The best and worst week of my life

The Good:

Sunday Brett and I spent the day at the ball park watching the Eruption play. We got home, ate some dinner and went to bed. I woke up at 1:30 and felt awful. I contemplated having a bath then I felt a trickle run down my leg. I stood there for a minute and thought “is this my water breaking?” Knowing that you are not supposed to get in the tub after your water breaks I went back to the bedroom. At this point I am feeling some pain, just not like the previous Sunday when I had false labour. Brett woke up and figured that even if I didn’t think I was in labour we should still go to the hospital to find out why I was in pain. So we called and they said to come on in.

2:30 we get to the E.R. they let us go upstairs and I quickly do a urine sample before going into the assessment room. The nurse hooks me up to a fetal monitor and another monitor for the contractions. Then the nurse checks me after I have told her I don’t think I am in labour. She looks up with a smile on her face, “you are not going home, you are in labour. You are 4cm but the head is still a little high.” WOW not what I expected to hear. Brett called my parents and told them what was going on and my dad said to keep them updated. The nurse told me I would be on the monitor for 30 mins, then the pain got worse and she suggested going into my room and trying out the shower.

GREAT! The shower is supposed to help the pain! So she instructed Brett to go down and get me admitted and then move the car from the Emergency Lot to the Day Lot. In the 15 minutes Brett was gone I got to my room and tried going the bathroom (I was convinced I had to go), then the nurse suggested gas. At this point the pain had changed since the assessment room so I thought ok lets try it. I took in 2 puffs and thought I was going to puke so we turned it off. Right then Brett finally got back to the room, it felt like he had been gone for an hour (he tells me now he wasn’t really in a hurry because he was ‘cool as a cucumber.’) I was about to get into the nice warm shower that was running when I looked and Brett and said “I know it sounds silly because I was just 4cm but I really feel like I need to push.” The nurse looked at me and said that she could check me but chances are I am not there yet. So up on the bed, the nurse checks me and looks up at me wide eyed and says, “wow, you are fully dilated, so yes you probably feel the head as its right there.” She left to get the doctor. When she came back she informed us that the doctor was busy with another lady who was pushing but that its her 4th child so he should be out in no time. Great! She told me I could still push a bit for some relief. First push she tells me it’s a good push and she can see a small part of the head. Second or third contraction she says she can see the whole head. The nurse really didn’t want to catch the baby so she got the head nurse to come in. Just then Dr. Chapman came in. Next contraction I pushed three times then the head was out. I was instructed to stop pushing, then it was time for a few small coughing pushes. Look down and see what you had they told me. I looked down and out popped (they really fly outta there) a baby BOY! I remember thinking two things: Wow it’s a boy and wow he is small. Brett cut the cord and then they put him up on my chest for a few minutes of cuddles and a few screams. They then took him away and checked him over and weighed him before giving him back to us. The doctor cleaned me up and then had to leave to go stitch up the other lady before he could do his check on the baby.

After Brett and I spent a few silent minutes just staring at him we confirmed that we still agreed on the name. Blake Arnold Lambie. I reached for my phone. It was just before 4am when both my parents answered the phone. I asked them if they wanted to come meet their new grandchild. “Already?” my mom gasped. When Brett tried calling his parents it took 4 calls to the house phone and 2 to the cell phone before anyone answered. By 4:45 the grandparents had arrived as well as Auntie Holly, Uncle Paolo and Auntie Kathrin. (Bonnie we did not expect to come out as she lives in Vancouver and had to work in the morning) The doctor came back and checked over Blake and he got an all clear! Yes!! Family stayed for a short while and then left so they could get some rest before all having to go into work. Brett and I just sat there staring and text messaging as many people as we could to tell them the news. Sorry for waking some of you up! We had lots of visitors that day and were discharged Tuesday morning. We came home and all three of us had a nap together before getting some dinner and heading out to watch Blake’s first baseball game.

The Bad:

We had a couple great days at home. I have never seen Brett so excited to come home before. Then came Thursday night… I had been feeling feverish since 4pm but every time I checked my temperature was fine. Then at about 8:30 I checked it again after watching the most of the Canucks game with the chills. The thermometer read 39.1. Yikes! So we went to the E.R.

After a three hour wait in the E.R. we got taken back to a bed. They hooked me up to an IV and took my temperature and asked me a million questions, then we just waited. Around 3:30 Brett and Blake left as there was nothing they could do for me there. So I fell asleep only to get woken up at 4:30 to a nurse telling me the doctor wanted to do an internal exam. I told her no because I was cold and I have a few stitches. She told me she would get me a warm blanket and I would sit up. FINE! So after the doctor checked me he told me he thought there were left over placenta parts and they would most likely have to do a D&C. That scared me. I really didn’t want an operation. They scheduled me for an ultrasound the next day to give them a better idea of what is going on. So back to sleep I went. The next morning just before 11 I got moved upstairs to a private room, in a ward that was only 6 weeks old! It was a great room. That way I could feed Blake and I didn’t have to worry about who was around. The doctor up there looked at the ultrasound results and checked me then gave me some good news. She didn’t think that a D&C was needed, she thought I was just inflamed and that antibiotics would help. So I was allowed to eat until midnight but had to fast after that incase the doctor in the morning felt a D&C was needed. The next day the doctor came in and told me the D&C was not needed but that he wanted me to stay another day until my fever was under control. Ok, one more night as long as my fever stays away. 9pm that night the nurse comes in and oh guess who has a fever, yes this girl. I was a mess thinking that I would not be able to go home in the morning. It was not pretty. All I wanted to do was go home, be in my own bed, take care of my boys, the last thing I wanted to do was stay another night. Well this morning rolled around and in came the doctor, way earlier than I expected. I was convinced he was going to make me stay because of that one stupid fever but he told me if I take the oral antibiotics and watch my temperature then I could go home. YES FINALY!!! He left the room and I quickly called Brett and told him to come quickly, I didn’t want the doctors to change their minds. That brings us to now…

I am at home with Brett and Blake and I could not be any happier! it’s the best feeling in the world and I never want to have to be away like that again.

While all this hospital crap was happening to me Brett was so wonderful. He took Blake home every night and did the middle of the night feedings and during the day he came back and hung out with me. He was such a trooper. He truly is the worlds greatest dad and I love him and thank him so much for how strong and wonderful he has been.