Friday, October 17, 2008

When it rains...it POURS!

Since things have FINALLY calmed down a bit in our household, I figured I would let everyone in on the details of what we've been going through--
Jared has had 2 Kidney Stones for the past 3 weeks now. The week before Lily's birth we were in the ER 3 times for Jared and his pain.
The 4th trip to the ER ended in Jared gettig pumped with some fluid and me getting wheeled to labor and delivery with major contractions. I was dialated to 4cm and in "active labor".

it's a good thing the bed was a good size-- we pretty much shared it the whole time!

Thankfully, Jared was feeling a little better (he definately stepped up) and was able to be a part of Lily's delivery. I couldn't have asked for anything more in the delivery..the nurses were amazing! -it was pretty quick and smooth.
Lily was born early Saturday morning and we later learned that she had a high level of Jaundice and a heart murmur. Over her first 48 hours, the jaundice continued to rise so she had to be admitted to the NICU and be put under phototherapy. It was HEARTBREAKING and very un-natural to be seperated from her so soon after giving birth. She was under the lights for 2 days and could only be held to be fed for a maximum of 30 minutes per feeding. After the 2 days of phototherapy, she was taken off the treatment and monitored for an additional 12 hours to see how her body rebounded without the lights. Kaiser was very nice and let me stay in the hospital all 5 days that she was there.

As for the heart murmur, it is a hole in her heart, called VSD (Ventricular septal defect). The Dr. said it is quite common and usually closes up within the first year of life. She will have to be checked regularly with the cardiologist at Kaiser.

We finally brought Lily home on Thursday afternoon. It was such a relief to be home and out of a tiny hospital bed! That didn't last for long though...

Friday we were back at Kaiser to get Lily's bilirubin (jaundice levels) checked and for Jared and his Kidney Stones! The dr's finally decided to go ahead and perform surgery on him since he still hadn't passed the stones. Come to find out- the stone was 5x7 mm and had gotten stuck in his ureter! He went into surgery Sat. night (a kind of surgery no one wishes on their manhood!). Because of the size and swelling in his ureter, the Dr. was only able to blast 1/2 of the stone. The Dr. said it was the hardest stone he'd ever seen --he said it was like granite! Poor Jared was in A LOT of pain on Sunday and Monday but had to return to the Police Academy b/c he is only aloud to miss 40 hours for the entire 6 month period.

So I feel like wonder woman in a way--this past few weeks I've been recovering from child birth, taking care of a newborn in the NICU, and taking care of a husband recovering from surgery! Oh and to make things even more comical- I got mastitis (a breastfeeding infection) this week!

After all this...I can conquer the world! haha.

Thank You to all the friends and family who haved called to check up on us, prayed for us, or have shown their love and concern in any other way! We couldn't have done it without you!

8 comments:

Paige said...

Hey Congrats on the cute little baby!! I'm sorry to hear of all your difficulties surrounding her birth, but I'm glad everything is going well now...You're going to love being a mommy!!

H+B Jackson said...

It has been pouring in my life too! I have been think that phrase for the last few weeks.

Lecitin is a vitamin you can get at walgreens and will help lubricate your milk ducts and prevent clogs that lead to infection. I had mastitis twice! Once it clears up always be aware of if you start getting clogged and pump as much out as you can after she finishes eating. But, the Lecitin REALLY WORKS! and it stimulatea brain development in the baby!

Harrison and Christine said...

Lindsey, you ARE wonder woman!! I can't believe all of this was happening all at the same time! I hope all is well now and you're doing great!! she is so beautiful. Congrats!!

Ashley said...

LINDSEY! I think I gasped three times reading through your post. I understand the NICU situation. What a blessing to get to stay with her. Poor Jared! I can't believe his stone was that big. We went through this with my Dad last year. I think it should be a rule that men under 50 can't get kidney stones. Then mastitis is the worst! I've had it twice. Hang in there, it has to get better. Please to hesitate to call, seriously!

Ashley

Austin and Kristen Bennion said...

WOW... you ARE wonder woman!!! I LOVE the pictures of your precious little girl! post more! she is a doll!

the straz fam said...

Wow Lindsey! Last week I got mastitis too and I was feeling so bad for myself (it is horrible!) but you were going through that AND SO MUCH MORE! I hope everything is going better for you guys now. We've been thinking about you!! : )

Mandi said...

Lindsey if I didn't have a cold right now I would be at your house holding the baby so you could sleep or something. I think you deserve some kind of award. I hope things calm down for you and Jared is feeling better. As soon as I'm better I'll give you a call and help with something. Groceries, dinner, laundry whatever you need!

Rachelle said...

YOU ARE WONDER WOMAN!! Way to go Lindsey!