First, I hope you have checked out the Nestlé Pure Life Facebook Page to learn about the benefits of drinking water and tips on how to stay hydrated. I am doing a campaign with them and would really appreciate the support. 

Baby Cole is 6 days old today! I am doing my best to soak up every [good] moment and have thoroughly enjoyed bonding with my baby boy. The grandparents came into town for the birth of Cole and stayed for a couple of days after he was born. The hubs is home for 2 whole weeks to help take care of Emma, and it has been incredible to enjoy some family time with just the four of us.

Recovery was going really well for me. I had a relatively uneventful and easy labor and delivery (only had to push through one contraction to pop Cole out). I was feeling better every day and encouraged with my progress as compared to my postpartum recovery after I delivered Emma. In fact (TMI alert), I took it easy for 2 or 3 full days and my postpartum bleeding all but ceased — I faithfully took red raspberry leaf capsules during my third trimester and am still taking them to help decrease bleeding. On the fourth day of Cole’s life, we went to our friend’s pool and had a ton of fun relaxing and swimming. After we swam, I almost felt completely back to normal. And then … I had a major set-back.

After we got back from the pool, I took a nap and relaxed with Cole. About an hour later, I started feeling some excruciating pain near my stitches. And by excruciating, I mean I couldn’t walk and could barely sit or lie down comfortably. We had a few visitors in the afternoon and I did my best to put a dent in the pain with some meds. However, the meds barely did a thing. I called my doctor and spoke with a nurse about the increase in pain. She didn’t really take me seriously and scheduled an appointment for Friday (it was Tuesday).

By the time 8 p.m. rolled around I was on the floor and could barely stand the pain. I called the labor and delivery nurses at the hospital I delivered in. They suggested that I might be experiencing a hematoma and recommended that I come to the ER to get it checked out. I had Brandon drive to the ER to see if there was a wait because I knew I absolutely could not sit in the waiting room. There were 8 people waiting, so I stayed home and tried to survive the pain by laying in the bathtub for much of the night.

In the morning I called my doctor, and this time they could hear the pain in my voice and took me seriously. They immediately scheduled an appointment for me in an office 20 minutes away from my house (even though the office I normally go to is .5 miles from the house — ugh). We headed over to the doctor’s office right away. When we got there, we found out that the elevators weren’t working (in fact, there was a pregnant lady trapped in the elevator). I had to climb 3 flights of stairs. By the time I got to the top, I could barely stand up straight to check in. They got me back into an exam room. The doctor was about to come in to check me out, and the fire marshals told us we had to evacuate the building because they smelled smoke. So, down 3 flights of stairs I went. 30 minutes later, we were told that all of the appts had been moved to the doctor’s office right next to my house. So, we had to drive back to that office to be seen by the doctor. Ugh!

I got to the office and sat in the waiting room for an hour to be seen by the doctor that had already been seconds away from examining me earlier that morning in the original doctor’s office. She finally was able to examine me, and confirmed that I have a hematoma (likely from a poor stitching job). A hematoma is a collection of blood under the skin near the stitched area. She also confirmed that there was not much I could do about it. Thankfully she gave me a recommendation to use a suppository to help relieve some of the constipation I was experiencing from the pain meds. I got home and the hubs went out to get a suppository. The suppository directions promised results in 15 minutes to an hour. SIX hours later, I had some relief. Talk about uncomfortable. It was the most painful day of my life, but I am feeling soooooo much better now, and I hope I continue to feel better every day!

Today, we had Cole’s newborn shoot with Erin from Lasting Snapshots Photography. It was so fun, and I can’t wait to see how all of the photos turn out! We also went on a 1.5 mile walk. It was uncomfortable, but I don’t think walking is going to make the hematoma any worse. It was great to get out of the house and do something active as a family of four.

I plan to lay low for the rest of the day. I am enjoying cuddling with Cole every chance I get. I was hesitant to hold Emma all of the time after she was born because I thought it would spoil her. With Cole, I want to cuddle him as much as possible and enjoy the newborn stage. He is doing a great job breastfeeding, and we have been getting a good amount of sleep at night. I am crossing my fingers that he continues to do well at night!

I appreciate your kind comments and prayers on my social media pages. Keep me in your thoughts as I continue to recover from the hematoma. It is certainly the worst pain I have experienced, but what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger, right? 🙂