A rough start

Well. Where to begin...

Player #4 coming late September.

Yup, I'm pregnant.  And, it has been a really rough start.

Gideon's pregnancy was a breeze. Light nausea and tiredness during the first trimester and then I felt great for the rest. 

This. This one is going to have some explaining to do. 

Nausea hit almost immediately. As well as exhaustion to the extreme.  By 7 weeks, I had already told my mom because I couldn't cope.  I pretty much slept from the moment Nathan got home from work, until he left for work the next morning.

At 8 weeks, I went in for my first sono.  They found a subchorionic hemorrhage (part of the placenta had pulled away and a clot of blood was forming behind it)  during the sono. They aren't really a huge deal but they do increase your chance of miscarriage.  Having had a miscarriage prior to Gideon, my anxiety went through the roof.  And, despite my misery, I was certain I wouldn't announce until after the 13 week mark. 

Due to the hemorrhage, I was put on pelvic rest- no heavy lifting, no core exercise etc- basically a very mild bedrest. I was told to lift Gideon only when necessary. 

Fast forward a week and suddenly my hip and leg were in massive pain.  Shooting, tingling pain, down my leg into my foot. I could barely move. I contacted my Midwife who said it sounded like sciatic nerve pain. At 9 weeks, it was really early to already be experiencing that.  She suggested a chiropractor, so I scheduled an appointment as soon as possible.  One adjustment, and I felt immediate relief. By the next Wednesday, I was pain free.

But, then in the continuing saga,  I woke up from a nap later that day with strange back pain.  The pain continued to worsen into the evening and moved into my leg. By the next morning, My leg was swollen to twice the size, red and purple, and in excruciating pain.   After a phone call to my doctor and a consult with the family nurse, my mom rushed me off to the ER.

Here are some rather yucky pictures:

It doesn't really help that I'm so pale that the healthy leg looks dead...

But, yah a pretty good visual of how big it got.

It's like a dead person's leg next to mine...

It turns out, I had a massive blot clot.  It was/is the entire length of my leg. 

Oh the ER.  I waited 2 hours before finally being taken back. There were a lot of people there and none of them really seemed to be in as much pain as me.  There were a lot of older people sitting around chatting in their wheelchairs and some younger people texting and watching TV.   There was an older man who had come in for chest pain who was way to chatty.   And then there was me, I was moaning, grimacing, and trying not to cry while my leg felt like it was giving birth. (Having given birth with no epidural, it's still not an exaggeration.) 

There was however, a bit of humor. There was one woman who was very vocal. Between shouting how much she hated certain people, how she felt like an orphan, and lots of profanity, she would complain that she was in so much pain but would rather just go home.  I was of course put in the room right next to hers and got to hear this continue for another hour or so.  She was not pleased about a needle stick and got in a very heated argument with a nurse.  The nurse in my room just rolled her eyes.

Because of the concern that the clot might break away and go to my heart or lungs, I was hooked up on a monitor.  When it came time to give me my first injection of blood thinner (note: I'm terrified of needles),  the heart monitor went nuts.  Which cause me to laugh so hard I started crying.  The nurse said that was a first for her. 

 I got to spend Thursday, Thursday night, and Friday in the hospital. I got visited by every kind of doctor, PA, nurse under the sun and have a ridiculous amount of follow up appointments and blood draws. 

The doctors can't quite figure out how I (a relatively healthy person) got a blood clot so big.   Pregnancy is a risk factor and I was laying on the couch for about 5 weeks straight, but they still want to do genetic testing and all sorts of other things. 

I get to wear these cute socks now... bleh.

Nathan spent the night in the hospital with me, so Gideon got to spend his first night away from home with grandpa and grandma. He was a little trooper, but was very glad to have me back. 

I also was able to finally wean him! 17 months strong :)

And, since you can't really cover up a pregnancy when you are in the hospital for a pregnancy related issue and I would be needing lots of help in the weeks to come, Nathan and I decided to announce at 10 weeks along. Sigh.  

My leg didn't get miraculously better either. It's been and is going to be a long road to recovery.  The first week I spent nearly every day all day laying on my back with my leg in the air. Walking is difficult and painful.  There has been slow improvement though, less pain, better movement, slower swelling, and my leg is down from 4 inches larger to only 1 inch larger than the normal leg. 

There is still concern (a 50% chance) that I'll develop post thrombotic syndrome which includes a fun list of symptoms. 

I also get to give myself two shots of blood thinner a day in my stomach from now until 6 weeks postpartum. Joy of joys.

Thankfully, sonos at the hospital and a visit to the midwife showed that baby is still doing well and growing (no update on the hemorrhage, though).

As much as Nathan would like to stay home with me, I'm sure,  we really have to save his measly vacation days for when the baby comes.  Last week, my mom spent days with Gideon and I, because I really couldn't take care of him on my own. And, she ran me to my ridiculous amount of appointments.  Nathan's mom came for a day and my sisters-in-law came on Friday.  So, I've been very well taken care of. 

Gideon with his cousins

Poor Gideon.  He has been a champ.  However, his orneriness has increased as he is lacking attention from me. :( 

what a mess

silly boy refused clothes.

Amazingly through this all, I've felt very at peace. I know there were, and are still, so many people praying for me and the baby. I can feel it.  It's also been a very stretching experience.  I don't usually like asking for help and often feel like I am an inconvenience to people. So, having people come and help and bring meals has been incredibly humbling.  I'm so thankful for my mom and dad who've been available whenever I need them and for Nathan whose been pretty much taking care of me and Gideon single handedly and making us suppers for the last few weeks. And for all of you who've offered help and have been praying, I am so thankful for you. 

Anyway, I am now 12 weeks along.  My leg is improving daily.  (Sadly, no improvement on the nausea end.) And, as my dear brother pointed out, we've already met our deductible for the year. :P ha. 

Oh, and another thing,  despite the rough start we are very excited. :)

In Christ

~Michelle