Well I had no plans of ever sharing our birth story. I had a rough delivery with Leo that ended in a c section but a lot of women do and didn't really feel like I needed to share it. With Monroe I figured it would be smooth sailing, a scheduled c section at 39 weeks. Bing Bang Boom Baby! Well the story did go a lot like that..... until it took a turn for the worst a few days after delivery. I am not writing this for sympathy or anything but want to shed a little light on what isn't normal for all you ladies that are pregnant or planning to have kids. I'd hate for any of this to happen to you so with that I'll share my story. Buckle up... it is a long one!
Sept 18th, 2018
We arrived at 5am and started getting prepped for surgery. We entered the room around 7 and 15-20 minutes later our baby girl was born. With Leo I got very sick on the table, but this time I was joking around with the nurse anesthetist talking with them the entire time. Once the baby was out Jay went to check on her. As I said before Jay got to pick the baby's name and we were between the names Monroe and Sienna. The nurses asked Jay what her name and he said.... "we are either naming her Monroe or Ciara" (like the singer), I started laughing cause he had made his choice. The second option wasn't Ciara it was Sienna and clearly that wasn't going to be her name. Once in recovery we hungout for a little bit before being moved into our room. With Leo I had a hard time coming out of anesthesia and I was sick and basically sedated. That didn't happen this time, I was able to nurse right away, talk with Jay, talk about her name, and text family and friends.
We arrived at 5am and started getting prepped for surgery. We entered the room around 7 and 15-20 minutes later our baby girl was born. With Leo I got very sick on the table, but this time I was joking around with the nurse anesthetist talking with them the entire time. Once the baby was out Jay went to check on her. As I said before Jay got to pick the baby's name and we were between the names Monroe and Sienna. The nurses asked Jay what her name and he said.... "we are either naming her Monroe or Ciara" (like the singer), I started laughing cause he had made his choice. The second option wasn't Ciara it was Sienna and clearly that wasn't going to be her name. Once in recovery we hungout for a little bit before being moved into our room. With Leo I had a hard time coming out of anesthesia and I was sick and basically sedated. That didn't happen this time, I was able to nurse right away, talk with Jay, talk about her name, and text family and friends.
Things were great in the hospital, she was doing awesome, I was feeling rested, strong, and not in pain. Leo came and visited us and that was the highlight of our hospital stay. Leo meeting his sister is a moment I’ll never forget.
Less than 36 hours after my surgery we got discharged! I was over the moon to be coming home on day 2. Things continued to be great the next 3 days at home. So good that I said to Jay I could totally do this again. The second C section recovery was WAY WAY WAY easier, breastfeeding was 100% easier, and she was the easiest baby. HA HA HA..... jokes on me because on Day 5 post delivery SHIT HIT THE FAN!
Here is where I want to share what isn't normal.... my postpartum bleeding had totally stopped on day 3. I figured wow I don't remember this happening last time. On day 5 I began having heavy bleeding, I talked to Jay about it and he said it was probably normal. My bleeding continued heavily the rest of the day.....now girls this is where you should of called your OB and explained what was going on. I figured I was fine and I'd try to power through. Finally around 5 pm I passed out, like passed out passed out. I came to and passed out again, that is when my husband and father in law (who thank the LORD was over at our house and also is an ER doctor) decided to call 911. You know things aren't going so great when 2 ER doctors call 911 for the ambulance. The next 12 hours got a little crazy. I won't share every detail but what I will share is a few things....
6 firefighters had to carry me down my stairs on a backboard.... was 6 necessary? I think not. I wish my husband would of snapped a photo of cause looking back it cracks me up.
I took my first ambulance ride (ever) to the free standing ER (if you are in Tri-Cities you know what that means) things went from not so great to bad there in a matter of an hour. While there they discovered I had massive blood clot in my uterus and I was having a very serious postpartum hemorrhage. We got on the phone with our OB doctor and Jay explained to him what was going on and he said, "meet you at the main ER in 20 minutes". If you guys are in the Tri-Cities area and looking for an OB message me. I had the best experience ever with our OB. The situation I was in was terrible (read ahead) but because of him there was some humor, laughter, and I wasn't scared.... and to me that meant the world.
6 firefighters had to carry me down my stairs on a backboard.... was 6 necessary? I think not. I wish my husband would of snapped a photo of cause looking back it cracks me up.
I took my first ambulance ride (ever) to the free standing ER (if you are in Tri-Cities you know what that means) things went from not so great to bad there in a matter of an hour. While there they discovered I had massive blood clot in my uterus and I was having a very serious postpartum hemorrhage. We got on the phone with our OB doctor and Jay explained to him what was going on and he said, "meet you at the main ER in 20 minutes". If you guys are in the Tri-Cities area and looking for an OB message me. I had the best experience ever with our OB. The situation I was in was terrible (read ahead) but because of him there was some humor, laughter, and I wasn't scared.... and to me that meant the world.
Ok back to the story, at the freestanding ER they realized they needed me out of there so off on another ambulance ride (I can't wait to get our bill from this whole ordeal)! In the ER we waited for an operating room to open up and I was losing more blood quickly. The ER doctor decided my blood levels were dipping low and it was time to start getting a blood transfusion. I remember at this moment looking at my husband knowing getting a blood transfusion wasn't good and saying, "You guys aren't going to let me die right?" I knew I was sick but I didn't realize how critical it was starting to get.
My OB doctor explained that they would take me to the OR for a simple D&C to get the large clot out (bigger than a grapefruit) and I would be out in 20 minutes. I remember thinking how the f*ck is this happening and holy smokes I need to pump before I go into surgery. It is funny the things that become a priority once becoming a mom and to me pumping was the #1 priority.
I was wheeled into the OR around 11pm and I took a nice little nap. I woke up in recovery feeling awful, contracting terribly, and aware that I was getting another blood transfusion. I asked for pain meds but they explained my vital signs were too weak and they couldn't. I asked for zofran instead so I could at least not be nauseous. Praise Jesus for zofran, if I was going to be in pain I rather not feel like I was going to puke.
Around 2:30 am I was finally wheeled into my room and got to talk to Jay. My 15-20 minute surgery had turned into about a 2 hour surgery. Long story short they couldn't get the bleeding stopped, I had lost over 40-50% of my blood and I was feeling absolutely crummy. We were now in a waiting game for the next 24 hours to see if they had gotten the bleeding stopped or if I was going to be taken back into surgery. It ended up being about 36 hours before I was able to get up or move which was one of the worst parts. Being bed bound is just plain awful. What they ended up doing was using a fancy balloon to get the bleeding stopped, but my vital signs and blood levels (HTC) didn't improve so I got more blood transfusions while at the hospital. YAY!! Eventually things started to slowly improve and a few days later I was released from the hospital and able to go home to my BABIES!!!
My OB doctor explained that they would take me to the OR for a simple D&C to get the large clot out (bigger than a grapefruit) and I would be out in 20 minutes. I remember thinking how the f*ck is this happening and holy smokes I need to pump before I go into surgery. It is funny the things that become a priority once becoming a mom and to me pumping was the #1 priority.
I was wheeled into the OR around 11pm and I took a nice little nap. I woke up in recovery feeling awful, contracting terribly, and aware that I was getting another blood transfusion. I asked for pain meds but they explained my vital signs were too weak and they couldn't. I asked for zofran instead so I could at least not be nauseous. Praise Jesus for zofran, if I was going to be in pain I rather not feel like I was going to puke.
Around 2:30 am I was finally wheeled into my room and got to talk to Jay. My 15-20 minute surgery had turned into about a 2 hour surgery. Long story short they couldn't get the bleeding stopped, I had lost over 40-50% of my blood and I was feeling absolutely crummy. We were now in a waiting game for the next 24 hours to see if they had gotten the bleeding stopped or if I was going to be taken back into surgery. It ended up being about 36 hours before I was able to get up or move which was one of the worst parts. Being bed bound is just plain awful. What they ended up doing was using a fancy balloon to get the bleeding stopped, but my vital signs and blood levels (HTC) didn't improve so I got more blood transfusions while at the hospital. YAY!! Eventually things started to slowly improve and a few days later I was released from the hospital and able to go home to my BABIES!!!
Current Update:
Monroe is 3 weeks old, she has a crazy full head of black hair, she looks like her daddy, and loves to sleep. I've been home for 2 weeks. I'm shocked how weak I still am. Losing almost 50% of your blood apparently has a big impact on your body. I went from in the hospital barely being able to lift my water glass to now being able to walk to the mail box. I think that is the hardest part is physically not being able to do stuff. The doctors said it'll take about a month to regain my strength from all the blood loss. I am having to realize my limitations and not overdo it. I am so thankful for our family who has helped out immensely. I am also thankful for my husband who has had to pick up so much slack. I think it is safe to say we are done having kids after that scare. I am blessed to have a joyful little boy and the sweetest (and oh so easy) baby girl.
So PSA for all you postpartum mamas, excessive bleeding isn't normal especially day 5 post delivery. Most of the time postpartum hemorrhage happens right after delivery not 5 days out.. Make sure you call your OB if you are at all worried. I definitely would do things different if this happened again.... I don't get that opportunity but I do get the opportunity to tell people if you are worried about something call your doctor. Postpartum hemorrhage isn't something to mess around with as I can attest to that.
So that is my birth story...... full of drama and excitement!
Cheers,
Jess
Monroe is 3 weeks old, she has a crazy full head of black hair, she looks like her daddy, and loves to sleep. I've been home for 2 weeks. I'm shocked how weak I still am. Losing almost 50% of your blood apparently has a big impact on your body. I went from in the hospital barely being able to lift my water glass to now being able to walk to the mail box. I think that is the hardest part is physically not being able to do stuff. The doctors said it'll take about a month to regain my strength from all the blood loss. I am having to realize my limitations and not overdo it. I am so thankful for our family who has helped out immensely. I am also thankful for my husband who has had to pick up so much slack. I think it is safe to say we are done having kids after that scare. I am blessed to have a joyful little boy and the sweetest (and oh so easy) baby girl.
So PSA for all you postpartum mamas, excessive bleeding isn't normal especially day 5 post delivery. Most of the time postpartum hemorrhage happens right after delivery not 5 days out.. Make sure you call your OB if you are at all worried. I definitely would do things different if this happened again.... I don't get that opportunity but I do get the opportunity to tell people if you are worried about something call your doctor. Postpartum hemorrhage isn't something to mess around with as I can attest to that.
So that is my birth story...... full of drama and excitement!
Cheers,
Jess
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