WE WERE WELL ON OUR WAY

Yep, we were well on our way to routine. "Were" is the keyword in that sentence and my title. Baylor has been sleeping well. My recovery has been incredibly easier in comparison to the "regular delivery" recovery I experienced with Grayson. Baylor is nursing every 3 hours like clockwork and is pretty happy unless he has a dirty diaper. I went into the office on Monday with Baylor is tow and that went well. I am gradually working my way through the mass of e-mails and messages I received over the last two weeks. Grayson has adjusted well. Preschool started back on Monday after a week break and Justin is on his second week of work since being out for a week following Baylor's birth.

Yep, we were well on our way to a normal routine that was both productive and comfortable after feeling like our world has been in complete unheaval since I was put on bed rest at the end of April. I have been craving that normal routine in a bad way since April. Don't get me wrong, the upheaval was well worth it since it was required to get little Baylor here as healthy as possible. However, I do much better and feel like a much more productive person with a regular, normal routine.

We were well on our way to comfortable and normal with our newest addition falling right into the routine with us. That is, until yesterday. Yesterday we had a very busy morning. First, we had Baylor's two week check-up followed by Baylor's scheduled feeding in the car after the appointment (a mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do). In addition to having to be at an appointment by 9:30 with both kids, Justin had a 7:30 meeting so I was on my own for the morning routine. Needless to say I was impressed with myself when we arrived at the 9:30 appointment 10 minutes early. After Baylor finished his meal time in the car we headed to Justin's office. Grayson loves to see the "girls" there and color with them and Justin wanted to introduce Baylor to everyone. After a little "show and tell" we went out for a family lunch at a place near Justin's office. After lunch we dropped Justin off at work and headed over to my office. It was almost time for Baylor to eat again, I had a few things to take care of, and Grayson has some big brother presents waiting for him there. We left my office around 2:00 to journey home for Grayson, Baylor, and maybe even Mommy to get afternoon naps. When we were leaving my office I began to feel really tired. I didn't think much of it and assumed my at home to-do list may just have to wait until I could get a quick power nap in.

When we got home Grayson went right to sleep and Baylor wasn't far behind. I was feeling a little chilly so I bumped up the thermostat a few degrees. That should have been the first signal that something was REALLY wrong. I attempted to get cozy on the couch for a quick nap. Instantly, and when I say instantly I mean all of a sudden with little warning, my whole body starts to ache and I am freezing. I convince myself I am just tired and I need to relax and try to fall asleep. After about 10 minutes I begin shaking uncontrolably, I develop a pounding headache, and I feel like I am going to vomit at any minute. After another 10 minutes of trying to convince myself that I was just really tired, I realize something is wrong. Then panic sets in. I decide immediately I must have some sort of crazy infection from the c-section and that I am surely going to die. Dramatic I know, but I was very scared. I try to get up to get some Tylenol and I can't sit up let alone stand. I quickly realize that I have two children sleeping and if either of them were to wake up, I couldn't get to them. Fortunately, my phone was within reach. I call Justin and ask him to come home. At that point I was shaking so badly that I could barely speak. I hated calling him to leave work (you know me and how I am about asking for help), but I felt like the situation was getting bad fast.

It took Justin about 20 minutes to get home. Grayson woke up about five minutes before he arrived. It was torture to hear him calling me from his room and to be unable to get to him. Justin called my doctor on the way home and handed me the phone when he walked in the door. The nurse instructed me to take my temperature. It was 99.8. My normal is 97.6 so 99.8 is a little bit of a fever for me. The nurse called the doctor and the doctor said to take Tylenol and go to the hospital if the symptoms get worse. Otherwise I was scheduled for 10 am the following morning (today). My biggest fear was vomiting since my incision still hurts when I cough or sneeze. After 3 or 4 Tylenol and laying on a heating pad for about 2 hours, the fever broke and the chills went away. The headache is still around, but is no where near as severe and the nausea subsided after I was able to drink a milkshake around 8:30 (don't ask me why the only thing I could stomach was a milkshake).

This morning after preschool drop-off Justin drove me to the doctor. Turns out that I have mastitis. It is an infection related to nursing. I will not provide any more details since some of you are already wishing I had given a TMI notice before this. It isn't a huge deal and will not interfere with my abiliy to continue nursing. I actually had it with Grayson as well, but it was no where near as severe or as sudden.

So, we are back out of routine. Justin was home yesterday afternoon and all day today. Mainly to care for the boys since I am still pretty weak and useless. I hate being out of comission. It doesn't fit with my personality.

An additional update, Baylor's appointment went relatively well. I say relatively because our initial concern going into this appointment was weight gain since he lost weight between his first and second appointments. At this appointment he had gained 10 ounces (in one week) and is up to 7 pounds, 10 ounces. I talked with the doctor about the fact that milk often comes out of his nose when he is nursing. As an SLP who has some experience with feeding issues, I knew this wasn't normal. I had already checked for a cleft in his palate and the doctor seemed to think that looked fine as well. Her suggestion, a swallow study. I knew in the back of my mind that would probably be the recommendation, but the reality of hearing that kind of made me feel sick. I have done swallow studies on babies. They are not fun for the baby or the mom. Additionally, the idea that my little fella may be having some trouble scares the life out of me. It shouldn't. I would be very familiar with all the ways to address the issues, but it is different when you are dealing with your own baby instead of working with another family and another child. When you are treating, it is your job. When it is your baby, it is scary. We are praying that the swallow study looks fine and Baylor stops being so dramatic while he is eating. I will post once the study is scheduled so that you all can pray for us on that day.