I started a post about the remainder of my hospital stay, but it got reeeeaaaallllyyy long, so I'm taking a different approach. Frankly, I was boring myself with all the wordiness.
Monday: Baby Girl was born and everyone was happy.
Tuesday: Baby Girl's bilirubin level was rising quickly, so her pediatrician ordered that she stay in the nursery under the lights. She was there all day and all of Tuesday night.
I got a flu shot.
Wednesday: The pediatrician came in and told me that Baby Girl's bilirubin level seemed to have leveled out. It was never really all that high, it just shot up really quickly. He wasn't comfortable releasing her to come home, but didn't think she needed to be under the lights anymore. He wanted to keep her in the hospital in the room with me just to be sure the bilirubin wasn't going to shoot back up once she was off the lights. We were also told she had failed the hearing test in her left ear.
I talked my doctor into letting me stay another day. Later in the afternoon, I had a fever of 103.9! My doctor ordered a CBC, blood cultures and urine cultures. I was started on iv antibiotics. My iv never felt right. It was painful, and I could feel intense stinging each time a nurse flushed it out. I could also feel the antibiotic going in.
Thursday: Baby Girl's bilirubin level was holding steady, and her doctor was ready to discharge her as soon as I was given the green light to go home. She still had not passed her hearing test in her left ear.
My doctor came by and told me that he wanted me to be fever free for 24 hours before he discharged me. All my blood work and cultures came back clean. By lunch, my fever was back up to 101.9. I was still on the (painful) iv, getting the antibiotic every 6 hours. That afternoon, I noticed a red streak going up my arm, starting at the (painful) iv. I pointed it out to my nurse, who said it was okay. After shift change, my new nurse took one look at my iv, said, "That's red," and said the iv was bad. She started a new iv, my third in 4 days. I don't love needles.
Friday: Baby Girl passed her hearing test.
I was missing my other kids like crazy and couldn't wait to go home. Someone from my doctors' office had been there each morning by 8:00am. Of course, on this day. no one showed up until 4:30pm! I was finally discharged, and my hubby and other three kids came to get us. I was so excited to see The Boy. He had been with his Nana, and I hadn't seen him since Monday. Now, normally, if I'm away from him for even a few minutes, he is beyond excited to see me. That is what I pictured all day. I imagined him running to me and giving me a huge hug. His 13 year old sister carried him in. She pointed to me and said, "Who is that?" He said my younger sister's name. Considering how I looked that day, she should be highly offended. He looked again and said, "Mommy." He didn't want me to hold him. And I lost it! All the stress and drama of the week hit me, and I burst into tears. I finally won Little Man over by letting him ride out in the wheelchair with me and his new sister.
And he was pleased as punch to have us home!
Saturday: We gave Baby Girl her first bath at home, which I mention only because I love this picture taken by the 13 year old.
And later, we had an adventure involving a silver bell, a gold butterfly and seven men in uniform.
But that's a story for another day!
2 comments:
I honestly don't think you ever mentioned the red streaks from the iv to me!!!! Love the last picture. Love YOU!
I love the last pic. It is so good.
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