*Disclaimer* -- The following account will be a detailed account of my experience over the last couple of days and may contain content you do not wish to know. Please be advised. . . . :)
Monday, March 18th was a long day. Ladd was at Deer Valley, and I cleaned and prepared as best as I could for my up coming induction on Wednesday. FHE was a strange affair with our family split into two groups. Cali, Cecilia, Jarom and I went to see Garrett perform in the Pitt for "Once Upon a Mattress." Ladd took James on down for a short visit to Artic Circle.
Tuesday, I did my visiting teaching, and then seemed too tired to do the myriad chores awaiting my attention. Finally, when the kids got home, I kicked it into high gear (and the kids as well) and we cruised through all my chores. My mom arrived and happy was our house and everyone in it!!! The rest of the night was spent filling my mom in on what looked to be an insurmountable task ahead -- keeping our house running without my inherent knowledge of the calendar readily available!
Wednesday dawned bright and early. I ran Cali to the school by 6 a.m. for dance tryout practices. I ran Garrett to early morning Seminary by 6:30 a.m. I got the rest of the kids up, and after devotional, headed them all on their way. Mom observed my every move. Her comment to me went something like this, "I got up early to see how you did everything and now I don't think I can do it, but we'll muddle thru somehow." (I have a feeling her muddling thru would teach me some new tricks!!!) I had just sent Mckenzie and Ruby out the door, gotten James reading, heard Ladd's alarm go off, and sat down to my small bowl of Total when the phone rang. It was the hospital. We were given one hour to be to the hospital for my induction. I kicked it into high gear. I gobbled down my cereal, had a quick shower, shoved last minute things into my bag, and Ladd and I hurried out the door after passing the baton to my mom and hugging the last remaining children I still had at home.
We got to the hospital by 9 a.m. We were admitted, and ushered to a room (#1) where I got dressed into my lovely hospital gown. Two nurses were busy doing various things in the room while Ladd sat in his chair. One immediately proceeded to try to put an IV in my arm, but after two rather excruciating tries, she turned the job over to the other nurse. Nurse #2 got the IV into my right forearm, and tried to draw my blood from the inserted IV needle. She couldn't get anything out of it, so she taped it down and moved to my left arm to try normal methods for drawing blood. Her next attempt left a huge purple bruise in the crook of my left arm, then she finally found success near my wrist in my left arm. Five vials later, and she assured me they would find out quickly whether my platelates were too low or not -- my chance for an epidural hung on the outcome. At 10 a.m., my "real" nurse, Michelle, came in and got my pitocen going into my IV. Shortly afterward, she came back into my room and admitted that the blood hadn't been sent down to be processed yet, and she'd just sent it down. About an hour and two or three bathroom trips later, she came in to announce that my platelates were 116 -- quite a drop from my last result of 145, but still epidural worthy. I requested an epidural as soon as possible. By noon, I had an epidural working on my body, and boy, did it feel great!!! Shortly after getting my epidural, my left eye went blurry and I found it felt puffy around my eye and it was incredibly hard to keep it open. My epidural was adjusted immediately, and I was turned over. Soon, that side effect was gone and it became a waiting game. At 1:30 p.m., I was told I was at a 3. My baby's heart beat kept dipping so I found myself attached to an oxygen mask and turned rather often. Ladd and I watched three episodes of season four of Murdoch Mysteries during the afternoon and into the evening. Sometimes I rested. Sometimes we just talked. It was lovely. The only complaints that I found were my hands went numb for a period of time, but that eventually wore off for both of my hands. I really didn't like my blood pressure cuff, but it was hardly the stuff of distraction! Especially since my nurse kindly kept it off me most of the time! The only other thing was the elastic on the oxygen mask bit into the top of my ears. Little piddly complaints if you ask me. I went through labor nearly pain free!!!! It was either the four or five o'clock hour that I finally got to a four. An hour later, when they checked me, I was at an eight. I thought for sure I would hustle along, but no. Sometime after seven, they checked me to say I was technically at a nine, but I had a little bit of a lip all the way around that was thicker on the right side. The doctor tried to have me push that lip away, but it wouldn't. I believe it was during that bout of pushing that all of the blood capillaries in my face popped leaving my with red dots all over my face, upper back, neck, and so on. It's a condition called petechiae (said pitiki eye). I must say, I've never had that before and it was quite a shock when I finally glanced in a mirror!!!! Ten after eight, the doctor came in and checked me. Once again we tried to push it away and the doctor thought I might be able to do it, so a hoard of nurses rushed into my room getting everything ready. Once everything and everyone was in place, the doctor told me to push and a couple of pushes later, she was out. Immense relief!!! I was no longer pregnant and one child richer!!! I held Shalyn Susanna before they'd even cleaned her off. She looked beautiful. LOTS of dark brown hair!!! Pinch-able cheeks, and a pug nose defined her features. The doctor announced I hadn't torn at all. Perfect record so far!!! The nurses took Shalyn away while I got rid of the placenta and Ladd followed Shalyn with his camera ready. The first thing I heard the nurses say was she urinated and passed a bowel movement. Eventually they weighed her and found she was 8 lbs. 6 oz. and 19 1/2 in. long. When they handed her back to me, I tried to nurse her, but she was content to just be held. After awhile, Shalyn started sticking out her tongue, so we tried again to nurse. She figured out quickly how to latch on. Throughout the evening, if we did something she didn't like, she'd wail for a couple of seconds, then stop as if she'd finished communicating her complaint of what she hadn't liked and expected us to know already. Adorable!!! Eventually, they took her down to the nursery with Ladd in her wake. They pulled out my catheter, cleaned up the room, cleaned me up and helped me into the wheel chair. They got me settled into my new room on the second floor (#226).
My stay at the hospital has been pleasant. My sleep hasn't been all that great, but that's to be expected. I loved having my shower this morning! And, this morning, I attended the meeting that allows you to be discharged. I've enjoyed ordering my own food, playing on my phone, filling out papers, reading my book a little, and playing with Shalyn. Ladd brought Lena and Alyssa to visit this afternoon. They both came into my room wondering if I was okay. Alyssa kept asking me if I was sick. Lena's main question was, "Mom, where's the hole in your tummy?" I showed her my tummy and reassured her that there wasn't a hole in my tummy. "Then how did the baby come out?!!" I told her the baby came out through my bottom. Clutching her own bottom, she scrunched up her face in painful reflection as she tried to make sense of what I had told her!! :) We sat Lena and Alyssa in the same chair and let them take turns holding her. Lena said, "This was the best baby I never seen!!!" Alyssa kept hugging Shalyn's lower half and saying, "I love her!" Around four, Dad Olsen and Kristen came in and shortly afterwards, Mom Hinton and Cecilia, Jarom, James, Mckenzie, and Ruby came into my room as well. One glance and I could tell my mom had taught me new tricks!!! Ruby's hair was actually curled!!!! Wow! She was pampered!! By this time, Lena and Alyssa were very well done and wanted to go home. Ladd realized what time it was after awhile (4:35 p.m.) and he quickly said good-bye and headed to work. Eventually they all left, and I had a couple of minutes before Mom Olsen and Cali showed up. Mom Olsen had accompanied Cali at her Region Solo and Ensemble, and had brought Cali to the hospital so they could both see Shalyn. After they left, I nursed Shalyn a little bit more and I've just done more relaxful things since then (such as this blog!!!).
Evidently, Shalyn turned blue in the nursery for choking on some lingering amniotic fluid. Other than that, she hasn't seemed to have any problems. She hasn't had a wet diaper since her first voidance in the labor and delivery room, but the nurses are sticking to it. I'm afraid I don't even have colostrum to offer her, but they tell me they're watching it closely and she seems fine. I'm afraid it's all an act and once we get home, I'll find we're both in a pickle!!! I'm sore from nursing quite a bit already. I've been lazy and haven't made Shalyn latch on deep enough. My bowels are giving me trouble. However, that's all I've been dealing with. I feel very blessed!!! Now, tomorrow, I'll be off in the races with ten children!!! Mom Hinton is staying for a week (HUGE BLESSING!!!), and Ladd will take the two weeks off after that. Hopefully, my help will be stretched out for awhile!!!
Now, to get enough sleep tonight. . . . :)
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