By the numbers

As for my last full day in the hospital as a patient, it was a day of highs and lows both physically and emotionally. Physically, I pushed myself and walked to and from the NICU 3 times, and it's on the 8th floor. It was not a small task. The first time I was in tears by the time I got there due to the pain as well as the fact I had trouble finding it as the nurses and aides take a shorter route. I had never gone the public route before, and I assume for security reasons they don't have any signs.
The first time I went was during the morning rounds. When the doctors did the rounds in the other NICU, parents were the only visitors allowed in the NICU, and we had to wear headphones (attached to a CD player). The funny thing was that about 75% of the time the batteries were dead so we parents weren't actually listening to music. This policy was to protect the privacy. We were only to take the headphones off when the doctors were visiting our child. In contrast to the policy at this hospital, I greatly prefer that policy. At this hospital no parents are allowed in the NICU while the doctors do the rounds except you can be with your child while they are talking about your child. I lifted the phone and told the nurse at the nurse's station that I was waiting in the waiting room to listen to the doctors when they did rounds at Oliver's bed side. After waiting awhile, his nurse (Joey) came and got me. I can't walk very quickly yet, and they started their discussion before his nurse and I returned (which frustrated me as I been waiting for more than 30 minutes in the waiting room). It went downhill from there. They were using all the abbreviations and medical terminology, which meant nothing to me. It was all I could do not to have a total meltdown as things didn't sound very good. They asked at the end if I had any questions. I said "no" only because I had WAY too many questions and knew I was about to lose it emotionally. I did grasp that his bilirubin count had gone down a little so Joey asked if they could take him off the Wallaby (which she said is like sleeping on a board). The doctors approved this change. He was still under two lights today, but he was able to sleep on a more comfortable surface, which meant he didn't need Versed to stay calm. I also understood that because of the sounds they hear when they listen to his bowels, he still can only be fed 1ml of my milk every 6 hours. If he had sounded better, they would have started feeding him 1ml every 3 hours. Both sides are cooperating now so each time I pump I've been getting 10-25ml, and he's consuming 4ml a day so they froze a lot of milk today. The information that had to do with his face, heart, and lungs was upsetting and confusing.

The second time I visited him, his nurse was taking out his arterial line. WOOHOO! I was so excited because that was the first thing that had to happen for me to be able to hold him. I wasn't given permission to hold him today (the last time I asked was at 9:50pm). She said to check again at 8am tomorrow. I cannot wait. It's so hard to give birth and then not be able to cuddle with your baby. My boy needs to be loved by his Mommy!!! My second and third trips to the NICU I brought my camera in the hopes the nurse would be snapping a photo of him in my arms. I didn't take any pictures of him today.

The swelling has been a lot worse today. I no longer have any ankles. My thighs, legs, ankles and feet are swollen. Hopefully I'll be able to get my sandals on tomorrow. I never swell when pregnant, but I always swell like a balloon (legs/feet) after giving birth. The last two times the water weight was about 10 pounds. I was far more mobile today, but then this evening the pain level skyrocketed back to what it was the first day after the c-section. I might end up sleeping in the glider tonight because I have trouble pumping in the bed, and I don't want to have to get in and out of the bed many times if it's going to be that painful. The pumping has gone well. That is a boost for me emotionally. The insurance said they'll pay 100% of the rental costs for the pump while he's in the NICU (it's just $60 a month) so I have a Medela Symphony pump to use at home and at the Bailey House. When I'm in the NICU I'll use the pumps they have down there.

They did another echocardiogram today, and the results were favorable. Something that is supposed to be open in the heart while in the womb but closed after birth had still been open at the first echocardiogram, but between then and now it had closed. PTL! Also his heart looked a little better. It's hard for me to explain the problems although a NICU doctor did break it down into layman's terms for me this afternoon. I have decided to skip the rounds in the future. I'd much prefer a one-on-one conversation with the doctor. As for his lungs, he still has "issues." He's still on the ventilator, and he's breathing about 25% oxygen (room air is 21%). They are erring on the side of too much oxygen, even though it might be damaging his eyesight (he might need glasses at a very young age) as being able to breathe is more important.

I asked the resident today about my incision because it seems to be horizontal. She said that the incision of the uterus was vertical, but the incision of my skin was horizontal. I was told this means I definitely can never do VBAC. I don't think that would have been an option anyhow since I've now had 3 c-sections. With my first two the doctors used staples, but this time they used stitches, which they say will fall out on their own. I have an appointment next Thursday for them to check the incision. I'm anxious to hear tomorrow at discharge when I'll be allowed to drive again. I am anxious to get some independence back!!! I haven't driven a car since May 29.

I did better emotionally this afternoon (translated I didn't cry as much). I had lunch in the antepartum unit, and I spent about 2 hours talking with some of those ladies, which was nice. My friend, Cheri, also called me on the phone, which was also an encouragement. As for the issues with his face, they were concerned that his round face was a sign of some chromosomal problem. I said he looks just like his Dad and sister, who both have round faces. Hopefully when they see Nadia and Paul tomorrow they'll agree with me. He has lost a little weight, but they said that's a good sign (losing some excess fluid). His weight this evening was 3lb 11.6 oz.

Since I'm being discharged tomorrow morning, I thought I'd do a bit of a numerical recap of the pregnancy. I wish I had kept track of how many books I read and how many ultrasounds I had. Both numbers would be rather high!

1 - time under general anesthesia
1 - time given Phenergan for nausea (never want that again - Zofran is much better)
1 - epidural blood patch
1 - pregnancy ultrasound with RE (at 8 weeks)
2 - packages delivered to me at the hospital (books from Lin)
2 - oral medications taken to prevent contractions (Indocen and Procardia)
2 - hours a day of fetal and contraction monitoring when in the antepartum unit
2 - nights spent at Paul's aunt's house during the pregnancy
2 - blastocysts transferred
3 - times hCG bloodwork drawn at RE
3 - MFM doctors (plus 2 fellows)
3 - flower arrangements received (from Janet, Debbie, and my church)
3 - nights spent at Paul's parents' house during the pregnancy
3 - times a day vitals taken in antepartum and maternity units
3 - baby gifts received in the hospital (from Wendy, Brooke, and Debbie)
4 - hospitals (Geisinger, Evangelical, Hershey, and Harrisburg)
4 - Rhogam shots this pregnancy (all of our kids are O positive, and I'm O negative)
4 - lumbar punctures (3 epidural and 1 spinal)
4 - blastocysts (2 were transferred and 1 was frozen)
5 - days past egg retrieval when embryo transfer took place
5 - popsicles consumed a few hours after giving birth
5 - transfusions (I had one prior to the c-section, and Oliver had two before birth and two in the NICU)
6 - big bleeding episodes (first was on May 30 and last was on August 7)
7 - discharges from the hospital (first on May 31 and last on August 11)
7 - day of his birth (due on the 3rd)
8 - month of his birth (due in October)
8 - embryos as of January 12, 2012
8 - hours of pitocin after c-section (contractions and an incision are not a good mix!)
9 - weeks of wearing compression socks
9.5- hours I had wait after giving birth before I was able to visit Oliver
10 - people who were in the car during trips to the hospital in Harrisburg (Paul, Nadia, Ian, Paul's parents, my mom, Rosalie, Bob, Cheri, and Aunt Debbie)
10 - weeks of bedrest (minus one day)
10 - IV tubes inserted in my arms (on May 30-31 and August 7-8 I had two at one time)
10 - first OB appointment at 10w2d
10 - passed the three hour glucose tolerance test at 10w5d
11 - children visited me in the hospital (1 cousin, 3 nieces, 1 daughter, 1 son, and 5 nephews)
11 - eggs retrieved on January 11, 2012
12- hospital rooms (at least one night)
12 - first +++ pregnancy test at 12 days past egg retrieval
13 - P17 shots
13 - first +++ Beta at 13 days past egg retrieval
14 - people played Words with Friends with me (Scrabble) on Facebook while I was in the hospital
14 - weeks I had appointments with MFM doctors (18-31)
15 - how many ounces (plus 3 lbs) that Oliver weighed at birth
16 - inches at birth
16 - adults visited me in the hospital
18 - found out Oliver was a boy at 18 weeks at my first MFM appointment
19 - third and last OB appointment at 19 weeks
20 - nights spent at the Ronald McDonald House in Hershey during the pregnancy
20 - approximate number of pounds I gained during the pregnancy. I can't be 100% certain because July 25 was the last time I was weighed at the hospital (with clothes on right after a shower), and I had previously been tracking my weight without clothing on my own bathroom scale.
22 - hospitalizations and bedrest began at 22w0d
24 - first pair of steroid shots around 24 weeks
24 - hours a day of fetal and contraction monitoring when in the labor and delivery unit
26 - name decided at 26 weeks (Paul suggested the first name, and I suggested the middle name)
28 - second pair of steroid shots at 28 weeks
30 - weeks (plus 4 days) the last time a belly pic was taken
31 - weeks pregnant when he was born (plus 6 days)
40 - my age when I gave birth
45 - hours after Oliver was born that my milk came in (not counting the colostrum I had from the first time I pumped)
46 - days in the hospital (Ruth)
54.5 - first hCG level (at 3w6d)
58 - people clicked "like" on the Facebook status update I wrote about Oliver's birth (some of those also wrote a comment)
64 - people wrote a comment on the Facebook status update I wrote about Oliver's birth (some of those also clicked "like")
167.7 - second hCG level (at 4w1d)
351 - third hCG level (at 4w3d)