December 6th my dear friend Selina came over and took some maternity pictures of me so we could see how fat I got before giving birth to Tinsley. LOL! Here is one of our favorites.
December 8th we arrived at the hospital at 6pm and were admitted with all our bags in tow! The nurses got started on softening up my cervix and I was looking forward to getting a last good nights sleep, so I thought! I did not get any sleep and neither did Ethan, as soon as they gave me the pill it made my contractions come on strong! I was apparently already having some mild contractions when I arrived but I did not know it. They gave me a pain pill and I got a few hours of sleep but the next thing I knew it was Thursday morning and Dr. Moser was on her way to break my water and get labor started.
December 9th the nurse started my Pitocin about 6am, Dr Moser broke my water about 8am, and I was told to go ahead and get my epidural about 8:30. I was so glad I did!! Apparently getting the epidural relaxed me enough to let the Pitocin work quickly! At 9am I was 75% and a 2, the next thing we know it is 11:30 I am 100% and a 10! Dr. Moser told me to relax and labor down for an hour and they turned the Pitocin off, I started pushing at 1:00pm and finally delivered Tinsley Rose Gingras at 2:20 pm!! She weighed 8lb even and was 20 1/2 inches long.
She came out with her face upwards, they said I did really good because normally the baby's head will not come out that way and they have to do an emergency c-section. I was extremely relieved she was able to come out on her own and I did not have to have a c-section! Ethan was able to watch the entire birth and cut the cord! I have never felt such relief and happiness in my entire life! After the nurse cleaned her and I was able to feed her we let our visitors come see her! Ethan's mom, grandmother, sister, father, and my aunt were all in the waiting room patiently waiting to see her and get to hold her! We got to move down the hall to our postpartum room and had a few more visitors, and more alone time with our new bundle of joy.
December 11th we got to take Tinsley home, we packed up the room and all the goodies and made our way downstairs to buckle her in and slowly drive her home! I think Ethan was a nervous wreck driving her home for the first time. Our first night at home alone with our princess was a little scary! I don't think I slept at all! Every time she would make a coo, or grunt I woke up and just looked at her!
December 14th we had her first Dr appointment with Dr Hunt. She looked her over and said everything looked great, she had lost a few ounces but that was normal, but everything else looked great! Back home we went and we all took naps!
December 15th I had my postpartum appointment and they said I looked good, and sent me home, even thought i told the NP that I was having some shortness of breath when I would lay down. She said I was probably unlucky and I was getting a cold. She said to take it easy and I should be feeling better soon...
December 16th Ethan woke me up from my evening nap telling me he was going to take me to the ER, I did not think it was that bad so I convinced him to just take me to CareNow. Ethan's mom came over to watch Tinsley because we didn't want to take her with us since there would be sick people there. Good thing we didn't! They called the hospital and sent me straight to the ER! The Dr. at CareNow thought I may have a blood clot. That scared Ethan and me, so we drove back to the hospital I had just left a few days prior, without my new baby! They took blood, gave me a CAT scan, chest x-ray, an EKG, and an echocardiogram. They admitted me to the hospital and told me I have Postpartum Cardio Myopathy. Basically I had liquid in my lungs and around my heart and they were not working how they should. My heart was only closing 50% and in people my age it should close about 65%, that made my other organs not work as they should so I could not get all the liquids out of my body. They gave me a diuretic and almost immediately I started peeing out all the liquid, in a 24 hour time period I lost 20lbs!! Needless to say I started feeling a lot better! I got to go home on Friday night and I am doing good now. I have to monitor my blood pressure and weigh myself every day to make sure I don't start retaining water again, and in a few weeks I have to go back for another echo to see if getting the liquid out and the medicine is helping repair the damage from my pregnancy and giving birth.
December 19th I am feeling great, and Tinsley is doing so good! She sleeps about 75% of the time and I can not help but to hold her and give her kisses every chance I get!! As for Ethan, he is sick, and can not hold her or help me out right now, so that is a bummer but at least I know he is here if I really need him! Poor thing, I can tell he is jealous that mommy is getting all the love, but I promised as soon as he is feeling better I would share her with him! :)
Here are some pictures from the past couple of weeks! Enjoy!!
Love, love, love the maternity picture. Tinsley is just beautiful. Glad you had a good, easy labor. And OMG - what a scare for you. I'm thankful you are recovering and enjoying your time with Tinsley. Tell Ethan to quit faking and change some diapers! :)
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