Relief, Less Relief

What a rollercoaster ride this week has been! Between the NICU, the emergency room, and trying to get used to things at home- I am absolutely drained! I commented on Monday and Tuesday that I didn't feel like I had just had a baby-there was no pain, I obviously didn't have a baby in my room, I slept well and was up and about walking all over the hospital-which I have never done previously since there was always a newborn in my room to tend to.

Rooming in was more like it-but even then he slept pretty well and I wasn't that tired since I had plenty of sleep the night before and even a nap before I was discharged. Time to visit with my boys at home before heading back in with Zach to spend the night also helped a lot, I had been missing them.

The day Archer was discharged was Thursday- and that was when my body let me know it had enough of what I was putting it through. After waiting around pretty much all day (he still hadn't been circumcised prior to that since they didn't want him crying excessively until the pneumothorax was gone) we finally were discharged around 3 pm. Only home for a little bit, I decided to try pumping with my brand new electric breast pump. I had it on for a bit, maybe ten minutes (Archer was dozing in his bouncer) and Zach had taken Riley outside to practice golf swings (don't ask) so Declan was the only one around to witness the excessive shaking that started in my hands and traveled up my arms until the whole top half of my body was shaking. I also became super cold and yelled for Dec to get Daddy. He couldn't get the garage door or the front door open (which is great really, but I could have used him to) so I had him banging on the window. Nothing. Finally, Riley came into pee and we got him to get Daddy. By then I was pale as a ghost and just my hands were still shaking and I had no feeling in them. I laid down for a bit and just couldn't get warm, so I went up and laid first in a warm bath and then in my bed.

My MIL came home then and took one look at me and found my doctors phone number. I had also lost some big gushes of fluid and she was worried since I am rather anemic and had lost an excessive amount of blood post delivery when my uterus stopped contracting after pushing the kiddo out. They told me to head to the ER, so that is where I spent my next 6 hours.

An EKG, chest x-ray, multiple blood tests, and a very painful pelvic exam... the only thing they could come up with was that perhaps holding the bottles while pumping caused me to have some type of carpal tunnel issues. Um, excuse me? What is he even talking about?

I took my iron prescription the following day and I have felt fine since. My parents and MIL all think I just overdid it by all my wanderings up and down the hall from my room to the NICU and the stress of everything plus missing my iron pills Thursday while we we were stuck waiting for discharge all day. Who knows?