Happy 30th Birthday to me! Not at all how I expected to spend my birthday that's for sure. The night had gone well. I actually got some sleep (a 2 hour stretch at one point!) because having the surgery was a relief. I knew we were doing everything we could and allowed myself to relax a bit. Since these 48 hours were critical, Adam called off of work. It was such a relief to know he'd be close by if something were to happen (although I did send him home to get some sleep the night before, my Mom took night shift that night).
My temperature had stayed normal throughout the night and the high risk doctor was pleased when he came in that morning to check on me. They did an ultrasound to check on our daughter and see what the cervix looked like after the cerclage. The fluid level of the amniotic sac was still good (which means he hadn't ruptured it during the surgery) which gave us hope. She was moving plenty and we even got to see her yawn. They printed out a couple pictures of her face because up until now she hadn't been cooperative about showing it to us. They checked her heart too because at our big ultrasound on the 4th they hadn't been able to look at it because of her position. It looked great. She was still breech, however, and I could feel her kick at my cervix. I kept telling her to turn because her head was too big to go through at this point. My cervix looked like he expected. The stitches were holding, so thus far so good.
He put me back on solid food starting with lunch (I was pretty excited . . . I hadn't eaten real food since Friday) and said I could sit up a bit to eat (which was scary). Aside from food, things were going to stay the same for the day, but he said tomorrow we'd have to bite the bullet and have me move some. That was such a scary prospect. I understood that I couldn't just be flat on my back for the next couple months, but it was still scary. Extra stress on my incompetent cervix was not going to help. I just nodded and yelled on the inside.
Sitting up to eat was scary, but a bit of a relief (not that I sat up that much, the minimum to show I was up but not vertical). That morning my back on my left side had really started hurting. I was also starting to have some trouble taking deep breaths. This can be another side effect of the mag, but also compounded by the fact that I'd been on my back or side only for the past few days. They gave me a breathing exercise to help prevent pneumonia and that helped. I was able to take deeper breaths without coughing (which was also scary . . . again more stress on my cervix).
Talking about being on my back and complications associated with that reminds me of something else I had attached to me that I've forgotten to talk about, the scuds. I'm sure it's an acronym, but I don't know for what. They were plastic and wrapped around my lower legs. They were attached to an air pump that would inflate them at different intervals. It felt a bit like a massage chair. Their purpose was to prevent blood clots in my legs since I wasn't moving. They never really bothered me, but they did get a bit hot.
I also got a washcloth "bath" in bed that day. It was no shower, but it helped make me feel a little less gross. My Mom brushed my super gross hair and braided it for me so it would be out of my way. It's amazing how much you just stop caring about modesty once you've been in the hospital for several days, can't get out of bed and have had surgery on your cervix. The nurses were wonderful though. I can't speak highly enough of them. They took excellent care of me physically and also checked on my emotional well being (not to mention making sure my family had what they needed too). They made that horrible time a little less awful.
I was feeling a little better so I talked to some friends and family. It was nice to talk to them and hear their positivity. I was so scared. I wanted to be positive and hopeful, but it was hard. Having everyone else be positive when I couldn't really helped. Speaking of my family and friends, I can never thank all of you enough for everything you've done for us. We wouldn't be able to get through this without all of your love and support.
I spent most of the day talking to Mom and Adam, watching random things on TV and taking naps. I checked Facebook and saw all of the lovely birthday wishes. Thank you to all of you. I just couldn't deal with it that day, but I appreciated it. At dinner the food service lady brought me a cupcake with my dinner. While I was excited about real food, I couldn't eat very much before I hit a wall. Part of it was because I hadn't had real food in several days, but it's also a side effect of the mag. Adam and Mom went down to the cafeteria in the hospital to get dinner right before mine came and they came back up with a cupcake for me too. Double birthday cake! I felt bad that I couldn't eat either one that day, but I appreciated the thought. What a way to turn 30.
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