Bug222
Mum to Iain and Brodie
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Due to a partial fusion of my lumbar/sacral spine I needed to deliver via c-section as the risk of nerve and disc damage was too great to deliver vaginally. My date for my section was set for June 28th. I was exactly 38 weeks. Two days prior to my section date I had an OB appt who found my BP to be on the high side. It was sitting at about 140/90-148-100. My normal BP throughout my pregnancy had been 110/70. I wasn't showing any protein in my urine and has no other symptoms so my OB said just to monitor it. That evening I developed a mind numbing headache. DH (Matt) took me to the pharmacy to take my BP and my diastolic was 105. We went in to triage that night where they debated starting me on some Labetalol but as I still wasn't showing any protein and my section was so close they opted not to.
The morning of my section we were at the hospital for 7:00 am. My vitals were taken and my BP was still quite high and I was now showing protein. The comment was made that it was a good job that I was delivering that morning. They started my IV, did all my pre-op stuff and by 9:05 I walked into the OR. The spinal was uneventful which was a big sigh of relief as I had been really worried about it due to the fusion. By 9:32 my little boy Iain was here!!! His birth weight was 5lbs 15oz.. I was so surprised as I had expected much bigger!!!
Initial recovery went smoothly and I was able to move my legs and be d/c'd from PACU within and hour and a half. Once back to my room I was able to shuffle my way over from the stretcher to the bed. After another couple of hours in my room I was able to get up and walk to the bathroom. Unfortunately my BP was still elevated.. sitting around 150/100. All in all a very positive experience!!!!
Our first night was a little rough. I started to get really itchy once I was back in my room. The nurses kept telling me it was from the spinal but it was very localized around my abdomen and one spot on my back. Within a few hours I had developed a raised hive like rash all across my tummy and back. The OB took a look and thinks I had an allergic reaction to the adhesive used on the sterile drapes in the OR as the pattern of the rash followed exactly where the adhesive would have been. They gave me some benadryl which really didn't help but I just kept a cold washcloth on my tummy which gave me some relief. As Iain was a section baby and he is so small he was extremely mucousy. At 5 am the following morning he started to make little choking sounds in his bassinet. I looked over and his face was purple and he was struggling to expel the mucous. We frantically called the nurse and luckily being a nurse myself (though having ZERO experience with newborns) I thought to hold him stomach down in my hands and pat his back. Thankfully this worked before the nurse even arrived... scariest moment ever!!!!!!!!
The next day passed without much excitement. I was feeling pretty good with the exception of a constant headache. I was up to the shower by 9:00am and had my catheter and IV out shortly before that. That night I started to get really dizzy in addition to my headache and my BP had spiked to 156/118. I was given some medication called Adalat to try to bring down my pressure. The meds worked for that but they also drove my heart rate up to 140-150.... I felt like my chest was going to explode and was even more dizzy than before. After a few hours of constant monitoring things thankfully settled down.
After three days in the hospital we got to bring our little Iain home. he only lost 6.7% of his birthweight which the nurses were all really amazed at. His bili levels were also quite low which they said was fabulous in little babies. My BP has unfortunately stayed elevated and I have continued to have headaches so I was started on some Labetalol to help to control it. My incision is healing great and I have had minimal pain. My back has been a little sore but nothing close to the agony I was in near the end of my pregnancy.
We are so in love with our little critter it is unbelievable.
The morning of my section we were at the hospital for 7:00 am. My vitals were taken and my BP was still quite high and I was now showing protein. The comment was made that it was a good job that I was delivering that morning. They started my IV, did all my pre-op stuff and by 9:05 I walked into the OR. The spinal was uneventful which was a big sigh of relief as I had been really worried about it due to the fusion. By 9:32 my little boy Iain was here!!! His birth weight was 5lbs 15oz.. I was so surprised as I had expected much bigger!!!
Initial recovery went smoothly and I was able to move my legs and be d/c'd from PACU within and hour and a half. Once back to my room I was able to shuffle my way over from the stretcher to the bed. After another couple of hours in my room I was able to get up and walk to the bathroom. Unfortunately my BP was still elevated.. sitting around 150/100. All in all a very positive experience!!!!
Our first night was a little rough. I started to get really itchy once I was back in my room. The nurses kept telling me it was from the spinal but it was very localized around my abdomen and one spot on my back. Within a few hours I had developed a raised hive like rash all across my tummy and back. The OB took a look and thinks I had an allergic reaction to the adhesive used on the sterile drapes in the OR as the pattern of the rash followed exactly where the adhesive would have been. They gave me some benadryl which really didn't help but I just kept a cold washcloth on my tummy which gave me some relief. As Iain was a section baby and he is so small he was extremely mucousy. At 5 am the following morning he started to make little choking sounds in his bassinet. I looked over and his face was purple and he was struggling to expel the mucous. We frantically called the nurse and luckily being a nurse myself (though having ZERO experience with newborns) I thought to hold him stomach down in my hands and pat his back. Thankfully this worked before the nurse even arrived... scariest moment ever!!!!!!!!
The next day passed without much excitement. I was feeling pretty good with the exception of a constant headache. I was up to the shower by 9:00am and had my catheter and IV out shortly before that. That night I started to get really dizzy in addition to my headache and my BP had spiked to 156/118. I was given some medication called Adalat to try to bring down my pressure. The meds worked for that but they also drove my heart rate up to 140-150.... I felt like my chest was going to explode and was even more dizzy than before. After a few hours of constant monitoring things thankfully settled down.
After three days in the hospital we got to bring our little Iain home. he only lost 6.7% of his birthweight which the nurses were all really amazed at. His bili levels were also quite low which they said was fabulous in little babies. My BP has unfortunately stayed elevated and I have continued to have headaches so I was started on some Labetalol to help to control it. My incision is healing great and I have had minimal pain. My back has been a little sore but nothing close to the agony I was in near the end of my pregnancy.
We are so in love with our little critter it is unbelievable.
