From Saturday morning through Wednesday afternoon my wardrobe consisted of the hospital's gown and robe. On Sunday as I looked in the mirror I could tell that of course I wasn't back to my pre-pg shape, but I also could tell that my belly was much smaller than it had been the day before. I guess the gown and robe are good at covering you up because I was rather distressed when I got dressed for the first time on Wednesday in maternity clothes. I looked in the mirror and was depressed at how big my belly still was. I changed tops, and the situation improved a little. It has seemed over the last couple of days that the situation has improved, but maybe the difference hasn't been with the size of my belly but rather just that some tops do a better job of hiding my belly than others do. The top I'm wearing today isn't a maternity top, and when I looked in the mirror this morning I wasn't nearly as depressed as I was on Wednesday. I had mentioned while pg that I wasn't so keen on the underbelly style of pants, and I have to say I feel even more strongly about that after having given birth. The pair I wore on Wednesday really bothered my incision. I sent those home with Paul yesterday. The pair I am wearing today is much better, but it's not like I want to wear this same pair of pants 5 days in a row, and it's the only pair of pants I have here in the hospital. I know that it takes at least a couple of weeks to begin to resemble your pre-pregnant self, but somehow that knowledge didn't make it from my head to my emotions. I am not friends with the mirror these days.
This afternoon I had my appointment to remove my staples. Today is day 7. With Nadia I had them removed on day 8. My water retention isn't as bad as last time, but it's now almost as bad. My ankles, calves, and especially feet really hurt. It's spread to my knees and starting to spread to my thighs. The doctor told me today that I need to keep my feet elevated above my heart. I do notice that the swelling hurts the most when my feet are dangling down (such as when I am sitting in a rocking chair). I can't say that my feet have ever been above my heart over the past week as I haven't been lying down totally horizontally as it really bothers my incision. I guess I should at least try to sleep horizontally tonight and prop my feet up with a pillow or two. On my way out I crossed paths with the resident who admitted me and also did my last couple of exams before I was discharged. He said that walking was the best thing for the swelling. I disagree. I find that moving my feet in circles and such plus elevating them are the most helpful. I agree with the OB I saw for the first time today on this matter. I would give anything for a foot and calf massage. Paul is one of those people who doesn't like to come anywhere near a foot so I know he won't be doing that, and of course since I'm here by myself it's not possible anyhow. I guess I'll just do it myself. Hopefully before we leave I can at least put a pair of my shoes on. Today I am just wearing Paul's socks.
Having the staples removed wasn't fun, but it was bearable. Some staples hurt more than others. I hadn't had any pain medication since early this morning. That was dumb. I should have taken some maybe an hour before my appointment. At least I was very calm at this appointment. The midwife who removed my staples 8 days after I had Nadia probably thought I was a total basket case as I was crying my eyes out because Nadia was still in the NICU. Those tears turned to tears of joy when I returned from my appointment and learned from my mother that we were going HOME that day.
This morning a woman stopped by my room and said she was here to do Ian's PT/OT evaluation. I asked her why was he having that done. When she gave the usual criteria, it made no sense as he was born much later than the cut-off and also weighed much more than the cut-off. She went to check with someone and then came back and said they determined he didn't need this referral after all. It's not that I'd be opposed to him receiving services if he needed them, I just don't think he needs to be evaluated at the age of 6 days old. I also think they should have told me about the referral so that I wasn't caught off guard when she showed up at our door. I thought maybe the confusion was that she came to the wrong Ian, but she said her paperwork said Ian Kennedy. Believe it or not, Ian is one of THREE Ian's in this NICU right now. I couldn't believe it when his doctor told me that on Monday. We picked the name in part because it has NOT been popular according to the Social Security lists. Go figure! I hope though that this doesn't become a pattern throughout his life. I know how annoying it can be to have several students with the same first name in a class.
Whenever I wipe Ian as a part of changing a poopy diaper, this often seems to stimulate him to start pooping again. I try to let him hang out for a bit before I put the clean diaper under him, but before his 2pm feeding I managed to go through FOUR diapers. The last time I was just about to seal the second side of the diaper when he started pooping again and it oozed out since the diaper wasn't totally sealed. That diaper change he also peed up in the air while I was wiping his bottom. So I have officially been "christened" by two types of body fluids. I had to change his outfit after that fiasco. He's now wearing a cute snowman sleeper that my mom gave us. It seems appropriate given we're supposed to get a lot of snow this weekend. When they were doing the rounds the doctor reported he'd had two stools in the past 24 hours. I corrected that misinformation! The nurse yesterday asked me to fill out a chart regarding the time and color of each poopy diaper. I have DEFINITELY changed more than two in the last day. Sometimes I change two (or more) within a few minutes! I guess the nurse didn't enter the information from the chart I was filling out into the computer. Tonight Ian will be getting his first immunization Hep B). I'll just be glad when they stop pricking the poor guy's heel. He doesn't like that at all!
A profesor has agreed to bring me the exams tomorrow evening. She would have brought them today, but I didn't send the email until she was already home from school. I should be able to grade them all from Sunday-Tuesday and then caclulate and post the course grades on Wednesday - prior to the noon deadline. I'm not usually a last minute person, but there isn't much I can do about it in this instance. It didn't seem worth having Paul make a trip for them.
I was lamenting the fact that due to Ian's early arrival I hadn't done any extra cooking to stock the freezer like I did prior to Nadia's birth. However Paul reminded me today that I had purchased a few things as he said he was going to serve lasagna tonight - something I had purchased from Schwans in preparation for Ian's birth. So there is at least a little food in the freezer that we can use during the time when I'll likely be out of commission in terms of cooking.
This afternoon I had my appointment to remove my staples. Today is day 7. With Nadia I had them removed on day 8. My water retention isn't as bad as last time, but it's now almost as bad. My ankles, calves, and especially feet really hurt. It's spread to my knees and starting to spread to my thighs. The doctor told me today that I need to keep my feet elevated above my heart. I do notice that the swelling hurts the most when my feet are dangling down (such as when I am sitting in a rocking chair). I can't say that my feet have ever been above my heart over the past week as I haven't been lying down totally horizontally as it really bothers my incision. I guess I should at least try to sleep horizontally tonight and prop my feet up with a pillow or two. On my way out I crossed paths with the resident who admitted me and also did my last couple of exams before I was discharged. He said that walking was the best thing for the swelling. I disagree. I find that moving my feet in circles and such plus elevating them are the most helpful. I agree with the OB I saw for the first time today on this matter. I would give anything for a foot and calf massage. Paul is one of those people who doesn't like to come anywhere near a foot so I know he won't be doing that, and of course since I'm here by myself it's not possible anyhow. I guess I'll just do it myself. Hopefully before we leave I can at least put a pair of my shoes on. Today I am just wearing Paul's socks.
Having the staples removed wasn't fun, but it was bearable. Some staples hurt more than others. I hadn't had any pain medication since early this morning. That was dumb. I should have taken some maybe an hour before my appointment. At least I was very calm at this appointment. The midwife who removed my staples 8 days after I had Nadia probably thought I was a total basket case as I was crying my eyes out because Nadia was still in the NICU. Those tears turned to tears of joy when I returned from my appointment and learned from my mother that we were going HOME that day.
This morning a woman stopped by my room and said she was here to do Ian's PT/OT evaluation. I asked her why was he having that done. When she gave the usual criteria, it made no sense as he was born much later than the cut-off and also weighed much more than the cut-off. She went to check with someone and then came back and said they determined he didn't need this referral after all. It's not that I'd be opposed to him receiving services if he needed them, I just don't think he needs to be evaluated at the age of 6 days old. I also think they should have told me about the referral so that I wasn't caught off guard when she showed up at our door. I thought maybe the confusion was that she came to the wrong Ian, but she said her paperwork said Ian Kennedy. Believe it or not, Ian is one of THREE Ian's in this NICU right now. I couldn't believe it when his doctor told me that on Monday. We picked the name in part because it has NOT been popular according to the Social Security lists. Go figure! I hope though that this doesn't become a pattern throughout his life. I know how annoying it can be to have several students with the same first name in a class.
Whenever I wipe Ian as a part of changing a poopy diaper, this often seems to stimulate him to start pooping again. I try to let him hang out for a bit before I put the clean diaper under him, but before his 2pm feeding I managed to go through FOUR diapers. The last time I was just about to seal the second side of the diaper when he started pooping again and it oozed out since the diaper wasn't totally sealed. That diaper change he also peed up in the air while I was wiping his bottom. So I have officially been "christened" by two types of body fluids. I had to change his outfit after that fiasco. He's now wearing a cute snowman sleeper that my mom gave us. It seems appropriate given we're supposed to get a lot of snow this weekend. When they were doing the rounds the doctor reported he'd had two stools in the past 24 hours. I corrected that misinformation! The nurse yesterday asked me to fill out a chart regarding the time and color of each poopy diaper. I have DEFINITELY changed more than two in the last day. Sometimes I change two (or more) within a few minutes! I guess the nurse didn't enter the information from the chart I was filling out into the computer. Tonight Ian will be getting his first immunization Hep B). I'll just be glad when they stop pricking the poor guy's heel. He doesn't like that at all!
A profesor has agreed to bring me the exams tomorrow evening. She would have brought them today, but I didn't send the email until she was already home from school. I should be able to grade them all from Sunday-Tuesday and then caclulate and post the course grades on Wednesday - prior to the noon deadline. I'm not usually a last minute person, but there isn't much I can do about it in this instance. It didn't seem worth having Paul make a trip for them.
I was lamenting the fact that due to Ian's early arrival I hadn't done any extra cooking to stock the freezer like I did prior to Nadia's birth. However Paul reminded me today that I had purchased a few things as he said he was going to serve lasagna tonight - something I had purchased from Schwans in preparation for Ian's birth. So there is at least a little food in the freezer that we can use during the time when I'll likely be out of commission in terms of cooking.
2 comments:
He looks almost like he is smiling in that photo of him in the "Let it snow" sleeper. He is so cute! Praying for you. Love,
Wendy
I left the hospital at the same weight I went in at. I also experienced the swelling and 10 days later I was down 20 lbs. It'll happen until then unfortunatly you have to live with Fred Flintstone cankles! I wore my slippers home from the hospital. Praying that Ian is released soon. He is beautiful, can't wait to see your first pic as a family of four!
Post a Comment