Evie is now five days old and I'm already wondering where the time went. Really? She's FIVE DAYS OLD?? She is doing wonderfully, and while I have a spare second, I wanted to record the rest of my recovery.
I found out on Sunday that my iron levels were REALLY low. My heart rate was well over 100 bpm, and my iron was at a 6, when it's supposed to be twice that. We were hoping to leave then, but after we found that out and got news of Evie's jaundice we knew we'd be staying another day. Then they told me that they were giving me a blood transfusion. Cue: Hugely swollen version of Hannah. The transfusion took about 5 hours, and the fact that someone else's blood was getting pumped into me kind of creeped me out. Just so you know, most people don't need blood transfusions after giving birth. I mean, as if I hadn't been through enough.
We also found out that my body wasn't producing any kind of milk or colostrum because my iron levels were so low. We had her on formula to try to wipe out the jaundice, and I was really feeling bad about it. The day after my transfusion my milk came in. The transfusion did me a lot of good. I was so deathly pale my first few days of recovery. But the transfusion also caused a lot of swelling. A lot. A WHOLE lot. I'm still trying to get my feet into my socks. They're huge.
I was really excited about coming home on Monday. They had taken Evie into the nursery Sunday night to test her jaundice and she didn't need to be treated, so I was pumped and ready to leave by Monday morning. Then the pediatrician came in and told me that she was borderlining the treatment zone so they wanted to keep her another day. I would be getting discharged and they wanted to keep my baby. I lost it. I cried. Days of hormones and pure exhaustion caught up with me and I lost it. I went into the little hospital shower and had some Mommy time. I cried and cried and cried. I was so homesick and I didn't like that I would be separated from Evangeline. The pediatrician said they would test her again that evening and there was still a small chance she could go home that night.
Six o clock came around and I knew they'd be taking her to test her again. It was such a trying moment. I had been upset all day, and I just wanted to take my husband and my baby home. They tested her and brought her back to me. I fed her and cuddled her and it truly felt like I was saying goodbye to her. A different pediatrician came in and gave us some hope. She said that as long as her numbers hadn't gone up she could come home with us. We were fairly certain they hadn't, but it was a long two hours to find out what would happen.
She got to come home! We loaded her up with all her stuff (with the help from Jordan's parents) and got home at 9:30 Monday night. We were ordered to call our pediatrician first thing in the morning and set and appointment to get her checked out. *Update* Her jaundice is doing great, now we're just trying to gain back the 11 oz she lost while in the hospital.
So, let me paraphrase: I went into labor Tuesday the 23rd at 7:30pm. I went into active labor on Thursday the 25th at 6:00 pm. That's 18 hours of active labor. I pushed for 5-6 of those hours. I then had a c-section. I then had a blood transfusion.
I went through a lot to make sure my daughter got here in perfect health, and I would do it all over again to get her here. I didn't know what love was until I met her for the first time. It's overwhelming, and the best feeling in the world.
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