When Ruth was just 8 days old, Keith went back to work for the first time since she was born. I was doing fine home with the girls while the boys were at school until about lunch time I started feeling kind of yucky. I had a headache, which I thought was from crying at the movie we'd watched that morning (Sophie and Sheba). But my body kind of ached too, so I took my temperature, 99, and took some tylenol; I drank some water and was feeling okay again.
I had been engorged all week since my milk had come in and it wasn't improving and was quite painful, especially on my right side by my armpit. By the time Keith got home from work that day, my headache wasn't improving, so I laid down to try to take a nap. I couldn't fall asleep I was so uncomfortable, so I knew that wasn't good! I called my OB's office and talked with the RN on call, then the doc on call, who said to keep taking some Tylenol and if wasn't better by morning, go to urgent care. If it got worse during the night, I was to go to the ER.
All night I was freezing with chills, my body ached and my fever was climbing. By 1AM it was 102.8 and Keith decided we were going to the ER. He had plans to take the boys and their grandma's to Cleveland the next day and time was short the next morning for a visit to the urgent care.
So ER visit took about 3 hours, and they decided I had pneumonia. They gave me some antibiotics and we were on our way home. Luckily my mother in law was staying with us for the weekend and had stayed with the older kids, while Ruth went with us to the ER. She was also nice enough to let us sleep in and get up with the older kids too. (Thank you!)
The antibiotics helped and with the help of regular Tylenol it was a decent afternoon with the girls. Elinore behaved well, which helped, and I squeezed in an hour nap too.
I was skeptical of the pneumonia diagnosis, but the antibiotics works, so I went with it. All along I suspected I had mastitis again. There were no visible signs of it, but everything else aligned. The chest x-ray they performed said showed the infection. Conveniently in the same area I was struggling the most in my chest! And I had no cough, who has pneumonia without a cough at all!
I had my follow up appointment with my doctor's office the following week. It was with the nurse practitioner, and she agreed with me, she thinks I had mastitis too. (This makes twice the ER has misdiagnosed mastitis for me!)
Either way, the antibiotics worked, and I'm back to normal again!
Friday, December 26, 2014
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Ruth's Birth as Told by Mommy
I woke up about 7:00 AM the morning of December 4th feeling a little wet. I laid there for just a moment before realizing I better get up and see what's going on. Sure enough, my pants were soaked down past my knees. Baby's coming! Keith was at work and the kids were all asleep, I better get everyone moving!
I called Keith and told him, who came home. I called my doctor's office, who said come in right away. So I called our sitter to see if they could put our boys on the bus and watch Elinore for the day. Since I was almost a week over due, I'd been working at home and Elinore had been staying with me all week. They were more than happy to help us out, and we had a plan in place!
I jumped in the shower, because I didn't want to be yucky and who knew when I'd get another shower! I grabbed the last minute things for my bag and put it together while Keith got home and put his together.
We dropped the kids off at the sitters and headed to the hospital. On the way we called our mom's to let the know, and to get my mother in law to come a day early for the weekend to watch the kids. She was already planning on coming for Friday, but now she could come get Elinore from the sitters and get the boys off the bus too.
We arrived at the hospital about 8:15AM and they took us back to a room. They were quite busy that day though and it took a few hours before we accomplished much. I wasn't experiencing contractions with any frequency, but by the time we arrived at the hospital, my pants were soaked again and I'd leaked on the floor as they were getting us in the room too.
The nurse was asking us the questions to get us admitted, but kept getting interrupted they were so busy. Finally around 10:00 they started pitocin to get the contractions moving. I also got a new nurse that wouldn't be interrupted as many times too. She was pretty awesome. Just before 11:00 the nurse got a birthing ball for me to try out, but when I was there, or anywhere by the bed, they couldn'tk eep the monitor on the baby, which we had to have because of the pitocin, so lucky me had to stay in bed the whole time. I don't think that helped with my comfort level.
About 11:00 Keith headed down to the new Subway in the hospital to get some lunch, since he could eat, and I couldn't! Turns out the subway was brand new and their credit card machine wasn't working. So he had to come back and get the keys to go down the street to the bank to our ATM. While he was gone, the contractions got much more noticeable! They were lasting about 30 seconds and were happening about 2-3 in a 5 minutes period. I sat there alone through those starting to wonder where Keith was and watching Gilmore Girls on the tv as I tightly gripped the rails on the bed for every contraction.
Finally about about 45 minutes to an hour Keith returned. I told him I thought I needed to use the restroom at the point and he called the nurse for me. At this point I was wondering why I even wanted a natural birth, the epidural wasn't so bad with Elinore. After I got back into the bed reluctantly, she checked me, and I was only dilated to 4 cm. The nurse offered the epidural and Keith was all for it too. I started thinking 4 is a LONG way from 10, and the last hour hasn't exactly been fun, so without much convincing, I agreed. It was roughly 12:20, and she said it would be about a half hour until they would have it going for me. I though a half hour, I can do that, but in that half hour, it got really rough! About 20 minutes later, just before the anesthesiologist arrived, I had progressed to 7 cm. She also thought my water hadn't broke and called the doc to come break my water. (I have no clue how my water wasn't broken from the amount of fluid I'd already leaked away that day, that piece is still a mystery to me.) So I curled up as close to fetal position as you can get when you're almost 41 weeks pregnant and held onto the side of the bed just moaning through the contractions at this point.
When the anesthesiologist arrived and found out I was that far along, he didn't want to do the epidural, the nurse asked if I was sure and by this point, I had mentally prepared myself for that relief, so I wasn't quitting on it now! So the nurse pushed for me, and he did agree to do it, but the were warning me along the way about it may not be completely effective and asking if I could sit still etc. I answered their questions, in what I remember being a much less than nice tone (sorry!). They sent Keith to the hallway and the nurse held me hands as they cleaned my back. She knew I was progressing quickly, so she told me to let her know if I felt any wetness. And not 30 seconds later my water broke and I was ready to push. The epidural was no longer and option and the nurses were very quickly trying to tear the bed down for delivery. There was no doctor yet, and by the time I was situated for delivery, the nurses were all saying the baby was there, they could see the head, don't push the doctor isn't here yet!
I wasn't taking so kindly to the wait for the doctor instructions. There were several "what are we waiting for I'm ready to have a baby" comments, and "what's taking so long!?" once the doctor arrived just moments later (thankfully!). One push later and they head was out; one to two more and baby was here! I had my eyes closed through nearly the last hour as the pain was so awful, and once they told me the baby was here, I was wondering what was taking them so long to tell me if it was a boy or a girl! Finally I did hear one of the nurses say it's a surprised they don't know what it is! Followed by, it's a girl!
The doc then reminded me to open my eyes and look at my baby as Keith cut the cord and the moved the baby to my chest. I of course opened my eyes then and loved her moving right to me. Almost immediately she grabbed my finger and held on.
With my other hand I was holding onto Keith's hand quite tightly as the discomfort wasn't quite over yet. I delivered the placenta and had to have a few stitches to finish up. I remember the water being hot they used to clean up. I remember I nurse saying they warm it, not cook it! Then after a few minutes I heard the doctor saying it'd be just two more minutes and she'd be done. After what felt like 5 minutes, I reminded them of that two minute comment. Apparently a stitch took longer than expected because she cut it shorter than needed. I just wanted that part over so I could enjoy my baby. The doc kept saying to focus on baby not what she was doing, but the needles and pain, made that hard!
In the end, we had a happy, healthy baby girl, and that is what mattered! We love you Ruth Ann Haynes. :)
I called Keith and told him, who came home. I called my doctor's office, who said come in right away. So I called our sitter to see if they could put our boys on the bus and watch Elinore for the day. Since I was almost a week over due, I'd been working at home and Elinore had been staying with me all week. They were more than happy to help us out, and we had a plan in place!
I jumped in the shower, because I didn't want to be yucky and who knew when I'd get another shower! I grabbed the last minute things for my bag and put it together while Keith got home and put his together.
We dropped the kids off at the sitters and headed to the hospital. On the way we called our mom's to let the know, and to get my mother in law to come a day early for the weekend to watch the kids. She was already planning on coming for Friday, but now she could come get Elinore from the sitters and get the boys off the bus too.
We arrived at the hospital about 8:15AM and they took us back to a room. They were quite busy that day though and it took a few hours before we accomplished much. I wasn't experiencing contractions with any frequency, but by the time we arrived at the hospital, my pants were soaked again and I'd leaked on the floor as they were getting us in the room too.
The nurse was asking us the questions to get us admitted, but kept getting interrupted they were so busy. Finally around 10:00 they started pitocin to get the contractions moving. I also got a new nurse that wouldn't be interrupted as many times too. She was pretty awesome. Just before 11:00 the nurse got a birthing ball for me to try out, but when I was there, or anywhere by the bed, they couldn'tk eep the monitor on the baby, which we had to have because of the pitocin, so lucky me had to stay in bed the whole time. I don't think that helped with my comfort level.
About 11:00 Keith headed down to the new Subway in the hospital to get some lunch, since he could eat, and I couldn't! Turns out the subway was brand new and their credit card machine wasn't working. So he had to come back and get the keys to go down the street to the bank to our ATM. While he was gone, the contractions got much more noticeable! They were lasting about 30 seconds and were happening about 2-3 in a 5 minutes period. I sat there alone through those starting to wonder where Keith was and watching Gilmore Girls on the tv as I tightly gripped the rails on the bed for every contraction.
Finally about about 45 minutes to an hour Keith returned. I told him I thought I needed to use the restroom at the point and he called the nurse for me. At this point I was wondering why I even wanted a natural birth, the epidural wasn't so bad with Elinore. After I got back into the bed reluctantly, she checked me, and I was only dilated to 4 cm. The nurse offered the epidural and Keith was all for it too. I started thinking 4 is a LONG way from 10, and the last hour hasn't exactly been fun, so without much convincing, I agreed. It was roughly 12:20, and she said it would be about a half hour until they would have it going for me. I though a half hour, I can do that, but in that half hour, it got really rough! About 20 minutes later, just before the anesthesiologist arrived, I had progressed to 7 cm. She also thought my water hadn't broke and called the doc to come break my water. (I have no clue how my water wasn't broken from the amount of fluid I'd already leaked away that day, that piece is still a mystery to me.) So I curled up as close to fetal position as you can get when you're almost 41 weeks pregnant and held onto the side of the bed just moaning through the contractions at this point.
When the anesthesiologist arrived and found out I was that far along, he didn't want to do the epidural, the nurse asked if I was sure and by this point, I had mentally prepared myself for that relief, so I wasn't quitting on it now! So the nurse pushed for me, and he did agree to do it, but the were warning me along the way about it may not be completely effective and asking if I could sit still etc. I answered their questions, in what I remember being a much less than nice tone (sorry!). They sent Keith to the hallway and the nurse held me hands as they cleaned my back. She knew I was progressing quickly, so she told me to let her know if I felt any wetness. And not 30 seconds later my water broke and I was ready to push. The epidural was no longer and option and the nurses were very quickly trying to tear the bed down for delivery. There was no doctor yet, and by the time I was situated for delivery, the nurses were all saying the baby was there, they could see the head, don't push the doctor isn't here yet!
I wasn't taking so kindly to the wait for the doctor instructions. There were several "what are we waiting for I'm ready to have a baby" comments, and "what's taking so long!?" once the doctor arrived just moments later (thankfully!). One push later and they head was out; one to two more and baby was here! I had my eyes closed through nearly the last hour as the pain was so awful, and once they told me the baby was here, I was wondering what was taking them so long to tell me if it was a boy or a girl! Finally I did hear one of the nurses say it's a surprised they don't know what it is! Followed by, it's a girl!
The doc then reminded me to open my eyes and look at my baby as Keith cut the cord and the moved the baby to my chest. I of course opened my eyes then and loved her moving right to me. Almost immediately she grabbed my finger and held on.
With my other hand I was holding onto Keith's hand quite tightly as the discomfort wasn't quite over yet. I delivered the placenta and had to have a few stitches to finish up. I remember the water being hot they used to clean up. I remember I nurse saying they warm it, not cook it! Then after a few minutes I heard the doctor saying it'd be just two more minutes and she'd be done. After what felt like 5 minutes, I reminded them of that two minute comment. Apparently a stitch took longer than expected because she cut it shorter than needed. I just wanted that part over so I could enjoy my baby. The doc kept saying to focus on baby not what she was doing, but the needles and pain, made that hard!
In the end, we had a happy, healthy baby girl, and that is what mattered! We love you Ruth Ann Haynes. :)
Monday, December 22, 2014
Elbows
One difference I've noticed between nursing this time with Ruth and before with Elinore, I didn't anticipate the elbows from Elinore hurting so much! The boys were so much older with Elinore they were past the crawling all over me stage. Elinore, not so much. So especially that first week of engorgement and mastitis fun, her elbows and head and body parts were constantly slamming into my chest hurting like crazy!
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Bedtime Songs
Elinore loves bedtime songs. Keith has some regulars he sings and I have mine. However, she's recently started asking for new ones. She'll pick any random object or toy from her day and ask for a song about it. I want a song about a turtle, for example. I don't know any songs about turtles...
Friday, December 19, 2014
Head Holding
We've been trying to teach Elinore it is important to hold baby Ruth's head when she's holding him. We've not been successful so far. Her understanding of holding someone's head looks more like just laying her hand on their head. And she'll hold anyone's head. As seen below in the photo of her "holding" Ruth AND Grandma's head.
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Thursday, December 18, 2014
Sharing Blankie
Elinore has her blankie, well actually she has several of them, but one is almost always with her. They are all identical and rotated through so I can be washing some and she has a spare and if we loose one for a few days we're still okay!) She's fairly protective of her blankies, but while she was visiting Ruth in the hospital, she shared her blankie with Ruth. And she's continued to on occasion at home too. Granted she always takes it back when she "needs" it, but she covers Ruth with it and tries to get her to hold it sometimes too.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Shoulder Shrugs
A few weeks ago Elinore started shrugging her shoulders when she's unsure of something. It's quite adorable. She's make some noise indicated she doesn't know and shrug her little shoulders. And sometimes she throw her hands out to further emphasize he lack of knowing the answer.
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