This post has been a long time coming! I am so happy to be back. I have been needing to write. Where have I been, you ask? That is a long story, but I hope to unload some of it here. There is so much to tell, and it is more than one post. So I hope to write a few posts over the next week or so.
The main reason I have been absent is due to busyness, stress, family problems, and health problems. I am a mom of two young children: Joshua is 3 1/2 and Rachel is 10 months. I also pastor two churches which takes a good bit of time. I am in the process of ordination in the Methodist Church which requires participation in a Residency group which meets once a month, all day. That is an extra requirement, in addition to all the normal pastoral duties.
My in-laws have had their fair share of health problems (see my last post from November 2012). Finally in November, my mother-in-law was able to go to the nursing home. Once she was there, we were still really busy. We had to pay her bills and run errands for her. It was a little overwhelming. Not long into that arrangement, my husband and his mother had a little falling out. We spent several months dealing with the fallout from that, and trying to fix things. My mother-in-law was released from the nursing home in February because the board that ran the nursing home said she was too healthy to be there. She had to go back home for awhile. Matt's aunt was supposed to be staying with her, but she stopped. Matt's mom was too proud to tell Matt or his half sister that she was staying home alone because she wanted to be independent. Well, one morning she fell and broke both ankles and one leg. She went to the hospital. They did surgery. During her surgery she had a stroke. Now she is back at the nursing home and she will stay there indefinitely.
While all of this was going on, Matt was dealing with his own health problems. He got sick in November. We thought it was the flu. The doctor said it was sinus infection, then bronchitis. He was given medicine, but he didn't get any better. We finally found out, after about 2 1/2 weeks of sickness, that he had mono. Well, with his mono he had a bad case of vertigo. As the mono began clearing up, the vertigo was getting worse. So Matt began a long journey of visiting specialists. We needed to get the vertigo cleared up. It started with a trip to the ENT, the allergist, the immunologist, the neurologist, and then back to the stomach doctor. None of the doctors found what was causing the vertigo. The neurologist found a cyst on Matt's brain (scary, but nothing serious). They are going to watch it and see if it changes. Down the road they may need to remove it. Finding the cyst did answer some other questions for us, though. Matt also got to see the stomach doctor and have the last test he needed that was put on hold last fall with everything else that was going on. Matt's test came back good. He has nothing like Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, which is a major blessing. Matt's stomach problems were due to stress, and our family doctor, with help from the neurologist decided that headaches from stress was what was causing the vertigo. Matt is on some new medicines now, and everything seems to be better.
Due to missing so much work, when Matt got the all clear to return to work, he decided to find a new job. Matt started working there a month ago. He loves it! And it has been a blessing for us. Matt had been unhappy with his former job for quite sometime.
Our family has seen a lot of changes and tests in such a short period of time. But with Matt's medication and new job, it finally feels like we have turned a corner. Please continue to remember us in your prayers. I will update about the children and myself more later (hopefully this week). Until next time.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
A Much Needed Update
This update has been long overdue. I'm sorry it has been two months. So much has happened the last two months. The month of September that I expected to be busy turned into a busy September and October with many unexpected challenges.
When I wrote last, I mentioned that Matt's dad may have had a stroke. He did indeed have a stroke. And that stroke threw him into full-blown dementia. He spent a week in the hospital. We were worried about long-term care for Matt's parents. This incident was enough to qualify him to get into a nursing home which was both an answered prayer and a problem. We had full-time care for his dad, but now we had to worry about his mom because his dad was her caregiver. It was possible that his stay there was only going to be temporary, but now it is permanent due to an aortic aneurysm which cannot be operated on. This is a sad situation for all of us.
After Matt's dad went to the nursing home on September 11, we had to step in and help out with Matt's mom due to the fact that other family couldn't or wouldn't help. We had to find and provide care for his mom. Matt and I had to rearrange our schedules and our lives to get her to dialysis three days a week, to get her to the nursing home to visit, and to get her errands done and her bills paid. It was tough on us, but if you can't count on family, who can you count on. We were hoping to get her into a nursing home, but even as sick as she is, she wasn't sick enough. To get her into the nursing home it would require a three day hospital stay. On Saturday, October 27, Matt's mom had a couple mini-strokes that the doctors are calling TIAs. She was in the hospital until Thursday, November 1. So when she came out, she went to the nursing home with Matt's dad. That was an answered prayer for us all, but we hate it was under these circumstances.
We had our own problems these last two months outside of Matt's parents. Matt was pretty sick. Matt hurt his back in September. Due to his parents and his back, Matt did not work at all in September. Thank goodness for FMLA! Matt went back to work on October 8 with restrictions due to his back. Matt missed some more time in October due to his mom's hospital stay, an eye injury, and a cyst by his ear. With all of this stuff coming up, finding out about Matt's stomach and the sleep apnea test have been put on hold. We will start trying to find out about his stomach problems after the first of the year.
The kids are doing well. Josh turned three on November 1. THREE!!! How did that happen? We celebrated his birthday with a Thomas the Train party on November 3. Josh had a great time and got a lot of nice things. Rachel will be four months on the 18th of this month. I can't believe that! Rachel is growing like a weed. She sleeps through the night and loves to laugh and smile. Both of our kids are tall for their age; thanks Dad.
Things are going well with me. We finally seemed to find a treatment that helped with my headaches. All this extra stress just hasn't been helping. I had a really busy time, but I made it through. Charge conference went well. We will be entering Advent soon, which is a very busy time in the church but I think it will be a very familiar and welcome distraction after all the chaos. I can't believe Thanksgiving is in 16 days. Wow! I've only bought one Christmas present, so I better get busy.
Well, this is the abridged version of what has been going on with us. I have said enough so I will be leaving now. I promise it will not be two months until you hear from me again. Things seemed to have finally calmed down some. But as always, I would appreciate your prayers for our family.
When I wrote last, I mentioned that Matt's dad may have had a stroke. He did indeed have a stroke. And that stroke threw him into full-blown dementia. He spent a week in the hospital. We were worried about long-term care for Matt's parents. This incident was enough to qualify him to get into a nursing home which was both an answered prayer and a problem. We had full-time care for his dad, but now we had to worry about his mom because his dad was her caregiver. It was possible that his stay there was only going to be temporary, but now it is permanent due to an aortic aneurysm which cannot be operated on. This is a sad situation for all of us.
After Matt's dad went to the nursing home on September 11, we had to step in and help out with Matt's mom due to the fact that other family couldn't or wouldn't help. We had to find and provide care for his mom. Matt and I had to rearrange our schedules and our lives to get her to dialysis three days a week, to get her to the nursing home to visit, and to get her errands done and her bills paid. It was tough on us, but if you can't count on family, who can you count on. We were hoping to get her into a nursing home, but even as sick as she is, she wasn't sick enough. To get her into the nursing home it would require a three day hospital stay. On Saturday, October 27, Matt's mom had a couple mini-strokes that the doctors are calling TIAs. She was in the hospital until Thursday, November 1. So when she came out, she went to the nursing home with Matt's dad. That was an answered prayer for us all, but we hate it was under these circumstances.
We had our own problems these last two months outside of Matt's parents. Matt was pretty sick. Matt hurt his back in September. Due to his parents and his back, Matt did not work at all in September. Thank goodness for FMLA! Matt went back to work on October 8 with restrictions due to his back. Matt missed some more time in October due to his mom's hospital stay, an eye injury, and a cyst by his ear. With all of this stuff coming up, finding out about Matt's stomach and the sleep apnea test have been put on hold. We will start trying to find out about his stomach problems after the first of the year.
The kids are doing well. Josh turned three on November 1. THREE!!! How did that happen? We celebrated his birthday with a Thomas the Train party on November 3. Josh had a great time and got a lot of nice things. Rachel will be four months on the 18th of this month. I can't believe that! Rachel is growing like a weed. She sleeps through the night and loves to laugh and smile. Both of our kids are tall for their age; thanks Dad.
Things are going well with me. We finally seemed to find a treatment that helped with my headaches. All this extra stress just hasn't been helping. I had a really busy time, but I made it through. Charge conference went well. We will be entering Advent soon, which is a very busy time in the church but I think it will be a very familiar and welcome distraction after all the chaos. I can't believe Thanksgiving is in 16 days. Wow! I've only bought one Christmas present, so I better get busy.
Well, this is the abridged version of what has been going on with us. I have said enough so I will be leaving now. I promise it will not be two months until you hear from me again. Things seemed to have finally calmed down some. But as always, I would appreciate your prayers for our family.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Sickness, Sickness, Go Away!
I am absolutely, positively, sick of sickness! Sickness, please leave our family!
It has been a rough month, to say the least. And this next month will be just as rough with all we have to do, and even rougher if sickness stays around.
Let me start with last month. When Rachel was exactly 2 weeks old she came down with a fever. I didn't even have to take her temperature (I didn't want to be the bad guy), she was that hot to the touch. Matt was supposed to go back to work for his second night since Rachel was born, so I took Rachel to our doctor. My parents were coming down to meet me there so they could sit with Josh in the waiting room. Rachel's temp was 101.4 via her right ear, 102.1 via her left, and when the nurse came back to take her rectal temp, it was 103.3. I knew we were going to get sent to the hospital. Any baby under 3 months of age with a fever of 100.5 or great goes to the hospital so they can rule out meningitis. So off to the hospital we went. Matt left work, Josh went with my parents to their house, and off we went to the hospital. I was scared. They took blood, urine and tested her for meningitis (spinal tap). They started antibiotics. It broke my heart for her to go through all of that. They have to let the cultures grow which takes 48 hours. So we were going to be at the hospital until Friday, at the earliest. At 12 hours her cultures were clean. Again at 24 hours they were still clean, which is an excellent sign (if they are clean at 24 hours, it is very unlikely anything will show up). At 36 hours (Friday morning) she was still clean, so Rachel's doctor told us we would leave Friday evening. It turned out that Rachel just had a virus. I was so thankful she was okay, but that is something I never want to repeat again.
The day we took Rachel to the hospital, I got a bad headache. I assumed it was from stress, hormones, and/or doing too much, too soon after my c-section. Two weeks later, I was still dealing with that headache. After talking to my mom, I went to the doctor. I had been struggling to get an appointment with our doctor due to vacation and him being booked up, so I went to urgent care. The doctor's consensus there was that I was suffering from tension headaches that turned into a migraine. He gave me several medicines. Some of them made me sleepy so my parents helped out with the kids. After several days, they were not helping like I thought they should be, plus I was getting sick to my stomach. So this time, I was off to the ER after being unable to secure an appointment with my doctor. I have seen and talked to several doctors about my headaches. We have struggled to find successful treatments and the cause. The consensus at this point appears to be a combination of things: migraine, stress (thus causing tension headaches), as well as hormones and my eyes. The current glasses I wear are a prescription given in 2008. I have had two pregnancies since then. I know my prescription has changed. When I wear my glasses I get headaches. My glasses were prescribed for distance: driving, watching TV, reading far away, etc., so I only wear them some. Now, I wear them a lot less. Maybe after the busy month of September passes, I will find some time to go to the eye doctor.
Joshua and Matt have also struggled this past month, although Joshua has been the least sick of us all. Josh got a fever one day. It turns out it was from a molar coming through. I am so thankful his teething is almost done! Then another day he fell off our bed and hit his head on my dresser. It was bleeding horribly! We took him to urgent care. No stitches or gluing needed, thank goodness! I pray all Josh's injuries will require no stitches or gluing, but I am not holding my breath: he is our child and he is all boy!
Matt has been a different story. His stomach has been acting up. He has been so sick and in so much pain. I thought the stomach trouble was over when he got his gallbladder removed, but we have been dealing with similar issues. Matt was experiencing typical stomach virus symptoms, but what concerned me most was that he had a fever and was complaining of horrible pain especially when he bent over. Day 2 of these complaints I talked him into going because of the fever and the pain. I was worried about his appendix. Our doctor didn't have any appointments that day, so he went to the ER. They thought it was from a virus. They gave him medicine and wrote him out of work for that day and the next. Initially, Matt felt the medicine was helping, but then, by the next evening, he was back to just as bad as he had been, if not worse. Friday, Matt got in with our doctor. Our doctor started the ball rolling on getting tests done. He felt it was possible Matt, with his frequent, serious stomach issues, has something like Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. So, Monday a week ago, Matt had an upper GI. The doctor found evidence of serious acid reflux and he took some biopsies, but did not find evidence of Crohn's disease or an ulcer. He suspected the biopsies would be clean. But during the procedure he found evidence that Matt may have sleep apnea because he struggled for breath while he was under. Matt followed up with our doctor this past Thursday. Our doctor feels it is imperative to test for sleep apnea first. So on the 17th of this month, Matt will have a sleep study done. After that, we will resume the search for his stomach troubles with a colonoscopy. If the colonoscopy is clean, Matt will have the test where he will drink the Barium and they will look in his intestines. I hope they find the answer soon. I don't want him to suffer any more. Once they found out what is causing the stomach trouble, then we will know how to treat it. I also hope he does not have sleep apnea.
This month will be busy, as well. I hope everyone gets to feeling better and stays healthy. It has been rough, and we have so much going on. Matt's business has inventory October 1, so he will start working weekends. He also has the sleep study on September 17. I have Charge Conference on the 29 and my consultation before it is on the 19th, and there is a lot of paperwork to prepare for that. In addition, I have two meetings this month in Columbia. We also have Rachel's 2 month checkup which includes shots. And I will have my last appointment with my OB this month. All this is in addition to our normal schedule. Plus, we may have to start looking for an assisted living place to get his parents into. Their health has been failing and they need some help. As I write this, Matt has gone to take his father to the hospital. They think he may have had a stroke. It's just a lot to take on right now. We would appreciate your prayers right now. We could certainly use them. When October 2 gets here, I think Matt and I might crash. But we can't because then it is time to plan two birthdays: mine on the 22nd of October and Josh's on November 1st. Then it will be time to get ready for the holidays. Wow, there is so much going on! It makes me tired just thinking about it all.
It has been a rough month, to say the least. And this next month will be just as rough with all we have to do, and even rougher if sickness stays around.
Let me start with last month. When Rachel was exactly 2 weeks old she came down with a fever. I didn't even have to take her temperature (I didn't want to be the bad guy), she was that hot to the touch. Matt was supposed to go back to work for his second night since Rachel was born, so I took Rachel to our doctor. My parents were coming down to meet me there so they could sit with Josh in the waiting room. Rachel's temp was 101.4 via her right ear, 102.1 via her left, and when the nurse came back to take her rectal temp, it was 103.3. I knew we were going to get sent to the hospital. Any baby under 3 months of age with a fever of 100.5 or great goes to the hospital so they can rule out meningitis. So off to the hospital we went. Matt left work, Josh went with my parents to their house, and off we went to the hospital. I was scared. They took blood, urine and tested her for meningitis (spinal tap). They started antibiotics. It broke my heart for her to go through all of that. They have to let the cultures grow which takes 48 hours. So we were going to be at the hospital until Friday, at the earliest. At 12 hours her cultures were clean. Again at 24 hours they were still clean, which is an excellent sign (if they are clean at 24 hours, it is very unlikely anything will show up). At 36 hours (Friday morning) she was still clean, so Rachel's doctor told us we would leave Friday evening. It turned out that Rachel just had a virus. I was so thankful she was okay, but that is something I never want to repeat again.
The day we took Rachel to the hospital, I got a bad headache. I assumed it was from stress, hormones, and/or doing too much, too soon after my c-section. Two weeks later, I was still dealing with that headache. After talking to my mom, I went to the doctor. I had been struggling to get an appointment with our doctor due to vacation and him being booked up, so I went to urgent care. The doctor's consensus there was that I was suffering from tension headaches that turned into a migraine. He gave me several medicines. Some of them made me sleepy so my parents helped out with the kids. After several days, they were not helping like I thought they should be, plus I was getting sick to my stomach. So this time, I was off to the ER after being unable to secure an appointment with my doctor. I have seen and talked to several doctors about my headaches. We have struggled to find successful treatments and the cause. The consensus at this point appears to be a combination of things: migraine, stress (thus causing tension headaches), as well as hormones and my eyes. The current glasses I wear are a prescription given in 2008. I have had two pregnancies since then. I know my prescription has changed. When I wear my glasses I get headaches. My glasses were prescribed for distance: driving, watching TV, reading far away, etc., so I only wear them some. Now, I wear them a lot less. Maybe after the busy month of September passes, I will find some time to go to the eye doctor.
Joshua and Matt have also struggled this past month, although Joshua has been the least sick of us all. Josh got a fever one day. It turns out it was from a molar coming through. I am so thankful his teething is almost done! Then another day he fell off our bed and hit his head on my dresser. It was bleeding horribly! We took him to urgent care. No stitches or gluing needed, thank goodness! I pray all Josh's injuries will require no stitches or gluing, but I am not holding my breath: he is our child and he is all boy!
Matt has been a different story. His stomach has been acting up. He has been so sick and in so much pain. I thought the stomach trouble was over when he got his gallbladder removed, but we have been dealing with similar issues. Matt was experiencing typical stomach virus symptoms, but what concerned me most was that he had a fever and was complaining of horrible pain especially when he bent over. Day 2 of these complaints I talked him into going because of the fever and the pain. I was worried about his appendix. Our doctor didn't have any appointments that day, so he went to the ER. They thought it was from a virus. They gave him medicine and wrote him out of work for that day and the next. Initially, Matt felt the medicine was helping, but then, by the next evening, he was back to just as bad as he had been, if not worse. Friday, Matt got in with our doctor. Our doctor started the ball rolling on getting tests done. He felt it was possible Matt, with his frequent, serious stomach issues, has something like Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. So, Monday a week ago, Matt had an upper GI. The doctor found evidence of serious acid reflux and he took some biopsies, but did not find evidence of Crohn's disease or an ulcer. He suspected the biopsies would be clean. But during the procedure he found evidence that Matt may have sleep apnea because he struggled for breath while he was under. Matt followed up with our doctor this past Thursday. Our doctor feels it is imperative to test for sleep apnea first. So on the 17th of this month, Matt will have a sleep study done. After that, we will resume the search for his stomach troubles with a colonoscopy. If the colonoscopy is clean, Matt will have the test where he will drink the Barium and they will look in his intestines. I hope they find the answer soon. I don't want him to suffer any more. Once they found out what is causing the stomach trouble, then we will know how to treat it. I also hope he does not have sleep apnea.
This month will be busy, as well. I hope everyone gets to feeling better and stays healthy. It has been rough, and we have so much going on. Matt's business has inventory October 1, so he will start working weekends. He also has the sleep study on September 17. I have Charge Conference on the 29 and my consultation before it is on the 19th, and there is a lot of paperwork to prepare for that. In addition, I have two meetings this month in Columbia. We also have Rachel's 2 month checkup which includes shots. And I will have my last appointment with my OB this month. All this is in addition to our normal schedule. Plus, we may have to start looking for an assisted living place to get his parents into. Their health has been failing and they need some help. As I write this, Matt has gone to take his father to the hospital. They think he may have had a stroke. It's just a lot to take on right now. We would appreciate your prayers right now. We could certainly use them. When October 2 gets here, I think Matt and I might crash. But we can't because then it is time to plan two birthdays: mine on the 22nd of October and Josh's on November 1st. Then it will be time to get ready for the holidays. Wow, there is so much going on! It makes me tired just thinking about it all.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Our Amazing Little Girl
Our little girl is so amazing! I am absolutely in love! She is such a good baby. I had honestly forgotten what it is like to have a new baby in the house. Even though we are sleep deprived, it is all worth it. I am so happy with everything.
I will be honest, when I was nearing the end of my pregnancy with Rachel, I wondered a lot if I would be able to love her the way I love my little boy. I just did not think I would have room in my heart to love her the way I love Josh. Plus, after everything we went through with our baby boy, I questioned if the depth of my love for her could even come close to what I have for Josh. Boy was I wrong! There is plenty of room to love more children. I just feel more love. And I love her just as much as I love Josh, just in a different way than I love Josh because she is a girl. I feel an overwhelming need to protect her. I don't have the same need to protect my son because I know he will be like his dad and able to take care of himself in most ways.
Rachel is like Josh in some ways, but she is also very different. Rachel looked like Josh when she was born. That was the first thing I said to Matt about her. Rachel does not cry very much. Rachel does not care for loud noises like her brother, but she can sleep through anything. Also, Rachel has long fingers and toes like her brother. I am praying Rachel will get those long eyelashes that Josh and Matt have.
There are some differences between Rachel and Josh, though. Josh needed his pacifier. Rachel is indifferent about it. Josh was easily agitated which I believe came from spending 5 weeks in the commotion of the NICU. Rachel is much calmer. Josh had acid reflux and Rachel barely ever spits up which is so much easier to deal with. Josh didn't mind getting his diaper changed; Rachel screams her head off throughout the ordeal. Hopefully, that will change as she ages.
I also think how my kids look and act is too funny. Josh looks like Matt, but acts more like me. Josh also prefers me. Rachel looks just like my baby picture now. Rachel is bald just like I was, but the bit of hair that is coming in appears to have a reddish tint, just like my natural color. Rachel is opposite of her brother; she prefers being with her daddy. I am not totally sure yet because she is so young, but her demeanor appears to be more like her dads. This all works out perfect if you ask me!
Some things we have learned about Rachel in her first three and a half weeks:
-She does not need a pacifier
-She does not like her car seat; but she will sleep in the car
-She fusses horribly when she is sick, otherwise she rarely cries unless it's diaper time or bath time. Josh does not fuss when he is sick.
-She loves to watch the fan and shadows on the wall, but she does not like bright lights. Her brother loved lights.
-She has her days and nights mixed up. She will sleep 4 or 5 hours at a time during the day, but at night she is up every 2 1/2 hours or so.
-She seems to prefer sleeping in someone's arms or in her bouncy seat or up against her Boppy instead of completely flat.
I'm looking forward to see what we learn about Rachel in the coming days and weeks.
I will be honest, when I was nearing the end of my pregnancy with Rachel, I wondered a lot if I would be able to love her the way I love my little boy. I just did not think I would have room in my heart to love her the way I love Josh. Plus, after everything we went through with our baby boy, I questioned if the depth of my love for her could even come close to what I have for Josh. Boy was I wrong! There is plenty of room to love more children. I just feel more love. And I love her just as much as I love Josh, just in a different way than I love Josh because she is a girl. I feel an overwhelming need to protect her. I don't have the same need to protect my son because I know he will be like his dad and able to take care of himself in most ways.
Rachel is like Josh in some ways, but she is also very different. Rachel looked like Josh when she was born. That was the first thing I said to Matt about her. Rachel does not cry very much. Rachel does not care for loud noises like her brother, but she can sleep through anything. Also, Rachel has long fingers and toes like her brother. I am praying Rachel will get those long eyelashes that Josh and Matt have.
There are some differences between Rachel and Josh, though. Josh needed his pacifier. Rachel is indifferent about it. Josh was easily agitated which I believe came from spending 5 weeks in the commotion of the NICU. Rachel is much calmer. Josh had acid reflux and Rachel barely ever spits up which is so much easier to deal with. Josh didn't mind getting his diaper changed; Rachel screams her head off throughout the ordeal. Hopefully, that will change as she ages.
I also think how my kids look and act is too funny. Josh looks like Matt, but acts more like me. Josh also prefers me. Rachel looks just like my baby picture now. Rachel is bald just like I was, but the bit of hair that is coming in appears to have a reddish tint, just like my natural color. Rachel is opposite of her brother; she prefers being with her daddy. I am not totally sure yet because she is so young, but her demeanor appears to be more like her dads. This all works out perfect if you ask me!
Some things we have learned about Rachel in her first three and a half weeks:
-She does not need a pacifier
-She does not like her car seat; but she will sleep in the car
-She fusses horribly when she is sick, otherwise she rarely cries unless it's diaper time or bath time. Josh does not fuss when he is sick.
-She loves to watch the fan and shadows on the wall, but she does not like bright lights. Her brother loved lights.
-She has her days and nights mixed up. She will sleep 4 or 5 hours at a time during the day, but at night she is up every 2 1/2 hours or so.
-She seems to prefer sleeping in someone's arms or in her bouncy seat or up against her Boppy instead of completely flat.
I'm looking forward to see what we learn about Rachel in the coming days and weeks.
Monday, August 6, 2012
July 18, 2012 - The Big Day and my Best Day
It has been a long time; too long actually. Weeks have gone by since I last wrote. Reason being - we have a baby! Rachel Elizabeth is here! And she has been for three weeks on Wednesday. If you can't tell by the post title, July 18th was the big day. A perfect date for a birthday!
That morning I was supposed to go in for a doctor's appointment at 10:30. At 8:00, the receptionist at my OB's office called and said my OB had to go in for an emergency delivery. So we rescheduled my appointment for Friday. About 8:45 the terrible contractions returned: fiercer, stronger, and longer than they had ever been. It got to the point where I had trouble talking or thinking because of the pain. I felt like we had to be getting closer. 9:30 AM: back pain; terrible, horrible pain like I had never felt before. I diligently counted and timed my contractions off and on for two hours. At some time past 11:00 I called my OB's office. She had not returned to the office yet. I spoke with the nurse. We discussed my symptoms and she felt I needed to be seen in L&D at the hospital, especially since my contractions were longer and the back pain was unbearable.
So back we went to L&D for the fourth time (I think). We dropped Josh at my in-laws and headed to the hospital. I was nervous. We got to the hospital around 12:15. Once I got up to a room and connected to the monitors it was apparent I was having the kind of contractions they wanted me to (YES!), but then came the bad news: I was no more dialated than I was exactly one week before at my OB appointment (you have to be kidding me! What are these contractions doing?!) My nurse, Beth, was wonderful. She was on the phone with my doctor trying to figure out what to do. I can't be induced because I had a previous c-section. Induction causes harder and stronger contractions which could cause a uterine rupture. Plus, my OB expressed that even if she could induce, she wouldn't want to do it before 38 weeks at the absolute minimum, unless it was necessary to induce before. I was 37 weeks and 4 days.
I really think they were just going to send me home even though the consensus appeared to be that I just might be one of those women who had hard contractions and never dialated enough (this was not good news, especially since I wanted to deliver naturally). To me, it seemed like if I was one of the women who wasn't going to dialate, then Rachel was ready to come out. I had been having bad contractions for 2-3 weeks. I felt like my little girl was trying to tell us something. I started to worry and get a little scared at that point.
The hospital has a rule that the baby has to move a certain number of times in a certain amount of time, and also to have a certain heartrate. Beth and my doctor were concerned. Rachel was moving an acceptable amount for a 35 or 36 week baby, but I was almost 38. They needed Rachel to move more, and she just wouldn't do it. They gave me food and sugar drinks to help; still no luck. My doctor ordered a special ultrasound called a Biophysical Profile. It measures the baby in 5 areas with a maximum score of 2 points in each area for a best possible score of 10. So we went down to ultrasound and had this hour long test. The ultrasound tech couldn't tell us anything. We were so anxious.
When we got back to the room. Matt and I were talking. Matt had kept saying in the hospital that afternoon, he didn't want to get sent home again without a baby. He said he just wished they would go ahead and do a section so we could meet Rachel. That was not what I was wanting to hear, even though I wanted to meet Rachel as much as he did. We talked more about that until Beth returned. We asked Beth about the scoring. She said if we got a 7 or better they would leave us alone and we would be sent home. If we scored a 5 or less, we would definitely be delivered and most likely by c-section. I started to get freaked out. This was starting to be like Josh all over again. Beth said she would return when she knew something.
Matt called his mom to let her know what was going on, and practically no time later, Beth returned. I asked how Rachel did. Beth said she scored a 2. I knew Matt would be happy with what that meant, but my heart sank. I asked what we were going to do. She said she had talked to my doctor and we were going to do a c-section that night. I asked what was wrong, and Beth said that all she knew was my uterus was not a safe home for Rachel anymore. I asked if she will be okay. Beth said she should if we get her out soon. Then I asked the question that broke my heart: if she would need the NICU. Beth said she shouldn't, but some 37 week babies do better than others. This was about 4:45 pm.
All I can say is that God was with us. Apparently, Heather has c-sections better on short notice! My doctor came in to talk to us before the surgery. We asked what had gone wrong. She said my placenta wasn't working properly and it was time to get Rachel out. The anesthesiologist came in to talk to me. I was really nervous about this, but felt better after talking to the woman who was going to do my spinal. I was so thankful it wasn't the man who did it last time. Matt called our parents and got everything rolling with them about finding child care for Josh and letting them know what was going on. The lab came up to take blood. When my labs came back, off to surgery we went. It was a little after 6:00 pm.
Surgery was so much better this time. I was so pleased. I handled getting the spinal a lot better. It didn't really hurt! Beth was with me through the prep and getting the spinal in. Then my doctor and her partner came in. Then they allowed Matt in about 6:25 or 6:30. The spinal made me sicker this time. I got a bad headache, I was shaking horribly, and I felt so nauseous, but the woman anesthesiologist (Lisa) was wonderful and she did everything she could to help. She helped with the nausea and the headache. She couldn't do anything about the shaking; it comes with the anesthesia. Rachel was born at 6:50 pm. They let us see her. She was so beautiful. She was breathing well and not jaundiced. Her apgar scores were 6 and 9. The second one was almost perfect. The consensus before she went to recovery with Matt was that she probably wouldn't need NICU. Praise God!
They sent Matt with Rachel to the recovery room (which is what happens with a normal c-section at our hospital). My doctors finished up with stitching me back together. I was not put to sleep this time which I was pleased about. I made it to the recovery room about 7:25. Matt and Rachel were there waiting for me. Our night nurse was doing Rachel's assessment. Rachel ended up measuring (in age) closer to a 39 week baby. I couldn't believe how that was possible. Rachel weighed 5 pounds 7 ounces (2 pounds more than her brother; she was a little small from my bad case of anemia and because of the placenta issue) and she was 19 inches long (2 inches longer than her brother). She was so beautiful. I got to hold her in recovery. There were a few tears in recovery. I did it! I was so happy! After her assessment, I asked our nurse about her prognosis. The nurse said she was doing good, and that she should not need the NICU. Rachel got her first bath and her first feeding in the recovery room.
We made it back to our room at 9:00. I was so thankful and feeling so blessed. We stayed at the hospital until Friday early afternoon. Rachel never needed to go to the NICU. She made a couple trips to the regular nursery for routine things like her hearing test and her vitamin K shot. Rachel roomed in with us our entire stay. I couldn't be more pleased! Everything worked out wonderfully. I am so thankful to God, and so thankful to my OB for getting me to this point. God gave me everything I could have wanted. It was the exact opposite of Josh. When I left the hospital Friday, I was wheeled out with my baby in my arms, just like it is supposed to be. I cried a little on the way home. This was what I had been waiting for. This was what I needed. This was the best day!
That morning I was supposed to go in for a doctor's appointment at 10:30. At 8:00, the receptionist at my OB's office called and said my OB had to go in for an emergency delivery. So we rescheduled my appointment for Friday. About 8:45 the terrible contractions returned: fiercer, stronger, and longer than they had ever been. It got to the point where I had trouble talking or thinking because of the pain. I felt like we had to be getting closer. 9:30 AM: back pain; terrible, horrible pain like I had never felt before. I diligently counted and timed my contractions off and on for two hours. At some time past 11:00 I called my OB's office. She had not returned to the office yet. I spoke with the nurse. We discussed my symptoms and she felt I needed to be seen in L&D at the hospital, especially since my contractions were longer and the back pain was unbearable.
So back we went to L&D for the fourth time (I think). We dropped Josh at my in-laws and headed to the hospital. I was nervous. We got to the hospital around 12:15. Once I got up to a room and connected to the monitors it was apparent I was having the kind of contractions they wanted me to (YES!), but then came the bad news: I was no more dialated than I was exactly one week before at my OB appointment (you have to be kidding me! What are these contractions doing?!) My nurse, Beth, was wonderful. She was on the phone with my doctor trying to figure out what to do. I can't be induced because I had a previous c-section. Induction causes harder and stronger contractions which could cause a uterine rupture. Plus, my OB expressed that even if she could induce, she wouldn't want to do it before 38 weeks at the absolute minimum, unless it was necessary to induce before. I was 37 weeks and 4 days.
I really think they were just going to send me home even though the consensus appeared to be that I just might be one of those women who had hard contractions and never dialated enough (this was not good news, especially since I wanted to deliver naturally). To me, it seemed like if I was one of the women who wasn't going to dialate, then Rachel was ready to come out. I had been having bad contractions for 2-3 weeks. I felt like my little girl was trying to tell us something. I started to worry and get a little scared at that point.
The hospital has a rule that the baby has to move a certain number of times in a certain amount of time, and also to have a certain heartrate. Beth and my doctor were concerned. Rachel was moving an acceptable amount for a 35 or 36 week baby, but I was almost 38. They needed Rachel to move more, and she just wouldn't do it. They gave me food and sugar drinks to help; still no luck. My doctor ordered a special ultrasound called a Biophysical Profile. It measures the baby in 5 areas with a maximum score of 2 points in each area for a best possible score of 10. So we went down to ultrasound and had this hour long test. The ultrasound tech couldn't tell us anything. We were so anxious.
When we got back to the room. Matt and I were talking. Matt had kept saying in the hospital that afternoon, he didn't want to get sent home again without a baby. He said he just wished they would go ahead and do a section so we could meet Rachel. That was not what I was wanting to hear, even though I wanted to meet Rachel as much as he did. We talked more about that until Beth returned. We asked Beth about the scoring. She said if we got a 7 or better they would leave us alone and we would be sent home. If we scored a 5 or less, we would definitely be delivered and most likely by c-section. I started to get freaked out. This was starting to be like Josh all over again. Beth said she would return when she knew something.
Matt called his mom to let her know what was going on, and practically no time later, Beth returned. I asked how Rachel did. Beth said she scored a 2. I knew Matt would be happy with what that meant, but my heart sank. I asked what we were going to do. She said she had talked to my doctor and we were going to do a c-section that night. I asked what was wrong, and Beth said that all she knew was my uterus was not a safe home for Rachel anymore. I asked if she will be okay. Beth said she should if we get her out soon. Then I asked the question that broke my heart: if she would need the NICU. Beth said she shouldn't, but some 37 week babies do better than others. This was about 4:45 pm.
All I can say is that God was with us. Apparently, Heather has c-sections better on short notice! My doctor came in to talk to us before the surgery. We asked what had gone wrong. She said my placenta wasn't working properly and it was time to get Rachel out. The anesthesiologist came in to talk to me. I was really nervous about this, but felt better after talking to the woman who was going to do my spinal. I was so thankful it wasn't the man who did it last time. Matt called our parents and got everything rolling with them about finding child care for Josh and letting them know what was going on. The lab came up to take blood. When my labs came back, off to surgery we went. It was a little after 6:00 pm.
Surgery was so much better this time. I was so pleased. I handled getting the spinal a lot better. It didn't really hurt! Beth was with me through the prep and getting the spinal in. Then my doctor and her partner came in. Then they allowed Matt in about 6:25 or 6:30. The spinal made me sicker this time. I got a bad headache, I was shaking horribly, and I felt so nauseous, but the woman anesthesiologist (Lisa) was wonderful and she did everything she could to help. She helped with the nausea and the headache. She couldn't do anything about the shaking; it comes with the anesthesia. Rachel was born at 6:50 pm. They let us see her. She was so beautiful. She was breathing well and not jaundiced. Her apgar scores were 6 and 9. The second one was almost perfect. The consensus before she went to recovery with Matt was that she probably wouldn't need NICU. Praise God!
They sent Matt with Rachel to the recovery room (which is what happens with a normal c-section at our hospital). My doctors finished up with stitching me back together. I was not put to sleep this time which I was pleased about. I made it to the recovery room about 7:25. Matt and Rachel were there waiting for me. Our night nurse was doing Rachel's assessment. Rachel ended up measuring (in age) closer to a 39 week baby. I couldn't believe how that was possible. Rachel weighed 5 pounds 7 ounces (2 pounds more than her brother; she was a little small from my bad case of anemia and because of the placenta issue) and she was 19 inches long (2 inches longer than her brother). She was so beautiful. I got to hold her in recovery. There were a few tears in recovery. I did it! I was so happy! After her assessment, I asked our nurse about her prognosis. The nurse said she was doing good, and that she should not need the NICU. Rachel got her first bath and her first feeding in the recovery room.
We made it back to our room at 9:00. I was so thankful and feeling so blessed. We stayed at the hospital until Friday early afternoon. Rachel never needed to go to the NICU. She made a couple trips to the regular nursery for routine things like her hearing test and her vitamin K shot. Rachel roomed in with us our entire stay. I couldn't be more pleased! Everything worked out wonderfully. I am so thankful to God, and so thankful to my OB for getting me to this point. God gave me everything I could have wanted. It was the exact opposite of Josh. When I left the hospital Friday, I was wheeled out with my baby in my arms, just like it is supposed to be. I cried a little on the way home. This was what I had been waiting for. This was what I needed. This was the best day!
Friday, July 13, 2012
The Eve of Full Term
Tomorrow will be a big day for me. I will be considered full term, having made it to 37 weeks! I am so proud and excited! It means if Rachel were born, she would be just fine! After everything we have been through, that is quite an accomplishment! Way to go, Rachel!
I am ready to meet my little girl. These last couple weeks have gone by so slow, especially since I have been getting stronger contractions. I have so many of the symptoms and signals that show labor is on its way, and I am still pregnant. I read many of the women who start showing these signs go into labor within days or a week. I have been dealing with mine for two weeks. Come on, little girl! We are so ready to meet you and you made it to a safe place! Hopefully, labor is just around the corner.
On Wednesday, I found out I am dilated over two centimeters. When I get to a four, they will keep me at the hospital. I have been getting stronger, more painful contractions. Apparently, my contractions just need to get longer. My OB confirmed for me on Wednesday that my internal scar for my c-section was done the preferable way for me to have my girl naturally. I am a candidate for a natural delivery. My doctor believes I have a 70 - 80 % chance of being successful at delivering her myself. The only thing we are worried about is her size. We haven't seen Rachel on ultrasound recently, but the last time we did, her head measured large. That could be an issue with trying to have her naturally. But I want to try. I want to go into labor. I am hoping to go into labor before July 30. She scheduled my section for the 30, and I don't think she would let me even try to have her naturally that day. I assume we would just go ahead and do the section. This pregnancy is concluding the exact opposite way of everything we dealt with when we had Josh. I am so blessed.
I have another appointment Wednesday. I will update again after that or when we have a little girl! Please remember us in prayer in the coming weeks because I am getting anxious. But I know my little girl is in God's hands, just like she has been this whole time!
I am ready to meet my little girl. These last couple weeks have gone by so slow, especially since I have been getting stronger contractions. I have so many of the symptoms and signals that show labor is on its way, and I am still pregnant. I read many of the women who start showing these signs go into labor within days or a week. I have been dealing with mine for two weeks. Come on, little girl! We are so ready to meet you and you made it to a safe place! Hopefully, labor is just around the corner.
On Wednesday, I found out I am dilated over two centimeters. When I get to a four, they will keep me at the hospital. I have been getting stronger, more painful contractions. Apparently, my contractions just need to get longer. My OB confirmed for me on Wednesday that my internal scar for my c-section was done the preferable way for me to have my girl naturally. I am a candidate for a natural delivery. My doctor believes I have a 70 - 80 % chance of being successful at delivering her myself. The only thing we are worried about is her size. We haven't seen Rachel on ultrasound recently, but the last time we did, her head measured large. That could be an issue with trying to have her naturally. But I want to try. I want to go into labor. I am hoping to go into labor before July 30. She scheduled my section for the 30, and I don't think she would let me even try to have her naturally that day. I assume we would just go ahead and do the section. This pregnancy is concluding the exact opposite way of everything we dealt with when we had Josh. I am so blessed.
I have another appointment Wednesday. I will update again after that or when we have a little girl! Please remember us in prayer in the coming weeks because I am getting anxious. But I know my little girl is in God's hands, just like she has been this whole time!
Monday, July 9, 2012
Almost full term and a lot of false labor
The title of today's blog are the things that are consuming my mind right now. First of all, today is the end of day 2 of my 36th week of pregnancy! What an accomplishment! Tomorrow I will basically be 36 1/2 weeks pregnant. And 37 weeks is considered full term. I will be there Saturday! If Rachel is born after tomorrow, unless she had a bad problem, she would most likely leave the hospital with us! Yay! I would really like to make 37 weeks, but if I delivered this week it would still be an accomplishment. I made it far: no preeclampsia, no pre-term labor, no bedrest, no steroid shots, and most likely no NICU!
All I can say is wow. I am so thrilled! I want to be happy and proud, and don't get me wrong, I certainly am, but I recognize this is nothing I did. God has been watching out for my little angel girl and taking care of both of us every step of the way. And in a matter of days or just a few short weeks, I will be mom to not one, but two miracle children. All children are gifts from God and pure miracles, but my two are especially.
The second thing on my mind: false labor. Yuck! I am experiencing it a lot. I wonder daily if I know when the real thing will happen. My doctor scheduled my repeat section for July 30, but if I go into labor before then we will have a baby. It doesn't help that my doctor said she didn't think I would last until the 30th. And it also doesn't help that I have a lot of the signs and symptoms that labor is approaching. So I start experiencing these things and think labor is just around the corner, and then come to find out, that unless my water breaks or I am having real contractions, then labor is not immediate (and apparently only about 15% of women have their water break on their own before they get to the hospital). All the other symptoms can mean labor is days away or still weeks away. Well, I have been experiencing my symptoms for two weeks on Wednesday, so needless to say labor was not very close. Hopefully it will be within a week or two. I do not want to wait to meet my little girl. I am so ready now, especially if I know she can come home with us!
Plus. I really don't want to go in for a scheduled c-section, even though that would be better than a surprise or emergency section like I had last time. My OB said if I went into labor on my own then she would let me try labor and if I could do it and wanted to then I could have a baby naturally. I want to try labor. It would be the perfect ending to my perfect pregnancy. It would make up for everything I missed last time. I would be the happiest girl in the world. There was just one thing we needed to know before we could make that decision: we needed to find out if my internal scar was vertical or horizontal. It appears my internal scar was done horizontally, which is what we wanted and which means I can labor. That was encouraging. I still need to talk to my doctor a little more about this, but I anticipate giving labor a try. I see my doctor again on Wednesday, so hopefully I will have some more idea about what may be ahead for me and Rachel in the coming days. I will update again after my appointment Wednesday.
All I can say is wow. I am so thrilled! I want to be happy and proud, and don't get me wrong, I certainly am, but I recognize this is nothing I did. God has been watching out for my little angel girl and taking care of both of us every step of the way. And in a matter of days or just a few short weeks, I will be mom to not one, but two miracle children. All children are gifts from God and pure miracles, but my two are especially.
The second thing on my mind: false labor. Yuck! I am experiencing it a lot. I wonder daily if I know when the real thing will happen. My doctor scheduled my repeat section for July 30, but if I go into labor before then we will have a baby. It doesn't help that my doctor said she didn't think I would last until the 30th. And it also doesn't help that I have a lot of the signs and symptoms that labor is approaching. So I start experiencing these things and think labor is just around the corner, and then come to find out, that unless my water breaks or I am having real contractions, then labor is not immediate (and apparently only about 15% of women have their water break on their own before they get to the hospital). All the other symptoms can mean labor is days away or still weeks away. Well, I have been experiencing my symptoms for two weeks on Wednesday, so needless to say labor was not very close. Hopefully it will be within a week or two. I do not want to wait to meet my little girl. I am so ready now, especially if I know she can come home with us!
Plus. I really don't want to go in for a scheduled c-section, even though that would be better than a surprise or emergency section like I had last time. My OB said if I went into labor on my own then she would let me try labor and if I could do it and wanted to then I could have a baby naturally. I want to try labor. It would be the perfect ending to my perfect pregnancy. It would make up for everything I missed last time. I would be the happiest girl in the world. There was just one thing we needed to know before we could make that decision: we needed to find out if my internal scar was vertical or horizontal. It appears my internal scar was done horizontally, which is what we wanted and which means I can labor. That was encouraging. I still need to talk to my doctor a little more about this, but I anticipate giving labor a try. I see my doctor again on Wednesday, so hopefully I will have some more idea about what may be ahead for me and Rachel in the coming days. I will update again after my appointment Wednesday.
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