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Of boobies, babies and brothers...
Nov. 16th, 2009 01:47 amThere must be something about being 37 weeks pregnant that brings on stressful situations for me or something...
Last time it was my kitchen coming apart. This time, it's my brother.
My brother is three years younger than I am. He's had a rough year or two-splitting with a long time girlfriend, a diagnosis (finally) of biploar disorder which was difficult to get under control for a long time, a motorcycle accident (the accident wasn't his fault, but the motorcycle in and of itself was not a shining moment of judgement on his part) and now the latest.
A couple of days ago, he called my Mom, complaining he was in a lot of pain, and moaning and groaning. It got worse, he called Mom again, she told him there was really nothing she could do at that point, but if it was that bad, he needed to go to the emergency room. Which he did. Many hours later, they determined that it was appendicitis, and at about 5 AM they sliced him open and took his appendix out. Normally there would be a short stay in the hospital after this and you're on your way home to finish recovering there.
But this is my brother. And with my brother, nothing is ever simple.
Later in the day, my brothers lungs are filling with fluid, he's spiking a high fever, his blood gasses are off, his blood pressure is through the roof, and he's in immense pain. They ruled out a blood clot, but couldn't figure out why everything else was going on, and were treating the lungs-nebulizers, medication to thin the secretions and help him cough, etc, etc. He was still complaining of immense pain though, and of course, the coughing hurt, too. His psychiatrist even came by to give him something for anxiety, in hopes that it would relax him and help him cough more. The blood gasses were still off, blood pressure still high, etc, etc etc. He ended up being moved to the cardiac unit, but still got worse. Then yesterday, they opened him back up-the chief of surgery was brought in to consult on things, and there was a hole in his small bowel...which no one has been able to explain since there was no trauma prior to the surgery, no bowel issues like Crohn's Disease, etc.
He's been sedated for almost 48 hours, on a ventilator. I don't know what's going to happen next...I suppose once they get his blood gasses back to normal, and other things more on the way to healing, they'll wean him off of it. All I can do at this point is wait for my mother to relay what the doctors tell her and my Dad, since they're the ones who can go to the hospital. I can't even go up there because they don't let you do that kind of thing at 37 weeks pregnant...
And as far as boobies and babies? I seem to have colostrum in greater quantity than I ever did with Naomi. I can hand express more than I could the entire time I nursed her, and sometimes even get some good distance on it. Pumping with my good pump brings on painful contractions, and since I'm not trying to start labor yet, I've been holding off on that, but using the hand pump or hand expressing several times a day. I'm waiting on my goat's rue to arrive and getting frustrated that it's not here yet but I suspect it will be here tomorrow. My Domperidone is on the way too. I should start to look for donor milk this week. My favorite LC is telling me that I'm not thinking positively enough, but I am trying to. I'm going to do the best I can, I know what to do, I know when to start and how to do it. And my goal is simply "More than I could do with Naomi." And whatever she gets is great.
We're on our way to getting ready for the baby. Newborn diapers have been washed and sunned. Newborn clothes will get washed in the next couple of days (we're a little behind on laundry-almost caught up though. Need to get a few birth supplies together, but we're really on our way. I'm looking forward to being ready to go...I'm not ready now, and that's fine. I'm hoping the baby hangs out until 12/14 or so anyway...
I'll be glad to be done with some of this-the heartburn, the muscle cramps, the sore hips. It's so different from when I was pregnant with Naomi. Still, I worry about being Mom to two at once, though I'm sure, just like many, many other mothers have done, I'll be okay.
Last time it was my kitchen coming apart. This time, it's my brother.
My brother is three years younger than I am. He's had a rough year or two-splitting with a long time girlfriend, a diagnosis (finally) of biploar disorder which was difficult to get under control for a long time, a motorcycle accident (the accident wasn't his fault, but the motorcycle in and of itself was not a shining moment of judgement on his part) and now the latest.
A couple of days ago, he called my Mom, complaining he was in a lot of pain, and moaning and groaning. It got worse, he called Mom again, she told him there was really nothing she could do at that point, but if it was that bad, he needed to go to the emergency room. Which he did. Many hours later, they determined that it was appendicitis, and at about 5 AM they sliced him open and took his appendix out. Normally there would be a short stay in the hospital after this and you're on your way home to finish recovering there.
But this is my brother. And with my brother, nothing is ever simple.
Later in the day, my brothers lungs are filling with fluid, he's spiking a high fever, his blood gasses are off, his blood pressure is through the roof, and he's in immense pain. They ruled out a blood clot, but couldn't figure out why everything else was going on, and were treating the lungs-nebulizers, medication to thin the secretions and help him cough, etc, etc. He was still complaining of immense pain though, and of course, the coughing hurt, too. His psychiatrist even came by to give him something for anxiety, in hopes that it would relax him and help him cough more. The blood gasses were still off, blood pressure still high, etc, etc etc. He ended up being moved to the cardiac unit, but still got worse. Then yesterday, they opened him back up-the chief of surgery was brought in to consult on things, and there was a hole in his small bowel...which no one has been able to explain since there was no trauma prior to the surgery, no bowel issues like Crohn's Disease, etc.
He's been sedated for almost 48 hours, on a ventilator. I don't know what's going to happen next...I suppose once they get his blood gasses back to normal, and other things more on the way to healing, they'll wean him off of it. All I can do at this point is wait for my mother to relay what the doctors tell her and my Dad, since they're the ones who can go to the hospital. I can't even go up there because they don't let you do that kind of thing at 37 weeks pregnant...
And as far as boobies and babies? I seem to have colostrum in greater quantity than I ever did with Naomi. I can hand express more than I could the entire time I nursed her, and sometimes even get some good distance on it. Pumping with my good pump brings on painful contractions, and since I'm not trying to start labor yet, I've been holding off on that, but using the hand pump or hand expressing several times a day. I'm waiting on my goat's rue to arrive and getting frustrated that it's not here yet but I suspect it will be here tomorrow. My Domperidone is on the way too. I should start to look for donor milk this week. My favorite LC is telling me that I'm not thinking positively enough, but I am trying to. I'm going to do the best I can, I know what to do, I know when to start and how to do it. And my goal is simply "More than I could do with Naomi." And whatever she gets is great.
We're on our way to getting ready for the baby. Newborn diapers have been washed and sunned. Newborn clothes will get washed in the next couple of days (we're a little behind on laundry-almost caught up though. Need to get a few birth supplies together, but we're really on our way. I'm looking forward to being ready to go...I'm not ready now, and that's fine. I'm hoping the baby hangs out until 12/14 or so anyway...
I'll be glad to be done with some of this-the heartburn, the muscle cramps, the sore hips. It's so different from when I was pregnant with Naomi. Still, I worry about being Mom to two at once, though I'm sure, just like many, many other mothers have done, I'll be okay.
