I had an extensive "to do" list of items on Monday and Tuesday. Things that had to get done at the last minute (like grocery shopping and mopping my floor).
That all changed on Monday.
***
On Monday I was plowing through my "to do" list, after Adam and Grace went to school.
I had my last NST scheduled for 1:00, and the plan was to get through it, celebrate by going out to lunch, go shopping, pick up the kids, and then finish cleaning the house.
My NST didn't go so well. Baby boy failed it again because of lack of accelerations.
I was kicking myself because I had only eaten 2 graham crackers the entire day, which probably made his blood sugar a little low, which made him too sleepy to move enough to get his accelerations.
I wanted to save room for some Mexican food, darnit!
Instead, my perinatologist told me to go straight to the hospital (no detours) to go have a baby.
I told him that I was picking my kids up from school first.
My appointment had taken so long that we realized we wouldn't make it to get the kids on time. I called on my sweet friend Melanie to pick up my kids from school, another sweet friend, Jessica, to watch Josh, and then my awesome-fantastic-sweet sister, who (miraculously) had decided to head up to Vegas a day early, to ask her to watch the kiddos overnight until my mom could get here.
I also asked her to mop my floor.
And she also had to go out and buy milk and bread.
I am the worst sister ever.
She is the best.
The end.
We headed to the hospital, and on the way there I started have regular, painful contractions 5 minutes apart.
Baby really wanted to be born that day.
My surgery had been scheduled for 7:30. I got prepped, we filled out paperwork, and in no time I was headed to the O.R.
The surgery took f-o-r-e-v-e-r.
Because baby boy was already headed for the birth canal and needed a vacuum to get him out the other way. A lot of pushing and pressure and vacuuming, and he was born.
I cried.
I've never cried at a birth before, but hearing him cry and realizing that he and I had made it through the pregnancy overwhelmed me.
He was an absolutely perfect bundle of chub: 9 pounds 4 ounces and 21.25 inches long.
(I think my due date was off).
He (and I) were doing well, so I got him in my room about an hour later, and as I held his perfect little body, with his dark, wise eyes I decided something then and there:
That he was worth it.
Every pain, every uncomfortable night, every worry about finances, every single night that Mike worked extra and I cried from exhaustion, every single doctor appointment, everything was absolutely, positively worth it.
***
On Tuesday I recovered.
On Tuesday we went back-and-forth about baby boy's name.
On Tuesday I held, and fed, and rocked my baby boy.
On Tuesday my other kiddos and mom and sister came to visit me.
On Tuesday I loved when they crawled into the bed around me, sweetly kissed their new baby brother, and the wave of gratitude I felt at being a mom to four.
On Tuesday I started itching.
***
Wednesday, things were going so well that my doctor said I could go home.
Yay!
I was itching, in a ton of pain, miserable and convinced that being at home would be so much better.
I no likey the hospital.
We went ahead and decided on a name: Samuel Ethan Wilkins.
(Because I love Samuel the Lamanite, Nephi's brother Sam, and Samuel in the Bible. His middle name is from my great-grandfather, Ethan, who died when I was 2. I lived next door to him and we adored each other).
(But my brother, Ethan, can pretend it's after him).
;)
Kristi, Mike and Hayden came to visit.
I love having family in town!
We packed up our stuff.
Came home.
Felt overwhelmed at the thought of having 4 kiddos.
And I realized I had never been in so much pain from a c-section before, and Mike hurried out to fill my meds.
***
Thursday, I broke out in horrible hives.
They covered my arms, stomach, back, and legs.
Horrible, hot, crazy-itching hives with hard blisters everywhere.
I took some Benadryl, nursed every 2 hours, and let my mom and Mike take care of the kids.
Kayty took Grace to Disney on Ice that night.
She said it was "amazing" and "the best night ever."
Thanks, Aunt Kayty!
Mike took Adam to see Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 at the dollar theatre that night. They had fun "man time" together at the arcade afterward.
Thanks, Mike!
I stayed home and itched and nursed some more, and watched my mom "lose" at 2,436 games of "Go Fish" with Josh.
(Sweet Grammy allows him to cheat).
;)
***
On Friday Mike and I took Sam to the doctor, and Kayty headed home.
He lost a little bit of weight (but not too much), gained a 1/2 inch, and had no jaundice at all.
(My other 3 had jaundice, were sleepy and hard to feed... Sam has been soooo good so far).
I called my doctor about my hives, and she told me to go to the E.R. (because of the chance it was a bacterial infection or virus from the hospital).
I pumped, Mike bought some formula, we left all 4 kiddos in my mom's care, and headed to the E.R.
10 hours later (for reals) and lots of blood draws later, they established that I had a drug reaction to one of the drugs given to me during/after I had Sam.
And because they had no idea which drug it was, they suggested I go off my pain meds completely.
So I did.
Heavenly Father is so good to me. I was in the most excruciating pain that I had ever had from a c-section... and I was able to completely stop my pain meds (not even Tylenol or ibuprofen... I wasn't taking chances) just a few days after a c-section and bear it.
I am so blessed.
After some Internet research that night, Mike told me that drug reaction hives can take 1 to 2 weeks to go away, that no treatment is available (other than oven mitts to prevent scratching and cold compresses), and that if it progressed I could be hospitalized for 2 to 6 weeks.
He's a charmer, yo!
***
On Saturday, everyone left to go cheer on Grace (who was cheerleading for the soccer team), to play at the park and have a picnic.
I stayed home and tried not to itch, while taking care of Sam.
I napped, too.
***
On Sunday everyone headed to church.
I stayed home and tried not to itch, while taking care of Sam.
I napped, too.
(Seeing a pattern here?)
The kids built this darling birdhouse from a kit my Dad made (with Grammy's help):
After church, two men in our ward came and brought me the sacrament, and helped Mike give me a blessing.
It was beautiful (like always), and I decided to stop complaining and have faith that I would be healed on the Lord's time. I so wanted a miraculous, overnight recovery (because I'm miserable), but so many deal with so much worse. And why make everyone around me miserable with whining, too? I was blessed that I would recover, and I'm having faith in that blessing.
Because if Heavenly Father loves me enough to bless me with this:
Then He must love me enough to help me get through hives, too.
2 comments:
Thank you for sharing this sweet testimony of our Heavenly Father's love and the love of your sweet family. I am always so grateful for the amazing spouses my kids have chosen for their eternal companions, the love and guidance they give to my grandchildren, and their families that help support and teach them all! (Your explanation is so much better than Mike's....but I am grateful to get any tidbit of news :)
And to all that read, this valiant woman, Allison Kimberly Wilkins, never ever let on before or during, that she was in pain. She gently rubbed her arms (they must have itched so!) She smiled and snuggled and loved Sam. She was an expert arbitrator, negotiator, legislator…and all the while in the most pain she had ever been in…and you honestly would not have ever known. I told her she should become an attorney, because she can ask just the right questions that lead to good decisions. I am even more humbled by her bravery in the face of pain and itch and fear and worry…because I absolutely know that her four precious children had absolutely no clue that their wonderful mom was struggling…She is just that kind of Mother!
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