Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Today was a busy day. The morning was crazy as we tried to get everything ready for me to go home. Dr. Leavitt came by and gave me the okay to be discharged. He said my blood tests showed I was anemic, and I have an excessive amount of bruising at and around my incision, but other than that everything looked great. He said I should continue to watch me edema and blood pressure at home because it was still slightly elevated. He also told me that I will likely have issues with Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension with subsequent pregnancies, and that I will always have to have a C-section delivery. I guess due to the issues with and positioning of my bladder, he had to do a vertical incision on my uterus to get the baby out. The only way to have a vaginal delivery after cesarean is if horizontal incisions can be made through all layers of skin, muscle, and uterus.

Dr. Leavitt also called my room later that day with the results of the pathology on my placenta. It turns out it had "massive perivillous fibrin deposition" (google it, it is interesting). Pretty much, fibrin was deposited in the tissues of the placenta, which caused necrosis of the tissue and subsequent growth retardation of the fetus. This explains why Maks is the age of a 26 weeker but only the size of a 24 weeker. The placenta also had a tear, but it had no evidence of infection. All of these things make it clear that Maks' best chance for survival is outside of me. Kind of a hard pill to swallow, considering I tried to do everything possible to ensure he had a healthy environment to grow and develop. It stinks to think that it wasn't enough...

On a happier note, I found out today that my insurance was going to cover a really nice breast pump. I don't think I have ever been so excited about something as I was to be getting a Madela pump! It is such a blessing to have a good pump since that is the only way for Maks to get my milk. Yay! :)
Maks also had a good day today! The big, pronged nasal cannula was replaced by a much smaller and less invasive regular nasal cannula. He also got some sweet new shades to protect his eyes from the ultraviolet light that is assisting his liver in conjugating bilirubin. I love this picture of him. I think he looks like a total stud!


The dopamine weaning continued today with more ups and downs. I think by the end of today he was on 3mcg/kg, so we were still seeing progress. The second brain ultrasound was also done today with the same findings as the first. No brain bleeds yet!

I was finally discharged around noon, but Logan and I ended up spending most of the afternoon and evening at my parent' house resting and visiting with my mom and Lindsay.

Milyn was also so excited for mommy to be home. All she kept saying was "mommy hold you." She sat by me for quite a while watching The Lorax. It was a sweet change, considering she usually won't sit by me for more than a few seconds at a time.


We headed back up to the hospital that night to see Maks before finally heading home. Logan and I enjoyed some quiet time with Maks, and then Logan gave him his first Priesthood blessing. It was such a tender moment as Logan reached in the incubator and placed his hands on Maks' tiny toes to give him a blessing.

Coming home to our new house was so relieving. After Maks was born, I definitely started second guessing our decision to buy a house. With the extra expenses we will have with Maks, and all of the new stresses, I was worried about being a homeowner on top of it all; however, even though we just moved in a month ago, it felt so comfortable and natural as we came home tonight. I am thankful we are here and that we get to bring Maks home here in several months.

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