Sunday, April 1, 2012

Our crazy happenings!

Well, I have had a very eventful past few days! 

Wednesday evening we were at the hospital attending a breastfeeding class.  We learned a ton and had a good time together.  It made us so anxious for Eleanor to get here! 

We get home from our class and I started feeling funny.  It felt like I was getting a UTI.  I knew those are common in pregnant women, so I wasn’t surprised.  Well, as the hours passed it became more than just UTI symptoms.  I started feeling extreme pain in my lower back.  I actually didn’t think it was labor pains…..but thought it was kidney pain.  (I have had a kidney stone in the past and it felt the exact same.)  I tried so hard to just endure the pain, but it got almost unbearable.  Tim put his foot down and said we were going to the hospital.  We weren't sure if we should go to the ER or Labor & Delivery.  Tim ran in the ER to ask, and they told us to go to L&D.  We got checked in and they started to see what they could find out.  My urine showed no signs of a UTI or infection.  They checked Eleanor to make sure she was ok.  And thankfully her heartbeat was just as steady as ever!  They gave me a pain pill (which only took the edge off) and had me drink a ton of water.  They thought if it was a kidney stone that it would take care of it.  Well, the pain wouldn’t go away so they wanted to do an IVP x-ray to check out my kidneys.  In order to do this x-ray you have to lay completely still on a table for over an hour…..so they gave me morphine.  This was my first time having morphine…..and it was awesome! haha!  My pain was gone, at least for a few hours anyway.  (I was so nervous about having morphine with Eleanor, but I trusted the doctors and nurses.)  During the IVP they didn’t find anything wrong with my kidneys.  So, they sent us on home.  It was about 9am now.  We had been there since 2am!!!! 

I felt decent on the drive home.  Tim stopped to get me a plain biscuit to munch on to see if that would help me feel even better.  By the time we got home I started feeling bad again.  Tim and I tried to lay down and finally get some sleep.  But things didn’t work out quite so well for me.  I began to have excruciating pain in my lower back again!!!!  I felt so helpless since the IVP didn’t find anything and my urine didn’t show anything.  I thought I was just going to have to endure this awful pain.  I tried everything at home to help the pain.  I started to go a little crazy since I was also sleep deprived!  It was nutso. 

Tim woke up and said we were going to the hospital again.  I didn’t want to go and spend anymore money since they didn’t find anything the first time!   L&D said if we came back to the hospital we would have to go the the ER next time since Eleanor checked out ok.  We get there and they said it would be a 4 1/2 hour wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Words cannot describe!!!  I was balling and Tim was fuming mad.  He was trying to control himself and not lash out at the front desk people.  But he was not about to let me sit in the ER that long in such pain.  We sat there awhile and I was so embarrassed at how I looked and that I was crying uncontrollably.  I could feel people looking at me.  To make a long story short, my mom was able to pull a few strings since she knows some “high up people” at the hospital.  They were able to get me in very quick.  Thank you momma!!!! 

At the ER they gave me some more morphine (yay!) and started doing more tests.  They did an ultrasound on my kidneys and found out that I actually did have some sort of an obstruction in my right kidney.  They also found I had some blood in my urine, an infection and my white blood cell count was low.  Well, after all that, they said they were going to have to admit me to the hospital for the night because I was pregnant.   They wanted to monitor Eleanor, help me control the pain and then figure out what the obstruction was in my kidney. 

I had never stayed the night in the hospital before, so I was a little nervous.  And mostly I just worried about Eleanor the whole time.  I didn’t care what happened to me…..I just continually wanted to know if she was safe.  They got me into a room on the  L&D floor.  Then they sent a kidney doctor to come talk to us.  He said I had two options.  The first was to do surgery the next morning so he could find out exactly what was wrong with my kidney.  The second was to send me home with pain meds and hope I get over whatever was wrong.  The doctor said that either option there was a risk of going into early labor.  I was so scared about that.  Tim and I talked and prayed about our options and we decided to do the surgery. 

The next morning they came to get me for surgery around 11 am.  Everything went ok.  The doctor found that I had a matrix stone in my right kidney and some sort of obstruction.  He put a stint in to help with the obstruction.  Eleanor did awesome through the surgery!  They kept me there just a little longer after surgery to monitor Eleanor.  I was so proud of her…..she was a champ through everything. 

I finally got to go home Friday evening…..PAIN FREE!!!!!  (well, for the most part!)  I have to go back in two weeks and they will take the stint out.  They gave me meds for my recovery time. 

Saturday I rested all day in hopes that I would feel good enough for our maternity pictures.  Thankfully I did and we got to keep our appointment!  However, I didn’t get to plan out our outfits like I had hoped! haha!  But I think I like what we ended up going with. 

Sunday, my pain was not so good.  I’m not sure why.  Maybe it’s all just catching up with me.  I have heard that stints can be uncomfortable too. 

I’m just hoping and praying that me and Eleanor will continue to recover good…..and that she stays in there for a few more weeks!!!!! haha! 

This did give me quite the scare about her coming early!  Tim and I decided that we are going to pack our hospital bags this week!!!!! :)

I have got the BEST husband in the world!!!!!!  He has taken such great care of me.  I am so thankful for him and love him more than I can say! 

I hope our maternity pictures turn out ok!  Tim and I are so silly and are not the most natural in front of cameras!!! haha!  But we had an amazing photographer….so I’m looking forward to seeing what she does with our silliness. 

I guess to wrap up this reallllly long story…….

WHAT ESSENTIALS SHOULD WE PACK IN OUR HOSPITAL BAG???

WHAT SHOULD WE LEAVE HOME?

IS THERE SOMETHING YOU WISH YOU WOULD HAVE HAD OR KNOWN ABOUT BRINGING? 

Thank you for all your advice! 

Lots of Love!

Amanda

10 comments:

Courtney @ One Fine Wire said...

Good grief, lady! I'm glad everything is ok!

For your bag:
-A robe
-Slippers
-Three pairs of oversized pajamas
-Hair products
-Make-up
-Baby clothes
-Car Seat (have it already installed)
-Little snacks for during the labor/delivery (people say you can't eat, but my doctors let me have graham crackers and juice!) But you will be STARVING after you deliver. We ordered breakfast after Preston arrived - and I ate my breakfast AND Pat's! HAHA!!!
-Toiletries
-Camera/video camera

If I think of anything else, I'll let you know! So excited for ya'll :)

Theresa said...

How scary! Glad you are okay. The only thing I can think of for your hospital bag is comfy clothes, which I am sure you know :)

Theresa said...

How scary! Glad you are okay. The only thing I can think of for your hospital bag is comfy clothes, which I am sure you know :)

Natalie said...

Sweet friend! Scary! I hope the peace of God embraced both you and Tim. I am soo soo glad you and Eleanor are safe and ok now! Whew.
How about I tell you some things I packed and never got out of my suitcase, haha :) IDK why, but I seriously didn't use half of what I brought. I bought two sleep shirts and I used one of them for a short time but really I just wanted to stay in the hospital gown. I was so tired, I just didn't even care. I would say maybe ONE Pair of pjs or something, but in reality, I think most people really do stay in the gown. I never even left my room for one second until we left haha! (I labored, delivered & stayed in the same room)
Things like socks & bows for Callyn we didn't use. We had her in warm clothes and usually wrapped in a blanket w/ a hat on the whole time.
Nursing tank I did not use at all. I did wear it when leaving to go home, I guess. Nipple cream (IDK a better word for it)-they gave me a sample size at the hospital. Robe-didn't happen. Underwear-they give you mesh underwear which I thought I wouldn't want to wear, but trust me-YOU DO! :)
Things I did use and would recommend:
nursing pads, not because I was leaking but because you will be tender those first few days/weeks and they help your bra or clothes not to rub. Warm socks. Nursing sleep bras-highly highly recommend! Boppy pillow-I used it probably more in the hospital than any other time. I had stitches so getting in a comfortable position for nursing was tricky and the boppy helped me to feed her on the bed. Also idk if every baby does, but at first Callyn would nurse for an hour sometimes so my arm would have gotten tired from holding her head that whole time :) I wish I would have brought shampoo and soap-I didn't like the hospital kind.
Obvious stuff-camera, charger, laptop, phones, I brought two of my own pillows and was really glad I did.
Wish I would have brought my pump. Everyone told me not to but the nurses wanted to help me learn to use it and I didn't have it so I had to use the hospital one and they gave me the parts to keep which I'm sure cost $8 million or so ;) Cute outfits for Eleanor, swaddle blankets, hats.
And I'll end my novel there!! Now get those bags packed!!!!!

Beth Ann said...

Oh my goodness, lady. How awful and scary!!! Glad that's over with and hope Miss Eleanor will stay put a little longer and that it is smooth sailing from here on out! :)

If you are planning to breastfeed you need NURSING TANKS and lots of them! Target has them. I wore a nursing tank, p.j. pants, and a robe or a light, comfy cardigan/jacket/sweater over the tank. Great wear for having visitors and for easy access for nursing.

Otherwise I always refer people to this post:

http://www.e-tells-tales.com/2011/07/if-i-could-repack-our-hospital-bag.html

Jessica said...

I'm so glad the surgery fixed everything!!

When I had Noah, I was glad I brought some of my own clothes. Something baggy and comfy. You'll be about the size of 4/5 months pregnant after delivery. My feet were still swollen even 2 weeks after baby so I'm glad I brought slippers and flipflops to walk around the hospital.

Make sure your hubs has clothes and snacks. Just because I couldn't eat, I didn't want my man to starve!!

Basically -- pack like you would for a weekend away as far as clothes, bathroom essentials etc. Don't worry about towels. Use the hospitals, they'll get bloody and don't bother ruining your own.

I brought my own blanket which I'm glad I did after the first night, it made it seem easier to sleep.


Other than that, you really won't need much for Eleanor besides a going home outfit and her carseat! Hospital should provide everything for baby. Maybe ask someone who has delivered in your hospital before?

Lauren said...

holy cow girl! what a crazy experience! I hope you're doing tons better now!

Breeann said...

I'm so glad you are ok! Thank you, Jesus, for keeping Amanda and Eleanor safe!! :) xoxo

Unknown said...

I am praying for you!! So sorry for what happened and hope you continue to be pain free!!

It looks like everyone gave you great advice on what to bring to the hospital. Bring your boppy pillow if you can remember for breast feeding! I wish I would have remembered mine because it made it so much easier to hold the baby when I had it! Breastfeeding was much more relaxed for me when I finally got to the comfort of my own home.

Definitely bring some of your own clothes. Something comfy and soft and accessible for all the feedings you'll be doing.

Also, one thing we forgot when we had our daughter was a head-wedge thingy (sorry I don't know the technical term) for her carseat. (Yeah pretty dumb) Make sure you have one of those to keep her little wobbly head in place for the car ride home!

You won't need your own undies most likely because they will provide these mesh ones that you will LOVE for the first week or so. They are soo granny awful but believe me, you'll love them. When you leave the hospital you'll get all kinds of goodies too.

Praying for you and baby E!

Ria @ Life as a Wife! said...

Wow Amanda!!! Just catching up on blogs as I nurse my sweet baby. Wowwww. I am praising Jesus that you are all ok! Sounds like you got a for real taste of contractions that's for sure. Scary! Eleanor stay put for a bit longer sweetie... It will be worth it!!!!

As for the hospital bag because it is fresh in my mind ;)
- don't need a robe - our hospital had them
- commfy pants - I had some stitches and all I wanted was oversized pants
- nursing tanks are awesome!
- large zip up sweaters/hoodies to wear when guests come... I didn't have these and SO wish I would have!!!
- socks for your hubby. Ha. He forgot them, whoops!
- plenty of cute sleeper onesies for your new babe! Jude peed on one and the other was too big. I wanted him to look cute (and be warm) when our visitors came

Okay now that was a novel and my brain is still pretty sleepy having 4 day old. Buttttttt I am sooooo excited for to experience this. He joy is uncontainable! Oh and the epidural was the BEST decision I ever made ;) hopefully writing Jude's full birth story on Monday

Blessings!!!!!