Post surgery

My surgery was in Nashville at 3:30 and I was home (an hour away) by 5:30 or 6:00. I had something called ptosis; it's basically a drooping eyelid when the eyelid has slipped out of the carlidge holding it in place. The surgeon said my muscle looked good so fixing it wouldn't be a problem. He cut the middle of my eyelid, reattached then tendon and muscle with dissolvable stictches, then stitched up my eyelid; those stiches I'll have out in a week to 10 days. I was told I'd be out for part of the surgery but awake for some. If I was out, it was fairly brief. I do remember them having me open my eyes, look up, then close it several times. I heard him say it's a little high a couple of times. I guess they were matching the eyelids to look fairly symmetrical. Also during surgery, I felt a prick a couple of times on my eyelid. The surgeon, Dr. Wesley, had to give me a little more anesthesia. He said I probably metabolize it faster than others...if that's true, why my metabolism doesn't work on food seems a cruel joke.

That night, I didn't have too many problems. It was the next morning when it was quite a bit swollen and red. I had a little problems with tearing. And because my eye was so swollen, my eyelashes were stuck together the next morning. I didn't have too much pain associated with it, however. The salve they gave me to put on my eyelid made my vision a little blurry. But, all in all it wasn't too bad. It never got black and blue. The real pain was just being careful not to bend over or lift anything.

A couple of hours after surgery

24 hours after surgery

Surgery

Monday, I'm having eye surgery to fix my drooping eyelid. I have a list of things I can't do before surgery and a list of restrictions after surgery. The first 48 hours after surgery is the most restrictive: I can't bend over, I need to put ice cold cloths on my eye for 15 minutes of every hour, sleep in a recliner, no lifting over 10 pounds for 1 week. I am lucky to have my in-laws coming in to help with the kids, me, and everything else. I wanted to have my eye fixed but wasn't expecting a C-section, so I wasn't considering 2 surgeries so close together. But, I'm pretty well recovered from the first just in time for the second. At least this doesn't have as much recovery time. Here is a picture of the before:

Routine??

Wow! How time really flies by when you have a newborn. With one, you can sleep when they sleep or get a few things done around the house. With a preschooler, you need to give attention to them in between feedings and whatever cleaning you get around to doing. We still have rest time here, so while Becca is watching a movie, I try to get a few zzz's in either before or after Barrett eats. We have been letting Becca stay up until we go to bed...this helps us in the morning because she will sleep in until 8 or 9:00, which helps me get a few extra zzz's hopefully. There have been a few nights he's gone 4-5 hours between feedings. The only problem we're really having is he's a little gassy and he doesn't burp well. So, lying him down doesn't work for too long. The swing helps some, but he still gags a little and when I get him up, he typically gives me a big burp. So, today during the day, I'm trying him in his bed on his belly. I know, it's a big no-no, but I'm seeing how well he does with his head; I really think it will help with his belly. He sleeps really well when he's sleeping on my or Darren's belly. I know, he's only 4 1/2 weeks old but it would be nice to be able to lay him down and get some sound sleep.

At his 2 week checkup a couple of weeks ago, he was already 9 pounds 12 ounces and 22 1/2 inches long. That's 2 1/2 inches and a pound and a half in 2 weeks! He is really growing and eats really well and will occasionally sleep well in the right position.

His first bath

Big sister loves to help

Daddy and his kids in Barrett's favorite position

Coming home

The first several days after we came home flew by. One of my brothers and family as well as my sister and niece drove here to meet Barrett and spend a little time for Christmas. It was a lot of fun and wish they could have stayed longer. It was nice to have someone closer to Becca's age for her to play with. They were all a huge help with the kids as well as the cooking. Of course, my mom was a huge help with cleaning, cooking, and the kids. I don't know why people wouldn't have their mom there to help out...she really is great!

When he was 4 days old, we went to the doctor for a checkup. He was only 2 ounces shy of his birth weight. We also started noticing he was developing a yellowish tint. Our pediatrician sent us to the lab for bloodwork. His bilirubin levels were over 19...25 is the danger level that leaves permanent damage. So, they called a company who comes to your house with the bilirubin belt and someone to show you how to use it. He was on it as much as possible, even overnight. It wrapped all the way around his middle, luckily, it didn't bother him and he still slept quite a bit. Christmas Eve, we went back in for bloodwork and he'd only dropped 1 point. We went back in Christmas Day and he'd dropped all the way to 15 so we were able to stop using the belt.

The good, the bad, and the ugly

Okay, you may want to skip this posting. I will put some things you may not want to read...I'm not getting really detailed, just a few details you may not want to read about my C-section.

I remember being so out of it after the C-section, not immediately but at some point rolling me down the hall into a recovery room and eventually into my room. I was vaguely aware of nurses in there sitting with me, talking and then my mom coming in the room telling me goodbye. I remember Darren coming back but am unsure when I was completely aware of what was going on around me. That was the first downside to a C-section because I couldn't spend time with Barrett right away.

That night, the nurse came in every few hours and made me breathe in and out of a tube and then cough. The second downside to a C-section is being afraid to cough, sneeze or laugh. The next morning I had to be on a liquid diet and I wasn't really that hungry anyway.

When the nurse came in and told me I needed to get out of bed and walk around. and I had to do a lot of it on my own was rough. I remember looking at my legs being so swollen from the iv and surgery...that was a beautiful sight, let me tell you. I had to get up and walk 4-6 times a day. The third downside to a C-section was getting out of bed trying not to hurt my incision.

My mom brought Becca up later in the day and she did great! She was there for about 6 hours and wasn't a problem at all....of course we brought her DVD player to help keep her occupied. The fourth downside to a C-section is your child not being able to run up and give you a big hug and having to tell them to be easy when they're snuggling with you.

Friday night, I started feeling pretty badly and walked in the middle of the night to try and relieve some of the pressure. By Saturday morning, they gave me the option of an enema and I took them up on it right away. I have never been so happy to have this lovely medical procedure done. After all was done, I felt like a brand new woman. The fifth downside to a C-section is all the gas buildup.

I was ready to go home and given the thumbs up Saturday afternoon but had to wait on Barrett's blood work to come back since he had a fever after he was born. But everything was fine and we were on our way home to greet family that had come in from Oklahoma and Texas.

The upside to a C-section is no squirt bottles! and actually feeling a little more normal quicker since the stitches are in a less sensitive area.