David, Sammy and I have some great news and some not-so-great news. First for The Good News:
The Not-So-Great News:
Thursday evening at about 5:30, I suddenly started to feel a very sharp, very constant pain in the general vicinity of my right ovary. I waited a half-hour and then asked a couple close mommy friends and my doula (also a very dear friend) for some prayer. Around 7:00, my doula (Crissi, best ever) called me and she recommended I call my midwife, Kathleen (also best ever), to let her know what's going on and see what she thought I should do about it. Kathleen immediately suggested I go to the ER, and I told her that wasn't what I had been hoping to hear. She then said I could try to see if I could get through the pain through the night, and then go somewhere and get a sonogram in the morning, but if the pain got worse to go to the ER immediately. That sounded much better to me.
An hour later, the pain was still persisting and I was starting to wonder if I'd be able to sleep through it and becoming increasingly worried about an ectopic pregnancy. I started asking David what he thought we should do. Thirty minutes later the pain increased slightly and we had our answer. Our friend Sarah Long had offered to come stay with Sam while he slept, so I called her and she immediately came over. God bless Sarah.
David and I got to the hospital where I was checked in, gowned, and the adventure began. There was a woman across the hall who sounded like she had the plague (probably "just" whooping cough) and a guy two doors down who was literally certifiable and kept shouting "Viva Mexico!" They drew blood and told me to sit tight and wait for the sonographer. 45 minutes later, around 11:15, my chariot was finally wheeled down the hall to the sonogram - sans David. I'm still not sure why David couldn't come. The sonographer reminded me of Jeff Bridges (and his name was Jeff) and I liked him a lot. He told me they were looking for a torqued ovary (an ovary that was twisted, and would require emergent surgery), an ectopic pregnancy (also emergent), or twins with one pregnancy outside the uterus (what?!). I both appreciated his information and panicked slightly - especially without my David there to hold my hand.
After a few minutes, he told me my ovaries looked fine and then I got to see our little Peanut. The heartbeat looked good, and he/she measured right at 7 weeks, 5 days. (And there's only one, hooray!) The sonographer, after a while, found a spot that he explained was a small bleed, but said they were "not usually associated with negative outcomes." After 40 minutes in all (we had been told 20), with wands stuck in places I'd like to never have wands again, I was finally wheeled back to David. I told him the good news and showed him the picture I was able to take of our Peanut.
A little while later the doctor finally came in for the first time and, oh, my. His bedside manner left something to be (greatly) desired. He explained that the bleed was a subchorionic hemorrage, my uterus was fraying, and that I couldn't do any heavy lifting for the next couple of weeks. I asked him what I should do about my 22lb, 11-month-old. His response? "Well, I can't tell you what to do in your personal life, but if you want to keep this pregnancy, then you can't lift anything for the next couple weeks and you need to take it easy for the rest of the pregnancy." He was a gem, y'all. He walked out and I lost it for a second. I hysterically asked David what on earth we were going to do. And then we were discharged, thank you very much, you can go home.
So here we are, trying to adjust to a life where Mama can't lift anything and is having to "take it easy" - something I don't do well. I think God is trying to teach me to ask for help - something else which I really do not do well. So here I am. Asking for help.
Unfortunately, with David's new job he has no flexibility and I am trying to figure out how to make it through a day without lifting my 11-month-old. Forget putting him in his bed. Or the bath. Or taking out the trash. Or carrying too much laundry. I'm struggling, and it's only been two days.
Another very dear friend (there's a special place in heaven for you, Callie Herron) has created a calendar if you are willing and able to help bring a meal (at the moment I still have pain when I am up for too long and Sam goes NUTS if I can't hold him when I'm in the kitchen) or to come sit and help with the Bean or if you want to take him with you for a while, it would be a HUGE help and blessing to our family. Leave a comment with your email and I'll forward it to you. We especially covet prayer right now for mama and the Little we are trying to protect, though, as we know our God is mighty and loving and always listening to our prayers.
We are tired, we are thrilled, we are anxious, we are trusting God. We are exceedingly grateful for the help we have already received, for our tremendous support system, and for the opportunity for us to learn and grow together.
~ David, Emily, Sammy & the Peanut
(taken last week)
We are thrilled to announce our family is growing even more! After almost six months of hoping and praying for another, we are thrilled. Our new Little will be joining us Mid-April, 2014 (due date 4/15/14). We have been so excited to share our great news, but were hoping to wait a few more weeks - unfortunately, our not-so-great news is forcing our hand a little earlier than we'd planed.
The Not-So-Great News:
Thursday evening at about 5:30, I suddenly started to feel a very sharp, very constant pain in the general vicinity of my right ovary. I waited a half-hour and then asked a couple close mommy friends and my doula (also a very dear friend) for some prayer. Around 7:00, my doula (Crissi, best ever) called me and she recommended I call my midwife, Kathleen (also best ever), to let her know what's going on and see what she thought I should do about it. Kathleen immediately suggested I go to the ER, and I told her that wasn't what I had been hoping to hear. She then said I could try to see if I could get through the pain through the night, and then go somewhere and get a sonogram in the morning, but if the pain got worse to go to the ER immediately. That sounded much better to me.
An hour later, the pain was still persisting and I was starting to wonder if I'd be able to sleep through it and becoming increasingly worried about an ectopic pregnancy. I started asking David what he thought we should do. Thirty minutes later the pain increased slightly and we had our answer. Our friend Sarah Long had offered to come stay with Sam while he slept, so I called her and she immediately came over. God bless Sarah.
David and I got to the hospital where I was checked in, gowned, and the adventure began. There was a woman across the hall who sounded like she had the plague (probably "just" whooping cough) and a guy two doors down who was literally certifiable and kept shouting "Viva Mexico!" They drew blood and told me to sit tight and wait for the sonographer. 45 minutes later, around 11:15, my chariot was finally wheeled down the hall to the sonogram - sans David. I'm still not sure why David couldn't come. The sonographer reminded me of Jeff Bridges (and his name was Jeff) and I liked him a lot. He told me they were looking for a torqued ovary (an ovary that was twisted, and would require emergent surgery), an ectopic pregnancy (also emergent), or twins with one pregnancy outside the uterus (what?!). I both appreciated his information and panicked slightly - especially without my David there to hold my hand.
After a few minutes, he told me my ovaries looked fine and then I got to see our little Peanut. The heartbeat looked good, and he/she measured right at 7 weeks, 5 days. (And there's only one, hooray!) The sonographer, after a while, found a spot that he explained was a small bleed, but said they were "not usually associated with negative outcomes." After 40 minutes in all (we had been told 20), with wands stuck in places I'd like to never have wands again, I was finally wheeled back to David. I told him the good news and showed him the picture I was able to take of our Peanut.
A little while later the doctor finally came in for the first time and, oh, my. His bedside manner left something to be (greatly) desired. He explained that the bleed was a subchorionic hemorrage, my uterus was fraying, and that I couldn't do any heavy lifting for the next couple of weeks. I asked him what I should do about my 22lb, 11-month-old. His response? "Well, I can't tell you what to do in your personal life, but if you want to keep this pregnancy, then you can't lift anything for the next couple weeks and you need to take it easy for the rest of the pregnancy." He was a gem, y'all. He walked out and I lost it for a second. I hysterically asked David what on earth we were going to do. And then we were discharged, thank you very much, you can go home.
So here we are, trying to adjust to a life where Mama can't lift anything and is having to "take it easy" - something I don't do well. I think God is trying to teach me to ask for help - something else which I really do not do well. So here I am. Asking for help.
Unfortunately, with David's new job he has no flexibility and I am trying to figure out how to make it through a day without lifting my 11-month-old. Forget putting him in his bed. Or the bath. Or taking out the trash. Or carrying too much laundry. I'm struggling, and it's only been two days.
Another very dear friend (there's a special place in heaven for you, Callie Herron) has created a calendar if you are willing and able to help bring a meal (at the moment I still have pain when I am up for too long and Sam goes NUTS if I can't hold him when I'm in the kitchen) or to come sit and help with the Bean or if you want to take him with you for a while, it would be a HUGE help and blessing to our family. Leave a comment with your email and I'll forward it to you. We especially covet prayer right now for mama and the Little we are trying to protect, though, as we know our God is mighty and loving and always listening to our prayers.
We are tired, we are thrilled, we are anxious, we are trusting God. We are exceedingly grateful for the help we have already received, for our tremendous support system, and for the opportunity for us to learn and grow together.
~ David, Emily, Sammy & the Peanut
Gimme that calendar! altajoymorris@gmail.com
ReplyDeletePraying for you I know how difficult it is I will see what I can do!
ReplyDeleteCalendar please :) Ashley.brewski@gmail.com
ReplyDelete