We're Home!

I can’t believe that I am already at the end of my first week home alone with Reese. I remember last week being super nervous and emotional about being alone without the constant help of Adam and my Mom. However, even though I couldn’t do a ton last week, it really helped us to get a routine down that I have now followed this week. I can get around SO much better now and am able to do things around the house that I have really been wanting to do. I still can’t drive, but that will come sooner or later. Adam is still repacking it, but told me that he can’t pack as much gauze in it each time because it is healing from the inside out. It is still open about 4 inches, but at least it’s healing from the inside and looking better! I won’t look at it, so I rely on Adam for the updates. He had my Mom look at it the other day because he thought it looked great, but my Mom had to sit down and told me not to look at it. My doctor also told me it was best for me not to look at it. Anything looks better to Adam because he has seen it all! Reese is doing great. She has been to two doctor appointments and is past her birth weight which is wonderful. She is constantly hungry and the doctor told us to feed her on demand right now if she is still hungry. We did that and apparently Reese doesn’t know her limits (like her Dad) and kept eating. This resulted in a huge coughing up fit in which she was choking and her whole body was getting tense and strained. Adam and I just held her and continued to try to burp her. It was really upsetting and honestly a little heart-wrenching to see her that way. This happened on two separate occasions where she ate too much. After talking to the doctor we are taking more breaks during feedings and taking the bottle away here and there so she doesn’t take down so much at one time. She is currently doing an average of 3 oz. at each feeding time. They suggested that we feed her less, but more frequently which would mean feedings would be every hour and a half. Before doing that we decided to continue feeding her slower and having her upright for about 20 minutes after each feeding. This has helped tremendously and we haven’t had another episode.

This morning I decided to look up “placenta abruption” to see what exactly my body went through during delivery and what the frequency is of this happening. Apparently, an average of 1 out of 200 women experience this to some degree. I learned how serious it really can be and how it can start happening long before delivery. In many cases it can start as early as the first trimester which can result in the baby not receiving adequate oxygen levels and dying in the womb. In my case, with it happening during labor, it can result in possible death for the Mom and baby due to blood loss and distress for the baby’s heart and oxygen levels. I read about a Mom who delivered a few days before I did. She took a bath (like I did) and as she stepped out felt a snapping feeling in her abdomen. Blood soon followed and her husband rushed her to the hospital where they had to do an emergency c-section (sound familar?). The baby did not make it past a few breaths. They were concerned for the babie’s life and hers as well. She had a blood clot and placenta abruption. She said that she had had sharp pains in her stomach area during pregnancy that they said was due to normal pregnancy discomfort and ligament pain (same thing I was told with my pain). Now I wonder if things were already starting to abrupt/detach even then. However, I also read that there is nothing that they can do anyway, but monitor it and depending on the severity put you on bed rest.

I also saw a Diane Sawyer special today in regard to the death rate of mother’s who deliver tripling in California. However, they did say it was like 95 women out of half a million births. A man talked about his wife having an emergency c-section and afterward she stayed in bed for 30 hours before the hospital had her walk around. She stood up to walk and collapsed. She had a blood clot in her leg that had travelled up to her brain. She passed away shortly after. As I mentioned in a previous post they put two cuffs on each of my feet immediately when we went into my emergency c-section. They stayed on me all night and the next day. The hospital was very clear that they wanted me up and walking within 12 hours of my surgery. The nurse and Adam took me on a walk down the hallways in the hospital. The Diane Sawyer special discussed the need for all hospitals to use the cuffs to prevent blood clots. They talked about how they couldn’t understand how some hospitals don’t use the cuffs and allow patients to lay down in bed so long. I didn’t understand what they were for completely, but looking back now I’m so thankful. I knew that Reese and I were very fortunate, but after reading and hearing these stories I am so much more grateful. God was with us and took care of us through everything. He spoke to the doctors and nurses and gave them the wisdom to take care of us. I now plan on talking to my doctor about my chances of having a blood clot in future pregnancies and if there is anything we can do as a preventative. She has already talked about sending me to a specialist to test my blood levels.

On a different note, we went to the hospital the other night to see our friend Andrea who is also pregnant. When it was Reese’s feeding time we went downstairs to the family bathroom to change Reese. Adam sat in the lobby area while I took out our changing mat and placed it on the changing table. Immediately after removing her diaper Reese started using the restroom everywhere. Since the changing table was curved downward she was pretty much swimming in it as it made a puddle around her. Yuck! I picked her up out of it, not knowing what to do next because I honestly needed an extra arm! I was laughing hysterically and I managed to use an arm to poke my head out of the restroom to say, “Adam, Help!” just as a nurse walked by and looked at me like I was crazy. Adam came in and said, “Oh my gosh, gross!” as he picked up the changing mat and put it in the sink. In the meantime, I’m holding Reese under her arms, letting her legs dangle, not knowing where to put her or what to do next. She just stared at me and was crying probably thinking, “Come on! Put me down! Clean me off!” Needless to say, we got it taken care of and we laughed really hard during all of it. Adam and I have had many funny moments like this and I know there will be more to come.

These last few weeks we have received so much help from family and friends. Several family members have brought us meals along with friends from school. We are SO appreciative of all of the help we have received. It has been so nice to not have to worry about cooking right now. Adam comes home and dinner is already prepared. It’s wonderful! It has allowed me to work on transitioning into my schedule with Reese without having to worry about cooking yet. It’s perfect too since I am not able to drive yet and get a lot of groceries on my own. However, my Mom came the other day and we made a trip to Target to get a few things. That was my first time to get out to a store in a while! Well, it’s just about time for me to wake up Reese for her 1:00 feeding! It’s amazing how quickly these feeding times roll around. I honestly think I feel busier now, even though I’m at home, than I did when I was working full-time and taking care of the house!