The 1st 48 hours after Birth

I was taken back to my labor and delivery room and put into bed where my favorite nurse began to explain what was going on. My labs came back showing that I have pre-eclampsia. It must have started in the last couple weeks of Pregnancy but we never caught it because my blood pressure was always phenomenal. I did have other signs that I didn’t realize was pre-eclampsia such has blood in my snot and a pressure headaches across my forehead that lasted for two days. This was why my blood pressure was so high during labor. I was told I had to be bed ridden for 24 hours on medication called magnesium that made me feel like I had the flu. I was extremely hot, but had the chills. I was super tired and felt weak. And I continued to be drowsy for another day. My nurse informed me that they were going to take new labs to double check because it could have been something to do with blood in my urine and that what was checked showed borderline preeclampsia, I didn’t get these results until the following morning which would decide how long I would need the medication for. I was already so exhausted from my labor and birthing my daughter that this was just the icing on the cake. My nurse was very sympathetic and then told me that I had to have a catheter! This was one of the reasons I never wanted an epidural, I was scared to have a catheter. Since my labor progressed so fast in the end I never needed the catheter, but now that I am not longer numb from the epidural medication I had know choice. I was terrified, which may sound weird, but I didn’t know what to expect and we were literally just speaking on how it can make a grown man cry! I had Brandon hold my hand and the nurse sprayed me down with dermoplast and then I had a catheter. It actually wasn’t bad at all. It burned a tad but nothing that even made me flinch. After laboring any other “painful” thing done to me at the Hospital felt like nothing. I also had two pressure cuffs on my calves that went off every other minute and the blood pressure cuff on my arm. The medication began working pretty much immediately! I instantly felt hot and it was the weirdest thing.

I AM GOING TO BE HONEST. AFTER THIS POINT THINGS GOT REALLY FUZZY BECAUSE I WAS DROWSY DUE TO THE MEDICATION. I DON'T REMEMBER EVERYTHING AND THINGS MAY BE OUT OF ORDER, BUT I AM GOING TO TRY MY BEST.

It was almost 4am at this point and we all tried to get some sleep. I really couldn’t hold my daughter or pick her up without someone handing her to me because of being confined to my bed and having a catheter in I wasn’t able to move very well. I believe it was during shift change when the nurses came in to do mine and Emory's checkups that they noticed her heartrate was really low again. So they took her back to the NICU with Brandon and it broke my heart because I yet again couldn't be with her because of the preeclampsia. I was so out of it that in the moment I didn’t care much that I wasn’t able to be with her. I don’t want that to sound bad, but I felt so sick that I wasn’t myself. I am not sure how much time passed but Brandon’s mom came in to sit with me while I slept and he be in the NICU with Emory. Again I am not sure how much time had passed when Brandon, Emory, & the Pediatrician came in the room with good news. The on call Pediatrician had taken a look at her and had an EKG done. She informed us that she was perfectly healthy and that she just had a low resting heartrate. Newborns can have a resting heartrate as low as 60 for the first two weeks of life and there wasn’t anything to be concerned about, but they would keep an eye on it. This was a huge relief. The Pediatrician was super nice and made sure we were aware of everything and that made me feel really good. My nurse also came in sometime that morning and informed me that I indeed had preeclampsia and the first set of labs were not wrong. This meant that I had know choice but to stay on the horrendous medication and continue to be held captive to my bed.

I am unsure what happened after this, but I think I fell back asleep. My Mother-in-Law got to meet and hold Emory for the first time and so did my Mom who arrived shortly after this time. I was in and out all day due to the magnesium slowly being pumped in my body. Throughout the day I did try and Breastfeed with help from nurses and a Lactation consultant. Emory would latch very well, but she wouldn’t suck. She is a very lazy eater! She would take a bottle, but eat very slow. I was nervous that she wasn’t getting enough to eat. I was given a few tips and tricks on what to do to help her feed. It didn’t work too well in the hospital and realized later that part of it was because she was still so sleepy from the birth. Her being early also was a factor because she was still supposed to be in the womb.

At one of her many checkups the nurse realized that her temperature was continuously dropping. We tried skin to skin and it worked for a little while, but it dropped to 97 once again so she was put underneath the warmer. Nurses checked her sugar once again to make sure that wasn’t part of the problem, but it turned out normal so we know that it wasn’t from her burning calories, just that she is so little made it more difficult for her to maintain the proper temperature. This made Brandon turn the heat on in our room. It was basically 85° in the delivery room for the rest of the time we stayed in there. This definitely didn’t help me out because of the preeclampsia medicine already made me so dang hot adding the very hot room to the mix made for very uncomfortable conditions for myself, but we needed to do whatever we could to help Emory so I didn’t mind. This happened a few times throughout the day where she had to be taken to the warmer, thankfully since we did have to stay in the labor room there was already one set up in the room. This aloud her to not have to make multiple trips to the NICU and we were able to keep her with us.

In the late afternoon we did her announcement photos with one of the outfits I had picked out. We were not able to do the second one at that time because she had to be underneath the warmer. I was also still really tired and in pain so I barely had the energy to do the one photo, but I knew I was going to regret it if I didn’t. Thankfully I had my mom there to help me, especially since I had very limited mobility. I wasn’t able to get the photo I imagined prior to her birth, but I still got a pretty decent one and have come to accept the Hospital experience we had. It definitely was not what I pictured.

My doctor also came to see me. She checked my belly and blood pressure and decided that I could come off the magnesium 24 hours post birth instead of 24 hours post start of medication. This was a huge relief to me because it meant I could come off of the meds at 11pm. that night (Tuesday) instead of 3am. She made sure I still had my appointment cards for my postpartum check ups. I had to cancel one of them and stick with the two scheduled while I was in the Hospital because of my preeclampsia I will be seen 2 in a half weeks after discharge and then 6 weeks postpartum. I was informed that my Doctors PA will be coming by to see me the following day and that was that.

During shift change that night the nurse was checking Em and noticed that her heartrate was pretty low again. I informed her that it was normal the Pediatrician had explained it to us and she was hesitant but said okay. Later our favorite RN came in and offered to take her to the NICU volunteerly so I could get some sleep and wouldn’t be worried and continue to explained that her heartrate is normal because it is rare to see this making them worry. I was hesitant about this, but she said that it was probably the best after I asked her Profesional opinion. I was able to get a couple hours of sleep and then my nurse came in to remove the magnesium drip and my catheter. I was so relieved. I asked how long until I could get up and she said in about an hour or so. She put an ice pack on my lady parts because I was very swollen and I was able to sleep a little more. She came back at 12 and noticed that I was sleeping and she told me to get some rest and she would be back to get me up. I awoke around 2am. feeling restless and uncomfortable. I really wanted to get up. I saw how swollen my vag was and kind of freaked. I was told not to get up by myself and I still had the pressure cuffs on my calves. I dropped my glasses on the floor so I couldn’t see and I couldn’t find my call button so I started to freak a little. Brandon was asleep and even after calling his name a couple times he hadn’t woken up. I grabbed my phone and called the Hospital and told them I was a patient and needed a nurse. Thirty minutes passed and still no one had come in. Brandon finally woke up and told me to call again, but another nurse walked in at that time to give us an update on Emory. She was doing just fine, she had her first bath and was holding her temp just fine. I asked her if she could find my nurse for me because I really wanted to get up and she said that she was actually going to be my new nurse once I was transferred to postpartum which should have happened already. So she decided to help me up. We were going to get me to shower and pee in that room, but I did not have any underwear on just the ice pack and there was no postpartum care item in my labor and delivery room. My current nurse came in at that time and started helping my almost new nurse get me into a wheelchair and help Brandon put our things on a cart so we could be moved to the postpartum room. Once there I took another round of meds, the amazing NICU nurse brought Emory to our new room. She said she was showing some hungry cues and she had given her a syringe of formula because she knew we were worried about nipple confusion, but she was still showing signs of hunger so she brought her back for me to feed. Brandon took a quick shower while I was taking care of Em. Then my nurse came in to help me pee and take a shower. That was the best feeling ever! I didn’t wash my hair just my body. It was 3 in the morning and I was exhausted, but felt as if I couldn’t relax until I was clean and as comfortable as I possibly could be. I unfortunately still didn’t sleep the best because my vag was still pretty swollen so I was uncomfortable and not able to close my legs all the way. This was disheartening, but I know it was normal.

The next morning I was given some more help with Breastfeeding. We had been using a syringe so we wouldn’t have issues with nipple confusion, it did make the feedings a little more difficult and take longer, but by the end of the day my milk began to come in. I had been constantly pumping for the 4 days that we were there trying to get as much colostrum out as possible. We assumed part of the issue was my colostrum was so thick that Emory was struggling to get it out and this made her tired and cranky. By Wednesday afternoon we had enough of the syringe and decided to use the nipples that screwed onto the pre-made formula bottles.

I took an amazing nap that morning. It was the best sleep I had had since coming into the hospital. I was given more meds that morning by my nurses so I wasn’t in any pain. I was definitely still swollen in my lady region as well as my extremities and face, but that was to be expected. Thankfully my Vag swelling had gone down a lot since the night before. I was going through those ice packs like candy! My doctors PA also came to visit me. I was asked a few questions and examined. She also watched as my nurse did her exam on me. In the late morning the Hospital photographer came in to take some newborn photos of Emory and us. It wasn’t the best experience because she came right before Emory's feeding time so she started to get really fussy halfway through. We even stopped so I could try and Breastfeed her a little to get her through the rest of the session. By the end we got some really cute photos and I am happy I will have those images from the third day of her life forever. Especially since I was so sick I didn’t have the energy to document much while we were there. This still makes me sad, because I wish I could remember more or have photos and videos of the time right after she was born. But because of my preeclampsia diagnosis I was unable to do this.

Sometime after the photographer left and eating and family coming to visit I decided to take another shower and wash my hair this time. Since we were having to stay another night I wanted to be completely clean and my hair had been in a braid for 3 days and hadn’t been washed in 4. Besides the first couple of showers after birth feel so freaking good. I was able to finish up some paperwork the hospital gave me including the Birth Certificate and Social Security Card information. A representative for this process came in and verified the information and took it down to be processed. In the late afternoon Brandon curled up on his couch, Em was right beside us in her basinet, and me in my bed we all decided to take another nap.

That evening I did a lot of skin to skin with my daughter. I finally felt like I could bond with her. It was bittersweet because it took three days for me to fully gain consciousness and actually be able to enjoy just spending time with her. Holding her, Breastfeeding her, staring at her. I was so relived to not be drowsy and fully aware of my surroundings. I was still very tired, but more able to be present with Em than I ever had. That night we had our feedings and got the cutest picture of Brandon and Emory sleeping.

Thursday morning Brandon ran home to shower and grab a few things while I fed Em and got her ready for her Carseat test. I took a few photos of her in the other announcementoutfit I had picked out, but we had to cut the shoot short because the NICU nurse came in to take Em to the nursery for her car seat test. This was the last exam needed so my little girl could be discharged. At the same time my Doctor came in to check on me. I told her the PA had come by the day before and that we were all doing great. She informed me that they were sending a few prescriptions for me over to my pharmacy, some pain meds and blood pressure pills for my preeclampsia. I would take these as needed and continue to check my blood pressure. She then let me know she was beginning my discharge process and I was so freaking happy!

With Em in the NICU and Brandon still at the house I decided to start packing up and organizing as best I could. I honestlyhated how “messy” our room was. Especially since I didn’t really have the energy to organize it before. I hot most of the way through and hit a wall. My body was definitely done. I sat on my bed and asked my Father-in-Law to bring me some breakfast. He cane up and hung out with me for awhile and then I took a little cat nap until Brandon got back. Em was returned to us shortly after and we tried feeding again. Afterwards a discharge nurse came in with all of our paperwork and went over a few things. She asked that we read over the pages and then call her back when we were ready. Brandon’s Dad brought us up some lunch and we decided to eat while going through the paperwork. After calling her back in I signed on the designates lines and told us to give them about 10 minutes and someone would be by to take us down. We were all surprised by this because we thought it was going to take a little while longer. We were very unprepared when the lady showed up with the wheelchair to take us down! I was just finishing up getting dressed and we had nothing already in the car and there was no cart available to place everything on. So the 5 of us filled our hands and we headed to the lobby. I had Em in the carseat on my lap while sitting in the wheelchair. Brandon left most of out things with his Dad right outside the doors while he brought the car around and then we were rolled out. We packed the car, got in, and we were Home Bound!

My Labor and delivery/ Hospital stay story was difficult, but I wouldn’t trade it. It is just another obstacle we have overcome that we can add to our list of things making us stronger as people and as a family. I give all praise to God for seeing us through the stressful pregnancy and difficult first days postpartum. He has a plan for us and we will happily walk it. In His timing he allowed us to have Emory Rebecca and we are so happy to call her ours forever!

Thank you for following along on my Pregnancy Journey and now my labor and delivery and Hospital journey. I can’t wait for what the future holds and I hope to see you all there!