Big News!

Hi Ladies, it's been a while! So I decided I should give an update though I am not quite ready to hop on the weight loss wagon yet. A week ago today, I delivered two adorable little people. Ella Elizabeth and Cannon Churchill. Cannon was 7lbs 7oz, 21 inches long and Ella was 7lbs 1oz and 20 inches long. Needless to say I was carrying around a lot of baby.

Since I figured most of my family and friends wouldn't be interested in a play-by-play of delivery I thought I might post something here so that if they are, they can read about it. Feel free to ignore most of this post if this kind of thing is not something you are interested in.

On Tuesday night I started having fairly regular contractions and I knew from an appointment I'd had on Monday that I was already 4cm and 80% effaced. Because Ella was breech and I wanted a non-C-Section delivery I had to make sure to get to the hospital in time to get my OB there as many OBs won't even try to deliver one child breech let alone a second twin. With most other California OBs I would have been fast tracked to a C-Section but thanks to Dr. Rarick I had the option of a regular delivery but only if he was at the hospital at the time of delivery.

We finished packing the hospital bag and high-tailed it to the hospital where I handed over an Rx that my doctor had written for the nurses to CALL HIM IMMEDIATELY UPON ADMITTANCE. Apparently, even if you tell them they are supposed to call the doctor or even if it is in your chart they often choose to call the on-call doc because it is easier for them.

I labored for about an hour or two before we decided it was time for the epidural. I had to have an epidural in order to try vaginal delivery because of the manipulation often required to deliver a breech baby (which can apparently be very painful). At 6am they wheeled me into the operating room (just in case I needed an emergency C-Section) and as soon as the rest of the staff arrived (twins apparently warrant a lot of doctors and nurses) we started pushing. Cannon arrived in only two pushes. We waited for the next contraction after he was born and then I pushed for Ella. She also made it out in only two pushes. I was ecstatic! Compared to my first son this was practically a joke. Of course he was 9lbs 1oz and had a head in the 100th percentile so it's not really a fair comparison. I sent my husband to follow the twins and that's when things went south.

One of the placentas wouldn't detach. I began bleeding very heavily. In total, I lost a little over two liters of blood. They gave me a whole bunch of medications all at once including more epidural so they could make the surgical maneuvers they needed to remove the placenta and stop the bleeding. They put another IV in my other hand because they thought a transfusion would be likely and during all of this I was alone as I had sent Jason to make sure they twins were labeled properly and plenty of pictures and video were taken. I thought I saw my aunt at the door and asked to have them let her in so she could hold my hand but because she wasn't in surgical gear they wouldn't let her in. That's when Jason arrived back. My aunt took over watching over the twins and Jason (who was suited up) came to be my buddy as they worked. Finally, they were able to get everything under control but I was sick from all of the medications and the loss of blood.

It was a rough few days after that. I couldn't even take a warm shower because my veins would dilate and I would pass out. I was given a choice between a transfusion and a wait-and-see approach with medications to help my hemoglobin replenish. I chose the latter. My numbers did come up and I am excited to say I did not need a transfusion but because I chose not to have a transfusion my recovery has been a bit slower. It will take about three months before I'm back to completely normal but I'm actually feeling pretty good right now. Unfortunately, one of the medications they gave me to help with the hemoglobin is also very irritating to the veins and burned as it went through the IV. Not too big a deal except I had to have three doses. Well, not a big deal until after I went home. My wrist that had the IV swelled and hurt like crazy. I finally went in to see my doctor and they gave me some antibiotics as they thought it might be a combo of infection and irritation from the medication. My wrist is finally on the mend but it was a little sad for a while when I couldn't hold or hug my oldest son very well for a few days.

All in all though I have recovered well. I finished up the pregnancy weighing somewhere over 230lbs and yesterday I weighed in at 196lbs. I am going to let nature take its course for a while before trying to slim down as I am nursing and want to establish a good supply. In a few months, when I'm feeling more like myself and am hopefully getting more sleep I will be joining back in and counting my calories right along side you guys.

For now, keep up the good work and remember a few tips and tricks that work for me:

1. If I want something bad that is homemade I do the math to reduce the recipe to get exactly the serving size I want. I have actually made 2Tbsp of Icing before just because I really wanted the treat.
2. Just because you blow a meal doesn't mean the day is done. You can still eat like you would have and not have too great a loss.
3. Check the menu before you go. . .anywhere. A plan is always safer than a last minute decision. I have found if I plan ahead and know what I want to order, even if I don't stick exactly to the plan I do a better job of keeping it reasonable. (Darn those baskets of bread!!!!!!).
4. Don't beat yourself up. You guys are awesome and all we can do is try. Slow and steady is truly the best way to lose weight anyway. It's all about the lifestyle changes not the restriction.
5. I'm rooting for you! Keep up the good work. You guys are inspiring!

Talk to to you soon!
(P.S. Please excuse any misspelled or odd words. I am doing this from my phone and auto-correct is not always helpful:)).