Kalli came to do some pictures. This is my sneak peak. Thought I'd share. :)
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
The whole story
So I'm finally going to tell the whole story. Or as much of it as I can anyway. I was drugged and in severe pain for a lot of it.
Mabel Mae Keele was born at 5:54 PM Monday. She was 5lbs 8 oz; 17.5 inches and she was 28 days early.
Mabel came into this world via emergency C-Section because I had preeclampsia, also known as toxemia.
I guess the problem with toxemia has been going on for a while now but we didn't know I had it because a few of the big signs were completely absent for me. I had swelling in my feet but I didn't have high blood pressure (till last weekend) and I didn't have any protein in my urine. This stuff is checked routinely at doctor's visits because it's so important to catch it early. I had a pain in my right side under my rib cage that I was attributing to normal pregnancy pain having never been pregnant before.
The pain in my side would come and go and it was getting worse and coming more often. Sunday night when Eric got home from work at 1 AM I was in so much pain I couldn't sleep and I started to feel scared. I called the midwife on call and she told me it was probably a gallstone (also common in pregnancy) and told me to go to the emergency room and have it checked out. They would probably just do an ultrasound and give me some medication to get rid of them.
When we got to the ER they checked my blood pressure and it was through the roof. A few other signs told them it was not my gallbladder it was my liver that was causing me the pain.
I remember getting IVs for pain and getting into a hospital bed. The doctor and nurses still weren't sure what was wrong with me because my symptoms weren't adding up so they ran a blood test which showed that I had severe preeclampsia. They told me I would probably have to be induced and have the baby in the next 48 hours.
This wasn't too scary because I had been assured over and over that Mabel was just fine. When they ran my blood again they found that my liver platelets were too low and I would have to have a C-Section ASAP to prevent seizure, coma and possibly death.
At this point it was about 3 PM and most of my family had arrived at the hospital. At the time, I had no idea how serious my condition was but my family did. I found out later that they were all very scared for me but they didn't want to show it because the goal was to keep me calm.
I had to wait for the doctor to get to the hospital for a few hours because he was doing a C-Section for another couple who were trying not to lose their baby. I had a lot of compassion for them because I knew my baby was going to be ok even if I wasn't.
My body was shaking and I felt very cold. I remember I kept crying a lot. The biggest goal was to keep me calm and my blood pressure low. The highest I remember it going was 167 over 142. I tried breathing exercises and people took turns holding my hand.
I had to be taken off the pain medicine I was on for the last couple of hours because it was slowing Mabel's heart. The pain cleared my mind a bit and I was able to talk to my family and I learned that I would have to be put under general anesthesia for the surgery because they don't want to get too near nerve endings and the spinal cord with an epidural when the liver platelets are low because it could cause paralysis. Because I was going to be put under, I had to go into surgery alone. This was not something I was prepared for. Eric had been with me the whole time and I was counting on the fact that I would not go into surgery alone.
They don't let loved ones go into surgery when the patient goes out because it's very scary for loved ones and they become a liability because they can panic or pass out.
The doctor finally arrived and I said good-bye to my family and Eric kissed me one last time and they wheeled me out.
Everything after that point is even more hazy. Mostly I just remember being so scared and wanting the pain to end. They put my arms out straight to the side and put an oxygen mask and told me to breath deep.
Two and a half hours later I woke up a mommy and alone except for one nurse in the room. Eric filled me in later and told me that they wouldn't let me see me that whole time but that he was able to see Mabel. He picked out her first pink bow and she was sleeping in the Special Care Nursery. Mabel did great. She regulated her own heat well and her oxygen levels were great. I asked to see my baby as soon as I was with Eric again but they told me they couldn't let me go anywhere yet because my blood pressure was still too high.
So my family said goodnight and left and Eric and I were left too sleep in a small room. Someone came in to check on me every hour and I had my blood pressure taken every 15 minutes.
The next day my blood work came back worse so I still wasn't able to see my baby. I was hooked up to more machines than ever. I had a machine on both my legs moving pressure to make sure I didn't get blood clots, an oxygen machine on my toe, a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure cuff, IVs in both arms and a catheter. Plus, I kept having to get my blood taken. I am now very afraid of needles. The high blood pressure made my veins collapse so I had to get stuck several times every time they needed something.
After that things got better. They wheeled me to the nursery with Eric to see Mabel at about 11 AM Tuesday. It was quite the trip with all my cords and wires on metal poles. I'm very grateful to the hospital for letting me go see Mabel as soon as they did. Someone handed her to me and I just cried. Eric sat in a chair next to me and we just looked at her and tried to decide who's features she had. I think Eric and I told each other "I love you" more times this week than in the whole first year of our marriage. I'm so grateful to have him.
Mabel was actually born on August 2 which was our two year anniversary. We think this is pretty funny considering she was due on my birthday and took our anniversary instead. We still need to celebrate our anniversary but right now was are just happy to have our family home together.
I want to thank everyone for the well wishes, prayers, blessings, flowers, texts, calls, and meals. I feel so grateful and so frustrated that I can't adequately tell you all what your support means to us. We have been so blessed.
We are more available for visitors now and we are excited for everyone to meet Mae. Thank you again and I hope to follow this post with lots of more light hearted ones. :)
Mabel Mae Keele was born at 5:54 PM Monday. She was 5lbs 8 oz; 17.5 inches and she was 28 days early.
Mabel came into this world via emergency C-Section because I had preeclampsia, also known as toxemia.
I guess the problem with toxemia has been going on for a while now but we didn't know I had it because a few of the big signs were completely absent for me. I had swelling in my feet but I didn't have high blood pressure (till last weekend) and I didn't have any protein in my urine. This stuff is checked routinely at doctor's visits because it's so important to catch it early. I had a pain in my right side under my rib cage that I was attributing to normal pregnancy pain having never been pregnant before.
The pain in my side would come and go and it was getting worse and coming more often. Sunday night when Eric got home from work at 1 AM I was in so much pain I couldn't sleep and I started to feel scared. I called the midwife on call and she told me it was probably a gallstone (also common in pregnancy) and told me to go to the emergency room and have it checked out. They would probably just do an ultrasound and give me some medication to get rid of them.
When we got to the ER they checked my blood pressure and it was through the roof. A few other signs told them it was not my gallbladder it was my liver that was causing me the pain.
I remember getting IVs for pain and getting into a hospital bed. The doctor and nurses still weren't sure what was wrong with me because my symptoms weren't adding up so they ran a blood test which showed that I had severe preeclampsia. They told me I would probably have to be induced and have the baby in the next 48 hours.
This wasn't too scary because I had been assured over and over that Mabel was just fine. When they ran my blood again they found that my liver platelets were too low and I would have to have a C-Section ASAP to prevent seizure, coma and possibly death.
At this point it was about 3 PM and most of my family had arrived at the hospital. At the time, I had no idea how serious my condition was but my family did. I found out later that they were all very scared for me but they didn't want to show it because the goal was to keep me calm.
I had to wait for the doctor to get to the hospital for a few hours because he was doing a C-Section for another couple who were trying not to lose their baby. I had a lot of compassion for them because I knew my baby was going to be ok even if I wasn't.
My body was shaking and I felt very cold. I remember I kept crying a lot. The biggest goal was to keep me calm and my blood pressure low. The highest I remember it going was 167 over 142. I tried breathing exercises and people took turns holding my hand.
I had to be taken off the pain medicine I was on for the last couple of hours because it was slowing Mabel's heart. The pain cleared my mind a bit and I was able to talk to my family and I learned that I would have to be put under general anesthesia for the surgery because they don't want to get too near nerve endings and the spinal cord with an epidural when the liver platelets are low because it could cause paralysis. Because I was going to be put under, I had to go into surgery alone. This was not something I was prepared for. Eric had been with me the whole time and I was counting on the fact that I would not go into surgery alone.
They don't let loved ones go into surgery when the patient goes out because it's very scary for loved ones and they become a liability because they can panic or pass out.
The doctor finally arrived and I said good-bye to my family and Eric kissed me one last time and they wheeled me out.
Everything after that point is even more hazy. Mostly I just remember being so scared and wanting the pain to end. They put my arms out straight to the side and put an oxygen mask and told me to breath deep.
Two and a half hours later I woke up a mommy and alone except for one nurse in the room. Eric filled me in later and told me that they wouldn't let me see me that whole time but that he was able to see Mabel. He picked out her first pink bow and she was sleeping in the Special Care Nursery. Mabel did great. She regulated her own heat well and her oxygen levels were great. I asked to see my baby as soon as I was with Eric again but they told me they couldn't let me go anywhere yet because my blood pressure was still too high.
So my family said goodnight and left and Eric and I were left too sleep in a small room. Someone came in to check on me every hour and I had my blood pressure taken every 15 minutes.
The next day my blood work came back worse so I still wasn't able to see my baby. I was hooked up to more machines than ever. I had a machine on both my legs moving pressure to make sure I didn't get blood clots, an oxygen machine on my toe, a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure cuff, IVs in both arms and a catheter. Plus, I kept having to get my blood taken. I am now very afraid of needles. The high blood pressure made my veins collapse so I had to get stuck several times every time they needed something.
After that things got better. They wheeled me to the nursery with Eric to see Mabel at about 11 AM Tuesday. It was quite the trip with all my cords and wires on metal poles. I'm very grateful to the hospital for letting me go see Mabel as soon as they did. Someone handed her to me and I just cried. Eric sat in a chair next to me and we just looked at her and tried to decide who's features she had. I think Eric and I told each other "I love you" more times this week than in the whole first year of our marriage. I'm so grateful to have him.
Mabel was actually born on August 2 which was our two year anniversary. We think this is pretty funny considering she was due on my birthday and took our anniversary instead. We still need to celebrate our anniversary but right now was are just happy to have our family home together.
I want to thank everyone for the well wishes, prayers, blessings, flowers, texts, calls, and meals. I feel so grateful and so frustrated that I can't adequately tell you all what your support means to us. We have been so blessed.
We are more available for visitors now and we are excited for everyone to meet Mae. Thank you again and I hope to follow this post with lots of more light hearted ones. :)
Monday, July 12, 2010
Random Thoughts
I think that having Eric at work so much has made my mind wander farther than usual. Here are some random thoughts I've had in the past week or so.
1. Why do we say, "I feel like Orange Juice," or "I feel like pizza?" Does that mean you want to drink orange juice or that you feel sticky and wet?
2. If you lay on your side, and stick you hand straight up in the air, it looks freakishly long.
3. I bet if NASCAR let one guy drive with his wife in the passenger seat, he would win. Wives are excellent navigators and very helpful at seeing things their husbands miss.
4. I was pretty proud of the fact that I could still see my feet. Then Eric told me to stand up straight. Can't see my feet.
5. Why is that I can clean the whole house but then at the very end, I can't put the vacuum away?
6. Today, on my way home, I was 100 feet from my apartment and a train crossing the road stopped moving. What are you supposed to do in this situation? The guy behind me honked his horn and I laughed.
7. You know in Jurassic Park when the fat, bad guy throws the stick to get rid of the dinosaur? He tells the dino that he's stupid for not fetching the stick. I think that's just ignorance.
What are your random thoughts?
1. Why do we say, "I feel like Orange Juice," or "I feel like pizza?" Does that mean you want to drink orange juice or that you feel sticky and wet?
2. If you lay on your side, and stick you hand straight up in the air, it looks freakishly long.
3. I bet if NASCAR let one guy drive with his wife in the passenger seat, he would win. Wives are excellent navigators and very helpful at seeing things their husbands miss.
4. I was pretty proud of the fact that I could still see my feet. Then Eric told me to stand up straight. Can't see my feet.
5. Why is that I can clean the whole house but then at the very end, I can't put the vacuum away?
6. Today, on my way home, I was 100 feet from my apartment and a train crossing the road stopped moving. What are you supposed to do in this situation? The guy behind me honked his horn and I laughed.
7. You know in Jurassic Park when the fat, bad guy throws the stick to get rid of the dinosaur? He tells the dino that he's stupid for not fetching the stick. I think that's just ignorance.
What are your random thoughts?
Monday, June 28, 2010
Moments of Happy
Today some one teased me because I got really excited about the new Mystery flavor of Stride gum. I like it when little things excite me because it makes my day better. A few small things that make me happy:
Getting a cream soda Dum Dum after my doctors appointments
Root beer
Buying healthy food
Actually making something that tastes good with the healthy food
Wearing flip flops for the fist time of the season
Twin Pops popsicles
When the baby gets hiccups
Getting my contacts in quickly
When Single Ladies comes on and I get to do the dance
Putting clean sheets on the bed
Eric's pink cheeks when he's sleeping
Finding an unexpected dollar
When Lily finds a bug to chase
What small things make you happy? :)
Getting a cream soda Dum Dum after my doctors appointments
Root beer
Buying healthy food
Actually making something that tastes good with the healthy food
Wearing flip flops for the fist time of the season
Twin Pops popsicles
When the baby gets hiccups
Getting my contacts in quickly
When Single Ladies comes on and I get to do the dance
Putting clean sheets on the bed
Eric's pink cheeks when he's sleeping
Finding an unexpected dollar
When Lily finds a bug to chase
What small things make you happy? :)
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Excuse me..... those aren't mine...
And these are my swollen feet. I wish I could hide them in shoes... but they won't fit.
Cute nail polish though huh?
Cute nail polish though huh?
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
7 Months
We went to another doctor's appointment today so that must mean it's time to blog again! It's been a pretty fun month really. We went camping and spent time with family and registered. Which, for me anyway, feels like shopping for free.
We went camping with Jenn, Lance and Bentley. It was really fun to hang out and chat. It was a bit crazy for me as sleeping on the ground is rather difficult at the moment. The first night I slept amazingly well since we got there so late but as soon as I rolled onto my side the second night I realized my hips and shoulders were bruised so the second night wasn't so amazing but the food was good! Eric loves to use the dutch oven. I would rather just use our camp stove but I won't deny him the pleasure of using his manly out door skills... even if I'm the one that gets to clean up after him...
Friday night Eric and I watched Beauty and the Beast and Eric and Mae had their first bonding experience. Eric was lying on my tummy and pushing on Mae and bit and she ended up kicking or punching him 3 times right in the cheek super fast. They were the strongest movements he's felt so far! He sat up (a bit weirded out I think) and then proceeded to play a game which mostly consisted of pushing or yelling into my tummy till she responded to him. It was really fun to watch him be excited about her and I'm so happy to be starting a family with Eric. He's going to be a great daddy.
It's finally warming up outside! I'm sure I won't like it so much when I'm really hot but at least I don't have to try to find a coat that will still fit. I don't know what women where in the winter when they are 7 months pregnant.
The doctor's appointment was pretty standard. Asked me if I had questions, she measured my weight, tummy, and blood pressure and then we heard the heart beat. I guess the message got lost some how but because my placenta was low lying at the 20 week appointment I was supposed to have an other ultrasound this time but that didn't happen so we'll be doing that in 3 weeks. I'm excited to see if I can tell that she's grown since we last saw her. :)
Last weekend I went to the Timpanogos hospital for my Rho-GAM shot and to get my glucose tested. We got to see the delivery room and such. That was pretty cool and a bit scary to see where I would actually be meeting Mae. There were lots of tubes and wires in there...
We've been gaining baby stuff very slowly but I thought I would post some pictures of the cute stuff we have.
Baby changer (FREE!) and bassinet ($30 at garage sale!)
Graco travel system stroller and infant seat ($25 for the combo!!!!)
Lily checking them out.
We went camping with Jenn, Lance and Bentley. It was really fun to hang out and chat. It was a bit crazy for me as sleeping on the ground is rather difficult at the moment. The first night I slept amazingly well since we got there so late but as soon as I rolled onto my side the second night I realized my hips and shoulders were bruised so the second night wasn't so amazing but the food was good! Eric loves to use the dutch oven. I would rather just use our camp stove but I won't deny him the pleasure of using his manly out door skills... even if I'm the one that gets to clean up after him...
Friday night Eric and I watched Beauty and the Beast and Eric and Mae had their first bonding experience. Eric was lying on my tummy and pushing on Mae and bit and she ended up kicking or punching him 3 times right in the cheek super fast. They were the strongest movements he's felt so far! He sat up (a bit weirded out I think) and then proceeded to play a game which mostly consisted of pushing or yelling into my tummy till she responded to him. It was really fun to watch him be excited about her and I'm so happy to be starting a family with Eric. He's going to be a great daddy.
It's finally warming up outside! I'm sure I won't like it so much when I'm really hot but at least I don't have to try to find a coat that will still fit. I don't know what women where in the winter when they are 7 months pregnant.
The doctor's appointment was pretty standard. Asked me if I had questions, she measured my weight, tummy, and blood pressure and then we heard the heart beat. I guess the message got lost some how but because my placenta was low lying at the 20 week appointment I was supposed to have an other ultrasound this time but that didn't happen so we'll be doing that in 3 weeks. I'm excited to see if I can tell that she's grown since we last saw her. :)
Last weekend I went to the Timpanogos hospital for my Rho-GAM shot and to get my glucose tested. We got to see the delivery room and such. That was pretty cool and a bit scary to see where I would actually be meeting Mae. There were lots of tubes and wires in there...
We've been gaining baby stuff very slowly but I thought I would post some pictures of the cute stuff we have.
Some clothes and odds and ends... So cute. :)
Baby changer (FREE!) and bassinet ($30 at garage sale!)
Graco travel system stroller and infant seat ($25 for the combo!!!!)
Lily checking them out.
Big thanks to all who've contributed to Mae's wardrobe and to my sister Kim for finding the matching stroller, car seat and bassinet at a garage sale for a killer deal!
And to Daddy for picking up the changing table for me.
And to Lily for the safety inspection.
And to Daddy for picking up the changing table for me.
And to Lily for the safety inspection.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
