3 Weeks Postpartum

Just quickly signing in to say hello. I am shattered - totally exhausted. The baby is doing great but is not a very good sleeper and pretty darn fussy if not on the boob or being rocked. It is very difficult managing him and the 5 year old. Still, grateful for the outcome and on a good note, breastfeeding has gone very well this time. Reed has grown 1.5 inches in the past 3 weeks and gaining around an ounce a day.

Will try to pop in now and then, and also add some final thoughts and a summary. Many folks ask what I did differently this time (what I took, etc) so at some point I will try to post a summary for anyone that stumbles across the blog. Next year I'd really like to get involved with support/fundraising for preeclampsia awareness, so I won't be going away.

Take care and my prayers and best wishes to all those expecting after preeclampsia,

Tiffany

Baby Reed: One Week Old

Little dude has alot of hair!

Doing well, not much sleep but to be expected. Am still being followed 10 days post-partum with daily calls to check my blood pressure because preeclampsia can strike after delivery. Technically it can strike up to 6 weeks postpartum though I believe the most dangerous part is 48 hours after delivery. My BP is definitely higher than when I was pregnant (oh the irony) but not in a dangerous level and not enough to be PIH (about 126 over 75 a few minutes ago but I have had some 130's over 80's). Tomorrow the monitoring should end.

Introducing Reed

As mentioned below we had our son Reed on July 1st. We ended up doing a repeat c-section at 39 weeks rather than attempt a VBAC. I was second guessing my decision not to try for a VBAC up until we went into the operating room. Partway through the surgery my Ob tells me she is rather shocked to find my uterine wall fairly thin and tells us she is glad we did not end up doing a trial of labor. (And this doc is very pro VBAC) So who would've known - probably woulda been okay but glad we didn't chance it.

I ended up having a bad reaction to the morphine or anesthesia and ended up vomiting during the operation and all night afterwards. Not fun! Just lifting my head would make me chuck. That was probably the biggest complication of the whole pregnancy.

Anyway we are home and recovering and my son is a voracious breastfeeder. Breastfeeding a preemie was extremely difficult with my first son, so I am thrilled this is going better, and seem to have enough milk to feed a small nation.

To all of those pregnant after preeclampsia or considering it, I wish you all the best of luck from the bottom of my heart. I am happy with the outcome but man, I would not wish a high-risk pregnancy on anyone. It has been one of the most nerve-wracking times of my life. Don't let anyone downplay your anxiety or not acknowledge your fears. They can't understand unless they have been through the experience themselves.

He is here!

I gave birth to a healthy baby boy weighing 7 lbs 4 oz! Still in hospital out tomorrow. More then!