ramblings about the first weeks at home.

the first weeks at home were interesting.

at his first dr.'s appointment, we were told salem was looking good. he had gained 2 oz since we had left the hospital but still had a ways to go to get back to his birth weight. 2 days following our appointment we ended up going back in because he seemed extra tired and jaundiced. he had lost the 2 oz he had gained which spurred on a series of having to go back in for weight checks over the next week.

my appointment with jeane was on a friday. it went well and she gave me the okay to slowly increase activity around the house. my incision looked great and i was feeling how i figured a new mom should feel... exhausted.

steve was closing 3 nights in a row so my mom stayed with us over night to ensure i had extra hands if i needed them. on saturday i started running a fever that spiked to about 101 but broke with the mega strong motrin i was taking for pain from my surgery. the next day was easter and even though my fever was gone i still felt terrible. we opted to stay in and skip the family gatherings.

monday i noticed some swelling around my incision and my fever came back and meant business. i called jeane and was able to get in for an appointment. 2 hours after motrin my fever was still over 101. i looked down at my feet while in her office and realized i had work 2 different shoes. i was in bad shape.

the diagnosis? cellulitis. of course. leave it to me to get a freaking wound infection. i started antibiotics and began seeing jeane every other day (literally) for checkups. apparently, the infection was potentially serious and there was a chance i'd have to go back to the hospital (nooo!) or have home health and iv antibiotics.

5 days after starting meds things had improved but were still not great. i had to meet with the surgeon who had done my c-section to find out if i would need to be opened back up. after waiting in his office for more than 2 hours i finally saw him for all of 5 minutes. he made me feel better by telling me he didn't think i would benefit from more surgery and he added another antibiotic to my regimen.

a week after starting my meds things were looking better. jeane started to seem more hopeful that my infection was clearing up and she let me in on her theory of why i had developed an infection at all. she believes i am allergic to the type of sutures the surgeon had used. since they dissolve after 3 weeks, the infection was clearing out. thank goodness.

several days after that appointment, jeane told me i could start driving and lifting salem in his car seat. i was no longer a prisoner in my own house and no longer dependent on everyone else to get me to where i needed to go. hallelujah.