Getting some things on the walls

I think I said I wouldn't post anymore photos of the nursery until the glider came in. Technically, the glider IS in. Just not in the house. It arrived at the store yesterday. Due to the crappy weather we're holding off on picking it up until all the rain stops.

So, while the glider isn't in these pictures, I am posting some pictures of stuff we've finally put up on the walls in AJ's room.

Her name above her crib.

A cross-stitch my mom made me a few years ago on one wall

& a shelf above the bookcase.

(the kangaroo will go - it's just hanging out until the glider gets here)

Healing nicely

After two weeks my incision is looking pretty good so I can't complain. I've had at least two nurses say it's the "prettiest one" they've seen. Next time I see my doctor (or electrician, as he calls himself) I'll have to thank him for the nice job.

In surgery when he told me he was done and going to sew me up I asked him if was a good seamstress. It definitely got some laughs but I can tell him that if anyone else ever asks, he can definitely say "yes."

A beautiful shower - Part 1

On February 7th Abby and her mom threw me an absolutely beautiful shower. It was AMAZING and as always, every detail was perfect and the day was one I'll never forget. Thanks to Steph, the official photographer of the day, here's some pictures. Hopefully you can see just how incredibly it was even if you weren't there with just a handful of the many pics she took...

A Beautiful shower - Part 2

THANK YOU so much to Barbara and Abby for such an amazing day. There are not enough words to express how much you two mean to me and what this day meant. Thank you!

5 Weeks To Go!

A very LATE post

These pictures are from December 26th. My belly wasn't quite the mountain it is these days when I lie down and back then I could lie on my back still without too many problems.

That afternoon Abby, Dave, Anna, Oliver & I went to see Steph, Jay and Kaelani so the kids could exchange Christmas presents. For whatever reason I lied down and Abby somehow ended up feeling around for Amelia, who she hadn't felt move yet. AJ would cooperate and move but Abby was able to feel her...

So while Kaelani tried to figure out what was going on, Steph got in on the action...

...but what Steph thought was Amelia was really my ribs! :)

And before I could get up, Anna wanted a feel...

34 Weeks

The last week was long. I went back to work on Tuesday and though I was only there for 4 days, it felt like the never-ending week. And actually, we worked from 10am - 1pm on Saturday so it was almost a 5 day week.

I'm feeling better and my incision seems to be healing well. I still have a bunch of swelling at the site but hopefully that will go down soon. Other than that, I've found a somewhat comfortable position for sleeping and I can go a full day without taking anything for pain, which is nice.

The biggest hurdle is how tired I am but I don't think the surgery changed that too much. I think just being pregnant can be blamed by itself. I get home from work and I'm wiped out. Luckily Shaun has some amazing tennis ladies that have sent him home with lots of food so I really haven't had to cook. We've both eaten well and I haven't had to reduce my laziness. :)

All in all I still feel like all of this was a blessing in disguise. The timing was perfect as far as allowing me to heal before Amelia gets here. (Well, as long as she sticks to closer to her due date!) I'd much rather deal with all of this now than with a newborn at home.

6 weeks to go! I can't wait to meet her and as each day passes I wonder what she'll look like and who she'll take after. I am guessing she'll be bald as I have had absolute NO heartburn. And, I think she's going to be athletic. This kid does a number on me multiple times a day. It both mesmerizes me and annoys me because sometimes it's downright uncomfortable. Oh well, at least I know she's strong and will probably take after her daddy when it comes to athletic ability. Thank goodness! :)

That's it for now. I need a quick nap before dinner or at least just a chance to put my feet up!

The story

Tuesday, February 9th was life-changing. I woke-up that morning and thought it was just going to be another day. I was in a good mood. I even joked to Shaun that I looked like a relative of the Great Pumpkin in the orange shirt I was wearing for an event that night. My volunteer, Jim, came in that morning and we were joking around and having good chats. That afternoon at lunchtime I went to the chiropractor. Afterwards I returned to the office to tie up some things before leaving to setup for the event.

About 3:45pm I started getting abdominal pains. I've since been told those are Braxton-Hicks contractions. I just thought AJ was moving around and trying to find a more comfortable spot. So, I continued on my way to the party store to pick-up balloons and then finally, to the pizza restaurant where I was hosting the event. All was going well and I was just hoping people were going to show-up. My co-worker Yael ran home to nurse her son and bring him back to help me out. With everything all setup I remembered my camera was in the car. I headed out to the car to grab it and when I went to head back inside I got really dizzy. I THINK that I squatted down beside the car to brace myself but I'm not really sure...

The next thing I remember is that I was lying on something cold but I didn't know where I was or why there were a bunch of people gathered around me and kind of yelling at me. Even more confusing, I couldn't figure out why a firetruck was pulling in and the responders were approaching me. Very quickly I realized I was lying on the cold asphalt of the parking lot by my car outside the pizza place. I tried to get up and was pushed down by 10 or more hands. It was then that I realized my pants were wet and I wasn't having abdominal pain. Unfortunately for all the nice men helping me, I started bawling and couldn't form a sentence no matter how hard I tried.

When the ambulance showed up the firefighters and EMTs loaded me up and I was on my way. The back board was excruciating and I was nervous that I still hadn't felt Amelia move. When we got the hospital I was left on the back board wearing a neck brace. That's how poor Shaun found me when he arrived. I don't think he had ever been so freaked out in his life. Finally they got me off the back board and out of that neck brace. A nurse then came in with a Doppler to check AJ's heart rate. She made a comment about how she wasn't good at doing it and then kinda laughed as it took her a good 5 minutes to find the heart beat. It was the LONGEST five minutes of my life. And the scariest.

From there they moved me up to Labor & Delivery so Amelia & I could get checked out since the ER doctor wasn't sure if my water had broken or not. Up in L&D I was examined and had the fetal heart rate monitors strapped on. My water hadn't broken and AJ was looking good. So, the OB doctors wanted to figure out what caused me to pass out. At that point they did an EKG on me. The results came back abnormal so it was decided I would be transferred down to the cardiology floor for overnight monitoring.

The next morning I was hoping to go home. That's when I learned not only had my EKG been abnormal the night before, my heart rate overnight had been abnormal too. The doctors wanted to run a few more tests but they were pretty sure I had the same fatal heart condition my dad has - Prolong QT. It's hereditary and not only does my dad have it but his mom did too. The doctors told me it would require getting a defibrillator put in my chest the next morning.

We freaked. What did this mean for Amelia? How would this affect my delivery? What risks were involved to me and AJ during the surgery? The list went on and on. Luckily, I had AMAZING doctors. My OB came in and spent lots of time with us and talking to my cardiology team (yes, I had a team - not just a doctor - talk about feeling important!), the anesthesiologists and the internal medicine doctor. She approved everything they were going to do for the surgery - from how pain would be managed during the procedure, medicine after the procedure and several other things. It was reassuring to have the doctors working together and all of them taking the time to make sure Shaun and I had all our questions answered and feeling comfortable.

Thursday morning was the surgery. I couldn't be put under since I'm pregnant so they used some local anesthetic in my chest and gave me something intravenously that made me feel dopey even though I could hear everything. The pain wasn't bad but I could feel the pressure of the doctor putting the device in and something kinda funny when he scrapped the tissue away from the muscle to make a "pocket."

At the end of the surgery I was taken to Labor & Delivery for post-op so they could monitor AJ. She was a champ and seemed to have no issues with the surgery. She was bouncing all around and had a strong heartbeat. It was the highlight of the day to hear how well she was doing.

When I returned to the Cardiac floor I was glad to hear I could take Percocet because the pain was starting to kick in. I spent most of the afternoon in and out of sleep. That night was a little bit better than Tuesday or Wednesday only because I could take meds. Friday morning I was told I would go home sometime that day. I couldn't believe they were going to send me home in such pain but I was looking forward to a hot shower and sleeping in my own bed.

I FINALLY got to leave about 5pm Friday night. That night I took some Percocet but woke-up less than 2 hours later in pain. While I was surrounded by pillows, I wasn't propped up like I was in the hospital. I never realized how important that little detail was to my comfort. Luckily Shaun was able to grab one of the Boppy pillows we have for AJ to help elevate my upper body. It made a huge difference.

Today, Sunday, I'm feeling better. I can move my arm with much more ease and I've even tried lifting a few things. While I do have restrictions (I can't lift more than 10lbs with my left hand, I can't lift my left hand above my shoulder, and because I passed out, I can't drive) for the next month, I am happy to be home instead of still in the hospital.

Tomorrow I have an OB appointment. I don't foresee them keeping me home for any reason so I'll go to work when that appointment is done. Then on February 22nd I'll see the Cardiologist again. And then the OB again on March 4th. From there I see the OB every week until Amelia arrives. So, my blood pressure and heart rate will be checked frequently and AJ monitored pretty closely too just to be safe. And another Cardio appointment on March 22nd. The doctors keep assuring us that my labor won't be affected by my heart but it's nice to know I will be seeing a doctor every week for the next 6 weeks.

So, that's it. That's the story. It is a blessing in disguise. Yes, it stinks that it happened. But, thank goodness I wasn't alone when it happened. Thank goodness I was pregnant. If I hadn't been, they might not have done the EKG and the whole incident would have been falsely attributed to low blood-sugar or something else. Thank goodness I'll be fully recovered if AJ keeps to her due date and if she doesn't, we'll manage. But more than anything, thank God I'm alive. Someone was keeping their eyes on me Tuesday night and giving me a second chance. Shaun and I are lucky. We may have never won the lottery but we got through this week.

A little behind

I need to catch up on some posts, including one about what happened because I know some people still are looking for the whole story but that won't come tonight. I also have some pics from my shower. Those too will come later. For now here's a few different things...

33 Weeks - took this Friday night when I got home from the hospital and got a shower.

Not the best pic but hey, it's probably the best I looked all week.

For those inquiring minds wondering what my scar looks like.

The pretty flowers I got while in the hospital.

The guys (Shaun, Ryan & his boyfriend Mike) say they make the house

smell like a florist. I wasn't sure how to take that but I think they're pretty.

Abby's Mom brought us dinner Saturday night. It was AMAZING.

And, such great presentation! It was SO nice to have good food

and not have to make it! :) Thank you, Barbara & Bruce!

32 weeks - 2 months to go!