Birth Week

Tomorrow Josiah is one week old. At times this week has flown by and other times I thought it would never end. So if anyone is interested in the details here is the play by play. This is a SUPER long post. Be warned!!!

I do have to say that before I had Josiah I was determined not to have any medical drama. Seems I am prone to figure out the shortcomings of the medical field.

Thursday Feb. 28.
Day of my scheduled c-section. It was a weird feeling to wake up knowing that this would be the last morning that I would have only one child. We got up and packed and took Aliza to my Mom's house where Janell would take care of her while I was in the hospital. I cried when I tucked her in the bed the night before, but I was ok when we left. I didn't get nervous until we started driving up to the hospital and I started thinking about having surgery and just exactly what a c-section is. We got to the hospital at 1:15pm. Took 3 tries to get the IV in (I have HUGE bruises to prove it), listened to the baby's heartbeat, answered a million questions, talked to the anesthiologist and at 2:50pm I walked to OR.

My c-section was great. We could call it a drive-through birth. From spinal to recovery room was 40 minutes. I got really stressed out during the spinal because I felt pain in my left hip and then my right hip...the guy had trouble finding the right spot. My belly was just too big to bend my back the way he needed me to. Then it was an interesting experience to watch your body be prepared for surgery (I was asking...."are you going to hang a drape in front of me?") Then it was equally interesting when I was pretty sure the baby should be born and the surgeon says with strain in her voice....I'm having trouble getting through your abs.

Jeremy saw Josiah being birthed at 3:04 and said "it's a boy" and we looked at each other with huge grins because our gut instinct was right. We thought from the very beginning that we would have a boy.

The rest of the surgery is seemingly super long because I can't see the baby and just have to lay there. And I start shivering and it is just really tedious. At least this surgeon was super fast.

I got to hold and feed Josiah in the recovery room where I'm still shaking and totally bundled up with blankets. The grandparents got to come in and meet him and see me and after an hour I got moved to the mom/baby floor.

Josiah got his bath, assessment and shots and after an hour and a half we found out that he weighted 8 lbs. 2 oz (was that much baby really inside me!?) and was 19.75 inches long.

Now the drama... I was in a semi-private room. Alone until 1:30am. We are allowed to keep the baby in the room with us now, but being a c-section I couldn't get out of bed until the next morning so I couldn't keep him with me unless someone else was with me. So Mom was going to spend the night. All was fine and dandy.
At 10:00pm I started having pain. I'd been using the patient controlled pain pump at about half hour intervals (I'm allowed to take it once every 8 minutes) and thought that should be sufficient. At 10:15 I realized that the pump was supposed to beep if it gave me meds when I pressed the button. It wasn't beeping. I called a nurse. She said I had been "locked out" because I had taken the allotted amount in a 4 hour period. She told me to wait 1/2 hour and it would let me have more. I get one dose and by 11:15 I'm crying because my incision is burning like fire and I can hardly move. Of course I tell the nurse my pain is only a 7 when I call and tell her that I really don't think my pump is working. She decides that she should find the order, comes back and actually checks the pump. It was programmed incorrectly....I was only being allowed .4mg in four hours when I was allowed 5mg. At 12:15 that was all straightened out and I started feeling a little better. By then my neighbor had moved into the room and at 2:00am Mom was informed that she was not allowed to stay with me since someone else was in the room. She had to leave and I had to send my baby to the nursery for the rest of the night. I got absolutely NO sleep that night.

Friday, Feb. 29
The pediatrician came in at 6:30am and said he would do the circumcision that morning. So after no sleep I sat by myself waiting for my baby to be brought back to me. Of course I'm imagining him screaming. Thankfully they brought him to me 10 minutes later and said he did great...just let out one cry.....and he was perfectly fine. Jeremy was allowed to come at 8:00am. I started feeling sick and had to get meds which kept me in bed until noon. I was so tired that I couldn't see straight and finally dozed off that afternoon.
By evening Josiah wanted to nurse every half hour to 45 minutes and I just felt like I could not humanly keep up and I really wanted to come home the next day so I started to think about supplementing with formula. Which led to lots of tears that evening when everyone came to visit. Unfortunately I did not enjoy any of my visitors and they all probably thought I was a complete nut case. I was practically sobbing and couldn't wait for them to leave.
My Mom stayed late again and we decided that Jeremy and I would talk to the baby nurse and find out how much weight Josiah had lost and then decide how to proceed. He had lost 8oz and the nurse was really nice. She put formula in his basket if we wanted it and said that we could use it if we wanted to. I did and I have no regrets. I nurse every 3 hours and give him 2oz of formula. He's happy and content and so am I.
Then....GOOD NEWS....at 10:30pm when Mom and Jeremy were getting ready to leave we were informed that I would be moving to a private room and one person could stay with me. Having my mother-in-law know a few nurses from working in the nursery for years paid off. Mom stayed with me. I nursed, she gave the bottle and I had a very content baby.
But just when I thought everything was going smoothly the nurse checked baby's temp at 1:00am and said it was the highest it could be in the normal range. She was going to the call the Dr. He ordered bloodwork. So I laid awake holding Josiah for an hour waiting for the results. Everything was fine.

Saturday, March 1
We left the hospital at 1:00pm. I was so happy to come home. I had a mild headache, but I wasn't worried about it. I wanted to see Aliza and be in my own space where I could sleep without hourly interruption.
Aliza came home and saw Josiah. That was cool. She was pretty wound up, but she was happy and had had TONS of fun with Janell. Actually when Mom brought her in she didn't want to come to us she turned her head and said No.
By Saturday night my head was really hurting. I didn't get off the couch.

Sunday, March 2
I didn't get out of bed. I kept Josiah upstairs. Jeremy had Aliza downstairs. Jeremy and I communicated by text message so that he could come up and give Josiah bottles. My head was throbbing. When I laid down it was fine, when I stood up it got progressively worse. I could barely make it to the bathroom before I was dizzy and my ears were ringing. I was able to eat laying down. I tried to drink a lot. I was pretty sure that I had a spinal headache. Lots of tears today. Jeremy was very heroic since we were alone today.

Monday, March 3
Aliza's birthday! But my head was still really hurting. I really wanted to take a shower, but decided to go back to bed. At 10:00am I decided to go ahead and call the doctor. They called me back at 2:30pm and said I should go to ER. I said that I really just wanted to know that if I did indeed have a spinal headache if it would go away by itself. They wouldn't give me information... just go to ER. So I did. One of the worst decisions I've made in a long time.
We waited 3 hours in the waiting room. Head throbbing, milk coming in, missing feedings, missing Aliza's birthday party. I'm pretty much sobbing off and on and really starting to think that I've made a bad decision (...maybe this headache isn't SOOOO bad...)
After 3 hours we go back to a room where at least I can lay while I wait another 1.5 hours to see a physician. In that time I am completely convinced that I have made the wrong decision and I'm ready to walk out. The nurse said that they would run blood work, give me an IV, do a CAT scan or MRI, maybe another spinal etc. And I am thinking, HECK NO!!!! I was ready to bolt. I hadn't had anything to drink since 3pm (now it was 7:45), I really needed to nurse Josiah, and my family was eating the Panera Bread food that we had ordered for Aliza's birthday.
I told the nurse I was better off at home and that I was ready to leave. Amazingly she said the Dr. would be in in 10 minutes (It was longer than that.) but I stayed and talked to him. He said he could give me an IV and pain meds if I stayed. I said I could drink at home and had pain meds at home. He gave me discharge papers and I left. Got home at 8:45pm. Fell onto the couch, sobbing of course.
I calm down a bit and Dad comes over and explains that he has been to a conference where they taught about praying for healing. Would I mind if he practiced? He prays. I relax. And go upstairs to bed.
At 2:30am Josiah needs to be fed. Jeremy gets him for me. I nurse laying down (like I've been doing since we came home) and then I decide that I don't have the heart to wake Jeremy up to give him a bottle after putting him through a pointless 5 hours in ER. So I decide to deal with the pain, sit up and give him the bottle. BUT WHEN I SAT UP THERE WAS NO PAIN. I sat for 10 minutes.

Tuesday, March 4
When I woke up I was hoping that it wasn't a fluke. I sat up real carefully....no pain. I walked to the bathroom...no throbbing. I laid back down. I called Dad at 8:30 and thanked him for practicing! I give God the glory for this!! I was up and around all day. In the evening everyone came back to have cake and ice cream and to give Aliza presents. I got to celebrate her birthday after all....from the rocking chair, but that was what I was planning on anyway.

Wednesday, March 5
That brings us to today. I felt great all day. I've been up and around. Walking up and down the stairs. Reading Aliza her bedtime stories. Washed the bottles and supper dishes tonight. Sitting up to type!

Josiah had his initial Dr. visit this morning. He is back up to his birth weight. But the Dr. said she heard a heart murmur so we have to take him for an echo (sonogram of the heart). She said she was pretty sure it was benign....don't worry. Yeah right! I did ok at the dr. office, but then my imagination got the best of me and I had to cry. But really, everything should be ok. He's eating really well, his color is good, he has awake times etc.

And, that, brings us to the present! Time for another feeding!