July 26th--- Reg and I :)
June 27th--- We left Sabetha at 4:45 am (!!!) because we had to be at the hospital at 6 so we could have the c-section at 8. We got to the hospital, put on a fancy gown and got hooked up to a billion machines. Around 7 am my doctor told us that the NICU was full except for ONE bed. And since I was having TWO babies, she wasnt comfortable delivering them that day because what if BOTH babies needed to go to the NICU?! Then one baby would stay at Stormont and the other baby would have to be transported to Children's Mercy (and away from me)... We could have had the babies at St. Francis but even then, we couldve ended up separated and that was the last thing I wanted. So, after we stuffed ourselves with IHOP to ease the pain of being pregnant for another week, we went home. Baby-less. And swollen and upset because the night before I had just said "Thank goodness tomorrow is baby day because I don't think my body can handle another DAY of pregnancy." And lucky me.... I got another SIX days of being swollen and miserable. So I put myself on bed rest (with the exception of going to the country club and legion games in the evenings) and I counted the minutes until I got these two babes OUT.
July 3rd--- BABY DAY AT LAST. We arrived at the hospital swollen-er than EVER. I could barely walk because I couldn't bend my ankles or knees. I was swollen up to my lower back.
Put on a hospital gown, got an IV, sat around for a few hours...
marveled at how large my stomach had grown...
and ankles/calves/knees/thighs... ugh.
And then Jacob put his scrubs on! hahahahahahaha
And then I was rolled to the operating room. I sat on the edge of the table hugging a sweet little nurse named Beverly while I got my spinal block. And then I layed down, Jacob came in and after what seemed like hours of my doctor pulling and tugging on "Baby A", Jackson Douglas was born at 1:06 pm! He was all snuggled up in my ribs and thought it was pretty comfy in there and he saw no reason to come out. I was picturing him in there holding on to my rib bones and swinging from them like they were monkey bars. I was all hopped up on some major pain killers but I heard the doctor say "And there's his eyes..." and I remember thinking "OHMYGOSHHEHASEYES!!!!"
Meeting our sweet boy for the first time :)
After Jack was born he was breathing too fast so they whisked him off to the nursery and I told Jacob to go with him because I didn't want him to be by himself :(
One minute later, Eloise Kay was born :)
Eloise and I were rolled to the recovery room and I kept asking every nurse I saw how Jack was and NO ONE would tell me and I was getting upset/falling asleep because of the drugs. I finally found out that Jack was okay when Jacob came in to see me and Eloise.
And this is one of the first things I saw when I finally woke up. What a perfect sight :)
Then my parentals came and met Eloise for the first time
We finally got to our room (Jack was still in the nursery) and EVERYONE was there. My whole family, my grandparents (both sets), and Jacob's parents (both sets). WHOA.
And then Jack Jack joined us!
And we were all together for the evening :) :)
July 4th--- Jack and Eloise were sent to the NICU in the morning. I wasn't as upset as I thought I would be. But my babies weren't sick, they just had low blood sugar. They got down there and their blood sugar got fixed and everything was fine. They were hooked up to a billion machines and they were in little incubators and it was scary seeing them like that.. But amazingly, I didnt freak out because I knew they were okay.
July 5th--- 3 blood transfusions and 1 unit of platelets
July 5th-7th--- We had MANY visitors...
And Jacob and I even got to spend some time alone with the babies in their rooms.
I will never get tired of seeing him be a dad :)
July 7th--- CT scan of my chest = fluid on my lungs = some magical drug that made me lose allll the water weight I had gained/ took care of the fluid on my lungs. I could finally see my knee caps and ankle bones again!!! Also, Jacob went back to Wamego so he could go to work the next day.
July 8th--- Even after the transfusions, my hemoglobin and platelets still werent where they were supposed to be so I was told that I would need plasmapheresis.. uhwhut? I was up in the babies' room getting my daily snuggle in and the doctor came up and told me that I needed this procedure and that I would have to be in the hospital for another whole week. So of course I burst into tears because I WANTED TO GET OUT OF THAT HOSPITAL. I was a blubbering mess and the doctor wasnt sure how to handle that so he patted my shoulder and left. I put the babies back into their cribs and sobbed all the way back to my room. I walked by the nurses' station and my sweet sweet nurse from a few days prior, Barbara, saw me and followed me into my room where I was hysterical. She hugged me and told me that she would stay with me until my family arrived. She sat next to me on my bed while I tried to explain to my parents and Jacob what was going on. FINALLY, my parents and Nana arrived at the hospital. And then to my surprise, Jacob walked in the door. He came to hospital and he hadn't even told me he was leaving work :) What a welcome surprise! Two nurses came in and explained everything to my family and my nurse reminded me that I didnt HAVE to do this. I could wait a day and see where my hemoglobin levels were at... So after much deliberation, we waited a day.
July 9th--- My levels had gone up! No scary procedure thing for now! Jacob decided to stay the night in the hospital with me and THANK GOODNESS. That night I developed a fever and it got up to 103....which meant I couldn't go see my babies for 24 hours. I had my blood drawn, the doctor on call came and took a look at me, someone listened to my lungs, they moved my iv, and then some other doctor came in and had to draw blood out of the artery in my wrist? I dont know. It hurt and I had a big ole purple bruise on my wrist for a few days. They gave me antibiotics and since I was all hormonal and stuff, I cried. Because I WANTED TO GO HOME and because I was sad that I couldnt see my babies :(
July 10th--- Levels continued to go up, I kept my fever down, Jacob returned to work, Eloise got to go home!!
July 10th--- Levels continued to go up, I kept my fever down, Jacob returned to work, Eloise got to go home!!
I read once "The bigger the bow, the better the mama."
Truth.
Eloise left with my mom, nana, and Reggie. I was so sad that she was leaving without me but I was so happy she was healthy enough to go home and that Jack and I were hopefully right behind her! That night, I was scared I would get another fever so I called my favorite dad and asked him to come stay the night with me so I didnt have to be alone in case something happened. Nothing happened and everything was fine. YAY.
July 11th---Jack and I get discharged!! AT LAST.
Some miscellaneous pictures that were taken during our hospital stay..
HOME!
And my favorite picture, us as a family of four :)
