Recovery Part 2

3/1/12

As promised, Nurse Karyn came to my room at 4AM to take out the catheter and get me up to use the restroom on my own.  The catheter part was easier than I expected, the getting up out of bed was just as hard as I expected - maybe even a little harder.  I raised the head of the bed as high as it would go to make me sit as upright as possible.  I scooted myself to the edge of the bed using the handle on the bed for some leverage.  Once I got to the edge of the bed, Karyn reminded me to use my thighs to help me up rather than using my abs.  This was easier said than done.  You really forget how much you rely on your abdominal muscles for everyday movements.

Once I was up, Karyn held my arm lightly as I shuffled to the restroom.  I'll spare you most of the details here, however, there was an unexpected surprise as I was getting up from using the bathroom.  A ginormous (I'm not even exaggerating) blood clot escaped my body and completely grossed and freaked me out.  Though I really wanted to go back to bed, I knew I needed to move a bit more.  After donning my robe, Karyn helped me walk down the hallway and back to bed where I found that getting back in was just as difficult as getting out.  My stomach did not like me very much after I got positioned in bed.  G & J slept through this whole thing if I remember correctly.

Later in the day I got up to use the restroom again with help from Karyn.  She asked me if I felt dizzy at all, and I really felt okay considering the circumstances.  Just after 7, Nurse Karyn introduced me to my day nurse, Alison.  It turns out that Alison and I share a birthday.  Every time they bring you medication you have to state your name and birth date.  When Alison would bring me my meds, she would say, "What's our birthday?"  Cute.

Sometime that morning, a woman came to do a hearing test on Genevieve.  Luckily for everyone, G slept right through the test and passed with flying colors.

At this point I was receiving Toradol through my IV.  The final dose was to be at 11:30 AM, but when that time rolled around, Alison brought me a Motrin rather than continuing the Toradol.  For the rest of the day I received Motrin every 6 hours.   Once I was able to get the baby to sleep, I was able to pass her off to J to hold.  Then I could snooze for a bit.  Look at what a natural daddy J is. 

I got up later in the day to again use the restroom, and I felt very dizzy.  I had to go right back to bed because I also felt queasy.  I got up and tried again later, but that trip only resulted in me almost passing out.  Since I've passed out before, I knew the signs.  Luckily, I was close to the bed and sat right back down.  I had to sit on the edge of the bed until I had enough strength to move myself back onto the bed all of the way.  This day was not my favorite.  Oh, and I thought you all might appreciate this picture:

I especially love the yellow one that reads "FALL RISK". 

I found out that Karyn was to be my night nurse again, and I was very happy about that.  She was just so nurturing and motherly, and that's what I really needed at this point.  Alison also mentioned that Karyn lives in Anthem.  Small world I thought.        

By late evening, I was in quite a bit of pain.  On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the worst pain, I was around a 6.  I just figured this was to be expected, so in between feedings, I tried to rest the best I could.  I don't know at what point I told J about my discomfort, but he told me to talk to the nurse about my pain relief options because Motrin obviously wasn't very effective.  I was crying and started to feel depressed because I didn't feel I could properly care for Genevieve in my current state.  I finally fell asleep (and apparently was snoring up a storm), and when I awoke, Karyn was there.  She said that J mentioned how I was feeling and asked me what my pain level was.  I told her it was around an 8 now, and she apologized that my pain was allowed to get so high.  She offered me Percocet, and I gladly accepted.  I was allowed to have one Percocet every 4 hours and a Motrin every 6 hours.

Karyn and I talked for a bit.  I told her I was a teacher in Anthem, and she told me one of her girls went to Boulder Creek High School and the other went to Gavilan Peak School.  She asked me if I worked with the gal from the show Downsized, and I told her I did.  She said, "She goes to my church."  I told Karyn that I also attended St. Rose, and I thought again, what a small world.  I have a feeling that God placed this nurse in my life for a reason.  He knew I needed this connection and the kind of care I received from this woman.  I am very thankful for Nurse Karyn.  

Recovery Part 1

2/29/12

After I was all stitched up, I was moved to a bed and wheeled into the recovery room.  J was waiting for me holding Genevieve skin to skin.  It was such a lovely sight.  Of course I was ready to hold G right away, so J passed her off to me.  I tried to breastfeed, but getting her latched was a bit of a challenge.  She didn't want to open her mouth wide enough, so we had to take her off a few times until she latched better.  Thanks Dianne for helping.  I was not prepared for what a beautiful experience breastfeeding would be.  I felt an immediate connection with my daughter and one I can't begin to explain in words.  Unfortunately, waves of nausea kept coming over me, which lead to dry heaves.  The nurse brought me something to "toss my cookies" in, but I never really threw up anything.  If I remember correctly, they offered me something to alleviate my nausea, but I didn't really want any more medication.

I have no idea how long I was in the recovery room.  I only remember lying there in pure disbelief that I had my daughter in my arms.  I knew this day was coming, but the real anxiety of being a new mom was starting to set in.  Eventually I was brought to my hospital room.  The nurses asked if I wanted to scoot myself to the new bed or if I wanted them to move me.  I opted for them to move me considering I still couldn't feel my legs or even wiggle my toes.  The next several hours are really a blur right now.  I don't remember much except for holding G.  I'm sure they checked my temperature and blood pressure since they did that quite regularly.  My nurse, Deanna introduced us to the evening nurse, Karyn.  At some point they brought me a "clear liquid" dinner, which consisted of chicken broth, lime Jello, orange Jello, frozen lemon ice dessert, and a lemon lime soda.  I only had the broth, the dessert, and the soda, and then I promptly threw them all up.  What fun!  

I think I was surviving on pure adrenaline since I did not feel very tired.   I just kept holding G and staring at her.  She was so beautiful despite some imperfections from her position in the womb.  I'll tell you more about those later. 

By now J decided to head out to the car to grab some of our things.  Warning:  TMI about to be shared.  Karyn came in to check on me.  Apparently I was bleeding quite heavily and had some decent sized blood clots.  She called for Dr. Brown.   I called J, but he didn't answer.  I really needed him to hurry because I was a little scared, so I called him again.  Thank goodness he answered.  He had been talking to his mom on the phone.  I told him to please hurry because I was bleeding, but I was okay.   By the time he arrived, Dr. Brown was there, and she explained that sometimes the uterus doesn't do what it's supposed to do.  It kind of collapses, which causes clotting like I had.  They administered Pitocin through my IV to help control the bleeding.  Karyn and I discussed the idea of taking the catheter out and me getting up and walking around.  She said she'd come back at 4am to see if I was ready for that, and I agreed that it would be good.  I knew that moving around as soon as I felt able would help the healing process.       

G and I dozed off together, and once J got help unfolding the vinyl chair into a couch/bed, he too got some rest.  I know at some point J took the baby, so I could sleep better.  He also changed all of the diapers, and there were many.  He is such a good man!  It was expected that G have at least one poopy diaper within 24 hours, but she is an overachiever like her parents and had at least four poopy diapers.  At least we knew she was eating well, and her system was in good, working order.  I had no more nausea that whole night, for which I was very thankful.  I was also thankful for surviving my first night caring for a new baby after major abdominal surgery.  I don't know how people do something like that without the support of another person.  I was immensely grateful to have J with me the entire time.  He was my rock.

Special Delivery

After 41 weeks and nearly 3 days of growing my daughter, I was finally going to meet her.  There was still so much to do to prepare, but everyone told me that it wouldn't matter once Genevieve arrived.  They were right.

I went to bed just after midnight, and I laid there for about an hour.  I couldn't shut my brain down; so many thoughts were running through my head.  I must have dozed off at some point because I woke up to use the restroom and noticed it was only 1:45.  This was going to be a long night!  It took me awhile to fall asleep again, and I wasn't ready for my alarm to go off.  It was set for 4:00 AM in order for me to eat some breakfast before the cut off point.  I couldn't have anything to eat or drink 8 hours prior to the Cesarean Section, which was scheduled for 1:00 PM, and I knew I was going to need some energy.  After eating an egg and cheese sandwich, I headed back to bed where I laid there without really sleeping until my alarm went off again at 7:30AM.

I got up and did some dishes and prepared for Lisa and Angie who were going to sit for Pawncho while we were gone.  After showering I packed some last minute things for the hospital and debated whether or not to wear any makeup.  I really wanted to look halfway decent in my first photos with my new family, but I knew I'd be all teary eyed.  I opted for zero makeup, and in the end it was all good.

We arrived at St. Joe's at 11AM to check in, and our wonderful doula, Dianne arrived shortly after.  They took me in to OB triage to check the baby's position.  We all could feel where her head was (shoved up near my ribs), but Dr. Brown did an ultrasound to confirm that she was still breech.  They hooked me up to an IV to get me nice and full of fluid.  The nurses there were great and took good care of me during this short time before our special delivery.

I asked Dr. Brown if she'd seen my birth plan, and she hadn't.  They didn't have it in my file, but I brought an extra one just in case.  We went through each item on the plan, and the doctor told me the things on there that will absolutely happen, including some postpartum requests.  There were a few things she needed to check on because she wasn't in charge of that.  A couple of those items were the playing of music during the delivery and allowing J to be in the OR while they prepped me.  She also wasn't sure if we could do skin to skin immediately because of how cold it was in the room.

After some asking, Dr. Brown came back to inform us that we could definitely play music, and J could be in the OR with me after they took care of my spinal.  They said they've had people pass out on them while they watched a spinal being placed.  We were perfectly fine with this.  In fact, we were very pleased that so many things in our birth plan were easily honored.  The ones that weren't had very valid reasons, and we were comfortable not sticking to the plan with these.

Okay, I think we should move on the part you all want to hear about - the special delivery.  J helped the nurse wheel me in my bed down the halls to the OR.  Dianne followed and said a special prayer for us on the way.  J and Dianne got prepped to be in the OR, though they couldn't both be in there at the same time, and I went in for my spinal.  It was freezing in there!  They helped me up on the tiny operating table, gave me two warmed blankets, and prepped my back for the spinal.  This was not my favorite experience.  To say that it was uncomfortable is an understatement.  Once the spinal was in, however, it was mere seconds before I could no longer feel anything from the chest down.  The nurses helped me lie down and brought J in.

J took my right hand as the anesthesiologist fixed the overhead mirror to allow us to view the c-section if we chose.  Neither one of us really wanted to watch, but I did want to see them delivering Genevieve.  I glanced up in the mirror to see them pinching my belly with clamps or something, and I couldn't feel a thing, which was the idea.  The doctors and nurses were ready to begin, and I started to feel a little queasy.  The anesthesiologist said to let him know if I got nauseous, so I told him.  I don't know if the nausea was caused from the spinal or just the anxiety I was feeling about the whole situation.

I had asked the doctor to give us a play by play so we'd have an idea of what was going on throughout the procedure.  Dr. Brown let us know when they were making the first incision and when they finally opened up my uterus.  They let me know that I would feel some pressure and tugging as they delivered Genevieve from my womb.  They said they could see her little behind, and that's when I looked in the mirror.  I could see her bottom coming out followed by her legs that were straight up. They gently pulled her the rest of the way out and immediately held her over the drape so we could meet our daughter for the first time.  I'm pretty sure that's when we both started crying.

Genevieve was born at 1:43 PM on February 29, 2012 - Leap Day.  She weighed 7 pounds 6 ounces and was 20 inches long.  She had meconium on her (as you can see in the above picture), so they took her away to be wiped off and warmed.  One nurse, Heather, brought G over to me and placed her on my chest so we could have immediate skin to skin contact.  As I mentioned above, I wasn't sure if this was a request that would be granted, but Heather was instrumental in helping us achieve this goal.  J helped hold G on me, and Heather took pictures for us.  I'm not going to lie; it wasn't easy holding my daughter this way since I was hooked to an IV, oxygen, blood pressure cuff, and I think a heart rate monitor.  It was both awkward and beautiful - a moment in time I will never forget, and I'm eternally grateful to Dr. Brown and her staff for making this such a special delivery.

After this short bonding time, J took G to the recovery room to wait for me.  Dianne slipped into the OR to stay with me while I was being stitched up.  Dr. Brown asked what we were naming our daughter, and when I said Genevieve Noelle, she said how much she loved the name Noelle and had wanted it for her daughter's name.  We continued to have conversations about kids, which took my mind off of what was being done to me.  A couple of times I glimpsed it in the mirror, which was a mistake.  As soon as I was all sewn back together, they transferred me to the recovery bed and wheeled me into recovery.

Stay tuned for my next entry to find out what that first night was like for my new little family.  (You might have to wait awhile since I've gotten very little sleep these days.  In fact, I should be sleeping now, but I really wanted to finish this entry.)