Saturday, November 29, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
PHOTO's
OKay here are some photo's.
Our first cuddle, Laci's first touch and a couple of Griffin at a couple of days old.
Our first cuddle, Laci's first touch and a couple of Griffin at a couple of days old.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
The arrival of Griffin Timothy David Robertson
Okay so here is how the events unfolded to the arrival of my son and last baby Griffin at 30 weeks 1 day on the 18th November 2008.
We were due to have the much awaited scan at 3pm, time was dragging on, thankfully we were called at about 2.30pm. Shannon and I and mother in law were all there and very nervous. My ob started scanning and straight away you could see that the fluid was less again than it had been the week before. She then did the measurements of baby, he had grown but not as much as we had hoped, the most noticeable difference was his abdomen measurement. This hadn't changed at all and was sitting at only about 25th centile. This is one of the first things that change with growth restriction and the same thing had happened with Laci. She estimated his weight at was 1450grams, obviously hoping it was a little more.
The blood flow to baby was still good so that was a good thing, but this is not something we wanted to wait to see change.
Basically the ob said, 'it looks to me that your having a baby today'. of course shannon and I got all teary. She then talked to us more in detail about her findings, coupled with my ever increasing bp that was not proving easy to control. She said she wanted to go speak to the consultant paediatrician to discuss it and come back but for us to think about what we wanted to do. Whilst she was gone, we had a very diffciult time working out what to do, we felt that it shoudn't be our decision and we could see all the reasons for delivery but scared that delivery may not be the right decision..
The ob came back and basically said upon further discussion with the consultant paed it was decided that yes definately we shoud deliver. We should pull out now. My steroids for bub's lungs were current and it would only be a matter of days till we had to anyhow, lets not wait till things turned bad.
So with that I headed back to the ward. They wanted to get an IV in and take bloods to check everything. Well here began the difficulties!
I was very puffy and swollen in my feet, hands and face basically holding onto fluid everywhere. I had also been nil by mouth for 4 hours by this stage. The dr had 4 attempts at getting an iv in, but everytime he got it in my vein would collapse. They called the anaethetist and she had similar trouble but did get it in on her 2nd attempt. PHEW big relief.
Then it was the mad rush to get me showered and ready for theatre.
Arrived at theatre, scared would be he best word. Anaethetist decided she wanted a second iv just in case due to difficult veins. Thankfully she got that one in first go.
I had pre arranged for shannon to be with me for the epidural /spinal placement. A good things in hindsite as what was to come was not fun.
Serious difficulties in getting the epi in. The whole process lasted 45 minutes, was super traumatic and very painful. She would inject the local, pierce my back but for some reason just couldn't get it in, she said my epidural space was very deep and at the maximum (6cms) of the needle. At one stage she hit a nerve and I had a very painful electric shock feeling all down one leg, I was screaming and crying :( She later said that she had 6 attempts!
She finally got the epi in and it was decided to start. They did the ice test and I passed. My ob started cutting. About 3 minutes in I started feeling a sharp pain on the outer edge of her cutting, everyone was asking me a million questions about it trying to decide if it was just discomfort or pain, then all of a sudden there was pain! I'm talking pain! Deep sharp pain! I cried out and that was when my ob, said she was terribly sorry but I was going to have to go 'under'. I started crying, begging that shannon cold stay to watch his son being born but they said no.
I remember saying over and over to shannon that I was so sorry. He was crying too but telling me it was okay and and he loved me. He kissed me and left, they then put the mask over my face to breath in that lovely stuff as I was sobbing. I remember them pulling my neck back and that was it.
I woke in recovery 2 hours later in lots of pain. I remember asking if Griffin was ok, if he cried etc, did they know if he had been intubated. They said he did make some noise and that no he wasn't intubated that they knew of.
The pain was pretty intense, they had hooked up my pca button to the epidural and I was pushing it with no relief. They ended up giving me about 3 lots of bolus pain relief down my iv to settle my pain.
After about 30 mins they asked if I wanted Shannon to come down. I said yes only if Griffin ok. Shannon arrived shortly after. My first memory is that of Shannon walking in with the biggest smile on his face. It was at that moment I realised what had really happened! I had had a baby! He was just so proud and tears in his eyes. He had a couple of photo's. He said that Griffin weighed 1540grams and had lasted 45 minutes breathing on his own CPAP on.
I really wanted to be able to see Griffin but the staff said that the bed wouldn't fit in there :( This was pretty hard to deal with.
When they got me back to my room they said if after 4 hours I was able to get in a wheelchair that they could take me to the nursery. I don't think the midwives realised at that stage how major my surgery had been or how much pain I had been in as this was certainly not going to be possible.
Shannon told me that the ob had said that my surgery had been very complicated and that my uterus had ruptured, she assured Shannon that no permanent damage to other organs had occurred and she would talk to us more about it in the morning.
The time of Griffins birth was recorded at 6.54pm. I was back in the ward about 10.30pm.
Shannon left at about 11pm and headed to the nursery, he stayed there for a while, he texted me updates like Griffin's first wee :) Then Shannon headed home and got a few hours sleep.
My pain continued to increase over the next few hours, they had hooked me up the epidural for pain relief which in hindsite was pretty pointless considering I needed the general because the epi didn't work properly. So by 1am the midwife called aneathetist and organised a morphine pump to go through my iv. By 2am I was getting pain relief. I didn't sleep at all but pain was manageable.
So..
Next morning, ob comes in and talks about what happened once they got me under..
Basically as she cut to do the lower segment caesar my old classical scar (vertical cut) ruptured. Basically me uterus tore open in an upside down T cut. She said my uterus was so thin that it would no way have lasted to 36 weeks without rupturing on its own! So I feel blessed, that would have been catastrophic, don't even want to think about it!
So that was a big complication and took quite some time to repair. She said also as we expected that my adhesions and scar tissue were terrible, my bladder and bowel very much affected. She said it was a very challenging surgery and I was very lucky to have avoided any kind of bowel or bladder injury during it all.
So due to extenisve surgery she placed a drain.
So that's the events that unfolded for my son's Griffin's birth. I did confirm with my ob that she remembered to do my tubes, she confirmed, absolutely! So there closes the chapter of my life involving trying to conceive and pregnancy. Now to enjoy being a mum!
My recovery has been slow and painful, but more about that and my gorgeous son soon!
We were due to have the much awaited scan at 3pm, time was dragging on, thankfully we were called at about 2.30pm. Shannon and I and mother in law were all there and very nervous. My ob started scanning and straight away you could see that the fluid was less again than it had been the week before. She then did the measurements of baby, he had grown but not as much as we had hoped, the most noticeable difference was his abdomen measurement. This hadn't changed at all and was sitting at only about 25th centile. This is one of the first things that change with growth restriction and the same thing had happened with Laci. She estimated his weight at was 1450grams, obviously hoping it was a little more.
The blood flow to baby was still good so that was a good thing, but this is not something we wanted to wait to see change.
Basically the ob said, 'it looks to me that your having a baby today'. of course shannon and I got all teary. She then talked to us more in detail about her findings, coupled with my ever increasing bp that was not proving easy to control. She said she wanted to go speak to the consultant paediatrician to discuss it and come back but for us to think about what we wanted to do. Whilst she was gone, we had a very diffciult time working out what to do, we felt that it shoudn't be our decision and we could see all the reasons for delivery but scared that delivery may not be the right decision..
The ob came back and basically said upon further discussion with the consultant paed it was decided that yes definately we shoud deliver. We should pull out now. My steroids for bub's lungs were current and it would only be a matter of days till we had to anyhow, lets not wait till things turned bad.
So with that I headed back to the ward. They wanted to get an IV in and take bloods to check everything. Well here began the difficulties!
I was very puffy and swollen in my feet, hands and face basically holding onto fluid everywhere. I had also been nil by mouth for 4 hours by this stage. The dr had 4 attempts at getting an iv in, but everytime he got it in my vein would collapse. They called the anaethetist and she had similar trouble but did get it in on her 2nd attempt. PHEW big relief.
Then it was the mad rush to get me showered and ready for theatre.
Arrived at theatre, scared would be he best word. Anaethetist decided she wanted a second iv just in case due to difficult veins. Thankfully she got that one in first go.
I had pre arranged for shannon to be with me for the epidural /spinal placement. A good things in hindsite as what was to come was not fun.
Serious difficulties in getting the epi in. The whole process lasted 45 minutes, was super traumatic and very painful. She would inject the local, pierce my back but for some reason just couldn't get it in, she said my epidural space was very deep and at the maximum (6cms) of the needle. At one stage she hit a nerve and I had a very painful electric shock feeling all down one leg, I was screaming and crying :( She later said that she had 6 attempts!
She finally got the epi in and it was decided to start. They did the ice test and I passed. My ob started cutting. About 3 minutes in I started feeling a sharp pain on the outer edge of her cutting, everyone was asking me a million questions about it trying to decide if it was just discomfort or pain, then all of a sudden there was pain! I'm talking pain! Deep sharp pain! I cried out and that was when my ob, said she was terribly sorry but I was going to have to go 'under'. I started crying, begging that shannon cold stay to watch his son being born but they said no.
I remember saying over and over to shannon that I was so sorry. He was crying too but telling me it was okay and and he loved me. He kissed me and left, they then put the mask over my face to breath in that lovely stuff as I was sobbing. I remember them pulling my neck back and that was it.
I woke in recovery 2 hours later in lots of pain. I remember asking if Griffin was ok, if he cried etc, did they know if he had been intubated. They said he did make some noise and that no he wasn't intubated that they knew of.
The pain was pretty intense, they had hooked up my pca button to the epidural and I was pushing it with no relief. They ended up giving me about 3 lots of bolus pain relief down my iv to settle my pain.
After about 30 mins they asked if I wanted Shannon to come down. I said yes only if Griffin ok. Shannon arrived shortly after. My first memory is that of Shannon walking in with the biggest smile on his face. It was at that moment I realised what had really happened! I had had a baby! He was just so proud and tears in his eyes. He had a couple of photo's. He said that Griffin weighed 1540grams and had lasted 45 minutes breathing on his own CPAP on.
I really wanted to be able to see Griffin but the staff said that the bed wouldn't fit in there :( This was pretty hard to deal with.
When they got me back to my room they said if after 4 hours I was able to get in a wheelchair that they could take me to the nursery. I don't think the midwives realised at that stage how major my surgery had been or how much pain I had been in as this was certainly not going to be possible.
Shannon told me that the ob had said that my surgery had been very complicated and that my uterus had ruptured, she assured Shannon that no permanent damage to other organs had occurred and she would talk to us more about it in the morning.
The time of Griffins birth was recorded at 6.54pm. I was back in the ward about 10.30pm.
Shannon left at about 11pm and headed to the nursery, he stayed there for a while, he texted me updates like Griffin's first wee :) Then Shannon headed home and got a few hours sleep.
My pain continued to increase over the next few hours, they had hooked me up the epidural for pain relief which in hindsite was pretty pointless considering I needed the general because the epi didn't work properly. So by 1am the midwife called aneathetist and organised a morphine pump to go through my iv. By 2am I was getting pain relief. I didn't sleep at all but pain was manageable.
So..
Next morning, ob comes in and talks about what happened once they got me under..
Basically as she cut to do the lower segment caesar my old classical scar (vertical cut) ruptured. Basically me uterus tore open in an upside down T cut. She said my uterus was so thin that it would no way have lasted to 36 weeks without rupturing on its own! So I feel blessed, that would have been catastrophic, don't even want to think about it!
So that was a big complication and took quite some time to repair. She said also as we expected that my adhesions and scar tissue were terrible, my bladder and bowel very much affected. She said it was a very challenging surgery and I was very lucky to have avoided any kind of bowel or bladder injury during it all.
So due to extenisve surgery she placed a drain.
So that's the events that unfolded for my son's Griffin's birth. I did confirm with my ob that she remembered to do my tubes, she confirmed, absolutely! So there closes the chapter of my life involving trying to conceive and pregnancy. Now to enjoy being a mum!
My recovery has been slow and painful, but more about that and my gorgeous son soon!
How it all happened
The birth of our son Griffin that is.. Griffin WAS born on Tuesday 18th November. I really do want to write down how it all eventuated, but in all honesty have been putting it off a little.. It didn't all quite go as planned, don't get me wrong, he is here safely and I am in one piece, but it was all very traumatic..
I'm building up to it I promise. Should have the birth story entry complete within 24 hours, will probably be good for me..
Stay tuned
I'm building up to it I promise. Should have the birth story entry complete within 24 hours, will probably be good for me..
Stay tuned
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Will today be the day?
Another days dawns, wonder what this one will bring?
Just about to be hooked up to the CTG, but bub has been having a good wiggle overnght and this morning so that is reassuring.
Had a crappy sleep, but wasn't really expecting any different :)
Told Shannon and mother in law not to rush in this morning as it may pan out to be along day.
Laci is back to her usual healthy self thank goodness after her weekend temperature and is in daycare today.
Hoping the day doesn't drag too much till the scan.
Not sure how I feel about either scenerio at the moment, if I am not to be having him today, the day to day wait will continue with still a very very good chance it will be in the next week anyhow. I am exhausted and the medications are really wiping me out.. But whatever is to be will be..it is out of my hands.
Just about to be hooked up to the CTG, but bub has been having a good wiggle overnght and this morning so that is reassuring.
Had a crappy sleep, but wasn't really expecting any different :)
Told Shannon and mother in law not to rush in this morning as it may pan out to be along day.
Laci is back to her usual healthy self thank goodness after her weekend temperature and is in daycare today.
Hoping the day doesn't drag too much till the scan.
Not sure how I feel about either scenerio at the moment, if I am not to be having him today, the day to day wait will continue with still a very very good chance it will be in the next week anyhow. I am exhausted and the medications are really wiping me out.. But whatever is to be will be..it is out of my hands.
Monday, November 17, 2008
30 weeks today!
So I actually made it to 30 weeks! Only just lol
But what a day! Has been a rough day emotionally for me up and down and really starting to be not very tolerant of nursing staff etc..
Anyhow, had a crap sleep and woke with the intention of speaking to ob today about requesting to change my ultrasound from tuesday to today. Mainly that this waiting is really starting to do my head in. Also for the past 4-5 days bubs movements have really changed. Much less frequent and not as strong :( I have mentioned this to my ob over the past few days.
So we had a good chat this morning and she said that she really wanted to hold off on the scan till tomorrow afternoon as planned.. They would continue the twice daily ctgs and if anything changed she would be in. She said she is not sure why the movement seems reduced but perhaps because I am on so much medication etc.. I am also worried that it is because the fluid has dropped off even more (it is already only on 2.5th centile)..
Anyhow, so I was annoyed as you can imagaine, but what can I do?
She also told me to not have lunch tomorrow :o so we are prepared to c/s after scan if it is not what we hope for :(
So then Mother in law arrived with Shannon,(she has flown up to help out with Laci etc). Shannon has taken mon-wed off at this stage till we know.
They hook me up to the ctg...long story short, bub not being very reactive at all, heartrate not variable and hardly moving :( We try me moving, sweet things etc. No change. They tell me they are ringing ob. Then they tell me she will be in at 1pm (it is now 11.30) but that she wants to keep the ctg on..
Another 30 mins pass and bub does get active and shows some variability so they take the ctg off. We get to 2pm and no ob, so I ask when is she coming and the midwife says, oh we rang her back and told her it improved so she's not coming! So for over 2 hours, DH, MIL and I were on tenterhooks wondering.. Anyhow you get the picture, I was peeved!
Hmm and me, still constant headache, BP ok, not great but ok. SUPER dry mouth, saliva gone AWOL with the high doses of bp meds I am on now..
JUst feeling over it!
Repeating CTG tonight after 8pm.
Bring on tomorrow!
Ob said scan will be about 3pm QLD time.
But what a day! Has been a rough day emotionally for me up and down and really starting to be not very tolerant of nursing staff etc..
Anyhow, had a crap sleep and woke with the intention of speaking to ob today about requesting to change my ultrasound from tuesday to today. Mainly that this waiting is really starting to do my head in. Also for the past 4-5 days bubs movements have really changed. Much less frequent and not as strong :( I have mentioned this to my ob over the past few days.
So we had a good chat this morning and she said that she really wanted to hold off on the scan till tomorrow afternoon as planned.. They would continue the twice daily ctgs and if anything changed she would be in. She said she is not sure why the movement seems reduced but perhaps because I am on so much medication etc.. I am also worried that it is because the fluid has dropped off even more (it is already only on 2.5th centile)..
Anyhow, so I was annoyed as you can imagaine, but what can I do?
She also told me to not have lunch tomorrow :o so we are prepared to c/s after scan if it is not what we hope for :(
So then Mother in law arrived with Shannon,(she has flown up to help out with Laci etc). Shannon has taken mon-wed off at this stage till we know.
They hook me up to the ctg...long story short, bub not being very reactive at all, heartrate not variable and hardly moving :( We try me moving, sweet things etc. No change. They tell me they are ringing ob. Then they tell me she will be in at 1pm (it is now 11.30) but that she wants to keep the ctg on..
Another 30 mins pass and bub does get active and shows some variability so they take the ctg off. We get to 2pm and no ob, so I ask when is she coming and the midwife says, oh we rang her back and told her it improved so she's not coming! So for over 2 hours, DH, MIL and I were on tenterhooks wondering.. Anyhow you get the picture, I was peeved!
Hmm and me, still constant headache, BP ok, not great but ok. SUPER dry mouth, saliva gone AWOL with the high doses of bp meds I am on now..
JUst feeling over it!
Repeating CTG tonight after 8pm.
Bring on tomorrow!
Ob said scan will be about 3pm QLD time.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Result is in!
Urine result is in..
ITS GOOD!!!
Obviously haven't spoken to my ob and won't be until monday morning, but based on the what she said yesterday as our plan, (barring off course anthing changing drastically with my BP and bub's CTG's), we will now be waiting for the growth scan on Tuesday arvo to make the decision.
Bloods were also good..
ITS GOOD!!!
Obviously haven't spoken to my ob and won't be until monday morning, but based on the what she said yesterday as our plan, (barring off course anthing changing drastically with my BP and bub's CTG's), we will now be waiting for the growth scan on Tuesday arvo to make the decision.
Bloods were also good..
Saturday, November 15, 2008
It'e nearing the end
Just saw my obstetrician, hmm
We have moved forward the 24 hour urine, starting now after this mornings dip showed 1+ protein again. My ob will review result monday morning and if has risen above a certain number that's it, eviction at exactly 30 weeks! (prefer not to discuss numbers). Oh and we don't think it will take much for it to have risen over that number based on my last result.
Also doing more blood tests today.
Medication increased for bp again today, as continues to rise :(
I am also looking pretty attractive with the puffiness now!
So the basics..
If urine and/or bloods not good, we will know monday morning that he is coming out on monday evening.
If urine and bloods hanging in there and bp hanging in there will wait till scan on tuesday arvo and decide then.
Feeling ok.. I think
We have moved forward the 24 hour urine, starting now after this mornings dip showed 1+ protein again. My ob will review result monday morning and if has risen above a certain number that's it, eviction at exactly 30 weeks! (prefer not to discuss numbers). Oh and we don't think it will take much for it to have risen over that number based on my last result.
Also doing more blood tests today.
Medication increased for bp again today, as continues to rise :(
I am also looking pretty attractive with the puffiness now!
So the basics..
If urine and/or bloods not good, we will know monday morning that he is coming out on monday evening.
If urine and bloods hanging in there and bp hanging in there will wait till scan on tuesday arvo and decide then.
Feeling ok.. I think
Friday, November 14, 2008
Another day in hospital down
Plodding along! Another day dawns. Ob been in to see me nice and early again today. CTG on baby done for the day and all okay there. He has been a bit more active the last 18 hours or so which is reassuring as he was pretty quiet for coupld of days. My blood pressure is not great but not bad. So no further changes in medication at this stage.
So basically it's a wait and see game at the moment.
I did sign my caesarean section and tubal ligatation forms this morning though.. eeek!
So it's looking like will make it to Tuesday arvo's scan. Will complete another 24hr urine (protein check) on Tuesday morning so we have all the information then.. Shannon has this feeling it will be all over after scan (this has what has happened with both Piper and Laci) and Griffin will be whipped out wed/thurs. I'm not thinking about it yet. Just getting through each day.
Shannon's arvo off yesterday seemed to help both of us :) He hung out here for about 3 hours which was nice to have some husband/wife time together :) He said he is feeling a little brighter this morning.
So today I am planning another quiet day of rest, not much else to do.
So basically it's a wait and see game at the moment.
I did sign my caesarean section and tubal ligatation forms this morning though.. eeek!
So it's looking like will make it to Tuesday arvo's scan. Will complete another 24hr urine (protein check) on Tuesday morning so we have all the information then.. Shannon has this feeling it will be all over after scan (this has what has happened with both Piper and Laci) and Griffin will be whipped out wed/thurs. I'm not thinking about it yet. Just getting through each day.
Shannon's arvo off yesterday seemed to help both of us :) He hung out here for about 3 hours which was nice to have some husband/wife time together :) He said he is feeling a little brighter this morning.
So today I am planning another quiet day of rest, not much else to do.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
A good update
My blood pressure has decreased overnight, its still not perfect but not in the scary range at the moment and my headache is no longer migraine material, just a normal headache :)
ob came in this morning and is pleased and will continue to watch me closely, no medication increase again yet. I will continue on regular blood pressure checks obviously and also daily ctg's to keep eye on bub. Currently attached for 20-30 mins as we speak.
Ob is feeling somewhat confident that will prob make it to monday to the 30's! But obviously can't say for certain as things can change very quickly. My blood tests from yesterday were ok. So on Tuesday arvo I will have another scan, this one will again look at fluid and dopplers but also bub's growth. This will give us more of a complete picture as to what is happening and we will make decisions then I guess.
Shannon exhausted and stressed :( He is considering taking the afternoon off, I encouraged him! Laci in daycare, so he is prob going to come in here for a while to chill (we don't get much time together and certainly not without busy Laci) then hopefully he will go home for a few hours rest.
Oh and my pelvis is loving this rest! Pain so much less! Back to just pain on movement instead of constant, so that is a huge improvement! Certainly makes me feel better about things when not in constant pain!
Ok now for no excitement between now and tuesday please :)
ob came in this morning and is pleased and will continue to watch me closely, no medication increase again yet. I will continue on regular blood pressure checks obviously and also daily ctg's to keep eye on bub. Currently attached for 20-30 mins as we speak.
Ob is feeling somewhat confident that will prob make it to monday to the 30's! But obviously can't say for certain as things can change very quickly. My blood tests from yesterday were ok. So on Tuesday arvo I will have another scan, this one will again look at fluid and dopplers but also bub's growth. This will give us more of a complete picture as to what is happening and we will make decisions then I guess.
Shannon exhausted and stressed :( He is considering taking the afternoon off, I encouraged him! Laci in daycare, so he is prob going to come in here for a while to chill (we don't get much time together and certainly not without busy Laci) then hopefully he will go home for a few hours rest.
Oh and my pelvis is loving this rest! Pain so much less! Back to just pain on movement instead of constant, so that is a huge improvement! Certainly makes me feel better about things when not in constant pain!
Ok now for no excitement between now and tuesday please :)
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Super quick update
BP still not good. Had very bad headache all day :(
Seeing ob in morning to see what next. Maybe increase medication again.
Will update when can.
Seeing ob in morning to see what next. Maybe increase medication again.
Will update when can.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
CRAP!!
CRAP!!!!
Very short post as Shannon and Laci will be here shortly, but lets just say things not great :(
My BP today has shot right up over the day :( and not feeling good (that lovely pre eclampsia feeling - spots in eyes etc) and scan showed the fluid level right down :(
Having first dose of steroids tonight..
The waiting game begins.
Poor Shannon not coping at all.. Me doing ok. 29 weeks is still good (chanting to self over and over)
Very short post as Shannon and Laci will be here shortly, but lets just say things not great :(
My BP today has shot right up over the day :( and not feeling good (that lovely pre eclampsia feeling - spots in eyes etc) and scan showed the fluid level right down :(
Having first dose of steroids tonight..
The waiting game begins.
Poor Shannon not coping at all.. Me doing ok. 29 weeks is still good (chanting to self over and over)
Waiting for scan
Trying to keep positive but still feeling a little nervous. Scan not until 4pm QLD time. Hoping all is good.
Starting to get to that point when I am waiting for the bomb to drop. I hate it!
Please let it be reassuring and get me through till the next one which is growth in a weeks time.
Starting to get to that point when I am waiting for the bomb to drop. I hate it!
Please let it be reassuring and get me through till the next one which is growth in a weeks time.
Monday, November 10, 2008
29 weeks today!
Woohoo, only one week until my next goal and only 3 weeks till my final goal, have decided anything over 32 weeks is a bonus.
Am still in hospital, so happy that Shannon managed to set me up on laptop. Not finding boredom an issue at all I have to tell you! Between some serious resting and the internet and making my christmas decorations and the little chats with nurses, time doesn't seem to be dragging too badly.
I think it certainly helps that my pain is less is helping the way I feel about things.
Sleep is improved, certainly not great by anyones terms but am managing 3-5 hours of unbroken sleep and some dozing.
So the other issues, my usual ones lol. My blood pressure. It is definately not being co operative. My medication is being increased today. I am now on higher dose than when I was pregnant with Laci :( It will take 24-48 hours to see if this has the desired effect.
BUT Protein on my 24 hour collection is ok. So thats a bonus! The difficult part that my ob is concerned about is that every pregnancy is different and even though I don't have the protein like I did with Laci there is still a very high likelyhood that things will go pear shaped in the near future. Just which order they go in is yet to be seen.
She has asked us to consider the steroids for bubs lungs, at this stage we have declined because of the all the research we have done ourselves and the high risk ob that we have discussed this with at length in the past. The basics are that once you have the steroids they are only effective for a week. So if you don't deliver in that week but still go early they repeat the course. Problem being no one knows how effective this repeated dose is. So we would really prefer to wait until things look immenent before we do it, problem is, it is still a bit of a guessing game. The other concern is that steroids can affect bubs growth and with our history with growth issues anyhow, this is another thing we would prefer to hold off on..
So that said obviously if we can't stabalise my bp, my protein goes up or bub's growth or fluid etc change this is when the time will come..
So am not going home anytime soon!
Am having scan tomorrow afternoon here at the hospital, this will just be fluid levels and dopplers (blood flow). Ob did say that the ctg I had yesterday was excellent so not expecting any surprises on scan.
Will update after :)
Am still in hospital, so happy that Shannon managed to set me up on laptop. Not finding boredom an issue at all I have to tell you! Between some serious resting and the internet and making my christmas decorations and the little chats with nurses, time doesn't seem to be dragging too badly.
I think it certainly helps that my pain is less is helping the way I feel about things.
Sleep is improved, certainly not great by anyones terms but am managing 3-5 hours of unbroken sleep and some dozing.
So the other issues, my usual ones lol. My blood pressure. It is definately not being co operative. My medication is being increased today. I am now on higher dose than when I was pregnant with Laci :( It will take 24-48 hours to see if this has the desired effect.
BUT Protein on my 24 hour collection is ok. So thats a bonus! The difficult part that my ob is concerned about is that every pregnancy is different and even though I don't have the protein like I did with Laci there is still a very high likelyhood that things will go pear shaped in the near future. Just which order they go in is yet to be seen.
She has asked us to consider the steroids for bubs lungs, at this stage we have declined because of the all the research we have done ourselves and the high risk ob that we have discussed this with at length in the past. The basics are that once you have the steroids they are only effective for a week. So if you don't deliver in that week but still go early they repeat the course. Problem being no one knows how effective this repeated dose is. So we would really prefer to wait until things look immenent before we do it, problem is, it is still a bit of a guessing game. The other concern is that steroids can affect bubs growth and with our history with growth issues anyhow, this is another thing we would prefer to hold off on..
So that said obviously if we can't stabalise my bp, my protein goes up or bub's growth or fluid etc change this is when the time will come..
So am not going home anytime soon!
Am having scan tomorrow afternoon here at the hospital, this will just be fluid levels and dopplers (blood flow). Ob did say that the ctg I had yesterday was excellent so not expecting any surprises on scan.
Will update after :)
Friday, November 7, 2008
Off to hospital
second update for the day. Ended up ringing my ob's office as my bp also up, which I am sure if prob just from pain and exhaustion. Spoke to the wonderful midwife, she spoke to ob and called me back.
I am being admitted today after lunch. They will do a CTG to check on bubs, full bloods and start another 24 hour urine. My ob will come in after 5pm to see what we can discuss about pain relief etc.
Hoping my stay won't be too long, but glad to be aprivate patient this time so they said I should get my own room.
We have ordered mobile internet from dodo to use on laptop, but hasn't arrived yet so will offline for a while.
I am being admitted today after lunch. They will do a CTG to check on bubs, full bloods and start another 24 hour urine. My ob will come in after 5pm to see what we can discuss about pain relief etc.
Hoping my stay won't be too long, but glad to be aprivate patient this time so they said I should get my own room.
We have ordered mobile internet from dodo to use on laptop, but hasn't arrived yet so will offline for a while.
Not doing so good
Short but whingy post ahead..
So much pain, didn't think it could get worse but it has. I can hardly stand, moving is agony. Sleep is non existant. Cried myself to sleep last night, just wish I could have more than panadiene. Managed to get 3 hours straight sleep then that was it.
Am starting to get pins and needles in my toes, don't know what thats about.
Shannon being great.. Just held me whilst I sobbed, he so wishes he could do something, so do I.
He is at work this morning, had to go for a meeting. Today is Laci day home, but she is so far being great. My house cleaner is coming in about 10 minutes, she will be here for 2 hours.
Shannon only has 5 more weeks of work before his 9 weeks off. He is taking one day off a week starting next week to be home with Laci on her day home from daycare.
Shannon not sure I am going to last the weekend at home. I'm not sure either. I want to be here for Laci. But this pain is doing my head in :(
My ob said she could do localised injections of steroids and local aneasthetic, that is looking like something I may want sooner rather than later..
I will get through this, this will be worth it. But crap this is hard!
So much pain, didn't think it could get worse but it has. I can hardly stand, moving is agony. Sleep is non existant. Cried myself to sleep last night, just wish I could have more than panadiene. Managed to get 3 hours straight sleep then that was it.
Am starting to get pins and needles in my toes, don't know what thats about.
Shannon being great.. Just held me whilst I sobbed, he so wishes he could do something, so do I.
He is at work this morning, had to go for a meeting. Today is Laci day home, but she is so far being great. My house cleaner is coming in about 10 minutes, she will be here for 2 hours.
Shannon only has 5 more weeks of work before his 9 weeks off. He is taking one day off a week starting next week to be home with Laci on her day home from daycare.
Shannon not sure I am going to last the weekend at home. I'm not sure either. I want to be here for Laci. But this pain is doing my head in :(
My ob said she could do localised injections of steroids and local aneasthetic, that is looking like something I may want sooner rather than later..
I will get through this, this will be worth it. But crap this is hard!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
28 week update
So here I am at 28 weeks, woohoo! This was my first major goal as I can now have this baby in Cairns, wow the first time I will have a baby in the same town I'm living in! Next goal is 30 weeks, then 32 weeks. This will mean I have surpassed Laci's gestation and anything past this will be a bonus!
Lots of other stuff to report so think I will put it in point form.
* Today was growth and wellbeing scan. Griffin is continuing to grow well. Todays estimated weight was 1223 grams. Fluid levels and dopplers all good.
* My BP is hanging in there on my dose of medication I take when not pregnant.
* My latest blood tests taken last week show that I am still borderline anaemic even with having been on the iron for past 6 weeks.
* My latest blood tests also show that my platelets are continuing to drop :( This is a problem I have had on and off since childhood. Normal is 150,000 - 400,000. I started the pregnancy in the 150,000's, it has since dropped to 125,000 and now it is at 115,000. If it drops below 100,000 that's not good news. It means I am unable to have an epidural/spinal for the caesarean. It means I have to have a general anaesthetic and that Shannon can't be in there :( Needless to say we are not too happy about this but understand the need :( (There is a risk of a heamatoma - bleed). I will be having bloods done every 2 weeks now and it will also be checked just prior to delivery regardless.
* My latest 24 hour urine test taken last week show my protein is borderline. In pregnancy they like it to be under 300. At 8 weeks it was under 200, at 23 weeks it was 280 and last weeks was 300. Today at appointment, my quick dip test showed one plus protein again. I will now be doing 24 hr urine's every 2 weeks to keep a close eye on it.
* Today we had a quick tour of the special care nursery at Cairns Base to be prepared. A nice little unit and we were very happy to hear that siblings are allowed to visit as long as they are well. This had been playing on our mind a bit with wanting Laci to bond etc
* Now the pelvis! Well last week I say the surgeon about my suspected hernia, good news is that I don't have a hernia! Yesterday I say an orthopaedic specialist. The news wasn't as good there I'm afraid. Basically I have seriously damaged my ligaments that surround pelvis. Any painful movement is damaging and inflaming it more. She thinks part of the reason this has happened is due to my previous surgeries and the large amount of scar tissue/adhesions I have. So basically the short version is that I need to rest and I am talking serious rest. Do nothing! Bed rest pretty much. She also suggested hospital admission :( Today we discussed with ob and the basic plan at the moment is to try and manage at home for the next week, then re assess. She thinks the best plan is that I go to hospital for say a week at a time. I am okay with this I think as the bit that worried me the most was being in there for the duration of the pregnancy. She said we will try and avoid that. She also suggested localised injections of steroids and local anaesthetic to try and lesson the pain, even just for one day so I can ge t some sleep! Sleep is just not happening because of my constant pain and I am getting pretty exhausted :(
OKay I think thats the basics hee hee :)
Lots of other stuff to report so think I will put it in point form.
* Today was growth and wellbeing scan. Griffin is continuing to grow well. Todays estimated weight was 1223 grams. Fluid levels and dopplers all good.
* My BP is hanging in there on my dose of medication I take when not pregnant.
* My latest blood tests taken last week show that I am still borderline anaemic even with having been on the iron for past 6 weeks.
* My latest blood tests also show that my platelets are continuing to drop :( This is a problem I have had on and off since childhood. Normal is 150,000 - 400,000. I started the pregnancy in the 150,000's, it has since dropped to 125,000 and now it is at 115,000. If it drops below 100,000 that's not good news. It means I am unable to have an epidural/spinal for the caesarean. It means I have to have a general anaesthetic and that Shannon can't be in there :( Needless to say we are not too happy about this but understand the need :( (There is a risk of a heamatoma - bleed). I will be having bloods done every 2 weeks now and it will also be checked just prior to delivery regardless.
* My latest 24 hour urine test taken last week show my protein is borderline. In pregnancy they like it to be under 300. At 8 weeks it was under 200, at 23 weeks it was 280 and last weeks was 300. Today at appointment, my quick dip test showed one plus protein again. I will now be doing 24 hr urine's every 2 weeks to keep a close eye on it.
* Today we had a quick tour of the special care nursery at Cairns Base to be prepared. A nice little unit and we were very happy to hear that siblings are allowed to visit as long as they are well. This had been playing on our mind a bit with wanting Laci to bond etc
* Now the pelvis! Well last week I say the surgeon about my suspected hernia, good news is that I don't have a hernia! Yesterday I say an orthopaedic specialist. The news wasn't as good there I'm afraid. Basically I have seriously damaged my ligaments that surround pelvis. Any painful movement is damaging and inflaming it more. She thinks part of the reason this has happened is due to my previous surgeries and the large amount of scar tissue/adhesions I have. So basically the short version is that I need to rest and I am talking serious rest. Do nothing! Bed rest pretty much. She also suggested hospital admission :( Today we discussed with ob and the basic plan at the moment is to try and manage at home for the next week, then re assess. She thinks the best plan is that I go to hospital for say a week at a time. I am okay with this I think as the bit that worried me the most was being in there for the duration of the pregnancy. She said we will try and avoid that. She also suggested localised injections of steroids and local anaesthetic to try and lesson the pain, even just for one day so I can ge t some sleep! Sleep is just not happening because of my constant pain and I am getting pretty exhausted :(
OKay I think thats the basics hee hee :)
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