that I wanted to poop, but I must have. Quickly I was pushed back to lay down on the bed and stir ups were brought out. I asked about any type of pain medication and I was informed that the baby was right there. I wouldn't be getting anything. Another contraction hit and I feebly pushed. I know I slacked on that first one. I was terrified. No pain meds? Nothing??? I know I had said if I could I would try to but damnit at this point I couldn't. I was in immense pain and I did NOT want to do this natural. I also noticed the mirror that folds out from the ceiling. I asked that it be put away and everyone questioned if I was sure to which I became adamant that the mirror needed to GO. With the next contraction Patty encouraged me and said it would be over so quickly if I just gave it my best. So I pushed. The nurses kept trying to get me to hold my own legs up to my chest and that wasn't what I wanted to do at all. At some point when Charlie was crowning when my husband got there and walked into the room. He got to see that. The man who didn't want to be in the room at all got to see all the glory. But he did so good. He came up by my head and I held his index finger, squeezing with everything I had as I pushed. Patty at some point gave me two numbing shots. She apologized for the pinch I would feel and I think I may have laughed at her or said she was crazy if she thought I cared about any pinch at this point. The nurse to my left tried to put an IV in my hand to get me some fluids but that was forgotten. Patty also was awesome and continued to use something that was really cold feeling as Charlie crowned to help with any tearing. There was definitely the ring of fire as they call it. In some ways, it was better because I knew if I could get past that ring, push through that pain, the rest was way easier. And its so true. Once you push out the head, the rest of the body seems to just gush out. I felt so dirty to be honest because it was a big gush. Ew. They put her up on my chest and I remember stating, my gosh there's really a baby. I think in some ways I have been distant during the pregnancy. I wasn't able to totally emotionally connect to Charlie because that just isn't the type of person I am. But there she was, squishy and screaming on my chest. Patty asked Steve to cut the cord and he refused, telling her to let Grandma get that option. He kept kissing my head and telling me how awesome I did. They took her away to get weighed and checked out. At this point Steve went with her while Patty continued to help me birth the placenta. The pain does not stop when the baby exits. The placenta wasn't brutal but it was definitely uncomfortable. As was when Patty was cleaning me up and checking for any tears. I didn't need any stitches. Thanks to that wonder woman of a midwife.
Things are blurry and my sense of time is completely out of whack. I know that they brought her back over to do skin to skin and thats' when I went through the registration process. Steve signed a bunch of papers etc. Odd. Doing it all AFTER the baby has arrived but the little lady was not waiting. They asked if I wanted to breastfeed and if I had taken any classes. They all got a chuckle when I mentioned I had intended to go to the class being offered the following night. The nurse, Amy I think was her name helped me get a latch and how to hold the breast etc. She has 4 kids herself and breastfed all 4. She was the nurse that stayed with me for the duration and I absolutely loved her.
Steve had called his mom and she arrived not long after Charlie was born. In fact she was walking into the maternity ward when the nursery rhyme went off which indicates a birth. So after I was cleaned up, everyone got to pass her around while the staff got a room ready for me. I had sent the entire system into backward motion. I was honestly so relaxed and content at that point. There was relief that it was over and it hadn't taken several hours. Joy that she was here. Pure amazement and gratitude for my mom and for my husband. Even then though I don't think it completely hit me how close we had been to having a baby on a main highway. I mean.. one traffic light too many and I'm not sure how this story would have gone.
Patty mentioned that if there is a next pregnancy I will need to have my cervix length measured at 20 weeks and up to ensure that isn't the reason I delivered so fast. A shortened cervix can cause preterm labor. Oh and I also had to provide a pee sample to ensure that I wasn't on drugs. Everyone was apologetic about it but I could've cared less.
So in conclusion, Charlotte Lynn was born June 4th at 9:40 am after mom pushed for a measly, excruciating 10 minutes. She weighed in at 6lbs and 7 oz and was 19inches long. And my gosh are we so very blessed to have her in our lives.
37 Weeks to 38 weeks
I slacked. Major, big time slacked. And as stated in posts before, my OCD self is just slightly frantic about it. I'm slowly coming to terms with the fact that things didn't go as I had planned. And that it's okay. The way everything happened turned out to be for the best. So let's look back at the last 2 1/2 weeks because it was a doozy.
At 36 weeks we had an OB appointment and got my first cervix check. At that point I was dilated 1 cm and 50% effaced. This is also when they started to get semi concerned about the swelling. Which I'm not even joking was ridiculous. I'm not saying that because it was just ridiculous to me, it was ridic to anyone that saw me. I didn't have knee caps. Or ankles. And my feet? Don't even get me started. My blood pressure was also really high at my appointment. The midwife gave me the option of a non stress test directly after the appointment or on Friday of that week. (my appointment had been on a Monday) I chose to have the non stress test on Friday because Monday morning had been extremely stressful for me at work, the OB appointment had run almost 45 minutes late and I was over it that day. I continued to work the rest of the week, taking off that Friday for the non stress test. On Friday, my mom came along and I got to have blood work done along with a pee sample and being strapped to a machine that measuring baby's heart rate and contractions for an hour while they processed my blood work.
The following week, at my 37 week appointment I was still at 1 cm and about 60% effaced. At this point I saw another midwife in the office. Again my blood pressure wasn't where they wanted it and my swelling was pretty bad. Midwife Vivian sent me for non stress directly following my appointment. Stabbed again for blood, asked for more pee and strapped up for another two hours. This was on May 27th. Apparently my pee sample showed higher proteins than they cared to see so they sent me home with a 24 hour pee collection kit. Oh yes. That was a joy. I had joked through the second half of the pregnancy that they should provide much larger cups in the OB office to provide our pee samples. I got my wish. I was given two large orange jugs along with a white "catch tray" it sits on the seat of your toilet and you pee right into it. A very easy process. However, the pee has to be kept cold. So I had to call off work. And I had to keep my own pee in a nasty orange colored jug in my fridge. Gross. Wednesday the 28th we, my husband and I headed back down to the hospital to turn over my pee jug. And to sit through another stabbing for blood, and non stress test.
If you've been keeping count that's three non stress tests. My arms looked like I was an addict. And with each non stress test came a new story of the people behind the curtains to either side of me. The first time my mom and I were in, it was fairly quiet. We got a room that time. The second time we got to hear the tales of a 309 pound woman who only smoked 3 cigarettes a day now that she was pregnant and hear her list off all of the STDs she had experienced. Oh yes and she remembers the exact day of her last surgery because it was the day she met her fiance. Ya know, directly after she had her wisdom teeth extracted. Palm to forehead. The third NST was no different and didn't fail to disappoint on entertainment. There was a woman who gave birth. Beside us. Right there. She was a trooper and pushed her little bundle of joy out within minutes of her first moan and the nurses encouraging words. My husband's eyes were saucers. Remember through the entire pregnancy he has stated repeatedly that he would not be able to make it in the room. He insisted he couldn't handle it. Now, here we are and he got to listen to a real birth. I joked that I hoped I went as fast as that lady did. Little did I know.
So at NST #3, they tested my 24 hour urine before I was released to go home. Up until this point nobody in the medical profession seemed really excited about my swelling. And the swelling was the only major symptom I was experiencing. Up until this point the proteins in my urine hadn't been concern worthy I suppose. So in my head, I figured this was just another waste of time and I'd be sent home. Not to be the case. Instead Midwife Vivian AND Doctor K came into my little curtain portion of Triage and explained that I was experiencing a mild case of preclampsia. Doctor K asked what kind of work I do and I said I do desk work but I'm also in the car 3 hours a day. His exact words were, "okay, we're going to stop that." I was dumbfounded and asked if I could at least finish out the week. I got a definitive no as a response. This was the week of Memorial Day. So I had literally been at work for 6 hours on Tuesday and that was it. Lucky for me my temp was trained and good to go. But still it unnerved me and I was not at all happy with the circumstances. My husband tried to calm me down the entire way home but I was just annoyed. This wasn't part of my plan and the control freak in me was having trouble coming to terms. In my head, I'd be home, my swelling would go down and little lady would come late. Wasting a good three weeks of maternity leave on doing nothing. Again, I'll state, little did I know.
After Doctor K delivered his oh so awesome news, they told me they'd see me back on Friday for another NST so that I was monitored before the weekend. NST #4 was completed that Friday with no red flags and instructions to return Monday for NST #5. I spent the weekend driving myself crazy but getting as much done as I could. We finally go the dresser for in her room. I didn't fill it or finish her room but darn it the dresser was there. I got to sit outside in the sun and am still sporting those tan lines to this day. I suffered for it with some major swelling though. Laundry was done and I cleaned what I could with the energy I had left. The husband and I also took the opportunity to go out to dinner and went to a buddy's campfire. It was a good night, one that I'll remember for a while. I felt almost normal as my swelling had REALLY decreased at this point. On Monday I had NST #5, sent home with another 24 hour pee collection. My mom and I had lunch at the hospital, waiting around until my 38 week appointment that afternoon.
At my OB appointment I learned that I was 100% effaced and 4 cm dilated. I wasn't totally surprised because I had been cramping for several days. Period like cramps that were sporadic. They'd be close to together and then fade off for a hour or so. I'd also had the mucus discharge going on since week 36. Note to others, the plug may not come out in one big goop. It took mine two weeks of mucus discharge before it was finished. At the appointment Vivian asked me to be induced. Well I don't even know if she asked. I believe she phrased it more delicately saying that if I had a normal pregnancy going an induction wouldn't be necessary. But the fact was I was experiencing a lot of other stuff and I was now in the high risk category so to speak. I did NOT want an induction. I agreed to an induction because health wise I didn't want to put myself or Charlie at risk. I tried to reason with myself that I was already 4 cm. Surely if I got induced it wouldn't be as bad as when a woman isn't dilating at all on her own. So induction scheduled for June 10th. Although Vivian repeatedly made the comment that she didn't think I'd make it to the following Tuesday for my induction. I brushed her off. I have mentioned once or twice in this LONG post that I know very little. And it is true.
Went home with a heavy heart, but at the same time relief. Relief that I'd finally be meeting this little girl. I had an exact damn date to put down in my control freak plans. Completed my 24 hour pee collection and was back down at the hospital on Tuesday the 3rd for NST #6. Gah, my poor arms. Stabbed again for blood work. I tried to have them alternate each time but its much harder to get blood out of my right arm. I have sucky veins. The upside? Over all of this, I'm way better at handling needles. Anyways, NST #6. This time there was a young lady to my right that was experiencing severe pain that she insisted was a kidney infection. Despite the doctor telling her that none of the tests showed such indication. Regardless she was sent home with a prescription for some major pain killers. Palm to forehead. Again during my NST I was having some major period cramping. The RN told me that she hadn't registered too many contractions so I figured that my period cramping either wasn't the real deal or wasn't what to be looking for. Midwife Lori came in to see me and excitedly said "hey I hear we have a date next week!" Apparently she was the midwife on call and would be delivering should my induction go as scheduled. I was sent home with instructions to return for NST #7 on Friday. Fantastic.
Spoiler alert, I didn't make it to NST #7. But this post is WAY too long.
At 36 weeks we had an OB appointment and got my first cervix check. At that point I was dilated 1 cm and 50% effaced. This is also when they started to get semi concerned about the swelling. Which I'm not even joking was ridiculous. I'm not saying that because it was just ridiculous to me, it was ridic to anyone that saw me. I didn't have knee caps. Or ankles. And my feet? Don't even get me started. My blood pressure was also really high at my appointment. The midwife gave me the option of a non stress test directly after the appointment or on Friday of that week. (my appointment had been on a Monday) I chose to have the non stress test on Friday because Monday morning had been extremely stressful for me at work, the OB appointment had run almost 45 minutes late and I was over it that day. I continued to work the rest of the week, taking off that Friday for the non stress test. On Friday, my mom came along and I got to have blood work done along with a pee sample and being strapped to a machine that measuring baby's heart rate and contractions for an hour while they processed my blood work.
The following week, at my 37 week appointment I was still at 1 cm and about 60% effaced. At this point I saw another midwife in the office. Again my blood pressure wasn't where they wanted it and my swelling was pretty bad. Midwife Vivian sent me for non stress directly following my appointment. Stabbed again for blood, asked for more pee and strapped up for another two hours. This was on May 27th. Apparently my pee sample showed higher proteins than they cared to see so they sent me home with a 24 hour pee collection kit. Oh yes. That was a joy. I had joked through the second half of the pregnancy that they should provide much larger cups in the OB office to provide our pee samples. I got my wish. I was given two large orange jugs along with a white "catch tray" it sits on the seat of your toilet and you pee right into it. A very easy process. However, the pee has to be kept cold. So I had to call off work. And I had to keep my own pee in a nasty orange colored jug in my fridge. Gross. Wednesday the 28th we, my husband and I headed back down to the hospital to turn over my pee jug. And to sit through another stabbing for blood, and non stress test.
If you've been keeping count that's three non stress tests. My arms looked like I was an addict. And with each non stress test came a new story of the people behind the curtains to either side of me. The first time my mom and I were in, it was fairly quiet. We got a room that time. The second time we got to hear the tales of a 309 pound woman who only smoked 3 cigarettes a day now that she was pregnant and hear her list off all of the STDs she had experienced. Oh yes and she remembers the exact day of her last surgery because it was the day she met her fiance. Ya know, directly after she had her wisdom teeth extracted. Palm to forehead. The third NST was no different and didn't fail to disappoint on entertainment. There was a woman who gave birth. Beside us. Right there. She was a trooper and pushed her little bundle of joy out within minutes of her first moan and the nurses encouraging words. My husband's eyes were saucers. Remember through the entire pregnancy he has stated repeatedly that he would not be able to make it in the room. He insisted he couldn't handle it. Now, here we are and he got to listen to a real birth. I joked that I hoped I went as fast as that lady did. Little did I know.
So at NST #3, they tested my 24 hour urine before I was released to go home. Up until this point nobody in the medical profession seemed really excited about my swelling. And the swelling was the only major symptom I was experiencing. Up until this point the proteins in my urine hadn't been concern worthy I suppose. So in my head, I figured this was just another waste of time and I'd be sent home. Not to be the case. Instead Midwife Vivian AND Doctor K came into my little curtain portion of Triage and explained that I was experiencing a mild case of preclampsia. Doctor K asked what kind of work I do and I said I do desk work but I'm also in the car 3 hours a day. His exact words were, "okay, we're going to stop that." I was dumbfounded and asked if I could at least finish out the week. I got a definitive no as a response. This was the week of Memorial Day. So I had literally been at work for 6 hours on Tuesday and that was it. Lucky for me my temp was trained and good to go. But still it unnerved me and I was not at all happy with the circumstances. My husband tried to calm me down the entire way home but I was just annoyed. This wasn't part of my plan and the control freak in me was having trouble coming to terms. In my head, I'd be home, my swelling would go down and little lady would come late. Wasting a good three weeks of maternity leave on doing nothing. Again, I'll state, little did I know.
After Doctor K delivered his oh so awesome news, they told me they'd see me back on Friday for another NST so that I was monitored before the weekend. NST #4 was completed that Friday with no red flags and instructions to return Monday for NST #5. I spent the weekend driving myself crazy but getting as much done as I could. We finally go the dresser for in her room. I didn't fill it or finish her room but darn it the dresser was there. I got to sit outside in the sun and am still sporting those tan lines to this day. I suffered for it with some major swelling though. Laundry was done and I cleaned what I could with the energy I had left. The husband and I also took the opportunity to go out to dinner and went to a buddy's campfire. It was a good night, one that I'll remember for a while. I felt almost normal as my swelling had REALLY decreased at this point. On Monday I had NST #5, sent home with another 24 hour pee collection. My mom and I had lunch at the hospital, waiting around until my 38 week appointment that afternoon.
At my OB appointment I learned that I was 100% effaced and 4 cm dilated. I wasn't totally surprised because I had been cramping for several days. Period like cramps that were sporadic. They'd be close to together and then fade off for a hour or so. I'd also had the mucus discharge going on since week 36. Note to others, the plug may not come out in one big goop. It took mine two weeks of mucus discharge before it was finished. At the appointment Vivian asked me to be induced. Well I don't even know if she asked. I believe she phrased it more delicately saying that if I had a normal pregnancy going an induction wouldn't be necessary. But the fact was I was experiencing a lot of other stuff and I was now in the high risk category so to speak. I did NOT want an induction. I agreed to an induction because health wise I didn't want to put myself or Charlie at risk. I tried to reason with myself that I was already 4 cm. Surely if I got induced it wouldn't be as bad as when a woman isn't dilating at all on her own. So induction scheduled for June 10th. Although Vivian repeatedly made the comment that she didn't think I'd make it to the following Tuesday for my induction. I brushed her off. I have mentioned once or twice in this LONG post that I know very little. And it is true.
Went home with a heavy heart, but at the same time relief. Relief that I'd finally be meeting this little girl. I had an exact damn date to put down in my control freak plans. Completed my 24 hour pee collection and was back down at the hospital on Tuesday the 3rd for NST #6. Gah, my poor arms. Stabbed again for blood work. I tried to have them alternate each time but its much harder to get blood out of my right arm. I have sucky veins. The upside? Over all of this, I'm way better at handling needles. Anyways, NST #6. This time there was a young lady to my right that was experiencing severe pain that she insisted was a kidney infection. Despite the doctor telling her that none of the tests showed such indication. Regardless she was sent home with a prescription for some major pain killers. Palm to forehead. Again during my NST I was having some major period cramping. The RN told me that she hadn't registered too many contractions so I figured that my period cramping either wasn't the real deal or wasn't what to be looking for. Midwife Lori came in to see me and excitedly said "hey I hear we have a date next week!" Apparently she was the midwife on call and would be delivering should my induction go as scheduled. I was sent home with instructions to return for NST #7 on Friday. Fantastic.
Spoiler alert, I didn't make it to NST #7. But this post is WAY too long.
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