Breast is Best - Long & Gross but OH SO IMPORTANT

With Devin, I only breastfed him for 4 months. That's when I realized I wasn't producing enough milk (mainly because I didn't know the importance of a hearty diet and excessive water consumption). At around 2 months old, we thought he was "colicky". He stayed "colicky" until 4 months, when I realized he was just hungry :( I was very sad. I wanted to breastfeed him until he was 6-8 onths at least. I felt guilty about quitting for almost a year after. At the time, I didn't know there was such a thing as relactation, or that having a healthier diet would make a difference, so, I just stopped.

With Emmy, I knew I would have a hard time with breastfeeding. Not because I wasn't armed with knowledge - I was. Since Devin, I have researched an enormous amout of info on the topic. I was very well-prepared, and determined to stick it out this time.

December 2010 - I noticed a lump in my left breast that never went away. I had it looked at many times. I knew it was infected (bright green pus coming out of my nipple was a dead giveaway). I was on antibiotics almost constantly for almost 5 months, and it never got better. Around May 2011, it became less bothersome (mainly because I was more preoccupied with finishing nursing school), so I let it fly under the radar for awhile. Then, I got pregnant in July. By the time I had my first prenatal appointment in September, the lump had gotten bigger, so I had my OB look at it. He decided we would continue to monitor it. So, at every single visit, I took my top off and had Lefty poked and prodded, because it just kept getting bigger. In December 2011, it started to hurt, so January 3rd, 2012, we did another sonogram on it. January 25th, we attempted to drain the abcess in office. We could not get any fluid out of it, just some more pus. It was the next day my preterm labor started, so we had to hold off on messing with my boob anymore for the time being.

March 25th - Lefty busted open on its' own. It hurt so bad, but the pressure was somewhat gon since I expressed all of the pus.. but the lump was still there. Possibly a cell wall, my OB said. We'd look into it more after delivery.

April 5th- Emmalyn was born. Yay! Now we can look at my boob that still had a gaping hole in it). Negative. Let's establish breastfeeding and bonding first.

April 12th - Lefty busted open again, in the same spot. Not just pus this time. Lots of blood, for days. Go to the ER the next day (4/13), they send me home without so much as a pain pill.

Weeks drag on as I try to get in to see the surgeon I was referred to. I had to change my primary care provider with my insurance *10* times (no exaggeration).

April 26th - FINALLY! I get to see the surgeon. He takes one look at the hole in my boob (that is now bigger AND has a chunck of tissue the size of a pencil eraser coming out of it) and says we'll do surgery ASAP. I went in for an ultrasound at the radiology dept the next day (4/27). Follow up appt Tuesday, May 1st. Surgery on Wednesday, May 2nd. The surgeon warned me that I might be losing an extensive amount of breast tissue; that I wouldn't be able to breastfeed on that breast for a long time during healing, but possibly never again. I just didn't realize how bad it was really going to be until we removed the surgical dressing the next day.

 Milk running out of the hole....

 Side view....

Inside... The hole started out being "L" shaped, and about 6-7 inches in length. My middle finger would easily fit inside the hole.

That was the 1st day post op. It's already healing quite nicely, but I still have a long way to go. I have dressing changes twice a day, where it has to be packed full of gauze. It's really pretty gross. And I'm very angry about this for many reasons, but the main two are:

1) Why didn't anyone take the time to treat me before it got to this point? I know different doctors tried antibiotics, I know we monitored it, but OBVIOUSLY it was getting bigger and worse, so someone should've tried something else. And considering I already have a personal history of cancer... someone should've done something ALOT sooner.

2) I cannot breastfeed my little girl. Since the day she was born, I was nursing her off of Righty only. That was hard all by itself. But because of the surgery, and all the pain meds, I can't even feed her off of that one anymore. I did make it until she was 3 1/2 weeks old. But then, it got to where every time I nursed ger or even just fed her breastmilk in a bottle, she threw it all right back up. I was afraid the infection had spread, and that's why she was getting sick. I couldn't risk getting her sick. So I stopped nursing 2 days before the surgery. I was cleared to nurse her on the right side now, but she is still getting sick every time I do (but NOT AT ALL with the formula), so I am just going to take a break from it until I'm completely healed, and then attempt relactation.


Anyways, let this be a lesson. Do regular self breast exams on yourself. When you find something unusual, get it checked out immediately. And if the initial treatments do not work, make your doctor try something else. Or get a second opinion. Or a third. But trust your instincts, and don't try to wait it out. Here is a link explaining breast self-exams. Check it out.

http://ww5.komen.org/breastcancer/breastselfexam.html

It's Been Awhile....

As usual, there's never a dull moment in the Morris household, so I've got quite a bit to catch my readers up on... but for this post, I'll just tell you why I've been gone, and why I'm back now. Juicy details to follow in the next post!

I know I've been an absentee blogger for awhile now, but have no fear - I am back!! We finally have internet at our house (not the stupid Sprint hotspot thing... REAL internet!). And, let me tell you, we are ALL excited!! For tose who don't know, we haven't had satellite or cable in years. We used to live off of our internet. We haven't had internet at this house since we moved in, which was December 2011 (6 months ago)! So we've been stuck with reruns of shows we have saved on our hard drive for WAY too long!! And since I've been converted into a stay-at-home mom in the last few months, I've been going CRAZY!!!

Anyways, no big deal, I was gone, but now I'm back, and I promise to update MUCH more frequently. Keep an eye out in the coming days for multiple posts explaining the trials and tribulations we've been faced with recently.

((**SPOILER ALTER** - next post has gorey photos you will probably (not?) want to miss lol!!!**))

Emmalyn Paige has Arrived!!

I am pleased to announce that Emmalyn Paige was born on April 5th, 2012 at 3:19pm. She weighed 6lbs 4oz and was 19 inches long. She came into this world after only 3 pushes during a since contraction!! (No tearing, no episiotomy for those weirdos wanting to know lol). I *did* get the epidural at 11:21am, BUT I did accomplish my goal of waiting at least 30 minutes from the time I requested pain relief until I actually got it. Everything until the epidural pretty much sucked. I was a wimp. But the pain relief was well worth it, and me being able to relax actually sped the process along nicely. So it was win-win.

My first thought when I saw her.... "She doesn't look like either one of us" (referring in my head to Matt & me of course). I honestly wasn't very excited like I remember being with Devin. Instead, I think I felt more accomplished than anything. 

And hungry! As soon as the whole family too Emmy to be weighed, I started chowing down on a several hour old breakfast burrito my mom had brought me!! Then, the whole family caught me with a mouthful!! I'll never live that one down....

So, there is the baby update. I realize the whole labor story isn't included. I think I will save that for another day... That means you'll just have to keep reading!!!

36 weeks

I'm finally nearing the end of my pregnancy. Yes, that IS a good thing. However, I am not that enthused about it. I am ready to have my little girl here, and to not be pregnant anymore.I have become so miserable lately... I have soooo many contractions, all day, every day. I wound up in the hospital again on Tuesday night because of contractions that were 2 minutes apart, lasting 45 seconds or a minute each. They gave me the Demerol/Phenergan combo again, just like last week. That shot worked wonders last week!! This week, not so much. My contractions slowed to 4-5 minutes apart, but stayed strong, never went away, and then after just an hour and a half, they were back at 2 minutes apart again. That's when I asked to be discharged.... 

Anyways, the contractions still haven't stopped. I've still been having them every few minutes for days upon days. My back is killing me. I'm not sleeping hardly at all. I've been seeing stars at least a time or two a day for the last few days. It's making me very moody, which in turn is making me very short-tempered. That means Matt is very short-tempered, too, which is not a good combination.....

I'm just ready to be done with all this crap, healing from the last 9 months, and holding my baby girl. I'm exhausted, overwhelmed, and highly emotional.I need a hug, and a back rub.

That is all. I will update everyone after my doctor's appointment tomorrow morning.

9 Months Pregnant!!

I made it!!! I didn’t really think it would happen, but, sure enough, I made it! As I’ve told just about everyone, I think Emmalyn is going to be a March baby. Well, there’s only 1 week left of March, so I guess we’ll see!! I only made it to 36w 4d with Devin, & “they” say you’re 2^nd one comes earlier than the first, so HOPEFULLY Little Miss will be here in the next 3 days (since I’m exactly 36 weeks today)!

Actually, what’s funny about all of that is the fact that with Devin, my little black dog, Evan, had her litter of puppies THE NIGHT BEFORE I went to the hospital to have Devin. Well, the same dog got knocked up again about 2 months ago, so her “due date” should’ve been about April 24^th (2 days after my due date).

*~WRONG*~!!

She had her litter either late last night or early this morning!!!!! No KiDDING!!

So now I’m really happy & excited & HOPING that the same pattern holds true!!!!!!!!! Speaking of dogs, Matt’s German Shepherd, Roxy, has been super clingy lately, too, which Matt insists she did when it was time to have Devin. I CAN HOPE!!  I’m currently at the point where I feel like I’ll be pregnant for FOREVER & A DAY; last night, my feet were so swollen that I literally couldn’t even bend my toes!!!  Emm has dropped really low, and just when I think she isn’t gonna get any lower without making an appearance, she does. I’ve been wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans the ENTIRE pregnancy, and it’s only been in the last few days that I can’t really button them.

What I’m getting at is I’M READY FOR EMMALYN PAIGE MORRIS TO MAKE AN APPEARANCE!! She’s been threatening to for 2 months now… we have taken every possible precautionary measure to ensure she is safe & sound… we know she is practicing breathing on her own already… we know she has an awesome sucking reflex, too… so since we are really sure she will be ok to come into this world, I WANT HER HERE NOW!!!

Everyone please pray that either I get less anxious, stop nesting, and become a little more comfortable… or for Emmalyn to come meet her family SOON!!!!!! Lol J

34 weeks 5 days!

Went back to the doctor today, and got to see our little girl via ultrasound. We were supposed to try for a 3D u/s again today (wouldn’t work last time because she was breech and caused the image to suck), but she was head down & face down this time, so we still missed out on that. BUT, we did confirm that Emmalyn is still a girl!!

So, the latest is that the doctor is still a little concerned about all the contractions I still have (had to make another trip to LDR on Wednesday night because after doing EVERYTHING in my power to stop them at home, I couldn’t). So, I’m still on the Procardia as needed, & I’ll see him weekly from now on. The doctor specifically said that Emmalyn is “all lined up and in position” for labor, so that’s exciting!! That means we are not scheduling a c-section at this point!! He said that she is perfectly on track growth-wise for her age, but I forgot to ask him how much she weighs/what she’s measuring, so no actual numbers this week.

Oh, the best part….. I am *STILL* on bedrest, but he said I can go walking in my yard or get up & do a thing at a time, so that’s great! Our new goal is to make it to 37 weeks (April 1^st), but he said before that he would not stop my labor any more after 35 weeks (March 18^th), so I guess we’re still playing the waiting game.

I have to say, I love my doctor. Not just because he’s pretty to look at (women of Brownwood know what I’m talking about!), but he is REALLY an amazing medical professional. I didn’t even have to tell him I went to LDR again on Wednesday, because he already knew from when the nurses called him about me. He remembered me with me having to refresh his memory. He’s probably delivered a dozen babies since I was at LDR a couple of nights ago, and he’s probably seen at least 40-80 patients in his office since then, too, yet he remembered specifics of my 4 hour visit there. That is an awesome doctor by any standards. I’m proud to be a patient of Dr. Daniel Stewart.

Preterm Labor Statistics

Just because I was curious…. Here are some facts that I found interesting!!

v  More than a half million babies in the United States—that's 1 in every 8—are born premature each year. 

v  A baby born at 35 weeks is more likely to have—

·         Jaundice,

·         Breathing problems, and

·         Longer hospital stays.

v  Health care providers currently have no way of knowing which women will experience preterm labor or deliver their babies preterm.

v  More than 70 percent of premature babies are born between 34 and 36 weeks gestation.

v  The latest research suggests that many cases [of preterm labor] are triggered by the body’s natural response. In about half of all cases of premature birth, providers cannot determine why a woman delivered prematurely.

Are babies born at 34 to 36 weeks gestation (late preterm) at risk for medical problems?
Late preterm infants are usually healthier than babies born earlier. More than 99 percent of these babies survive, though they are (16):

·         6 times more likely than full-term infants to die in the first week of life (2.8 per 1,000 vs. 0.5 per 1,000)

·         3 times more likely to die in the first year of life (7.9 per 1,000 vs. 2.4 per 1,000)

Late preterm babies often weigh between 4½ and 6 pounds, and they may appear thinner than full-term babies. These babies remain at higher risk than full-term babies for newborn health problems, including breathing and feeding problems, difficulties regulating body temperature, and jaundice (17). These problems are usually mild. Most of these babies can breast- or bottle-feed, although some (especially those with mild breathing problems) may need tube-feeding for a brief time.

A baby's brain at 35 weeks weighs only two-thirds of what it will weigh at 40 weeks (17). Because their brain development is not complete, these babies may be at increased risk for learning and behavioral problems (17). Most do not develop serious disabilities resulting from premature birth.

A recent study, however, found that late preterm infants are more than 3 times as likely to develop cerebral palsy and are slightly more likely to have developmental delays than babies born full term (18). Another study found that adults who were born at 34 to 36 weeks gestation may be more likely than those born full-term to have mild disabilities and to earn lower long-term wages (19).

http://www.cdc.gov/features/prematurebirth/

http://www.marchofdimes.com/baby/premature_indepth.html