A little More About Us

I realized today that I have never filled you all in on the craziness of the days following having Little E. So I thought I would share with you and allow you to learn a little more about me and my little family.


After having Little E we came home from the hospital within 36 hours. I just wanted to get out of the hospital and get to my own bed and my Little A who was waiting for us to come back home.  The first couple days at the hospital and at home I was feeling great and really just enjoying my time relaxing and recovering. I was doing so much better with my recovery this time than with Little A, and then on the fourth day, everything changed.

I started feeling an aching in my right side late in the evening. Then through the night when I was getting up for feedings it was hurting more and more until I made hubby go and pick the baby up and bring him to me because the pain was so intense.  Hubby was worried, half asleep though, so he didn't push the issue when I said it was probably just my body returning to normal.

In the morning the pain had gotten to the point that I couldn't hold Little E, it hurt to lean over and change his diaper and I could not fully straighten my body. I called my doctor and they got me right in.
I left hubby at home with Little A and took E with me since he would likely have to nurse while I was gone.

The drive to the doctors office was a tearful one. I was in pain from delivery and stitches and my right side hurt so badly that I could not get to a comfortable position for the pain to decrease at all.  The doctor palpated my belly then called in the nurse so that he could check internally to make sure my uterus was not twisted or injured. I was starting to freak out as he left the room and went to his office on the other side of the wall. I could hear him talking to the nurse and then calling the hospital to tell them I was on my way.

He came back in and told me that he called the hospital so they knew I was coming and that he thinks it could be my appendix and that they were going to do an ultrasound when I got there.  "Just go straight to the ER. They will be waiting."

Terror. That is all I was feeling. I have never broken anything, never had stitches until having babies and have never had any major surgeries, illness or anything that put me in the hospital (other than deliveries).  I cried out to God and asked Him to help me to calm down and be able to nurse the baby and not loose my milk supply. I also said, "please let it be anything but my appendix." I really did not want to be going into surgery since that would mean drugs (scary when nursing) and a hospital stay with a newborn.

I called Hubby and swung by the house to pick him up. My friend hurried over to watch Little A and then we rushed off to the hospital. We sat in the waiting room for hours before being admitted to the ER (frustrating since they "knew we were coming" and since I was in pain and trying to nurse a newborn in a place full of sick people).  We waited in the ER for another hour and then finally had my ultrasound.

As the ultrasound tech was digging around on my belly, and continuously apologizing for causing me more pain, she just stared blankly at the screen then after what felt like forever, she excused herself and said that she needed her boss to come take a look.  She brought in her boss, then continued to dig around on my belly and talk in hushed voice to her boss. Who made horrible confused expressions then told her that he needed to take over. She stepped back and stared in amazement at my strange ultrasound screen.

Then they started to ask me questions. "Did you have a c-section?" No (it says that on my chart).  "Was there complications in your labor?" No, it also says that on my chart.  "Do you have a history of Crohns disease?" No!?!

Then they turned off the machine, looked at me and said, "We have never seen anything like this before. Your organs are in up very high because of just giving birth, but you have a large mass on your bowels or appendix. I could just say that I think it is your appendix and they could go in and take it out right now, but it could not be your appendix and be something like Crohns, then you would be having needless surgery.  So we are going to send you for a CT scan so we can be sure.

Again, I am terrified. I had heard of Crohns before but didn't really understand what it was. I had prayed earlier that it would not be my appendix,  but now I began to pray that it would not be Crohn's.

I sat in a room in the ER with Hubby and Little E for an hour, while we sat trying to be patient, calm and trying to trust that God had it under control. Hubby sat researching things on his phone while I fed E and we both got more and more worried.  Finally they made me drink some crazy tasting drink and took me to the CT.

After the CT the nurse took me back to the room and said they would be back within a half hour to tell me what their findings were.  I asked if I could eat anything and they said no just incase I had to go for surgery.  I was starving since I had been nursing all day (Thank God I was able to with the stress I was dealing with), and hadn't eaten since breakfast, which was small since I was in pain and in a hurry to get to the Doctors office.

Again we waited for an hour. Until a lovely nurse came in to tell me that the CT results had been taken to a OB/GYN who would be in to see me shortly.  Then she said the best thing I had heard all day, "Its not your appendix." Crohn's? I asked. "No, not Crohn's. You have an infection in your uterus and a blood clot on your ovary."

Honestly the second half of that was lost on me. I was just so excited to not have Crohns or to be going to get my appendix removed. The doctor came in to explain that I would be on antibiotics and be given blood thinning injections for the next week then would be on blood thinners for a few months after that. He told me that they were totally thrown off by my case because they hadn't seen anything like it for nearly 10 years.

The days that followed we insane.  The doctor consulted a specialist about my case since it is very rare, and they changed my treatment plan. So I was back at the hospital for 6 hours the day after. Then I was at the hospital everyday for the rest of the week to get injections and have my blood checked.  Then finally after breaking down in tears near the end of the week they set up homecare so that I didnt have to come in everyday, it was taking hours in the waiting room to just go in and get a needle.

I was blessed so much during that time of craziness.  My dad was thankfully not working at the time so he came down to help and watch Little A during our trips to the hospital. I had amazing friends that dropped of meals, snacks, desserts, and gifts. My mother in law came and spent a month with us to help in any way that she could and my parents were also down whenever they could be here.

God totally had His hand on us and our children through the whole thing.  Little A was such a happy little girl and she seemed not at all shaken by mom and dad being gone all the time or by the strange lady that came over to give needles to mom in the belly (she still talks about it though).   Little E was such a trooper, he was never upset while we were at the hospital and totally melted the nurses hearts. They couldn't believe that he was so happy at a few days old. Thankfully, my milk supply never changed and E continued to grow and eat well.

And after 6 months of worrying about what the outcome of all of it would be God answered our prayers and we were happy to discover that there is no genetic issues or reason for me to need to worry about it happening again. I will not need to go back onto blood thinners, and when we decide to have another baby, there will be nothing to worry about.

God has been so good to us. We were scared but through the whole thing we felt Gods hand and his peace.

Handsome Little Man the morning after he was born. 

Enjoying the weather the day before we headed back to the Hospital