Just when I thought I was getting into the routine of things, things started to go sideways. Thursday night during my evening shower, I noticed a medium sized blood clot and an increase in blood flow, bright red. On Friday, I noticed I was passing a few more clots throughout the day and the blood was still quite bright red. By Saturday evening, the clots were more prominent. At 11pm, both my hubby and I started to get more concerned. By 11:30, I decided to just sit on the toilet and just bleed out. I was surfing the net for information about postpartum hemorrhaging.
It was at this point that I started to have difficulty breathing. I was getting light headed and I was in a cold sweat. That's when I got my hubby to call 911.
Everything from that point on was another blur. My husband got my sister to help direct the paramedics and to head to the hospital with me while he stayed home to take care of the twins. He wanted to come, but with 2 babies, it just wasn't possible. I just recall shivering uncontrollably and that the paramedic couldn't get the IV into me.
I had spent the last 1.5 weeks dealing with excessive swelling from the C-section/IV drip from the hospital and did not want to have to try to bring down the swelling again. Anyhow, at the hospital the nurses had a difficult time getting access to a vein for a blood test and to hook in an IV because of my swelling and blood loss. I was given 2 bags of red blood cells.
The doctors told me that I likely contracted a bacterial infection in my uterus. This is not uncommon. I am so grateful that my GP was very active... way more than my OB. She was definitely my saving grace as she was the one constant person/caregiver that I saw.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Our Birthing Adventure - Part 1
On Sunday, March 9, 2014 at 5pm, my water broke. Hubby and I were hoping the babies would come soon since our OB was leaving on vacation, March 12.
We were admitted into BC Women's at 6pm and I was asked if we wanted to proceed with a natural birth or C-section. I really wanted to try to birth naturally so I opted to be induced with Oxytocin by 9pm. I was only 1 cm dilated when I first arrived. Wilson turned green when he saw the anesthesiologist prepped the epidural stint. By 12:30pm the next day, My OB was on "shift". He recommended I stop since I was only 3-4 cm dilated. To complicate matters, I was experiencing pain in my upper back and neck. Hubby had to massage me during labour since the epidural was only good for the waist down.
So off they wheeled me into the OR. The anesthesiologist told me that I shouldn't feel any pain only pressure points. They brought in hubby to sit next to me and I watched the curtain get put up between us. That's when I felt like I was being outlined. I was pretty sure I knew exactly what was happening. The anesthesiologist quickly told me that hubby would have to leave the room and that I was be put completely under.
My hubby was left out in in the hallway waiting for over an hour. All he saw was doctors and nurses running in and out of the OR. Apparently because I was completely under, the babies were affected too. Isabella was not breathing for 5 minutes and Isaac for 12 minutes. There was a fantastic resuscitation team who breathed for the twins to ensure there was no brain damage.
My OB finally came out to see my hubby to tell him that the twins were fine, but my darling man was only concerned about my well being and asked the doctor, "What about my wife?"
My husband was seated at my side when I was in the recovery room next to the OR. As I was slowly awakening from the anaesthesia, doctors were coming in and massaging and feeling my uterus to help it contract. My hubby left for a moment to go to the washroom and when he returned, he was greeted with me screaming (I don't remember any of this) and a doctor manually removing blood clots from my uterus because I was hemorrhaging. As clots were being removed, blood was spewing out. My hubby described it as being in a horror movie!
I lost 700mL of blood from the C-section and 600mL from the hemorrhage. I was kept in in ICU for the next day before moving to the Postpartum ward. Needless to say it was a long stay... Sunday to Saturday.
We were admitted into BC Women's at 6pm and I was asked if we wanted to proceed with a natural birth or C-section. I really wanted to try to birth naturally so I opted to be induced with Oxytocin by 9pm. I was only 1 cm dilated when I first arrived. Wilson turned green when he saw the anesthesiologist prepped the epidural stint. By 12:30pm the next day, My OB was on "shift". He recommended I stop since I was only 3-4 cm dilated. To complicate matters, I was experiencing pain in my upper back and neck. Hubby had to massage me during labour since the epidural was only good for the waist down.
So off they wheeled me into the OR. The anesthesiologist told me that I shouldn't feel any pain only pressure points. They brought in hubby to sit next to me and I watched the curtain get put up between us. That's when I felt like I was being outlined. I was pretty sure I knew exactly what was happening. The anesthesiologist quickly told me that hubby would have to leave the room and that I was be put completely under.
My hubby was left out in in the hallway waiting for over an hour. All he saw was doctors and nurses running in and out of the OR. Apparently because I was completely under, the babies were affected too. Isabella was not breathing for 5 minutes and Isaac for 12 minutes. There was a fantastic resuscitation team who breathed for the twins to ensure there was no brain damage.
My OB finally came out to see my hubby to tell him that the twins were fine, but my darling man was only concerned about my well being and asked the doctor, "What about my wife?"
My husband was seated at my side when I was in the recovery room next to the OR. As I was slowly awakening from the anaesthesia, doctors were coming in and massaging and feeling my uterus to help it contract. My hubby left for a moment to go to the washroom and when he returned, he was greeted with me screaming (I don't remember any of this) and a doctor manually removing blood clots from my uterus because I was hemorrhaging. As clots were being removed, blood was spewing out. My hubby described it as being in a horror movie!
I lost 700mL of blood from the C-section and 600mL from the hemorrhage. I was kept in in ICU for the next day before moving to the Postpartum ward. Needless to say it was a long stay... Sunday to Saturday.
Friday, March 7, 2014
Week 36 - Friday, March 7, 2014
OMG!
We're hoping to deliver these babies next week. The past 2-3 weeks have been really difficult on my body. My back aches, my feet and calves are super swollen. I have been having sinus headaches for about 2.5 week and nose bleeds for the last week and a half. I have been definitely feeling the contractions, but they are not yet regular.
After seeing my OB yesterday (who is going on vacation next week and won't be there to deliver my babies), he strongly believes that I should go with the C section. He doesn't believe that I will be able to handle the labour pains since I could barely handle his vaginal/cervix sweep to check how far I have dilated (which has been 1cm since last Thursday's visit). There's a part of me that really wants to try out the "natural" delivery method, especially since I don't want to deal with the recovery time for major abdominal surgery... you know me, I really want to kick start my scheduling with the twins. But as always, I need to let God take charge of this. He will have my best interest at heart and will not take me where He cannot sustain me.
Based on my ultrasound on Monday, Isaac is about 6.5lbs and Isabella is around 5.5lbs. However, these are guestimates since the twins are really hard to see since there is very little space in my uterus. The longer they stay in, the larger they will be... which just means more pain!!!
We're hoping to deliver these babies next week. The past 2-3 weeks have been really difficult on my body. My back aches, my feet and calves are super swollen. I have been having sinus headaches for about 2.5 week and nose bleeds for the last week and a half. I have been definitely feeling the contractions, but they are not yet regular.
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| Mom calls these "Pig's Feet" |
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| 35 weeks, 5 days |
After seeing my OB yesterday (who is going on vacation next week and won't be there to deliver my babies), he strongly believes that I should go with the C section. He doesn't believe that I will be able to handle the labour pains since I could barely handle his vaginal/cervix sweep to check how far I have dilated (which has been 1cm since last Thursday's visit). There's a part of me that really wants to try out the "natural" delivery method, especially since I don't want to deal with the recovery time for major abdominal surgery... you know me, I really want to kick start my scheduling with the twins. But as always, I need to let God take charge of this. He will have my best interest at heart and will not take me where He cannot sustain me.
Based on my ultrasound on Monday, Isaac is about 6.5lbs and Isabella is around 5.5lbs. However, these are guestimates since the twins are really hard to see since there is very little space in my uterus. The longer they stay in, the larger they will be... which just means more pain!!!
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Week 29 Tomorrow
Wow! I'm 163.5 pounds! Our OB is thinking about inducing me on/around March 10th. At my last ultrasound on Monday, our boy is over 3 lbs and our girl is 2 lbs 11oz. I invested in a maternity belt for my "out of home" excursions since my belly is getting big and heavy. We just attended our first prenatal class last night, so I have a lot of reading to do.
Tomorrow will be the first day that I will actually be able to stay at home and not have to drive anywhere to see anyone!
Tomorrow will be the first day that I will actually be able to stay at home and not have to drive anywhere to see anyone!
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Almost at Week 27...
It's been quite busy this last month with report card writing, student assessments and getting to doctor's appointments. Unfortunately, morning sickness is still here... coupled with back pain and cramps and muscle spasms. I invested in the Snoogle pillow over the weekend while I was shopping in Oregon. I am now sleeping until 4am which is a huge improvement from pre-Snoogle... before I'd be up at 1:30am and then 3-4am and then have to be up for work. I used to get up at 6:15 to be out the door for work by 7ish... recently I have been leaving around 7:30 simply because it's been so hard to get up.
My belly is growing...
My belly is growing...
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| December 31, 2013 |
Only 1 more day to work and then I am on medical leave and then mat. leave until next January... I can't believe how heavy and slow I am now both physically and mentally.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Looking Good
Good news! Our little trouble maker was more cooperative today. It looks like Twin A is a girl. This is not confirmed yet because Twin B made it hard to see Twin A. The boy is definitely larger... Wil's mom often reminds me that Wilson was a big baby... almost 10 pounds at birth! Crazy!
Everybody is looking "normal" and I believe my morning sickness is beginning to ease off.
I'm slowly getting into the mindset of having 2 wailing babies and all night feedings... =)
This will be fun, especially with no real home of my own... our architect hopes to have our drawings done in the next 2 weeks. We are hoping we can get construction going shortly after Christmas...
Everybody is looking "normal" and I believe my morning sickness is beginning to ease off.
I'm slowly getting into the mindset of having 2 wailing babies and all night feedings... =)
This will be fun, especially with no real home of my own... our architect hopes to have our drawings done in the next 2 weeks. We are hoping we can get construction going shortly after Christmas...
Monday, November 4, 2013
Our Little Trouble Maker
We had our infamous ultrasound last Friday. Our twins are lying one on top of the other. The one on top, Twin B is a boy. He was great. He lay flat and spun around so he could be measured. But Twin A, on the bottom chose to stay "curled up in a ball" position... so we won't know the gender of Twin A until November 18th. We are hoping for a baby girl, but we'll be happy with whatever God blesses us with.
We also met our obstetrician for the first time today. Just getting to his office was an event on it's own. I used the "web" to find his address... since I misplaced the business card my GP gave me. Lo and behold his web address was outdated by 5 years... the moa at the "old office" sent me to another building 5 blocks away and I was on hold with obstetrician's secretary for 10 minutes only to find out that I was at the wrong location... ahhhh. We were late, but at least we didn't miss our appointment.
I was told that I should expect to gain 40 pounds... no more. I've already put on 24 pounds! So now I've been asked to eat smaller meals... reduce my carbs... great... it's not like I have been binging anyways... I've also been asked to walk 30 minutes after each meal... Aiya!
He also mentioned that I will likely feel morning sickness for the next 3 months. It was so bad last week that I burst the blood vessel in one my eyes for 2 days from my excessive puking!!! Here I was excited that the nausea would go away sooner than later. He also mentioned that it would be best that I stop working after Christmas... ahhhh.
We also met our obstetrician for the first time today. Just getting to his office was an event on it's own. I used the "web" to find his address... since I misplaced the business card my GP gave me. Lo and behold his web address was outdated by 5 years... the moa at the "old office" sent me to another building 5 blocks away and I was on hold with obstetrician's secretary for 10 minutes only to find out that I was at the wrong location... ahhhh. We were late, but at least we didn't miss our appointment.
I was told that I should expect to gain 40 pounds... no more. I've already put on 24 pounds! So now I've been asked to eat smaller meals... reduce my carbs... great... it's not like I have been binging anyways... I've also been asked to walk 30 minutes after each meal... Aiya!
He also mentioned that I will likely feel morning sickness for the next 3 months. It was so bad last week that I burst the blood vessel in one my eyes for 2 days from my excessive puking!!! Here I was excited that the nausea would go away sooner than later. He also mentioned that it would be best that I stop working after Christmas... ahhhh.
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