Hello, everyone!
I'm back (and not dead, as many people probably suspected
)
My doctor scheduled me for induced labor on the 21st. My husband and I showed up at the hospital that day, and they began my induction at 11:00 AM. For those of you who have never had labor induced, I'll tell you how it worked - it necessitated a shot of pitocin in my IV drip. Pitocin helps your cervix expand.
A few hours after the pitocin shot, my doctor broke my water (with a CROCHET HOOK!). She said that the fact that my water was broken would help to speed up the dilation of my cervix.
My cervix did expand, but not as quickly as it should have. 30 hours after the pitocin shot, my cervix had only expanded to 9cm, and 10cm is necessary to have enough space for the baby to come out. My doctor THEN told me that she thought I'd need a C-section because my bones were too close together "down there" for the baby's head. You'd think that she would already have known that, having examined me repeatedly in the previous weeks, right? But we went ahead with the C-section on the 22nd...
I gave birth to the most beautiful, perfect little baby boy, and my husband and I were so happy. We brought him back to our hospital room, and he spent the night with us on the 22nd.
On the 23rd, we were notified that the baby's white blood cell count was very high, indicating an infection. Why? Because he sat in my stomach for so long after my water had been broken - 24 hours! According to info on the internet, a baby is never supposed to be inside the mother for longer than 18 hours after the water is broken... another thing that my doctor should have known (or prevented). My son had become septic!
He had to go to the NICU for three days, but we were able to take him home on Monday. I went home on Sunday (one day sooner than I was supposed to) because staying at the hospital was just torture. I don't know if anyone else has a story like mine, but you'd think that after 30 hours of labor and a C-section, you'd be able to get some SLEEP in a place like a hospital, right? No. They come in your room at all hours of the day and night, wanting to check your blood pressure, bring food to you, take your empty food tray away, take out your trash, check your incision, check your other body parts (which I won't mention), ask you personal questions about whether you've had various bodily functions happen, give you medicine... the list goes on and on. Ideally, all of these things could happen at one time, and then you could get some sleep. But no, like I said, they happen all day long, and all night long. The worst thing is that they come into your room unannounced. Well, they do knock, but it's "knock, knock, open the door." They don't wait for you to say, "come in" or "don't come in, I'm not decent," or whatever. You could be half-dressed, or not dressed at all, or having a nurse examine a personal part of your body, and people will just walk RIGHT in the door. It's bad enough when it's a female, but when it's a man who's coming in to take out your trash or remove your food tray, it's downright undignifying for a woman who just gave birth.
My poor husband, who has a bad back, slept on the most uncomfortable fold-out chair for four nights, and my bed wasn't much better. He and I were SO sleep-deprived when I left the hospital on Sunday that it's taken until today for us to feel "normal" again. He stuck by me the whole time that I was there, never leaving my side unless he went home quickly for an hour or two to take care of our animals. I have an amazing husband! Despite my husband's efforts, and despite the fact that my parents so kindly stopped by the house off and on as well, we returned home to a pretty filthy house... which is what happens when you have puppies who are not supervised 24 hours a day. I've spent the last few days of my life cleaning the house and catching up on sleep. The house is finally 100% clean now! My son is such a good baby, thankfully. He rarely cries, and it's only when he needs something (diaper change, bottle. etc.). Taking care of a baby has turned out to be less difficult than I expected it to be!
Sorry to rant, but I really want anyone who had not yet had a baby to know what I went through at the hospital. For our second child, the plan is to come home immediately after I give birth to the baby, even if that means that we'll need to hire a private nurse to take care of me for a few days afterward. No more hospital stays for me - I cannot imagine going through something like that again. I feel like I have post-traumatic stress disorder now - I can't even change my clothes in my own bedroom without feeling like someone is just going to walk in unannounced, LOL!
All of that being said, I think I'll be back in full swing with work by tomorrow, although I probably won't be at the actual office for another week or so. I really can't move around too much after having had major surgery. This experience, even the worst parts of it, was SO worth it. My baby boy is so beautiful that I can't even look at him without crying tears of happiness and awe. Thank you to everyone who has been so understanding throughout my pregnancy
Gods- sorry that this is so off-topic. Please feel free to move it if you'd like.
edit - it's supposed to say "Gods" above, but it won't let me correct it.
edit again- why does it keep putting "Gods" when I type the word "Gods?" Gods. Will that work? So weird, LOL!
edit again - ok, I get it now. I thought I was losing my mind!! How many times can I type "M" and have it change into a "G?" You guys are funny! I will type the word BACKWARDS now - we'll see if it gets changed - here it is - srotaredom.
-Tina
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