Saturday, October 27, 2007

Gory Details -as promised. Current mood: exhausted Category: Blogging Thank you to all of you who have been leaving comments and sending me messages the last 6 weeks. The move from one child to two has proven to be a challenge. Also, my husband has found that the most reliable escape is to look busy on the computer. So, I hardly ever get near it. We are all great. Jake is a chunk weighing over 12 pounds now. His clothes are all for a six-month-old. We got our fist smiles and cooing laughs this week, which just turns us all into a stupid mess. Mena is a very protective older sister, and she hasn't yet asked to send Jake back to where he came from. I have started working out like a crazy person, going once or twice a day. I have also started with the personal trainer that I paid for in January. She's not really challenging me yet. I told he that I wanted to feel like I was going to throw-up after every time that I see her. I told her I wanted to be beaten into the ground at every session. She doesn't get it yet. Just as well. I have started to have inexplicable pain and swelling in my joints. Don't blame to exercise. It was happening way before. I have started vitamins and adding more water. My doctor says we are going to wait a week, taking handfuls of Motrin three times a day. If it doesn't get better then we'll check for arthritis. super (the lowercase s indicated my sarcasm in case it wasn't obvious). Since I know Jake is about to wake up. I want to get to the gory details of my hospital stay. If you're squimish, pregnant (Francesca, this means you), or if you still hold me on a pedestal of perfection then you can stop reading now. ** When I'm nervous, or in an uncomfortable situationn I joke sometimes to the point of being inappropriate. This was my state when we arrived at the hospital at 5 am on September 11. We were quickly ushered back to the c-section prep room and I was handed a gown. It was about 5:03 at this point. I got my IV and my monitors. The nurse commented on how regular my contractions were, and was surprised at how calm I was. I had been having these contractions for about a month, but Jake was unable to drop into my pelvis. Though I didn't say it the only thing I could think about at this point was becoming the girl in the magic trick where he saws his assistant in half. They walked me to the operating room and I sat on the table, hit my head on the light (cause I'm that tall), and took my spinal block like a champ. Still thinking about the magic trick we were about to perform. I started to get even more nervous. And by nervous I mean anxious. And by anxious I mean I was beginning to have a panic attack. (Seriously, Francesca, you need to look away) As my lower body became uncomfortable tingly and numb, I started to feel like a large cow has taken up residence on top of my chest. I was told that the science behind my emotions was due to the fact that my blood pressure had decided to take a nose dive, which apparently happens to some people. The cure for such an issue was an administration of a drug (i don't know what) and oxygen via nose tube, and rubbing an alcohol pad on my face and then tucking it under my nose tube for me to breathe. I don't know why. I'll ask next time I see the doctor. The pressure on my chest started to let up and they did the old pinch test. "Does this hurt?" "Nope (but I feel it.)" In retrospect, I should have said that whole sentence out loud, but I was so afraid that if I started talking that I would start crying uncontrollably from the fear of being sawed in half. If you had talked to me before my c-section then you would know I was nervous about the anesthesia. In past experiences it tends to wear off on me. This probably didn't help my anxiety. I was told that if I felt any pain, that they would knock me out, no problem. They made the first incision and the next one before John got to me. I know this because I felt them. I didn't actually feel pain, but I felt the precise lines of movement. When they brought John in I had never seen him so scared, probably because he had never seen me so scared. I waited patiently for the pain to start. I felt the cauterizing and the muscle movement. I felt the reach in and the pull out. I felt the movement of my insides. I then felt every stitch and every staple as they closed up. There was no pain, though. It was a very surreal experience. I saw the doctor for my six-week appointment the other day and asked her if this was normal. She looked horrified (guess not). Pressure is normal, but not detailed feeling. Oh well. Next time (of which there will NOT be) she promises I will be knocked out, because my body doesn't like anesthesia. Yipee. So there you have it. After that is a total blur, cause I had the magical morphine button. Will be posting Halloween pictures soon, so stay tuned. PS sorry for any typos or words being left out or issues of tense or grammar. I have no time to edit as the babe is a-crying. 10:47 AM - 8 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Gory Details -as promised. Current mood: exhausted Category: Blogging Thank you to all of you who have been leaving comments and sending me messages the last 6 weeks. The move from one child to two has proven to be a challenge. Also, my husband has found that the most reliable escape is to look busy on the computer. So, I hardly ever get near it. We are all great. Jake is a chunk weighing over 12 pounds now. His clothes are all for a six-month-old. We got our fist smiles and cooing laughs this week, which just turns us all into a stupid mess. Mena is a very protective older sister, and she hasn't yet asked to send Jake back to where he came from. I have started working out like a crazy person, going once or twice a day. I have also started with the personal trainer that I paid for in January. She's not really challenging me yet. I told he that I wanted to feel like I was going to throw-up after every time that I see her. I told her I wanted to be beaten into the ground at every session. She doesn't get it yet. Just as well. I have started to have inexplicable pain and swelling in my joints. Don't blame to exercise. It was happening way before. I have started vitamins and adding more water. My doctor says we are going to wait a week, taking handfuls of Motrin three times a day. If it doesn't get better then we'll check for arthritis. super (the lowercase s indicated my sarcasm in case it wasn't obvious). Since I know Jake is about to wake up. I want to get to the gory details of my hospital stay. If you're squimish, pregnant (Francesca, this means you), or if you still hold me on a pedestal of perfection then you can stop reading now. ** When I'm nervous, or in an uncomfortable situationn I joke sometimes to the point of being inappropriate. This was my state when we arrived at the hospital at 5 am on September 11. We were quickly ushered back to the c-section prep room and I was handed a gown. It was about 5:03 at this point. I got my IV and my monitors. The nurse commented on how regular my contractions were, and was surprised at how calm I was. I had been having these contractions for about a month, but Jake was unable to drop into my pelvis. Though I didn't say it the only thing I could think about at this point was becoming the girl in the magic trick where he saws his assistant in half. They walked me to the operating room and I sat on the table, hit my head on the light (cause I'm that tall), and took my spinal block like a champ. Still thinking about the magic trick we were about to perform. I started to get even more nervous. And by nervous I mean anxious. And by anxious I mean I was beginning to have a panic attack. (Seriously, Francesca, you need to look away) As my lower body became uncomfortable tingly and numb, I started to feel like a large cow has taken up residence on top of my chest. I was told that the science behind my emotions was due to the fact that my blood pressure had decided to take a nose dive, which apparently happens to some people. The cure for such an issue was an administration of a drug (i don't know what) and oxygen via nose tube, and rubbing an alcohol pad on my face and then tucking it under my nose tube for me to breathe. I don't know why. I'll ask next time I see the doctor. The pressure on my chest started to let up and they did the old pinch test. "Does this hurt?" "Nope (but I feel it.)" In retrospect, I should have said that whole sentence out loud, but I was so afraid that if I started talking that I would start crying uncontrollably from the fear of being sawed in half. If you had talked to me before my c-section then you would know I was nervous about the anesthesia. In past experiences it tends to wear off on me. This probably didn't help my anxiety. I was told that if I felt any pain, that they would knock me out, no problem. They made the first incision and the next one before John got to me. I know this because I felt them. I didn't actually feel pain, but I felt the precise lines of movement. When they brought John in I had never seen him so scared, probably because he had never seen me so scared. I waited patiently for the pain to start. I felt the cauterizing and the muscle movement. I felt the reach in and the pull out. I felt the movement of my insides. I then felt every stitch and every staple as they closed up. There was no pain, though. It was a very surreal experience. I saw the doctor for my six-week appointment the other day and asked her if this was normal. She looked horrified (guess not). Pressure is normal, but not detailed feeling. Oh well. Next time (of which there will NOT be) she promises I will be knocked out, because my body doesn't like anesthesia. Yipee. So there you have it. After that is a total blur, cause I had the magical morphine button. Will be posting Halloween pictures soon, so stay tuned. PS sorry for any typos or words being left out or issues of tense or grammar. I have no time to edit as the babe is a-crying. 10:47 AM - 8 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove