My recovery

As Blake was doing skin to skin with Teddy in the OR, the doctors noticed my creatinine levels were high so I was taken back to labor and delivery rather than the normal recovery room.

Blake and I were busy gushing over Teddy so I didn't really notice or care when a bunch of doctors came in explaining that I needed a magnesium drip to help my blood levels. Honestly I was in such as happy new baby bubble and was on strong pain meds from surgery that I felt great! Teddy was a champ at breastfeeding thank heavens and fed easily right away. 

The doctors explained to Blake and my mom that my blood levels were off and my kidneys weren't working properly. I wasn't producing any urine so they were concerned. I was still so preoccupied with Teddy that I didn't really pay any attention to what they were saying. And I still felt great being on the pain meds so I wasn't too concerned. 

We had a one on one nurse and I was being checked about every hour by different doctors to figure out what was going on. They were perplexed about why my body was reacting this way. Early Thursday morning my OB discovered that I had developed a hematoma (big blood clot) on top of my bladder and uterus. The hematoma was affecting my kidney function and making my blood levels crazy. A few hours later the doctors decided to stop the magnesium drip and gave me a blood transfusion to help with my low hematocrit and hemoglobin from surgery and blood clot. I still wasn't too concerned at this point but turns out a blood transfusion is kind of a big deal! 

By Thursday night I still wasn't able to get up or walk around so I had been in bed and on a liquid diet for almost three days at this point. My digestive system was essentially frozen from not moving or eating and that's when the pain began. The c-section pain meds had also worn off at this point so I was really hurting. I had great nurses and Blake and my mom did their best to take care of me but it was a really rough time from Thursday to Saturday. I had a bunch of IVs and wires hooked up to me so breastfeeding was difficult but Teddy handled it like a champ. He was such a good, calm baby which was a huge blessing at this point. Sadly he failed his blood sugar level test so he had to have his heel pricked every 3 hours from Wednesday to Saturday (when he finally passed). He also had to be supplemented with formula and I was supposed to pump too. Trying to breastfeed every 3 hours then pump all while getting blood work and all sorts of checks done every hour was exhausting. I felt very emotionally overwhelmed so thankfully Blake took great care of Teddy and my mom took great care of me. We were all a good team during a hard couple of days. My mom never left my side in the hospital and slept on the crappy chair couch every night getting no sleep. She didn't leave the hospital for 3 days to shower/change clothes because she was so worried about me. She was such a life saver during my recovery, we owe her big time! Thank you mom! I love you!

We figured out the right pain medication and I was finally able to sit up and walk a few steps on Friday night which helped a lot. Holy cow those first few steps were so difficult. I swore I would never walk normally again! Woooow! We got moved up to the normal recovery floor which was nice. I had my first bite of solid food on Saturday morning and that nasty hospital grilled cheese sandwich tasted sooooo good :)

Thursday to Saturday are somewhat of a blur. I remember peaceful happy moments of snuggling Teddy and knowing that although this was a much different and more difficult recovery than I imagined, he really was worth it all. There were some really great moments sprinkled in through those rough days.

Teddy finally passed his blood sugar level test Saturday morning and I have never been so happy! I also got my catheter out and was able to move around a little bit more. I really started to feel better and felt a little more like myself. Molly, Allie and Ryan came to visit and it was so fun to have some visitors and show off Teddy!

This next part is so sad it's funny. We got a call to our hospital room that someone had hit our car in the hospital parking lot. Blake went down to go check it out and someone had backed into us and completely ripped off our rear bumper! It was crazy! Blake was able to put the bumper in the back seat and drive the car home. He was switching out the car seat to our other car in our apt complex parking lot when he noticed someone had backed into our other car too! Two cars getting hit in two different parking lots on the same day!?!? Are you kidding?  Thankfully no one was hurt and the lady who ripped off our bumper left her info.

We finally got discharged Sunday afternoon to head home. I was little nervous about recovery at home because I wasn't able to move around well yet at all. It took me about 5 minutes to walk up the 4 steps into our apartment. Thankfully Jessie and Steve brought us dinner that night so Teddy could meet his bestie Cohen.
 

My hematoma is slowly reabsorbing and I feel better and better every day. Blake has been able to help with doctor appointments for me and Teddy and has been a life saver. It's been a whirlwind month but little Teddy Bear has been worth it all! He is such a sweet, calm, happy baby. In between recovery, we've also had a lot of fun with family visiting. I feel good now and we are getting into a good routine with lots of snuggles, tummy time, walks, baths, books, singing and thankfully some napping thrown in as well.

Cheers to one month Teddy!