Roller coaster !
This week has been a melting pot for emotions. After our Monday visit to the doctor, our prescription was to 'continue what you're doing' but not without a discussion. I had a few questions ranging from wanting to know about blood clots in my legs, to exercises, to inquiring about a temporary handicap parking space until this baby boy decides its time to come out.
As soon as I asked about the parking pass, both the doctor and my husband, Joel, said, "Why?" at the same time. I wish I had a better answer than I did, but it just came out. I said, "So that when spring training baseball starts, we can park close and wheel me in on a wheelchair to see some games from some great seats!" Dr. Rhea laughed at first because I think she thought I was kidding. I wasn't! I love baseball! Not so much on tv, although its looking like tv will be my support system in this instance.
That was an invitation for my husband to throw me under the bus and say that since our last visit, I have begun to think I'm invincible. Totally not true. I haven't cooked, cleaned, functioned as a normal human for 31 days! Folding laundry on the couch is hardly a contribution. Having a two year old while on bed rest is torture on so many levels.
We didn't talk much on the way home, and he knew I was upset. What did I want? I wanted him to celebrate my persistence. I wanted him to tell her how wonderful I have been. I wanted him to say that even though it has been hard on all of us, we are all doing a great job and we are going to get through this.
I needed to know he is on my side. Dr. Rhea said we could revisit the baseball conversation after I reach 32 weeks. I knew she was right, and I knew my question wasn't going to receive the answer I wanted to hear...just thought I might try anyway.
Showing posts with label high risk pregnancy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label high risk pregnancy. Show all posts
Friday, March 8, 2013
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
28 Days on Bed Rest...
Here we are, now March 5, 2013...twenty-eight days on bed rest. A lot has happened in the past seventeen days, so let me fill you in!
Not this past Monday, but two Mondays before (day 12 b.r.), Joel and I drove to our weekly ultrasound to check the length and strength of my cervix. Wait a minute, I need to back up again. When we first found out that we were indeed pregnant and went to the 8 week ultrasound to first hear the heartbeat, there were a lot of emotions in the room, but none that you would expect. Although I was smiling and calm, deep down, I was praying that everything was going to be normal this time. Did I share those thoughts with Joel, heavens no...I'm the calm one, remember? Joel was there and supportive, however strangely quiet and reserved. I felt as though I was alone, and wanted nothing more than to have the excited, joyous, happy moment with my husband as we saw our 2nd baby on the screen mounted on the wall.
As we left the appointment, with good news from the doctor, we got in the car and I was upset. All I wanted was for Joel to grab my hand, or hug me, or smile...do anything to share that moment together. It wasn't until a week later, that I found out what was really going on. Joel was scared to death. I was so wrapped up in what I wanted, and expected, that I hadn't considered how frightening the possibility of another birth story like Jett's must have been for him. After apologizing, I then realized that he needed my support, as much as I needed his. I wanted to rewind to that 1st month of pregnancy so that you can put yourself in Joel's shoes, as I try to do each time we go for another ultrasound.
Back to the Monday, two weeks ago...as the technician attempted the ultrasound, it was stopped right away. As she proceeded to say, "This is going to be cold," she forgot to tell me that she is not the slow entry type! As soon as she began, I was in instant pain. I started to tear up, and Joel asked her to stop. We were of course scared that something was wrong, but I tried to reassure Joel and myself that it was just because she had me lying flat instead of up at an angle like every time before.
The technician said, "I'm sorry hon, let me go get the doctor." Dr. Rhea came in, and per my request, put the bed up more at an angle...She 'went in' slowly (sorry if this is too much information) and I didn't have any pain at all. When the doctor viewed the screen, she pointed out that Baby Rickards was squirming around on top of my cervix, and just on the other side, we saw a large, dark mass. Fortunately, it wasn't the kind of 'mass' that would send me for further treatment...unless you call "Drink a lot of fluids and maybe eat some more P-fruits to move things along!" OH MY GOSH!!!!!! Poop? I was mortified! While we all laughed it off, it was still painful, and humiliating at the same time.
After the ultrasound was through, we discussed the length of my cervix. It had shortened to 1.9cm. We were then told to head straight to the hospital to pursue a cerclage. Once in the ER, talk about deja vu! The same intake nurse was at the desk that was there when I was admitted for Jett's birth. Joel won her over and dealt with the check-in information, while I was on the phone preparing lesson plans for my class with the substitute. We waited for about an hour until they called my name. Still unsure of what was about to go down, I stripped down to just a hospital gown and climbed in the triage cot...not comfortable enough to be called a bed.
After two hours, the doctor came in and began her consultation. It was determined that my cervix was not strong enough to hold any stitches, and the risk of infection, or rejection of the stitch was too great. All I could think of was the word 'infection' and how she kept repeating it, over and over again. At one point, I felt like that was the only word that she WAS saying. Joel and I were both glad the decision was made for us at that point, and we packed up and went home.
So, two weeks later, we visited the doctor again and received okay news. Although my cervical length is fluctuating, the doctor is happy with the length of 2.6cm and said, "Keep up the good work! Bed rest til the end!"
Back to the Monday, two weeks ago...as the technician attempted the ultrasound, it was stopped right away. As she proceeded to say, "This is going to be cold," she forgot to tell me that she is not the slow entry type! As soon as she began, I was in instant pain. I started to tear up, and Joel asked her to stop. We were of course scared that something was wrong, but I tried to reassure Joel and myself that it was just because she had me lying flat instead of up at an angle like every time before.
The technician said, "I'm sorry hon, let me go get the doctor." Dr. Rhea came in, and per my request, put the bed up more at an angle...She 'went in' slowly (sorry if this is too much information) and I didn't have any pain at all. When the doctor viewed the screen, she pointed out that Baby Rickards was squirming around on top of my cervix, and just on the other side, we saw a large, dark mass. Fortunately, it wasn't the kind of 'mass' that would send me for further treatment...unless you call "Drink a lot of fluids and maybe eat some more P-fruits to move things along!" OH MY GOSH!!!!!! Poop? I was mortified! While we all laughed it off, it was still painful, and humiliating at the same time.
After the ultrasound was through, we discussed the length of my cervix. It had shortened to 1.9cm. We were then told to head straight to the hospital to pursue a cerclage. Once in the ER, talk about deja vu! The same intake nurse was at the desk that was there when I was admitted for Jett's birth. Joel won her over and dealt with the check-in information, while I was on the phone preparing lesson plans for my class with the substitute. We waited for about an hour until they called my name. Still unsure of what was about to go down, I stripped down to just a hospital gown and climbed in the triage cot...not comfortable enough to be called a bed.
After two hours, the doctor came in and began her consultation. It was determined that my cervix was not strong enough to hold any stitches, and the risk of infection, or rejection of the stitch was too great. All I could think of was the word 'infection' and how she kept repeating it, over and over again. At one point, I felt like that was the only word that she WAS saying. Joel and I were both glad the decision was made for us at that point, and we packed up and went home.
So, two weeks later, we visited the doctor again and received okay news. Although my cervical length is fluctuating, the doctor is happy with the length of 2.6cm and said, "Keep up the good work! Bed rest til the end!"
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Jett's First Bath
SCROLL DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE TO START FROM THE BEGINNING.....
Alright, so I know this post is a little out of order, but I just couldn't wait for you all to see him! Jett had his very first bath tonight and with the help of his wonderful nurse, Erin...I was able to bathe him! Joel took some videos, so enjoy! I promise to catch up on the blogs...it's just been really busy!
Although Jett was born at 2 pounds 10 ounces, he lost a lot of weight and dropped down to 2 pounds 2 ounces. He was pretty scrawny, but he's bouncing back and is now up to 2 POUNDS 6 OUNCES!!!!
Joel changed his diaper for the 2nd time!!Monday, March 29, 2010
Jett's First Few Days
Lying in the recovery room was both a relief and a moment that I will never forget.
The medication was definitely working and I was on cloud nine that everything had gone fine and Jett was delivered without any difficulties...as far as I knew.
Joel and his parents were able to see Jett right away. They were elated! Jon and Rita both came back to my recovery room with tears in their eyes saying, "He's just so precious". I was so happy that he was here, but extremely anxious to see him. I came out of the surgery at 3:00pm. I was unable to see my son until 8:30pm. You can imagine my emotions. All I had to go on were the reports of others and according to most of them, he was doing alright. I also learned that they protect the mother from the truth while she's in recovery!
Jett was very sick. At delivery, he was born with a rash covering his little body. It could have been heat rash or a rash from his infection, but they were uncertain. Once in the NICU, the doctors assessed and treated him right away. Jett's left lung was collapsed due to a hole in it. This caused a Pneumothorax, which is a collection of air or gas in the space around the lungs and may result from chest trauma or lung disease. His "air bubbles" had moved to the center of his chest and were putting too much pressure on his heart. His blood pressure was all over the map, he had edema in his lower abdomen, and a crazy bacterial infection.
They inserted a chest tube, immediately started him on a breathing machine...called the "Jet Valve"...go figure! He was pumped full of medications for his heart and lungs, antibiotics for his infection, x-rays to monitor his PDA heart murmur, brain ultrasounds to check for brain bleeds, blood transfusions, anemia, jaundice, and fluids. This is the short list!
It's hard to put into words the emotions that I felt as I held my sick little boy's hand. I wanted it to be me, not him. I wanted to be the one being poked and prodded with all of the sticks and needles and wires. I didn't want him to have to fight so much in the first few days of his life! We were scared. They said that he was septic, which meant his blood was infected. His infection was caused by Pseudomonas, a bacteria that lives in the environment all around us.
The doctors' major concern was his PDA. A PDA is the patent ductus arteriosus (vessel outside of the heart that can make the baby's breathing and heart problems worse). There are a few ways to treat it, but they were leaning towards heart surgery to correct the problem.
Joel and his parents were able to see Jett right away. They were elated! Jon and Rita both came back to my recovery room with tears in their eyes saying, "He's just so precious". I was so happy that he was here, but extremely anxious to see him. I came out of the surgery at 3:00pm. I was unable to see my son until 8:30pm. You can imagine my emotions. All I had to go on were the reports of others and according to most of them, he was doing alright. I also learned that they protect the mother from the truth while she's in recovery!
Jett was very sick. At delivery, he was born with a rash covering his little body. It could have been heat rash or a rash from his infection, but they were uncertain. Once in the NICU, the doctors assessed and treated him right away. Jett's left lung was collapsed due to a hole in it. This caused a Pneumothorax, which is a collection of air or gas in the space around the lungs and may result from chest trauma or lung disease. His "air bubbles" had moved to the center of his chest and were putting too much pressure on his heart. His blood pressure was all over the map, he had edema in his lower abdomen, and a crazy bacterial infection.
They inserted a chest tube, immediately started him on a breathing machine...called the "Jet Valve"...go figure! He was pumped full of medications for his heart and lungs, antibiotics for his infection, x-rays to monitor his PDA heart murmur, brain ultrasounds to check for brain bleeds, blood transfusions, anemia, jaundice, and fluids. This is the short list!
It's hard to put into words the emotions that I felt as I held my sick little boy's hand. I wanted it to be me, not him. I wanted to be the one being poked and prodded with all of the sticks and needles and wires. I didn't want him to have to fight so much in the first few days of his life! We were scared. They said that he was septic, which meant his blood was infected. His infection was caused by Pseudomonas, a bacteria that lives in the environment all around us.
The doctors' major concern was his PDA. A PDA is the patent ductus arteriosus (vessel outside of the heart that can make the baby's breathing and heart problems worse). There are a few ways to treat it, but they were leaning towards heart surgery to correct the problem.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Jett's Delivery
March 16th, delivery cont...After Jenn arrived, the doctor went over a few more things with us before the surgery. He said that because my fever had spiked so quickly, Jett needed to come out as soon as possible.
The nurses had to adjust and redo my IV (which was no fun at all) and we were off and on our way to the OR. I remember it being ice cold when the double doors opened. Because of the fever, I was already shivering, but now I was almost convulsing!
They prepped me for the spinal and before I knew it, my toes were numb. Again, a really weird feeling! The anesthesiologist did her magic and we were soon underway. Joel came in with tears in his eyes and told me he loved me. He tried to hold my hand for me even though I was shaking so bad. I asked the anesthesiologist to hold my other hand because I couldn't keep it on the table.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Unexpected Fever
March 16th, 2010...Tuesday morning I woke up feeling a little "off". I was freezing and the room temperature was set on 80 degrees. I kept asking Joel to turn it up, but he was sweating so I knew something was wrong. Joel buzzed our nurse, Kit, and told her I wasn't feeling that well. She checked my vitals and Jett's heartbeat, and although my temp was only 99.1 (which they don't consider a fever yet) Jett's heartbeat was in the 160's instead of 145 which he had been averaging the past two days.
I decided to take a shower and even though the water was hot, I had chills. I put some warm clothes on, dried my hair and tried to calm down and crawl under the covers. After my shower, the ultrasound specialist named Joann came in to do her routine 3-day ultrasound to check Jett's progress and fluid amount. When she saw the heartbeat of our son, she saw the red flag and notified Dr. Kempner that something was wrong (she didn't let us know that there was something wrong so we wouldn't freak out). The doctor came in to check on me once she heard I wasn't feeling well and as soon as she saw me shivering in my fleece hoodie, she decided we needed to move back down to the labor and delivery floor and to get ready for Jett.
By the time they transported my bed two floors down which took about twenty minutes, my temperature had risen from 99.1 to 102.4! The nurses began to prep me for delivery and another doctor came in to meet us. He very calmly said that he suspects there is an infection and we need to go ahead and do a c-section to get him out. In the midst of all this, I asked Joel to call Jenn, our cousin. Joel said, "Why?" I snapped back and said, "Don't ask me why just do it! We don't even have a camer to get pictures of the birth!!!!" Joel quickly called her.
Joel's parents, Jon and Rita, were on their way from Wilmington, NC to meet their new grandson!
I decided to take a shower and even though the water was hot, I had chills. I put some warm clothes on, dried my hair and tried to calm down and crawl under the covers. After my shower, the ultrasound specialist named Joann came in to do her routine 3-day ultrasound to check Jett's progress and fluid amount. When she saw the heartbeat of our son, she saw the red flag and notified Dr. Kempner that something was wrong (she didn't let us know that there was something wrong so we wouldn't freak out). The doctor came in to check on me once she heard I wasn't feeling well and as soon as she saw me shivering in my fleece hoodie, she decided we needed to move back down to the labor and delivery floor and to get ready for Jett.
By the time they transported my bed two floors down which took about twenty minutes, my temperature had risen from 99.1 to 102.4! The nurses began to prep me for delivery and another doctor came in to meet us. He very calmly said that he suspects there is an infection and we need to go ahead and do a c-section to get him out. In the midst of all this, I asked Joel to call Jenn, our cousin. Joel said, "Why?" I snapped back and said, "Don't ask me why just do it! We don't even have a camer to get pictures of the birth!!!!" Joel quickly called her.
Joel's parents, Jon and Rita, were on their way from Wilmington, NC to meet their new grandson!
Monday, March 22, 2010
March 12, 2010...Long Weekend
March 12, 2010 to March 15, 2010...Starting out early Friday morning after the transfer from Rex to Duke, we ended up in the Triage of the Women's Hospital from 1am until 5am. Grandpa Jon and Grandma Rita were right by our sides (well...in the waiting room) after their intense drive from Wilmington at midnight. When the Labor and Delivery room was available upstairs, we finally moved up to the 5th floor and were on standby, waiting for Jett's arrival. A few hours went by, and we were both stable. They were monitoring Jett's heartbeat as well as mine, pumping antibiotics through my IV to prevent an infection, and checking vitals every three hours. By the time 5pm rolled around without any signs of contractions or distress, the doctors ordered me upstairs to the 7700 floor. The 7th floor is for pregnant women on long-term bed rest....and that was me. By wheelchair, they transported our little family again into "the closet". It was the tiniest room, especially for a 6ft. pregnant women to stay in for 7 whole weeks if their plan worked! I was already thinking about how crazy I would have been in 7 weeks after being stuck in the closet. Thank God Joel is such a social butterfly! He became friends with all of the nurses and found out quick how to get a room upgrade. By 6pm on Sunday night, we were moving to room 7734. It was a double room converted to a single, and we at least had room to move.
Uncle Cy & Aunt Linda sent Choc. covered Strawberries :)
Friday night, my friends, family, and school family began to visit! Talk about feeling like people loves you and your family...Underwood teachers and parents are truly unique and unbelieveable. From a laptop, to a dvd player and dvds, snacks, fruit, magazines, books, puzzles, manicure tools, etc. We were not going to be bored in this long journey, that's for sure. Thank you so much to all of you that thought so much of us on a Friday!
Saturday and Sunday went by very quickly. There were so many wonderful visitors to distract Joel and me. We laughed and made the best of a very scary situation. Sunday night, we got the message from our wonderful nurse, Kit. "Okay, time to move!!" Joel was on top of it from the moment we arrived in the closet, and Sunday night everyone helped move ALL of our things. There were 7 people there at that time so it was perfect....we moved in ten minutes-if that!
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