Recovery

One of my many sweet gifts from Mom!

It's a Boo-Bunnie Ice Pack for baby!

So now that my surgery story is documented, let me tell you about the recovery. I don't really remember being wheeling into my hospital room but I do remember my Mom arriving soon after I moved into my bed. I think it was around midnight when we finally got settled. There's nothing more comforting than your Mom being with you in difficult times. Thanks again Mom! Josh, Mom and I chatted about my eventful night as the nurses came in to check my vitals. Josh decided to grab dinner for us. McDonald's was the only fast food restaurant open. As soon as he brought the bags of food in our room the nurse came in and reminded me to take it easy. She said McDonald's might not be a good choice for me so soon after surgery. I wasn't that hungry anyway so I opted out of greasy food and ate some crackers instead. The nurse also told us that only one person could stay the night. Mom said she would go to our house and let Josh stay with me. Josh and I tried to go to sleep but we just couldn't. Our nurse came in every hour and I had to use the restroom every half hour (which involved my nurse because she had to take those compression things off my legs -- I think they prevent blood clots). My surgeon came by in the morning to check on my incisions. He said everything looked great. My ob/gyn came by to listen to our baby's heartbeat. It was great to hear that "gush, gush, gush" sound. Mom came back to relieve Josh so he could go home, shower and rest. I was finally released around 3 PM.

Josh went back to work on Tuesday. Mom and I had a great time together. We just relaxed and took it easy. Although Mom didn't take it as easy as me. She did so many wonderful and helpful things which include: cleaning, laundry, cooking and baking! It was very much appreciated. Josh and I have enjoyed her delicious cooking and baking all week. I decided to go back to work on Wednesday. I'm not sure why I went back so soon. I wish I had stayed out Wednesday and started back Thursday. My stomach was really hurting on Wednesday. It made Thursday and Friday even harder because I was so exhausted. My poor first graders wanted to hug me when they saw me but I had to tell them that my tummy was hurting and they couldn't hug me for a few days. After school on Wednesday Josh and I went to my follow up appointment at my ob/gyn. We heard the heartbeat again so that assured me that everything was okay with our little one.

Now it's Saturday and I'm feeling much better. I've been taking it easy all day which has been nice!

SURGERY

I am on an update overload! I've added three posts (15 Weeks, 16 Weeks and Weekend in Charleston). This will be my fourth and final post for tonight. So enjoy! Actually, you probably won't enjoy reading it but you will find it interesting!

So after a wonderful weekend in Charleston my roomie and I woke up on Sunday morning and started packing to go home. I remember sneezing several times while getting ready. I started to feel cramps, pains and twinges. I felt hot. I laid down for a few minutes but that didn't seem to help. We went out to breakfast before driving home and I started to notice that most of the pain was on my right side. I started to feel like I was going to vomit. On my way home I stopped in a parking lot and laid down in my back seat. I thought maybe it was round ligament pain and I just needed to relax. Laying down did NOT help! I gave up on trying to relax and just headed straight home. I had to talk to myself the whole way home. I was saying things like "I will be home soon! I will lay down when I get home! I will feel better soon! The baby is okay!" I had never experienced that type of pain. I seriously considered driving straight to the ER but instead I drove straight home. I was hoping that being "home" in my own bed would make me feel better. I was wrong! The pain became worse when I got home. I couldn't lay still or get in a comfortable position.

Josh was still out of town at a conference so I called Q. She came right over and drove me to the ER. Q is a heaven sent friend and I can't imagine life without her. She listened to me whine about the pain over and over again. She waited with me for hours in the ER. She rubbed my back when I thought I was going to die from pain. She held the trash can while I vomited from the pain. She held my hand while the nurse was putting in my IV. She was AMAZING and I couldn't have survived that experience without her.

Q was finally relieved by Josh. He arrived right before they mentioned SURGERY!

So after lots of blood work, three rounds of IV pain meds and an ultrasound that confirmed our baby was okay, the doctors thought it was either my appendix, my right kidney or my right ovary. They were all leaning towards my appendix because my white blood count was extremely high. They said that signaled an infection which can be caused by an appendix that is close to rupturing. When they recommended SURGERY Josh and I were a little shocked. They said the risk of exploratory laparoscopic surgery was low compared to the risk of my appendix rupturing. Josh and I asked lots of questions and finally decided to start the process. We signed lots of paper work and we headed to the OR. I remember being wheeled into the OR in pain! Two surgeons and my ob/gyn did the surgery. It was so comforting to know my ob/gyn was in there. After 45 minutes of surgery I woke up with Josh by my side, feeling NO pain and hearing my ob/gyn saying "Look! Here's your baby with a strong heartbeat!" She also showed us pictures of the surgery.

So guess what happened?

My right ovary had twisted around TWICE which was the cause of my pain! It's called Ovarin Torsion. During surgery they untwisted my ovary. Thankfully my ovary will recover because the blood flow wasn't completely cut off. My ovaries are still a little enlarged from IVF meds so that's why my right ovary twisted. It was just too heavy and maybe my sneezing triggered it to twist.

Now I have two nasty scares from surgery. They made two incisions: one in my belly button and one a couple inches below my belly button. I'm not going to be able to have the cute pregnant belly pictures because of these two scars. Oh well!

Here's a picture of the surgery they did:

It grosses me out to know they did this to me!

Here are a couple pictures of my incisions:

My belly button scares me!

Weekend in Charleston

Josh was out of town at a conference so I decided to spend the weekend in Charleston with one of my college roomies. I hadn't driven to Charleston since our last visit to our fertility center. The drive brought back many memories, some good and some bad. Anyway, we had a wonderful weekend together and I enjoyed every minute of it. It was fun reminiscing and catching up. Unfortunately our perfect weekend ended with me being in excoriating pain. I'll explain in my next post but until then here are a few pictures from our weekend!

In love with DECAF pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks!

Taking a break from shopping!

I had a "cuppy cake" in honor of Blair from Heir to Blair.

A precious gift for the nursery from my roomie.

It says "Count your blessings!"

16 Weeks

16 weeks from thebump.com

16 weeks from babycenter.com

15 Weeks

15 weeks from babycenter.com

15 weeks from thebump.com

Poem for Strength

“In my trouble I cried to the Lord, and He answered me.”

Psalm 120:1

I found this poem on an infertility blog today. I hadn't read it in awhile but I remember reading it during those months we longed for a baby, tried all we could and still didn't have success. I think it deserves a post on my blog. Hopefully my days of infertility are over but it will always be a part of me and I will never forget how it made me feel.

"There are women that become mothers without effort, without thought, without patience or loss and though they are good mothers and love their children, I know that I will be better. I will be better not because of genetics, or money or that I have read more books but because I have struggled and toiled for this child.

I have longed and waited.
I have cried and prayed.
I have endured and planned over and over again.

Like most things in life, the people who truly have appreciation are those who have struggled to attain their dreams.

I will notice everything about my child. I will take time to watch my child sleep, explore and discover. I will marvel at this miracle every day for the rest of my life. I will be happy when I wake in the middle of the night to the sound of my child, knowing that I can comfort, hold and feed him and that I am not waking to take another temperature, pop another pill, take another shot or cry tears of a broken dream. My dream will be crying for me.

I count myself lucky in this sense; that God has given me this insight, this special vision with which I will look upon my child that my friends will not see. Whether I parent a child I actually give birth to or a child that God leads me to, I will not be careless with my love.

I will be a better mother for all that I have endured. I am a better wife, a better aunt, a better daughter, neighbor, friend and sister because I have known pain. I know disillusionment as I have been betrayed by my own body. I have been tried by fire and hell many never face, yet given time, I stood tall.

I have prevailed.
I have succeeded.
I have won.

So now, when others hurt around me, I do not run from their pain in order to save myself discomfort. I see it, mourn it, and join them in theirs. I listen. And even though I cannot make it better, I can make it less lonely. I have learned the immense power of another hand holding tight to mine, of other eyes that moisten as they learn to accept the harsh truth and when life is beyond hard. I have learned a compassion that only comes with walking in those shoes. I have learned to appreciate life.

Yes I will be a wonderful mother."

-Author Unknown

Going Green

Can you tell we love the color green? Whether it's a boy or girl we want to continue with the soft, light green colors in our nursery. Those colors make us feel relaxed so hopefully it will do the same for our baby. I'm more attracted to green baby gear and baby clothes as well. Maybe that will change when we find out the sex. By the way, the big date of our ultrasound has been set! It will be Monday, October 26th. I'll be 19 weeks during that ultrasound. We can't wait to find out if it's a boy or a girl. Any guesses? Maybe I'll put a poll on my blog! Most of you were right when you guessed twins on my last poll.

Am I feeling our baby?

Josh and I took some pictures after church today. I'm a couple days away from 15 weeks and we realized we hadn't taken my 14 weeks pictures. Anyway, our baby seems more real and real every day. A couple nights ago I was laying flat on my back. I was very still. I felt a little whirl. When I was laying down yesterday I felt a little flutter. I'm curious to know if it's our baby moving around. He or she is always so active during ultrasonds. But isn't it too early to feel anything?

14 Weeks

14 weeks from babycenter.com

14 weeks from thebump.com

Baby Books

Josh and I went to Savannah on Saturday night for dinner. We decided to stop at Barnes and Noble on our way home. Paula Deen and her two sons were there signing books. I guess it was a nice treat to see a few celebrities. I'm not a huge Paula fan but I do love southern cooking! Josh headed to the Starbucks section of Barnes and Noble and I headed to the pregnancy/baby section. I picked up a couple books that friends have recommended as MUST HAVES...real world friends and blog friends. So thank you! A couple friends said they wished they had read these books before bringing baby home instead of waiting a few months after birth. Josh listened as a I read the first chapter of Dr. Harvey Karp's book aloud on our way home. And it's interesting the 5 S's: swaddle, and um, I can't remember the rest. But anyway, it's supposed to give you "the happiest baby on the block!" Haha! We'll see one day, won't we?

If you have any other recommendations on good books, please send them my way. I enjoying reading about my future!

Oh, and one more thing, we had an appointment this afternoon. We were able to hear the heartbeat which was in the 160s. Our baby is doing very well. Our next appointment is in about 3 weeks!