More of the Update

After Payton and I came home from the hospital, I was on blood pressure medicine to control my blood pressure. The doctor said it would take about four to six weeks for it to return to normal and then I'd be able to get off of the medicine. In the meantime, I had to buy a blood pressure cuff to take my blood pressure several times a day and then call it in to the doctor's office. I also had my staples removed from my incision - it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. One of the worst things that I experienced was the muscle spasms around my incision. Wow! They really hurt!

One day my blood pressure dropped - the bottom number was 52 - I was very lightheaded, felt faint, and couldn't think "right". I called the doctor's office (the alternative number - it was Sunday). They told me to go to the ER, which I did (EG drove me). So then they basically said that my blood pressure was trying to return to normal and the blood pressure medicine had made it drop. But since it was still not stabilized (it would get high) I had to take the medicine, just here and there and half of the dosage. Eventually I didn't have to take it at all, which was great! I hated that medicine. I didn't like how sleepy it made me.

My mom had stayed for two weeks and went home on the day I had to go to the ER. Things quickly got back to normal. Even though I wasn't supposed to lift anything heavy, like Karlee, I had to do it because I was alone during the day with the kids. Sometimes I would really hurt. Other times I was ok.

Thanksgiving came and went - I made a cajun turkey! It was really good. Karlee started sleeping through the night again - with all the commotion she had been waking up at night crying but as soon as my mom went back home and Ashley went back home after being here for Thanksgiving break, Karlee was back on track.

Payton would get up every two hours at night to eat. Now she is going for almost the whole night without getting up, although last night she woke up twice (our routine had changed yesterday, and I think that's why). She likes to sleep in her swing. It lays nearly flat and rocks side to side. We asked the doctor about it and he said while it won't hurt her, we shouldn't let her get used to it. But we need the sleep! Hahaha! So we let her sleep in it at night, though she does occasionally sleep in the cradle and does sleep in the bassinet downstairs during the day.

Payton got to meet Santa Clause for the first time! Karlee loved it too. We had their pictures taken where E.G. works, then we had a family picture taken too. We have been shopping here and there for Karlee's birthday and Christmas. We are all set for Christmas, which is a relief. All of Karlee's birthday gifts are wrapped and ready; all we have to do is pick up her birthday cake and order a pizza tomorrow. I can't believe she'll be two!

Well, that's it for now. :)

More About Payton's Birth

During the stay in the hospital, I let the nurses have the baby at night. EG stayed with me in the hospital in the evenings, at night, and part of the morning. My mom stayed with Karlee and then she'd come to visit with me during the day while EG was with Karlee.

Because of the H1N1 virus, only grandparents and the father were allowed to visit in the hospital. Siblings were not allowed to visit at all. I missed Karlee so much. But because she is a daddy's girl, I didn't think she'd miss me. I tried to talk to her on the phone but she wasn't really having that.

My c-section wasn't too bad, but they had this tube coming out of my belly to help drain fluids. It fell out a couple of times and they had to replace it. Gross! It had a little bulb on the end of it that they had to empty the fluids out of it every few hours. It just tucked into my underwear. I had staples to hold the incision together. They really didn't bother me. My hips were still hurting but not as bad. I still needed help getting dressed and cleaned up. Getting in and out of bed was hard. I felt overwhelmed at the hospital. I had to have a few more ultrasounds to make sure things were draining and I wasn't bleeding to much internally. I had to have my blood pressure taken all the time and they put me on blood pressure medicine that made me SO tired. I had a few epidsodes of really high blood pressure that they made me stay in bed. They put these things on my legs to help keep circulation going to ward off blood clots. The breastfeeding people kept coming in and then there was this one nurse ("The Breastfeeding Nazi", as EG called her) who INSISTED that I do things her way and right this second. I felt like I was going crazy. As soon as I would go to take a bite of food, they'd bring the baby in and insist that I try to feed her at the breast when I had ok'd the bottle. Then I'd have to have a test done. Then they needed to change the bulb. Then I had to take this medicine. Then I would get sick. Then they'd say, "Why haven't you eaten?! You need to eat!" And it was like, "Well, if you'd let me I would!" EG was getting mad. He was telling them that I needed to eat. Then someone else would come in - the doctor, the chaplain, another nurse to see how I was (there were nurses that stopped in that weren't my nurses - they had just seen how sick I was and wanted to see how I was doing). Don't get me wrong - I appreciated all of this - it just seemed like they all would come in at the wrong time. I was either trying to breastfeed or trying to eat!

So if my blood pressure wasn't going to respond to the medicine and level out (it was still bouncing up and down), I'd have to stay. They weren't going to take my staples out while I was in the hospital either. They also wanted to make sure that I wouldn't need any more blood transfusions - I had had four units of blood altogether. Finally my blood pressure somewhat stabilized and I was allowed to come home!

We got Payton all ready, who was just as perfect as can be. I was so excited to go home and see Karlee. I wondered what she'd be like with her new sister. After a few hours they finally had all the paperwork ready and we could go home!

We came home (we only live about 5 minutes away) and I asked EG to stay out in the car with Payton just so I could have the first few minutes alone with Karlee. She ran to the door and yelled, "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" I about cried! First, she always calls me "Mum" and never "Mommy", and I'd never gotten a greeting like that before. She wanted picked up immediately but since I couldn't pick her up, I had my mom pick her up so I could sort of hug her and hold her too.

EG came in and Karlee looked at the baby. We let her "hold" the baby with help. She pointed out the baby's nose, eyes, mouth, head, hands, toes, etc. Then she was done.

Karlee looked so big to me! Just being away from her for a week seemed like an eternity, and she looked different.

Payton was very lethargic for about two weeks, but the doctor said she was doing great. She had her first appointment a few days later. She left the hospital weighing 7 lbs, 1 oz (she had lost 9 oz in the hospital, which is what newborns do). She had gained 4 oz back in a few days.

More to come...Payton is up!