Postpartum

Last: Delivery
Earlier: Labor

Postpartum

After I was transferred to my postpartum room, I had a bit of a medical... situation...

I won't go into the gory details, but I ended up with some serious blood clots. Before I even knew what was happening, I had five nurses and two doctors in the room, rushing around and saying things I couldn't even comprehend.

One of the doctors explained that I was clotting and that they needed to remove the clots right then and there. It was brutal. I had a nurse on each side, holding my hands and telling me to squeeze, scream and curse as needed. I didn't even have the energy.

All in all, I lost about a liter of blood, which means I had hemorrhaged. I didn't require a transfusion, but the doctors were considering moving me "back downstairs," I guess to be closer to an OR. Thankfully, it wasn't necessary.

Dave was in the room the whole time, caring for the baby, but I could tell he was pretty freaked out. Shortly after 5am, things had finally settled down. Dave, Ava and I were all exhausted, so we passed out.

For the next 34 hours, I was monitored closely -- all was well and we went home on the afternoon of Ava's actual due date (the 22nd).

And now here we are. We're trying to get the hang of this parenting thing (and lack of sleep), but we're so happy the baby is so far healthy. I keep kissing her head and face, and holding her close. She's adorable and sweet, albeit fussy. I love her funny little mouth and her huge eyes. I can't wait until she starts smiling for real, instead of just passing gas. Until then, everyone says to enjoy this time and that's just what we intend to do.