Pregnancy complications and emergency delivery

I intended on documenting everything on this blog during my pregnancy so I could look back and tell Dixon how he got here. Well, as you can see, I have barely made a dent in the 40 weeks of pregnancy. Speaking of 40 weeks, I should be 40 weeks pregnant this Wednesday, July 13. Instead, I have a 6 week old beautiful baby boy at home.
It all started in May. I started swelling in my legs and feet. Normal pregnancy things but combined with slight increases in my blood pressure. On May 18, I swelled head to toe, my blood pressure was up and I felt pretty yucky. My doctor sent me to the emergency room. My lab work was normal, my blood pressure and swelling went down while I was lying down, so they sent me home. I followed up with my doctor the next week and she just told me to watch out for certain symptoms and call if I had any issues. I continued to swell, but this time the swelling did not get better by lying down or propping my feet up. I tried everything like forcing fluids, reducing salt intake, and resting. Nothing helped.
Memorial day weekend came around and we went to the lake house. We considered this our last vacation before the baby arrived. We had our family and some friends up for the weekend. I wasn't too keen on riding in the boat but I wanted to have fun and enjoy the nice weather. Unfortunately, I was really swollen. As soon as I got up in the morning, within minutes, my feet and ankles doubled in size. My hands swelled but I attributed that to heat. My face was swollen but I didn't even realize because our renovation weren't finished yet in our lake house and we didn't have a mirror in the bathroom yet! Anyway, we went out on the lake on Sunday. I got to wear my cute maternity swimsuit;) By the time we got back to the dock, my legs and feet were so swollen that I could hardly walk. We had company so I was trying to fake it till I made it. I finally got to rest a little as soon as they left. The next morning I woke up with terrible heartburn. Well, it was more like terrible indigestion mixed with terrible heartburn. In the back of my mind I was thinking that this is one of those symptoms that warrants going back to the emergency room. but, I talked myself out of being sick. I ate probably 10 Tums and nothing helped. We came home from the lake that evening and I still had stomach pain. I couldn't get comfortable and the pain was getting worse. I called the on call doctor and he sent me to the emergency room.
We checked in at Centennial Women's hospital emergency room and my blood pressure was ridiculous. It was running 170's-180's over 90's. I couldn't believe my BP was that high. I didn't want to admit what was happening because denial is always the best option, right? The ER doctor spoke with my doctor and decided to admit me to the hospital. They needed to do a 24 hour urine test to see if I had preeclampsia. My lab work was slightly different from the tests they ran 3 weeks earlier but the definitive test was the 24 hour urine. So they started an IV and took away all food and drink (not a nice thing for a pregnant lady) and sent me to the high risk floor of the hospital. Now, I have to stop right here and say that I had the BEST nurses in the world during my hospital stay. I'm talking true angels. Krystalynn and Adrienne were heaven sent and truly saved my life.
So, back to the story, I was admitted to the hospital for a 24 hour urine test. I had multiple blood tests done. My platelets started to drop which could have been preeclampsia or my ITP acting up. My BP continued to stay high and my swelling got worse. I was on bed rest, nothing to eat or drink, and could only get up to use the bathroom. The next morning when the high risk doctor came around, she started me on magnesium which can only be described as the life sucker. It literally sucked the life right out of me. The magnesium was started to avoid seizures which can happen when your BP is high. I was told that if my urine test came back above 300 then the baby would have to be delivered. I received a steroid shot for the baby's lungs and had to wear those sexy TED hose to ward off any blood clots and compression boots to increase circulation as I was on complete bed rest. The magnesium really took it out of me. I felt terrible. They said it would feel like the flu but since I have never had the flu I could only equate it to the worst hangover in the world's history. I couldn't move, all my muscles felt like mush, I couldn't focus on anything, I was one sick girl. Later that day I got a headache. This was a major sign that things were going downhill fast. I took 3 different medicines, all of which increased in strength and narcotic, and nothing touched my headache. My head was only hurting on the right side of my head and my eye started turning black. Then the baby's heart rate dropped. I was put on oxygen and the nurse called the doctor. He said, get her ready I will be there in a minute, we will have this baby in an hour. So they wheeled me up to surgery. I got a spinal block. That was nerve wracking because I knew what was going on. I was so glad that they got it in fast. The doctor came in and cut me open and I heard the best sound in the world, my baby's cry. He came out crying and peeing. His APGAR scores were perfect. Dixon Wyatt Johnson was born June 1, 2011 at 3:50 pm weighing 4 pounds and measuring 17.5 inches. He went straight to the NICU since he was only 34 weeks. I got to see him and hold him for about 30 seconds before they took him to the NICU. He stopped crying and immediately calmed down when I held him and talked to him. I was so scared. They kept telling me that he was going to be fine, that 34 weeks was really good but the nurse in me was anxious. Amazingly enough, I know the Holy Spirit calmed my spirit so I could make it through all of this. Even though I was scared, I was calm and I knew he was ok.
I spent the whole net day on complete bed rest with a catheter and the magnesium. I started third spacing, meaning all the fluid in my body started leaking into my tissues making me even more swollen and totally changing the shape of my body. I was like double my normal size. Luckily a lot of that fluid was gone by the time I left the hospital a week later. I was finally able to go see my baby that afternoon when they shut off the magnesium and took out the catheter. It was so emotional seeing him in the NICU hooked up to an IV and a monitor and in an isolete. I was able to hold him and I couldn't stop crying. A mother's love is amazing. I almost died for him and I didn't care, I just wanted him to be ok.
Dixon spent a month in the NICU. He had to gain weight, eat all of his milk by mouth (not feeding tube), maintain his temperature outside of the isolete, and not have any apnea spells for 5 days. It took exactly a month for him to reach all those goals. We came home on July 1 and he is doing great. We prayed him here and now we have our miracle. Praise God!

Hallelujah Dinner

I had the opportunity to speak at the women's dinner at church last night. When I was asked to speak about our miracle baby, I started praying for God to speak through me. I knew my friend Ashley was going through a similar struggle so I invited her to the dinner. We have been friends since high school and have always kept in touch. She was so excited and so supportive. I couldn't wait to see what God had to say to her and everyone else. I felt good about speaking because people need to know about God's great works. Also, even though you know you are not alone in the infertility battle, you feel alone. I wanted people to know that nothing is impossible with God. I didn't go into great detail about all the doctors and procedures and tests that we went through. I only had 10 minutes to speak. I made sure to joke a little. I am kindof funny and I like to lighten the mood. Plus, it is an exciting story with a happy ending! My main goal of the speech was to encourage those going through the same thing we did. I wanted them to know that it's not easy but it's not impossible. I wanted to tell them that my faith wavered but God put people in my life to encourage me when I needed it. Lastly, I wanted them to know that you can't ever give up on your prayers. If we ask God for something, we need to ask Him expecting it to happen. It is so hard to live this when you feel so defeated and disappointed but it is so wonderful to see what God does with your life when you make it through a struggle. Looking back, the Lord answered all of my prayers. He gave me peace when I needed it. He gave me strength to persevere and continue to take up my cross everyday. He showed me mercy. One of the ladies last night made me realize just how merciful God is. She said that God showed me mercy by giving us a baby at the perfect time. We have about 12 ladies expecting babies in our church right now, 2 in my Sunday School class. She said imagine not being pregnant and having everyone around you at church expecting a baby. I had never thought about that but she is so right. God is so merciful. He also gave me grace. I asked Him to help me handle myself with grace throughout this whole journey. I felt like a hot mess most of the time but to everyone else I seemed like the most faithful, patient, and graceful women they had seen. People asked me how I could be so patient and all could say was, God. It's amazing to see what he has done in my life and my husband's life. His timing is perfect and I wouldn't change anything. I am thankful that I was chosen to bear this burden. I am thankful that I have the confidence to speak about it. My hope and prayer is that I can help other women make it through the infertility struggle.

Pregnancy symptoms

When I found out I was pregnant, I was ready for any symptom that came my way. People always say that the sicker you are, the healthier your baby is. Well I was really sick. I started with the all day sickness about week 7. Then continued with night sickness until about week 17. I lost 10 pounds during the first trimester! Next thing is bra size. I went from a 36 D to a 38 DD and now a 38 F! How about they don't sell my bra size at the maternity store. I had to settle for a 40 E. What is that? I don't even want to know what size my boobs will be when my milk comes in. Pregnancy amnesia or placenta brain. Kind of good when you want to forget how sick you have been but bad when you can't put a sentence together because you can't remember simple vocabulary words. Ben and I have gotten the biggest kick out of my forgetfulness. We have had conversations and I have no recollection of what he is talking about. Also, my brain won't process things like it used to. Sometimes people will be talking to me or explaining something to me and I can't understand what they are telling me. I have had to ask so many people to repeat themselves because I have no idea what they just said. Luckily we can all laugh about it. The best thing has been my enjoyment of food. The best story I have is from Krispy Kreme. Who doesn't love a hot fresh donut? Ben and I were on our way home and I said if the hot sign was on, I wanted to stop and get 2 donuts. Both for me of course! So we went in and they said it would be 3 minutes before the hot ones would be ready. No problem. I watched those donuts ride up and down the conveyor belt, drop into the hot oil, flip over, and then ride through the sheet of glaze. They were so hot, I almost burned my mouth but they were sooooo good. Ben and I talked about how fun it will be to bring our son to Krispy Kreme and watch the donuts. It is so exciting to think of all the fun stuff we can do with him as he grows up. There are other symptoms that I am choosing not to include because I either want to forget them or just leave this post on a high note. Some things just aren't worth talking about. I have tried very hard not to complain about any symptom. My only complaint so far has been my tailbone pain but I am still enjoying every minute of it!

25 weeks pregnant

Pregnancy has been everything I expected and then some. I expected some nausea. Pregnancy nausea was relentless and slightly debilitating. I finally got some medicine after I lost several pounds and was unable to eat or drink anything. Zofran was a life saver. I did not gain the usual holiday weight last year because I could barely stomach a cracker. I made it through and tried very hard to enjoy every symptom, good and bad. I had all day sickness for about 12 weeks and then night sickness until 17 weeks. I lost 10 pounds in the first trimester but at this point I have put on 19 pounds. It has been weird to see my body stretch and grow in different directions but at same time, it has been amazing and so much fun.

Welcome back

It's been like 8 or 9 months since I last posted on my blog. I have wanted to post months went by and I felt like I had waited to long to post so , whatever, I'm just gonna catch this baby up. Ben and I had a great summer. We bought a new boat in August. We mastered the art of wake surfing and enjoyed our lake house and being with each other. We had lots of visitors at the lake house. We made new friends and had some awesome cook outs. I finished up my 4th semester in grad school. I have kept my 4.0 GPA while working full time and teaching aerobics. I really love the program at Western and I hope to finish in the near future. I taught aerobics at church twice a week until November. I took a break for the holidays and for my sanity to finish up my research papers and final exams. Lastly, I received the greatest birthday present ever. Ben and I finally conceived our baby! I found out I was pregnant in November. Total shocker! We had just had a serious conversation about looking into adoption as soon as I finished school and BOOM, pregnant! I never gave up but I didn't think it was going to happen either. I was 5 days late for my period and I told Ben. He kept saying, this feels different, I think this is it. I didn't want to be disappointed so I kept saying, no, it's just another weird period. Well, Ben talked me into taking a pregnancy test. I didn't want to buy one, so I decided to take a test at work. I knew it was going to be negative, this was my way of protecting my emotions I guess. I got to work, peed in a cup, took the dropper and dropped 2 drops of pee on the test. Expecting a negative test, you can imagine my surprise when the thing popped up positive. I about fell out in the floor. The first thing out of my mouth was " Thank you Jesus!". I called Ben a million times, he wouldn't answer! Finally he called back and I screamed, " I'm pregnant!". We were both in tears. We just couldn't believe it. Ben had all the faith in the world that God would give us a baby, I had the faith of a mustard seed. We never gave up. We prayed everyday for the Lord to give us a baby. God is faithful and His timing is perfect. This baby is a true miracle and we feel immensely blessed everyday. I am now 25 weeks pregnant with a baby boy. We are due July 13. Everyday has been a miracle in itself. We thank God everyday for this baby.

So how about that spider bite?

Well, 3 weeks ago we went to California. I found a bug bite on my ankle and thought it was just a mosquito bite. It itched for several days and never went away. The next week when I got back to work, the bite was really red and looking, well, angry. The next day it started to turn black and became painful. Now, I work at the health department and this old building is know to have a few bugs here and there. So I started asking around. I mean, I work with a bunch of nurses and nurse practitioners, they should know what this is on my ankle. The majority thought it was a spider bite. Great! I went to the doctor and it was a spider bite. A brown recluse bite no less. I started taking antibiotics and an anti-leprosy medicine that treats spider bites. Meanwhile, the necrosis on my ankle keeps growing, the swelling gets worse, and the redness spreads. After a week of the 2 meds, I went back to the doctor. She decided this plan was not working and changed me to another antibiotic and an antimicrobial ointment. ( I think ointment is such a funny word.) Anyway, the ointment and a bandage helped so much. The wound is still black with a red ring but it looks so much better and it's getting smaller everyday. So random but that's life!

(The picture is my spider bite at it's worst.)

Summer is here!

It's been exactly one month since I last blogged. Tomorrow will be the 1 year anniversary since Michael Jackson died and Sunday will be the one year anniversary of my father in law's death. What a great month!
It has been a whirlwind of a year. Ben and I have been trying to sell our house since last August. I had appendicitis last September. I chose a horrible fertility doctor and suffered a lacerated cervix in January. I did 10 weeks of acupuncture and no dairy only to NOT get pregnant and have $800 less dollars in savings. The house that Don built was vandalized 3 times and my purse was stolen. What a year!
On the other hand, we bought a lake house that we love and we got little Izzy-boo. Ben always tells me to look at all the blessings instead of all the bad things. Well, you can see that the bad list does out weigh the good list this time. We have our health and we are happy; something most people can't say.
Last October when we turned 30 I was determined to turn over a new leaf and begin again and have a better year. Things don't always turn out the way you want them to. Ben misses his dad everyday. As father's day came and went, you can see the hurt on his face. We have officially celebrated all major and minor holidays and all birthdays without him. Ben always says, " Dad would have loved this lake house. He would've been so proud of us." He's right, Don would've have been all about the lake house. He would've put his two cents in when we didn't want to hear it but he would've loved it.
Well, as Jay Z says, " On to the next one..."