Complications & Recovery (Edmund's Story--Part Two)

We were only home from the hospital three days, my mom had just headed home the evening before, and Brack had just headed back to work that morning when things changed for the worse.

Susanna was staying with us just from Sunday evening to Monday evening before flying out to work in English summer camps in Taiwan for several weeks, so she was helping me out a little that Monday (July 20th) as I adjusted to life back home. My legs had gotten rather severely swollen right around the time of our discharge from the hospital, but the doctor assured me that it was probably just residual fluid retention from the IV's...so nothing big to worry about. I spent the whole weekend once we got home with my feet propped up as they were rather painful. It was also rather disappointing to stand on the bathroom scales and not see a change in my weight from before the birth because of that swelling. On top of that I had developed some sort of pregnancy-related rash a couple weeks prior to Edmund's arrival and it was actually worse after the delivery...so I still felt pretty miserable, besides the normal lack of sleep issue!!

So that Monday I pretty much hibernated in the bed and kept Edmund within arm's reach. I had my laptop handy too and was able to finally post a picture of Edmund to Facebook and just check up on what had been going on during my week offline. However, in the early afternoon I started really feeling bad and messaged Brack that it seemed like I had the worst migraine of my life...even to the point of seeing the aura that many associate with migraines, but that I had never had before. Brack came home early from work, which was a good thing!! I do remember trying unsuccessfully at one point to read the clock across the room and being unable to make it out but truthfully what happened next I just have to go off of what others said, because I have absolutely no recollection of what occurred from about 4pm that Monday till around 4:30am Tuesday morning!!

Brack ended up calling an ambulance and I ended up being transported to the hospital with an eclamptic seizure. My blood pressure was 220+/130+!! I evidently was one of those few that have an eclamptic seizure AFTER delivery. Needless to say, I was kept in the hospital several days till they were sure that my blood pressure had regulated and was on its way down!!

So where was Edmund during all this? Well, Brack and I have some awesome friends who were a great help to us when all this happened. Leah is a NICU nurse, and she came right over and picked up Edmund and took care of him till the next day. Her husband Todd drove Brack to the hospital as he was in no shape emotionally at that point to drive. My parents came rushing back to the metroplex and my mom once again stayed at the hospital with us and helped me out with Edmund once we got him back from Leah that Tuesday afternoon.

I was finally released that Thursday evening and we finally got to be home!! My mom stayed till the next Monday and my MIL came and stayed for a week after that, so I had some help around for a while till I was back on my feet. Our Sunday School class was a real blessing during that time as well...bringing us meals every other day for almost two weeks!! It still took a bit to start feeling better and back to normal, as not only did I have to get my blood pressure under control, but just as I was getting over the rash from before, I developed hives from an allergic reaction to my blood pressure meds!! It never rains, but it pours!! However, it did improve and I am fully recouperated now. Well, except for being sleep-deprived...but that is par for the course for all new parents!!

The month of August we pretty much kept close to home, only venturing out a few times to doctors appointments with a few random exceptions, but I am now finally to a point where I can do more than just maintain the house and care for Edmund and am actually able to work on getting various small projects done. The month of September is shaping up to be a little busier, but not tiringly so...as we work on getting Edmund on a schedule and I start attending Mom2Mom and a Bible study two mornings a week at church and possibly get involved in a playgroup or two for Edmund...but we shall see how it all works out.

Next up will be a few picture posts with various adorable pictures from the past couple months...and if I am successful...maybe even a video post or two!! After that, I hope to blog more regularly!!

I'm A Mommy!! (Edmund's Story--Part One)

Since we are rapidly coming up on Edmund's TWO month birthday, I figured it was high time to catch my internet friends and family who are NOT on Facebook or Crossings up on the birth and what's been going on since!! I will probably need to break it up into several posts though...starting with the actual birth story.

In the wee hours of the morning on July 13th...my water broke!! After a quick checkup by my midwife I went back to bed for a bit, then got up for the day and straightened up the house. I laid back down in the afternoon for a while, my mom arrived, we ate Sonic cheeseburgers and visited...all the while I was having sporadic contractions. My midwife came and did another checkup that evening...and recommended some Benadryl and sleep, as I wasn't progressing much.

I took the Benadryl and lay down..and within the hour things started picking up!! By 10:30pm I was having regular contractions just a few minutes apart...so we called my midwife back. The midwives arrived, and so the night began!! It all runs together for me...but it was a LONG night. Come morning, my midwife expressed her concern that my blood pressure was too elevated for where I was at as far as dilation...and she recommended that I be transported to a hospital.

We got to the hospital and I got settled in a room. I was still having regular contractions just 2-3 minutes apart...but not progressing much at all. They finally gave me an epidural just after noon so that I at least could get some rest. I did get some rest that afternoon, but still hadn't progressed that last centimeter needed and by 5:30pm the doctor brought up the possibility of a C-section if I hadn't progressed further by 9pm.

When the doctor came back to check me just before 9pm I had finally progressed to 10 centimeters and got the go ahead to start pushing...hallelujah!! I started pushing just after 9pm and almost two hours later...at 10:58pm...Edmund made his appearance!! He was 8lbs. 7oz...and 21 inches long...and cute, of course!! Brack even cut the cord...even though all along he'd said he wouldn't!! He was so sweet and encouraging to me through all this, even though I know he was tired and freaked out by the whole thing (the birthing process itself, plus the complications).

After things settled down and I got into a room and we'd gotten a few hours of rest we found out that since it had been so long between my water breaking and Edmund's birth that his white blood cell count was elevated and the pediatrician wanted him to go on 48 hours of antibiotics there in the hospital. So we decided to stay till the course of antibiotics was done and mother and baby could leave the hospital together!! That Friday (July 17th) in the afternoon we finally got to go home. My mom stayed with us through all of this, staying up at night with us so that we could have the baby in the room except when he was getting his treatments. She stayed with us and helped me out till that Sunday night and then she headed home. My sister Susanna came in to replace mom for a day before heading off to teach in English camps in Taiwan...and then I was gonna be on my own with the little guy after that...since Brack was back at work!!

But things came up to change all that. I'll explain in my next post...