Saturday, April 27, 2013

In the beginning...

I have wanted to add to our family for a long time but other circumstances kept getting in the way. When we lived in Burley we had private insurance that didn't cover much and by the time we felt like we had saved up enough money, Chris lost his job. After 7 months of unemployment, I felt strongly that we needed to continue our plans to have a baby so we got supplemental insurance and decided that we would go on faith that everything would work out. Well, about 1 1/2 months later, Chris got a job! Then we had to wait until January for his work insurance to start and save money (again!) because we spent most of what we had moving to Texas, and then finally about 5 months later I found out I was pregnant! Yeah.
I was way excited of course but a little apprehensive about the timing. I always have pretty bad "morning sickness" (more like all day sickness) and I was planning on flying back to Idaho with the boys with no hubby right in the middle of my first trimester! Yikes. All in all in actually went fairly well. My family was also planning an adults only cruise to Alaska at the end of July which would be right at the tail end of my first trimester. I was hoping and praying that the morning sickness would be gone by then. I got a prescription for anti-nausea medication but each pill cost me a whopping $8 so I wanted to use them wisely! Luckily, I didn't throw up once on the cruise. Success! But mid-cruise I started noticing a rash on my arm. Then it spread to both arms and then to my legs. By the time we got home I was a hot mess (but definitely not hot!) My ankles and feet were so swollen that it was painful to walk. I am so thankful that I was with my family and they were able to help take care of me and my boys at this time. We were advised by a family friend that is also a doctor that it was most likely PUPPP.
I was visiting my sister Sarah in Utah when it became unbearable. We went to the local Insta-Care Clinic and the doctor there scared me half to death. She was unsure what exactly is was but thought it might be Steven-Johnson's Syndrome, a severe allergic reaction to the anti-nausea medicine that could be potentially fatal! She sent me right away to the ER. Keep in mind that I am 3 months pregnant and extremely emotional. Well, at the ER almost every nurse and doctor would comment about how painful my rash looked. I felt like a circus act. I had about 3 doctors all coming in and discussing what they thought I had. Unfortunately, there was some conference that all the dermatologists in the area were attending so none were available to diagnose what I had. Finally, the doctors got a hold of one dermatologist from the University of Utah Hospital and he diagnosed me over the phone. Most likely, it was gestational pemphigoid. I was discharged with some benedryl to help with the itching (yeah right!) and told the derm dr. would get a hold of me when he had an available appointment. I was nervous because I was going back to Idaho on Monday (and this was Friday).
Thankfully the derm dr. called Saturday and said I could come in even though they were closed. I had 3 derm dr. marveling over my impressive rash and taking pictures for future use (learning and teaching etc.) After a biopsy, it was finally determined that I did indeed have gestational pemphigoid (PG) which is an auto-immune blistering skin disease that occurs during pregnancy typically in the 2nd or 3rd trimester and/or immediately following pregnancy. Lucky me, it started in my 1st trimester! Treatment is steroids in the form of prednisone (60 mg). There is no cure for PG and will likely occur in subsequent pregnancies. There can be several complications to mother and baby including but not limited to preterm labor and intrauterine growth retardation. Which all meant I had to be monitored closely. You would think that would have been enough drama for one pregnancy but oh no....

Friday, April 26, 2013

Introducing Henry David Tatton

Henry, Henry, Henry. Where to even begin? Almost from the moment I knew I was pregnant, till the day he was born, has been quite the wild ride. Let’s start from the end and move backwards to the beginning and make it all really confusing, shall we?

Wednesday (1/2/13) night I started having contractions but they were about every 45 minutes. Not very regular but some were pretty intense. But they stopped when I went to bed. Then Thursday night looked like it was going to be about the same but this time my contractions were about every 30 minutes and most of them were pretty intense. We thought we should make arrangements just in case we had to go to the hospital in the middle of the night. We called a friend and packed our bags. But then of course the contractions stopped again as soon as I went to bed. They started up again at about 1:00 but still weren't very consistent or close together but painful enough that I couldn't sleep. At about 2:30 I had had enough of just laying there and decided to get in the shower hoping that moving around would either make them more consistent or go away. By the time I got out of the shower they were coming about every minute or so. I told Chris, "we need to go NOW!" He ran in and woke the kids up while I dressed and we hopped in the car. It is important to note that I was looking at the clock to time my contractions so I know that when I got out of the shower it was 3:08 am. The poor boys probably thought I was dying because I was making some horrible noises in the car and the way over. Chris was going way over the speed limit because I kept saying, "He's coming, he's coming..." We arrived at the hospital at about 3:20 and Henry was born at 3:48! WOW! We made it just in time, eh?! My biggest fear all through my pregnancy was that I wouldn't be able to get an epidural. With Edison, the anesthesiologist was in surgery and so I had to wait what felt like forever and I was worried he wouldn't make it in time. So, of course, the first thing I tell the nurse is, "I want an epidural!" Well, I think we all know it was a little too late for that. I was terrified! I know, call me a wimp. But I hadn't done any training for this. I had no idea how I was going to deal with the pain. I kept telling the nurses that I couldn't do it. One nurse said, "You've already done the hard part. You've already labored through it all." And I was like. "I'm no idiot. Don't tell me I've done the hard part. I know what comes next. I have to push a baby out of my body!" So apparently my water had already broken (how could I have not known that!) and I was ready to have this baby. No doctor needed. Just 2 labor and delivery nurses and me, oh and Chris. I was screaming. Like really screaming. I am embarrassed to admit. I remember thinking, "What is that awful sound? Oh my goodness that is me!" And afterwards, I even apologized to the nurses for my excessive screaming! I was about ready to quit when out he came. I was so exhausted. All I wanted to do was collapse and not move a muscle ever again.

Honestly, I didn't even really think about holding my baby but then, when they put him in my arms, everything else was forgotten. He was so precious. And healthy! Yay! He didn't really cry, which made me nervous but everything was fine. For being a month early, he was completely healthy. He weighed 5 lbs. 5 oz. (for which I am so grateful because I don't think I could have done it if he was any bigger.) And he was 18.9 inches long with a full head of dark hair! Immediately we noticed that he had the Thomas nose but over all looks more like a Tatton. He has been such a wonderful baby and we have all enjoyed him immensely.
Just to show you how small he was. The nurses at the hospital rolled up two blankets to put on either side of him and that was how we brought him home from the hospital!