I arrived for my normal checkup at the clinic to see my doctor. My c-section had been moved from March 29th to March 15th, but due to my blood pressure issues, I was being monitored twice a week….We were monitoring blood pressure and my lab work and watching carefully for preeclampsia. I did a non-stress test to check on the baby, and they checked my blood pressures for an hour or so.
I was sent to triage at the hospital because my numbers did not look great (we had been there the week before being monitored overnight). My dad has driven me to my (routine -ha!) appointment, and so he took me down to the hospital. Again, we thought we were just doing more monitoring but by the time I got hooked up and they looked at my BP numbers and lab work, it was evident that baby had to come ASAP, and Matt was 45 minutes away. My highest BP that day was 190/90.
I had already been given steroid shots the week before to help baby’s lungs in case we delivered early. And now they gave me magnesium, which helps to prevent seizures when your BP is so high. I called Matt and told him to come NOW—we are having a baby today and as fast as possible.
He practically flew to Fayetteville. Within minutes of him arriving, they were wheeling me back to the OR. The c-section itself went pretty fast and they had him out in what felt like minutes. Hearing his cry was the very best. He arrived at 2:02pm at 35 weeks and 3 days. He weighed 5 pounds 12 ounces and was 19 inches long. For being so early, we were so grateful for his size!
Unfortunately magnesium for mom can have nasty side effects for baby. He was very lethargic and needed support breathing so he was whisked off to the NICU, and we did not get to hold him initially.
Matt followed the baby—who we hadn’t named yet—and I went back to our hospital post-partum room. They had to monitor me closely due to the magnesium and blood pressure issues, so I didn’t get to see Jack again for a few hours when they rolled him down in his incubator. It was so hard to be separated from him, but we got the very best care and I was able to go to his room and see him as much as I wanted (once I recovered a bit more).
I lost A LOT of blood after delivery, and was in a significant amount of pain when they would do their routine pushing on my uterus. My doctor told me during delivery that my uterus was actually fused to my Jpouch, so any time I had contractions or they pushed on my uterus, it pulled on my intestines. Not fun! That night I had my first blood transfusion. My nurse that night -Lynne-was the sweetest thing and gave me a back rub and foot rub around 3am. She was such an encourager to me after a VERY long and intense day that didn’t really go as we had planned.
I stayed in the hospital the full 4 days that you’re allocated for a c-section because Jack - who we named later that day- was upstairs in the NICU.
After the first 2 days, Jack started to wake up more and more as the magnesium wore off. He did awesome in the NICU - and came off oxygen fully on Day 4. Then it was just practicing feeds and weaning him off the feeding tube! We fell in love with our nurses (shout out to Carley our favorite nighttime nurse!!)
Unfortunately my blood pressures never came back down, so while in the NICU, I started blood pressure med. I began to notice that I was having headaches and feeling weak again, so I ended up having a second blood transfusion around Day 7 because I was still so anemic.
Finally, my Jpouch struggled to wake up and function (and when they open you up to do a c-section you get a TON of air in your belly), and for me this was so extremely painful because it was gas pains that reminded me of contractions - that’s how strong they were. Matt was a champ once again because he doesn’t do barf and when my Jpouch doesn’t wake up, that’s my body’s solution I guess. Ugh. It was awful.
We were so blessed to stay at the Ronald McDonald house which was just up a floor from the NICU. What a blessing!
On Day 11, Jack was discharged! He had mastered feedings and had been off oxygen for almost a week. Going home was wonderful. I had not left the hospital in all those days so it felt amazing to be free of all the cords, wires, and tubes….and to get sunshine and fresh air.
A couple of days after getting home from the hospital, I noticed my legs were sore - and it almost felt like they were bruised. Due to my intense swelling during pregnancy, I just wrote it off that they were getting “back to normal.” Thankfully my mom and a good friend encouraged me to call my doctor ….who got me in for an ultrasound on my legs. Sure enough, I have a blood clot in each leg.
So scary! I am now giving myself blood thinner injection (shots) twice a day…we are just grateful to be home!
What a journey it has been. So grateful that Jack’s recovery has been so much steadier than mine. Hopefully once we get past these blood clots, we can move on without any more hiccups in my recovery! It’s easy to be frustrated with my body, but also it has been through so much and just carried Jack for 9 months, so for that, I’m very very grateful!
Jack, we are so grateful that you are here safely and that you complete our family—we love you to the moon and back!
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