Let's Try this again

So, I had a nice long blog post all ready to submit and my iPad wiped the stupid thing. GRRRR. I hate it when things like that happen. I don't even remember everything I wrote. UGH.

Today's transfusion went okay. I don't like doing them and sadly, I have quite a few more in my near future. However, it is better than the alternative, so I will gladly do this.

Last night, I tried to get some sleep, but having a roommate whose alarms kept going off all night killed any hopes of any good sleep. However, I did sleep much better than last Thursday night, so that is a blessing in and of itself. They came in and got my IV going around 6:00 this morning. They took me back to the same room where I had the procedure last week. The doctor inquired about her movements. Remember when I said that she had slowed back down? Well, that was an indicator that her hgb has gotten low again. He did a quick ultrasound on her and it looks like the hydrops are decreasing, so that is very promising news. She was hiding the cord from them today, so it was a little trickier to get into the correct position.

They gave her another shot in her thigh to paralyze her during the procedure. She didn't care for that much at all. I vaguely recall hearing them talk about it and afterward Garth was telling me that she tried to hit the needle away and was moving trying to get away from it. Poor little thing. But she was a trooper and seems to be feeling much better now.

Once they got things going, I began to feel very sick. I was so nauseous and broke out into a sweat. I guess my blood pressure had dropped to 74/38. No wonder I felt awful. They hurried to push fluids and I began to feel much better. But with all the drugs to sedate the baby and I, I kept falling asleep through the procedure. I could hear the conversations, but it all seemed distant and dream like.

They did find out that her Hgb had dropped to 5.4 (down from 8.4 last week.) They said this was expected however since she started off so bad. Basically, she still has quite a lot (3/4 volume) of her own blood that is still breaking down. They transfused her with another 25cc's (1/4 of her blood volume) today, so we have now essentially replaced 1/2 of her blood volume with O- blood. This will help to keep her hemoglobin up. She made it up to 10.0 today. So that means I have to have another transfusion next week. They said that once we get on top of this, the spacing between transfusions should go to about 2 - 3 weeks. THANK GOODNESS.

I think my pain tolerance has gone out the window. The pokes and sticks are killing me and they didn't seem to be that bad before. But you want to know the worst one? It was removing the tape from the stupid IV. I will gladly go through more transfusions  vs removing the stupid tape on my arm from the IV's. How sad is that? HAHAHA I think I am going to shave my arms (not that I have a ton of hair on them) before the next transfusion. Perhaps that will help. You think? Oh, and let's not even talk about the gauge (thickness) of the needles used for the stupid IV. It is 18 gauge. When I do my jewelry work and I want to use a nice gauge of wire, I use 18 gauge. And you know what? It isn't small! The back of my hand is one big bruise from last weeks IV. It doesn't feel very good. Funny though, it just looks like I haven't washed my hands. hehehe

Tomorrow I finally get to meet with my doctor. I cannot wait. I am dying to talk with him. I guess the two docs have been fighting over who gets to keep doing my transfusions, they both want to do it. :) HAHA I will do my best to stay with the one here in Akron though. I am really tired of the drive to Columbus. However, I have to say, I do like the Ohio State Med Center. It is VERY nice. But my hubby is out of town for the next week and a half, and I would really prefer to stay close to home.

My contractions haven't been too bad today. But then again, I have been laying down nearly all day long. I am really hoping that they are letting up so I can break free of the couch and bed. With my hubby being gone, I need to be able to be mobile.

Thank you all so much for your prayers. It is amazing to know that literally hundreds of prayers are being said on behalf of my unborn little girl, family and myself. I know that these procedures are scary, but I feel such a calm and have a strength that I didn't expect. Thank you all again from the bottom of my heart. Prayer really does make a difference.