A message from Katie

Hey guys! Whew! What an adventure we just had, huh? We had a baby, pneumonia, a pulmonary embolism, IVs, respiratory treatments, countless specialists, lactation consultants, nice nurses and crazy nurses. The little time we had to ourselves we spent sleeping and eating.

Now we're finally home, and onto the big challenge of adjusting to newborn life... sure I just went through something life-threatening, but this is the big time!
Melanie is a little night owl and spoiled rotten with being held so much, so we're being challenged a little bit in the middle of the night... but Brian and I are determined to get Melanie on a set schedule and hopefully soon, since he's going back to work on Monday. Cross your fingers for us!
Chunk and Tonka are adjusting as expected to Melanie. They want to lick her all over and sometimes I underestimate the length of their tongues and they get a few lickings before I'm able to push them away. Chunk is getting less and less interested in Melanie, but not all the time. Tonka hasn't had as much socialization because of all the activity around the house. But what we've seen has been very promising - Tonka's interested, but he seems more gentle than Chunk at investigating Melanie. Both dogs still aren't trusted unsupervised with Melanie, but we'll get there. And I guess all the months in my womb have acclimated Melanie to the weird doggy noises, so she's okay with them.
My supply has definitely come in and Melanie is a great encourager to keep it coming! We were so worried I wouldn't be able to provide for Melanie, with all the medical interventions and complications we suffered, so this is a pretty big deal.
And that's pretty much all I have energy/physician clearance to do - eat, sleep, feed & maintain personal hygiene. I'm on antibiotics, iron pills, prenatals, and cumodin (blood thinner). I have a breathing gadget I'm supposed to use to open up my lungs and extract fluids from too.
So with those limitations, I haven't "nested" yet still. :) Big surprise, right? But everyone else seems to have caught the bug around me. Dana and Ken started while I was in labor and Mom, Dad, Brian and Mom2 have been tearing the house up, doing honey-do projects and deep cleaning since I've been home. I feel lazy and plain shitty watching everyone work their tails off... but everyone told me that this is what they WANT to do, and that I'm doing exactly what I should be doing.

I do have fears about how I'm going to handle being just me and Melanie on Tuesday morning when Mom and Dad leave. I've been spoiled with having family with me since last Wednesday, taking care of me and Melanie, and I don't want to deal with all the responsibility myself. Well, I got to let them get back to their lives eventually... but there is a house right across the street for rent...

Well, I'm going to wrap things up right now with an open invitation to everyone to swing by the house and meet Melanie. Just give us a call and we'll be here!

Love to you all - and thanks for all the well wishes, encouragements, prayers, thoughts, etc. We had no idea how much you like us - you really LIKE US!!

Wednesday...Will this be Discharge Day?!

Katie's got the green light from the pulmonary Dr. to go home today. She's just waiting on clearance from the OBGYN and it's home sweet home for the 2 ladies in waiting. Melanie's kinda gotten used to the bottle and hasn't instantly taken to the breast but Katie is sticking to it!

From Katie's dad...AND MORE PICS BELOW!

Katie has been moved back to the women's health wing where she and Melanie were reunited. There are smiles on every face now and spirits are high. The lactation nurse arrived to help with the first real attempt. More practice is anticipated. It looks like Melanie will be "rooming in" with Katie for the time being. The room is quite large and has a second visitor's bed which will be put to use.

We have hopes that Melanie may be released tomorrow (Tuesday 3/23). Not only is she perfect, but she's gorgeous as well.

Katie has not had a fever in days. She's in very good spirits although she is still getting respiratory treatments and trying to clear her lungs of fluids. Coughing is encouraged. The clot issue seems to have taken a back seat now and everyone seems quite pleased that it has been addressed. Antibiotics continue and the focus is on getting Katie's o2 levels up. No estimated release date on her at this time.

Some Happy Pictures!

You Go Girl(s)!!

It gets better and better--Katie's temperature is still stable and she's improved from the IV Heparin to the oral Cumidin meds. She will also be transferred back to the maternity ward to be reunited with her little room mate! Katie's supply still has not come in yet (this is normal considering what her body's been through). But Melanie will soon be able to offer her assistance in that area, no doubt! :)

She takes a lickin' & keeps on tickin'!

I spoke with Katie herself today and she was the upbeat energetic Katie we all know and love. Those 10 beautiful minutes she had with Melanie did wonders for her and she also had the first good night's sleep she's had in a while. She still caughed through the night, but it wasn't the nagging cough that kept her up like nights prior. They are going to ask if Melanie can go home today since she is at 100% (Katie says she's around 60%). Temperature is still stable.
The blood transfusion went well. Katie said the bags looked like hot sauce to her! But she's got a good amount now and that will also help her to regain her strength. She said Brian is doing okay, just ready to have his girls home.

What a difference a day makes!

I'm so happy to report that Katie's temperature has come down! And since Melanie was missing Mommy, the nurses brought her for a little field trip to Mommy's room. Seeing her girl again just really put the wind in Katie's sails. Katie received a blood transfusion at 3ish today because her hemoglobin was down. And in probably the most surprising turn, Katie's lactation nurse did some deeper digging and found research to contradict dr's fears that the meds Katie is starting would be dangerous to Melanie. So the breast pump was brought back into the room and although Katie is still not producing much, she is getting the process going. :)