On Monday Nadia fell asleep on the couch a few minutes before I was planning to take her up for her afternoon nap. I haven't been carrying her up the stairs, but because she was asleep, I carried her and Ian (at the same time) up the stairs. Ian plus Nadia equals 33 pounds. After I put her down, I laid down for a nap with Ian. After Nadia woke up, I nursed Ian while Nadia watched VeggieTales. When I got up from the couch I discovered that I was bleeding pretty heavily. Looking back, I think that carrying Nadia up the stairs is what started the bleeding, but this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Over the next hour I became very concerned I was bleeding harder than I've ever bled before. I called both of my sisters for advice and Paul before I called the doctor's office. The OB had left; so I spoke with the OB nurse. She thought that probably what I was experiencing was normal, but since I couldn't talk to a doctor, she suggested I call the OB resident on call at the hospital. The OB resident as well as her supervising doctor both thought that probably what I was experiencing was normal, but they said I could choose to go to my clinic the next day, go to their ER, or go to the ER at the hospital which is closer to our home. My inclination was that I needed to go to the ER, but they seemed to think what I was experiencing was normal so I was torn.
However as time passed the bleeding didn't let up and the cramping became so painful that it felt like I was in labor again. Paul suggested I call 911, but I decided instead to call the neighbor girls. They came over and watched Ian and Nadia so that I could lie down until Paul could get home. At 4:30 I asked him to come home, but it takes 90 minutes for him to get home from school. Shortly after he got home, we left Nadia with the neighbors, and Paul drove Ian and I to the ER at the smaller, closer hospital - the one where I had initially planned to deliver Ian until I found out they don't do VBACs. I had changed clothes (again) prior to leaving. Our trip took less than 15 minutes, but by the time we arrived at the emergency room I had soaked through to the point that when I sat down on the wheelchair in the ER, the large pad they put on the seat was immediately completely soaked in blood as were my clothes (from my my pants to my socks). I was taken back immediately - skipped the registration and triage. After they hooked me up to an iv in each arm and took my vitals, the ER doctor did an exam. She then called an OB to come in; while waiting for her to come, they did an ultrasound. The OB came in to my room with her winter coat and purse.
The OB confirmed the ER doctor's suspicion that there was a piece of Ian's placenta in my uterus near the cervix. The doctor said she needed to do a D&C. I asked what type of anesthesia, and when she said general, I asked if there was another option. She said she could just remove the piece of placenta (and not do a total D&C) if I could "grin and bear it" without anesthesia. I chose to go that option. I didn't find having that piece removed to be TOO painful, but then she was cleaning out my uterus with a sponge and I found that to be rather awful, but I don't usually do well with anesthesia so I figured a few minutes of pain was better than a few hours of vomiting and fainting (my usual response to general anesthesia - one time my reaction was so bad that my lung collapsed and I was in the intensive care on a ventilator). Unfortunately, the bleeding didn't stop. They did another ultrasound and found that there were other placenta fragments still in the uterus. One was up really high and was calcified. So they started the preparation for general anesthesia so the OB could do a D&E as well as give me a blood transfusion. I had several episodes of amost passing out so they also had me on oxygen at this point.
Around midnight I woke up in the recovery room and by 12:30 was wheeled into a room in the Labor and Delivery ward of the hospital. I found it rather ironic given January 20th (today) was Ian's due date. Paul had left with Ian as they were wheeling me to the operating room (about 10:30pm) so that he could get dinner for himself and clean socks and pants for me (the socks I wore to the hospital were thrown in the garbage). I had tried to pump prior to surgery (as I am used to nursing every 2 hours) but they only had size 24mm phlanges and I use a 27 on one side and a 30 on the other. Theirs were just too small for me to use. So Paul was also bringing back my phlanges. I was planning to pump as soon as I got back as I was in PAIN plus I had to pump and dump due to all the meds they gave me and then wait 2 hours before I could nurse Ian. They had given us bottles of formula in the ER since I was unable to nurse him at that point although I had brought the boppy and nipple shield and nursing cover so that I could nurse him there. Unfortunately Paul and I had a miscommunication. I thought he was coming right back. I figured he would be back in about one hour (we live 15 minutes away from the hospital). He figured I'd be in the OR and recovery room as long as I was for Nadia's c-section. In reality a D&E is a much quicker procedure (no incision or stitching to do).
To be continued. Ian finished nursing, and it's time for me to get some sleep.
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