They are here!!!!!!!!!!!

Whew... where has the time gone on me already? My babies are already 8 days old! I am just now getting back to life. A changed life.. but a better one. A new begining!

So the birth story. I am going to type it all out so I can remember the day years from now and share it with the boys..

I had entered the hospital on October 13 for a variety of reasons. I felt like crap. Couldn't move, horrid painful hemoriods, pelvic pressure, protein in the urine, massive endema (swelling), I was blowing up like a blowfish in general! Blood pressure was on the rise. My Dr. said.. that was it. Check in. I was 32 weeks 6 days and my Dr. wanted me to still hit 34 weeks before I delivered.

As I said in my previous post, I was miserable.. delerious! My dr. said if I thought I would be more comfy, I could go home. After all, the c section was scheduled for Wednesday so I should do whatever made me most comfortable. I left. We got home about 10 am on Sunday. I gave it my best, I really did. But by 7:00 sunday night, I think I was worse than ever. Jeff called Dr. V to tell him.. and beg him, to move it up to Monday. He agreed.

I got all checked in on Monday and they did one more urine test with lab work and off to the OR I went. Got the spinal block.. which I am sorry. Hurt like a BITCH. They get me all laid out on the table and next thing I know someone comes in and says.. she's full blown pre-eclamptic now and she needs another IV for the Magnesium!! Well, my Dr was like.. it's to late, we've started. They did put the IV in my other arm but they couldn't start the Mag drip now till I was in recovery. My heavy breathing continued a bit even with being numb from the chest to the toes.

The next few minutes really were magical for being half out of it on drugs. Jeff and I were hoping each baby would cry upon birth, but you never know so we didn't have our hopes up. Each of our 3 babies came out screaming!! Oh boy were they screaming!!! After my Dr. pulled them out, he handed them off and they were wisked into the room next store where the Neonatal teams were waiting for each baby. They cleaned each of them up and brought them into us just briefly. I can't remember to much but I remember thinking.. they are PERFECT. So beautiful. They handed each of them to Jeff very quickly and he held them down to me so I could kiss their cheeks and see them. They looked like little caterpillers in their cocoon. So so cute!

After the birth, I they went to work on me. We had long discussed the possible complications of the birth I was going to have.. blood transfusions due to excessive loss of blood is very common and sometimes a hysterectomy is necessary. I was ok with whatever they needed to do. I am told this part was fine. I just remember shivering and shaking and still not being able to breathe at this point.

Next I was moved to recovery, where all of the above symptoms just got worse. I was gasping for air so the next thing I know, they put an oxygen mask on me and I had the Magnesium drip put in right away as well. The rest is a morphine blur but I was consious and remember some of it. Basically, my heart rate started crashing. Normal is in the 80's and 90's. Mine was about 41. My blood pressure was shooting into the 200's making this a potentially lethal combination. They said I had a lot of fluid on my lungs and were getting very concerned about pulminary embalysm/ clots in the heart and lungs. It was here I knew something was really wrong with me. Not to sound silly but I remember someone dying on an episode of ER from a pulminary embalysm. I also remember the EKG machine getting rolled in and having that done and the two cardiologists....

It was like a scene from TV or a movie. There were literally like 10 Dr's and nurses standing next to me in recovery all staring at my vital screens with their mouths open. Jeff said at one point, my ob told him to go hold my hand and Jeff was like.. what??? Is this the end?? Then he got my mom out of the room too.

I was in recovery for about 5 hours until they moved me to a labor and delivery private room across from recovery. I was not stable enough to move, let alone to the post partum floor. My last treat to end the day was a trip to the CAT scan to make sure they could rule out the clots and whatever. They kept me there over night with one on one nursing care and a Dr. checking on me every 2 hours. I was woke every 45 minutes for vitals and what not. I had 3 freakin IV's at this point too. Oh my.. the holes in my arms.

By Tuesday morning, I guess I turned the corner cause I was so thirsty. I didn't give a crap that I had not eaten since dinner Sunday night: all I wanted to do was drink Lake Michigan. No go. I had to beg for ice chips and was granted. They were gold! But.. sadly, I still had not met my babies. I couldn't do anything.. mostly due to the magnesium drip. Finally at 5 that night, they said I could move as I wasn't critical anymore. They moved me on my bed to post partum and once I got up there, they let me eat some soup and drink water.. and.. get out of bed for the first time in like 36 hours!

Last but not least.. I had not yet sot to see my babies yet except for the 30 seconds in the OR. They were born at noon on Monday.. and here it was 7:00 pm on Tuesday and I was finally wheeled into the NICU. To say I was totally overcome by emotion upon seeing them is the understatment of the year. It was the most special and important moments of my life holding them for the first time.

So that's that. The birth story. I am doing fine, (ok.. except for the side to side incision that required 16 staples, the massive edema, and the fact that I still look freaking 8 months pregnant!) but I guess I have an abnormally low heart rate. I have always known I had low blood pressure if anything but I guess as with high, the other extreme can be a bad thing too. So, I do have to see a cardiologist now that the problem reared it's ugly head. As it has been since we started trying to have a baby in October of 2006, nothing has been easy. I tend to take the road less traveled. I mean come on.. who else do you know who's c section ended with an EKG, CAT scans, cardiologists...... yep, that's me! But, it was worth the ride!

More pics coming in the next day or so and I really want to write about our experience having the three babies in the NICU. But till then.. I have 3 babies to feed! YAHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!