This is what they tell me...

This is Charlee the day we got home from the hospital Sunday the 6th. Brian and I have somehow misplaced our camera. So all the pictures from the hospital are gone. I hope we find it but we are thinking it was left outside and someone took it. We can't find it anywhere and the last place we used it was recording Jack Jack on his two wheeler. These pictures were all taken with my mom's camera. Charlee has the longest fingers and toes I have ever seen on a new baby! 1 July 2008, around 13:15 pm

Brian was taken into the operation waiting room after they took me away. When my parents arrived the nurses brought them up to him. My mom said he looked scared and helpless. She, like me didn't know what to say so of course she cracked jokes! Poor Brian she said to me "I thought to myself, hey he really does love my daughter!"

A nurse came into the waiting room at around 14:29 and said "Rowser? Congratulations you have a baby girl." Brian asked about me and she said I was still in surgery. He lost it and my mom continued to crack jokes!

The discharge reports state that Charlee was initially "stunned" with absent respiratory effort, but recovered nicely with stimulation and CPAP that discontinued after she developed good respiratory effort. Dr. Larsen laughed at the "initially Stunned" part. He told me that Retinal hemorrhages occur in births and in serious boxing injuries. Retinal hemorrhages being a common factor in both births and boxing injuries, I am sure she was initially "Stunned!" It isn't a easy thing to be born, it is like a couple rounds of boxing.

Once off the CPAP machine she was bundled and taken to the WBN for observation where shortly after arrival she developed tachypnea, and grunting. A pulse Ox was placed and read 58 with Heart Rate in the mid 100's. Blow by oxygen was given with a mask.
Soon Brian was able to go and see Charlee in the Nursery. My mom told me that at first they just tried to peek through the closed blinds then a nurse came out and got Brian. It was so sweet, my mom told me, Brian quietly moved the blinds to the side so my parents could look and watch her. She was still sleepy from the anesthesia that she received before birth.

I, while in recovery, was given something to help me wake up, Charlee however did not get that.

Charlee subsequently required head box placement overnight. This happened because as soon as they took the blow by oxygen mask off of her, Her O2 stats went down really low again.

Charlee's initial blood glucose was 38 and she was unable to feed. An IV was started, putting in the IV didn't go so well and they called a Life Flight nurse to come and put it in. She has a couple holes in the top of her hands from missed tries.

Chapter II

Playing the waiting game, my parents said that is seemed like forever waiting for me. Four and 1/2 hours later they were told that I was resting in the recovery room. We are not sure what happened in those four plus hours because we still today have not spoken to our surgeon. One of the nurses told us that my placenta came out clean and everyone cheered. I also was told that I had my all of bladder and my uterus. I also was told by a nurse that they did tie my tubes... I still would like to speak to the surgeon. I hope I can speak to him soon! I guess he is out of town until the end of July.

I am a bit emotional about the tubes being tied, I really thought we would have one more baby. Even with all the pain and trouble I had with this pregnancy I really thought we would have one more. When the Doctor asked "if we don't need to do the hysterectomy do you want your tubes tied?" I looked at Brian and I could see how scared he was, I have never seen him so scared of losing someone that he loved. Brian asked the Doctor if in another pregnancy if this could happen again. Doctor Townson told him it was very likely and it would become worse with each additional pregnancy. Brian left it up to me, and he was very relieved when I said we were done and if a hysterectomy was not preformed that they could go ahead and tie my tubes.

I am grateful to be able to have a family of four kids. I feel extremely blessed, It has been mentioned since my initial c-section with Jacob that it is a good thing I was born at this time and not 50 years ago.

When Doctor Townson left, I turned to Brian and said "I have been worried this whole pregnancy that something was going to be wrong with the baby. I am so relieved that nothing is wrong with Baby." 14 grandchildren and no major complications, Diabetes would be about the worse thing and it scared me that something more serious could happen to one of my kids.

Brian told me that when they told him that baby looked healthy all he could think of was my health and how he would trade my health for the health of the baby. Crying we hugged each other and we are so thankful and blessed that everything went so well.

Side Note: I remember Brian at the time of discharge told someone on the phone, "we are being discharged today, well Jen is! This has been really hard on me." I had to laugh with the comment of "This has been really hard on me" part but now that I am writing it all down again I know he was joking with saying that, but this was really hard on him.

To Be Cont...