Avella's birth

February 5, 2011

About 8:30 am I had this horrible pain in my lower right abdomen. My doctor and nurse (Becky) couldn't figure out what it was. It hurt so badly that I couldn't eat breakfast. They gave me a percocet and started an IV again.

At 11:40 I finally felt up to eating my breakfast. During those few hours I felt Avella completely turning. I took a few bites of breakfast and felt a big gush. I realized that today was the day. I called Becky and told her my water was leaking. Then I debated whether or not I should call Ryan. I decided to call him, and I told him what happened. He was in Sandy with his family and told me that he would drop the boys off at home and then come to the hospital. I told him to just leave the boys with his family and come straight to the hospital. He did, thank goodness. Right as I hung up the phone with Ryan, Becky came in the room. She lifted up the sheets to take a look and I could tell by the look on her face that something was wrong. She told me it wasn't my water leaking - it was blood. We found out afterward that the blood was from my placenta detatching.

She started calling nurses, paging the doctor, and getting my bed ready for transport. As she started pushing my bed toward the door I heard her say C-section to the doctor on the phone. What was happening started to sink in. I was trying to stay calm. I remember thinking that panicking would not help Avella. My body did start shaking and tears were coming, all while I focused on breathing. I remember as I was rushed down the hallway on my bed it seemed like there were so many visitors and nurses lining the hallway and staring at me as I was rushed by.
(Funny side note: At some point while being wheeled down the hallway I noticed a piece of Cisco equipment on the ceiling. I made a mental note to tell Ryan that the hospital did use Cisco equipment. He notices everywhere we go, because he manages Cisco accounts. I tease him that he is a nerd)

I was wheeled into the OR with nurses rushing all around me. The anesthesiologist started asking me questions and explaining what would happen. He told me they were going to have to put me under, because they didn't have time to do an epidural. He was so calm. It was reassuring to have someone so calm in the midst of organized chaos. A nurse started to prep my other arm for another IV. I asked her if she could numb it first. (It seems silly now, but I had some bad, painful experiences with IVs.) In case you're wondering Becky ended up doing my IV (Her IVs were the only ones that didn't end up going bad), and no, she didn't numb it first. :)

The next thing I knew my stomach was blocked from view and Becky was up by my head talking to me. She was holding a mask and telling me that I would fall asleep and then I would wake up and it would feel like it had only been a couple of minutes. All of a sudden I felt someone pinching the skin on my stomach really hard. I, panicking, asked "Are they cutting me open?! I'm still awake! Are they cutting me open?!" Becky reassured me they wouldn't until I was out. She put the mask on and a few seconds later I was out.

I woke up in the recovery room with Becky telling me that everything went well. I asked if Ryan was there. She said he was and that Avella was doing fine. She told me her weight and length, and then I asked if she had any hair. Ryan thought it hilarious that I was so concerned whether she had hair or not.

The next thing I remember was waking up in my room. Ryan came in and told me that Avella was doing great. He showed me pictures and a movie of her. The doctor came in later and told me that once he did the bikini cut he saw that my uterus was too small on the lower part to make another horizontal incision. He cut vertically and then realized she was turned (she had turned that morning), so he had to make an incision all the way up to the top of my uterus. He told me that because of the way the incision was done that in the future I would always have to have C-sections. I am still processing that lovely news.

Becky later told me that I had lost about half of my blood. When she had done my hematocrit earlier that morning it was 39. When they did it after delivery it was 22.3. The next morning it was 22.5. The following morning it measured 21. My doctor told me that once you hit 21 you are usually required to have a blood transfusion. We talked over the risks and benefits. I was concerned about the risks. He agreed with me and told me it was my decision. I decided against it. I was able to get up and walk each day without feeling lightheaded or dizzy. He said that it would take two to three months to build up my blood supply again.

I am felling much better now, two weeks later. It is all I can do each day to shower, dress, pump, eat, and go see Avella. I am still very sore from the C-section. I went from morphine to percocet to lortab, and now I am weening off of that. So there is definite improvement. I have days where I feel that I have more energy than the day before and I realize my hematocrit must be rising. It's good to be able to see the improvement over the last two weeks. I am hoping that the healing process will just keep accelerating.

More pictures!

I'm still too exhausted to do much posting, so I thought the

least I could do was post more pictures.

Enjoy!

Avella's temporary home.

Her first smile for the camera!

The boys during their window visit.
Trevan said, "Dad the pictures made her look big, but she's not. She's tiny!"

The sweet nurses let the boys push Avella to the other nursery.

They were so proud to help.

She opened her eyes and was wide awake for most of the ride.

Look at those chubby cheeks & the double chin!

She was so mad when the nurse made her have tummy

time today. She got up on her tippy toes with her

bum all the way in the air and looked like she was about

ready to crawl away. None of us could believe it.

The nurse put her back on her side because she was so upset

and Avella immediately calmed down. I couldn't help but laugh.

Ryan says he knows why she she is so strong willed.

What is that supposed to mean? ;)

Pictures!

Avella's first day of life.

She sleeps with her arms and legs up sometimes.

So tiny! Look at all of her tubes on the side.

I still can't believe how tiny she is.

Can you believe this picture? I think Ryan

could hold her in one hand.

She looks so peaceful here.

Our first family picture.

She was actually sucking on the pacifier. Good job Avella!

She was hooked up to more stuff today.

And she had a spinal tap. :(

All of this made her more agitated today. Since she had a hard day

they decided not do do anything to her all night. They just

want her to rest. I was glad to hear that.

She was much more relaxed later tonight.

I will post details of everything that happened this weekend. I have been too tired, in

too much pain, and busy. I lost about two liters blood. We are still holding off on a

blood transfusion, but we will see how I do each day. I am very worn out from losing

so much blood and from surgery. Even as I type this I am in pain. It will be a while

before I am feeling like myself. So please be patient with me.

I don't know if I will be up for visitors the remainder of my hospital stay. Please call first

if you are thinking of coming. I will most likely be coming home on Wednesday.

I don't know if I will be happy to be going home on my birthday, or if I will be so sad

because I'm leaving Avella at the hospital on my birthday. Hmm.

I just won't think about it until it happens.

Happy birthday Avella!

Yes, today was the day that Avella decided to make her grand entrance into the world. I was rushed into an emergency C-section and everything happened very quickly. She was born at 12:04 pm weighing 3 pounds 6 ounces and measuring 16.5" long. And she has hair! I was surprised at that. I still haven't seen her in person. I should be able to tomorrow. Ryan has taken lots of pictures and movies for me to be able to see her. She is perfect. Don't worry, I will post pictures so all of you can fall in love with her like I have.

I will post the entire story when I am feeling up to it. I am still in a lot of pain and I am loopy from morphine.

Thank you everyone for your prayers and kind messages. I have felt such peace and strength throughout this crazy day. I am so grateful for all of you that have been part of this journey. I wish I could thank each of you personally and give you a big hug!

My favorite things

Here are some of the things I love about the hospital. (Yes, I have plenty of dislikes. I am just trying to keep things positive.)

1. when my family comes to visit


2. lasagna day



3. new sheets every day



4. my nurses



5. visitors



6. my quilt



7. all of the V8 I can drink



8. listening to baby's heartbeat twice a day for a half hour each time



9. playing in the wheelchair (You would do it too if you were stuck in the same room for 4 weeks.)



10. knowing that someone else is doing my laundry and dishes



11. phone calls



12. bacon every morning (Yes every morning. I've totally rationalized doing this, so just let me think it's OK.)



13. my bed that reclines with the push of a button



14. my egg crate foam mattress (My doctor ordered one for me. You definitely get special privileges being a long term patient.)



15. emails


16. looking out my window and seeing people take home their new babies and imagining their stories

Update

Thirteen days down, 15 more to go!

Well, I had my ultrasound today. Here are the details:

• The blood flow in the cord looks about the same. Last week they were concerned about it.
• My fluid measured 4.5. Last week it measured 6.8. That is measuring low. They don't like it to be under 6.
• They didn't measure baby. You have to wait 10 - 14 days between measurements for it to be accurate.

My next ultrasound is scheduled for Monday. It will have been 12 days since the last ultrasound that she was measured at. If my fluid is still low and she hasn't shown growth chances are they will induce me. My doctor wanted to induce me now, but the specialist said we should wait until we see the ultrasound Monday. They talked and both agree the best thing to do is wait until Monday. They will look at everything and decide what will be the best choice. We are all hoping that we she still makes it to 34 weeks. But if she comes earlier we will just be glad we made it this long.

Funny

Twelve days down, 16 more to go!

I am known by the nurses as the one who drinks a lot of water. So much that each new nurse I get says that one of the other nurses told them that I drink a ton. One nurse told me her goal for the night was to drink a mug each time she had to fill mine. Funny.

I was telling my nurse that I wanted to measure how much I drink in a day. She told me that the night she tried to drink as much me she couldn't keep up. She told me in a 24 hour period that I drank eleven mugs of water. Each mug is 32 ounces. That is four glasses. That means I drank 44 glasses of water in 24 hours! No wonder they talk about how much I drink.