Any outcome is a good outcome (part 1)

I want to start these posts off with saying that throughout our pregnancy we prayed that God's will would be done with our baby.  We prayed that our baby would know the Lord from a young age and we looked forward to see what the Lord would do in our baby's life!  We took a class with someone from church about having a Christ centered birth.  At this class, she asked the question "What would be a good outcome?"  We all said in one way or another "Healthy mom and healthy baby."  She said "Wrong answer."  We all looked at each other puzzled.  By the end of class she told us "Any outcome is a good outcome because it is God's plan and His plans are perfect."  During this whole process we truly felt the Lord's presence and knew that He was in control.  It was amazing to see His hand in every situation and the many blessings he showed us along the way :)

After spending time with Joel, he went to the nursery with Derek to get a bath and such.  My nurse came in to help me to the bathroom and to help me clean up.  I was unable to go to the bathroom but my bladder was felt very full.  She used a catheter to empty my bladder.  While she was helping me clean up she noticed some bleeding she did not like.  She checked my uterus and said that seemed to be contracting fine.  She called in the charge nurse to get a second opinion.  The charge nurse agreed something did not seem right.  So my nurse called Dr. Gao to come in and check it out.  When Dr. Gao got there he seemed confused because he thought he did a great job reparing the episotomy and wasn't sure why I would be bleeding.  At this time Derek had returned from the nursery and let me know that Joel was under the warmer.  I'm not sure how long the doctor looked for bleeding but I was determined to not have any pain medicine.  I have a history of getting sick from pain medications and they also seem to make me very drowsy.  I didn't want either knowing that I wanted to be there for Joel.  At one point, Dr. Gao felt that everything was fine and said he would check back in later.  My nurse noticed that I was still bleeding and it was the same bleeding she noticed before the doctor arrived.  She called the doctor back in.  At this time, they asked me if I wanted any pain medication.  I asked how long it would be and the nurse said "Not as long as last time" so I refused any medication.  I'm not sure how long all of this took but in the end they decided that I had a laceration high up in my cervix that they couldn't see.  My nurse recommended packing the cervix to help it clot and stop the bleeding.  Dr. Gao agreed to pack the cervix and said that it would be removed in 6 hours.  Because of the packing, I was then not able to get out of bed.  They decided to keep me in labor and delivery at this point so I could get the care that I needed.  All I remember is that I used more of my breathing techniques during this time then when I was in labor.  It amazed me how God gave me the strength to get through these moments and helped me to focus on what I needed to do for Joel.

After the doctor and nurses left, Joel came back to our room. He was such a good baby. He only fussed when he was hungry. He nursed like a champ and we really had no difficulties with that. Derek did a fabulous job of picking up Joel, holding him and comforting him!!  Nana and PapPap came for a visit that evening and brought us some tasty dinner from Bonefish Grill :) 

We also contacted Tracey and Jeff to bring us a few things from the house that we had forgotten.  We were enjoying our visit and everything seemed just fine.  Out of the blue I started to feel not right - I was dizzy and getting really hot.  I asked Derek to go get a nurse and let them know something was not right.  After that I don't remember what happened until I heard someone call my name.  The I saw many people in my room and I was laying flat in my bed.  I'm not sure if I passed out or not.  I remember getting some ice packs to help cool me off.  It was shift change at this time so I was getting a new nurse and Dr. Chen was not on.  My nurse from the day shift stayed to make sure I was stable and let me know that my night shift nurse would take good care of me.  She told me that she called me "Trouble" because everytime she thought everything was going well, I would need her!  I ended up being her only patient of the day which is uncommon.  Dr. Chen told me I needed to lay down for a while and slowly sit up.  He also told me that he would like to leave the packing in overnight because he didn't want to remove it before the clotting occured and cause more bleeding. 

Derek contined to do a great job with Joel as I couldn't do much being stuck in bed.  I had to nurse him laying down and Derek did a great job of helping me nurse him the best I could.  I was limited to how much I could move around and nursing him was about as much as I could do.  Later that evening I remember getting was felt like contractions and they continued to get stronger.  The nurse told me this was normal and that they had given me medication to help my uterus to contract.  She said that the medication could be making the contractions stronger.  A little later after that I had the urge to push and it just kept getting stronger.  The nurse called Dr. Chen because she was concerned there was a blood clot behind the packing.  Dr. Chen decided to remove the packing at this time which relieved the feeling of needing to push.  The bleeding had stopped and everything seemed to look fine.  I'm not sure where in the timeline this falls, but there was another time that I felt like I was going to pass out again but the nurse was in the room and quickly laid my bed down and gave me ice packs and that seemed to help.  I think I was moving around too much in bed tyring to get comfortable.  My lower back was really bothering me and I was limited in how I could lay and how much I could move around.  I had an IV in one arm, a blood pressure cuff on the other arm, a catheter.  The nurse told me she could give some medication to help relieve the pain along with an anti-nausea medication so I wouldn't get sick.  She told me it was safe for mothers who were breastfeeding.  I made sure it was the smallest dose and it helped relieve the pain so I could get some rest. 

The next morning there was a shift change and I had a new nurse.  She had me slowly sit up in bed and had me eat some breakfast.  Pastor David came to visit and pray with us that morning.  Later my nurse and some other nurses came in to help me sit on the edge of the bed.  Then they had me walk to the bathroom and removed the catheter.  Dr. Chen had come in and told us that my blood count level was borderline for needing a blood transfusion.  He said that every person reacts differently and he wanted to see how my body reacted.  They put me in a wheel chair and Derek packed up the room and we went over to my postpartum room.  The bed in this room was much more comfortable!  Derek went for lunch so I could rest.  Tina came for a visit and brought some very cute outfits and flowers :)  The nurse came in to help me to the bathroom.  It took a lot of effort to go from the bed to the bathroom and back.  I couldn't go to the bathroom but asked her to empty my bladder.  While she was doing so, they noticed a large clot.  A few nurses came in and eventually a nurse from labor and delivery came in and said that the clot would pass on its own.  Nana and Aunt Danielle came for a visit.  They brought us some snacks and cute outfits :)  Derek and Nana went to get us some dinner from Chipotle - very tasty!  I then had Derek help me to the bathroom and I was able to pass the blood clot.  It seemed very large so I called the nurse to let her know.  She didn't seemed concerned and was glad I was able to pass the clot.  Maw and Pappy came to visit that evening and brought some cute outfits and had a great time taking pictures :)

That evening Joel was nursing well and around 8pm he went for his circumcision.  The procedure went well and there were no concerns.  Throughout the night, I called the nurse for help me use the bathroom and Derek helped me with Joel.  We noticed that he wasn't waking up to eat so we tried to wake him to eat.  We got help from the nurse and we were able to get him to eat by putting some formula on the roof of his mouth early in the morning.  When I was finished nursing him, I noticed that my arms did not feel right.  When I sat on the edge of the bed to use the bathroom, I realized that I didn't think I would be able to walk to the bathroom.  My nurse got the bedside toilet and helped me up to use that.  She contacted the doctor to let him know what was happening.  The next morning they did a lab to check my blood count.  Dr. Gao came in to let me know that my blood count was 4.2 and told me I needed a blood transfusion immediately.  The nurses were great and worked together to get me the blood I needed.  During the first unit of blood they realized they needed to start another port to run the blood through.  I learned through this experience that it is difficult to find veins for IVs and drawing blood. Most people will try two or three times before getting someone else while others are successful with their first try.  They called for help once they knew I needed another port and my nurse who helped deliver Joel came to do that.  She didn't have too much difficulty.  Once they switched the blood over to the new port things started going very smoothly.  I got a total of 4 units of blood.  When they were finished I felt much better.  It was amazing the amount of people we came in contact with and each and every one of them felt as though God had placed them there!  We had many people tell us they were praying for us and even had one nurse come and in and immediately ask if she could pray with us! 

To be continued with Joel's story ...