Warning: Frankenstein photos contained in this post so if your a bit squeamish skip this post or don't scroll all the way down :)
TAC placement: So from our last post you know that we decided to have a TAC placed to increase the chances of bringing a baby close or all the way to term. I met with Dr. Winter on Thursday, had my pre-op visit friday and was scheduled for surgery Monday!!! Crazy fast!! Matt was at work Wednesday and Thursday and had no idea any of this was going on. When he got home Friday I asked if he wanted to come with me to a doctors visit, I told him it was really important and that I would catch him up on the car ride there. Dr. Winter is about an hour from our house so I knew I would have the time to explain everything. When we arrived we were taken into an exam room where Dr. Winter greeted us and explained the entire procedure in detail to me and Matt. It was so nice of him, he never made us feel rushed, answered all of our questions and was so excited to help us! It was very reassuring. We left the office feeling very hopeful and planned to enjoy our weekend together. We did just that. We had a lovely meal before my midnight food and drink cut off. Sunday night I was a wreck which was expected. I was so nervous about the procedure. I tried to be brave and trust that this was the best decision for us. We packed an overnight bag and headed to the hospital. I was weighed and then escorted into my pre-op room. Matt was very attentive and sat beside me. We answered all the nurses questions and anxiously waited to be taken back... now for the BIG surprise... a labor and delivery nurse came down to check for a fetal heartbeat prior to surgery to make sure the baby was ok. SURPRISE...we haven't shared our news publicly so far, and sadly my blog was the last place for me to post. We just were not ready to share with everyone. It took us about 17- 20 weeks to share with family and friends. We were just so afraid of losing another baby. Anyway back to the story...we were 13 weeks pregnant at the time of our TAC placement. Of course the Labor nurse had a hard time finding a heartbeat. This had me super panicked. She reassured me that even at 13 weeks when most heartbeats can be heard some are just harder to find. She went to get the doctor and an ultrasound machine. The doctor arrived and searched and searched. I started crying immediately imagining our baby dead inside my belly. Imagining a D&C surgery instead of a TAC. My body shook and I couldn't look at the screen any longer. The doctor asked if I was ok and I said there is no cardiac movement. He told me to wait because the machine was "old" then a big kick and our girl was moving. Little stinker! She made mommy cry. We all laughed, poor Matt had to take a seat I had caused him so much stress. Our baby was alive and well, just sleeping to save energy since we had starved her. Dr. Winter arrived with a big smile and we were off to the OR. I kissed Matt goodbye and we were off. Dr. Winter told him it should be a fairly quick procedure. We should have known then that it wouldn't be. HA!
We rolled into the OR. Because I was pregnant I couldn't be given any medications prior to being completely knocked out. I was awake while they prepped me and got me all tied down to the table. The OR was chilly, but I liked listening to everyone talk and move around me. Everyone was very professional and so sweet. Dr. Winter came over to me and asked if I was warm enough. I told him I was a bit chilly but didn't mind as I would be asleep in no time. He then left and got me a warm blanket. Let me repeat that...HE left and HE got me a warm blanket. Such a sweet man! He covered me up and then said it was time and that they would take care of me and our sweet baby. Darkness....PAIN...EXCRUCIATING PAIN AND NAUSEA... I was in post-op recovering. I was in more pain than I had ever been in up to that point in my life. More pain that my C-Section, more pain than the 5 other surgeries I've had. My nurse told me that she had given me enough medication to put a grown man to sleep for hours. She was shocked that I was still awake and coherently talking to her. I asked for her to call Matt. I knew that I had a funky metabolism and medications rarely worked on me. Matt came in and helped me curl into a ball. I was heaving and retching which made the sutures hurt all the more. I was moved to another room where I continued to vomit. The surgery was more extensive than they had anticipated. It turns out of course that my bladder was adhered to my uterus with scar tissue and had to be separated. Thank you endometriosis for that. Then to make things harder on our wonderful doctor my uterus was completely retroverted meaning it was very low and turned back. He couldn't reach it from my belly, so he decided to do the next best thing. He had a very eager OB assist him.... OK it gets a bit graphic here so skip if you don't want to hear about my va-j-j.....
So Dr. Winter was working in my abdomen and had the assisting OB reach her hand, well it ended up being her arm into my poor little opening to manually push my uterus up to him so he could work on it. YUP I felt like I had been kicked in the crotch and in a way I had been. I hurt so bad. I was moved onto the labor floor and had a really nice room and very sweet nurses. Matt was scheduled to work the following day so I encouraged him to go home so he could get a good night rest and be with Harvey. I told him I would be ok and that there were lots of nurses with me. Off daddy went.
The pain was an absolute joke! My bodies typical response to pain is to shake and throw up, so I shook and heaved the entire night. I didn't sleep at all. I got up frequently to go potty and also to help with my recovery. I knew the sooner I moved the sooner I would heal. I needed to pass gas and also get some food in my system. The following day Dr. Winter and Lagrew came to see me. I seriously cannot say enough good things about these two guys. So awesome!! They joked about my crazy surgery and told me they were so thankful it "wasn't their first rodeo!" We rechecked the baby and were told to try eating. If I was able to eat I could go home. DONE!!! I ate, well tried to eat, stashed some food in my bag and called my sweet friend Megan to come get me. She arrived cheerful as always and was shocked to see me in my awful state. Usually I'm such a trooper and I was a complete mess. The nurse was unsure if we should leave but after some convincing on our part she agreed. A few hours later I was being rolled down to Megan's car. We got home and she got me all settled on the couch. She then took my sweet boy Harvey on a nice long walk. I was so grateful. She tucked me in and told me she would be there the next day to cook and walk Harvey. She is seriously THE BEST!!
I drifted in and out of sleep. The pain was just unreal, the nausea was horrible and there was nothing I could do about any of it. I had this grand plan of using my wonderful oils to help with the gas pain, and the nausea but my shipment hadn't arrived. I called the company and to my dismay my order was at will call. Since the office is in Utah I told them I wouldn't be picking it up and to please send it asap. Days passed and the pain and nausea were still bad. I went for my follow up and had lost 5lbs which was a no no. I was told to work on my fluids and food or else we would be sent back to the hospital for some. I was given a different medication for nausea and headed home. Thankfully my order had arrived and I eagerly opened it, well Megan opened it while I watched her unload the contents. Heehee We diffused and rubbed everything possible on me to help with the nausea and gas pain. Finally I was feeling better. I was on strict bed rest meaning I was only allowed to get up to pee. Megan helped every day that Matt worked. She was so so great! Harvey was so spoiled and so was I. Megan made some delicious meals for me, and by my next visit I had remained the same weight which was better than losing weight. Aside from Megan and our doctors we hadn't told anyone we were pregnant. We needed to get past our surgery and then really didn't want to tell anyone until we brought a live baby home. Matt and I both knew this was unrealistic. I couldn't avoid people for the next 6 months and if I was going to remain on strict bed rest people would surely find out. At 17 weeks my cervix measured 3cm!!! The longest yet! Dr Lagrew was very pleased and told me that I could start resuming activities again. I was given an hour distance allowance and told to "enjoy this time since we didn't know how long it would last". The allowance is for travel time. Since there are so few doctors who perform TAC placement or management we needed to be within an hours driving distance of the hospital at all times incase we needed to be delivered.
With TAC doctors have very little tolerance for contractions at all, and stop them immediately. If they cannot be stopped you are usually required to deliver. They do this because the risk of uterine rupture is much higher in patients like us. Especially patients who have numerous c-sectoins or abdominal surgeries...ding ding! It is a rare but very seriously and deadly complication. Enough reason for us to obey orders, take it easy and stay close to home. The TAC has been our saving Grace and we are always surprised when we have a weekly check up and its still intact and my cervix is still there. It is the only thing holding our sweet baby in and we are so grateful WE were strong enough to find the education and physicians to help our dreams come true!
This was in pre-op waiting to be rolled back to the OR. We had our special NICU dolls that we always have with us, a special prayer blanket my sweet friend sent me all the way from indiana, and a hope band that Megan got for us.
This was a week post-op, steri-strips off, incisions healing nicels, still so swollen from the procedure! I think this belly is bigger than my pregnant belly is at this point!
All totally worth it:) We would do it all again, even the pain and nausea for our sweet babies!
TAC placement: So from our last post you know that we decided to have a TAC placed to increase the chances of bringing a baby close or all the way to term. I met with Dr. Winter on Thursday, had my pre-op visit friday and was scheduled for surgery Monday!!! Crazy fast!! Matt was at work Wednesday and Thursday and had no idea any of this was going on. When he got home Friday I asked if he wanted to come with me to a doctors visit, I told him it was really important and that I would catch him up on the car ride there. Dr. Winter is about an hour from our house so I knew I would have the time to explain everything. When we arrived we were taken into an exam room where Dr. Winter greeted us and explained the entire procedure in detail to me and Matt. It was so nice of him, he never made us feel rushed, answered all of our questions and was so excited to help us! It was very reassuring. We left the office feeling very hopeful and planned to enjoy our weekend together. We did just that. We had a lovely meal before my midnight food and drink cut off. Sunday night I was a wreck which was expected. I was so nervous about the procedure. I tried to be brave and trust that this was the best decision for us. We packed an overnight bag and headed to the hospital. I was weighed and then escorted into my pre-op room. Matt was very attentive and sat beside me. We answered all the nurses questions and anxiously waited to be taken back... now for the BIG surprise... a labor and delivery nurse came down to check for a fetal heartbeat prior to surgery to make sure the baby was ok. SURPRISE...we haven't shared our news publicly so far, and sadly my blog was the last place for me to post. We just were not ready to share with everyone. It took us about 17- 20 weeks to share with family and friends. We were just so afraid of losing another baby. Anyway back to the story...we were 13 weeks pregnant at the time of our TAC placement. Of course the Labor nurse had a hard time finding a heartbeat. This had me super panicked. She reassured me that even at 13 weeks when most heartbeats can be heard some are just harder to find. She went to get the doctor and an ultrasound machine. The doctor arrived and searched and searched. I started crying immediately imagining our baby dead inside my belly. Imagining a D&C surgery instead of a TAC. My body shook and I couldn't look at the screen any longer. The doctor asked if I was ok and I said there is no cardiac movement. He told me to wait because the machine was "old" then a big kick and our girl was moving. Little stinker! She made mommy cry. We all laughed, poor Matt had to take a seat I had caused him so much stress. Our baby was alive and well, just sleeping to save energy since we had starved her. Dr. Winter arrived with a big smile and we were off to the OR. I kissed Matt goodbye and we were off. Dr. Winter told him it should be a fairly quick procedure. We should have known then that it wouldn't be. HA!
We rolled into the OR. Because I was pregnant I couldn't be given any medications prior to being completely knocked out. I was awake while they prepped me and got me all tied down to the table. The OR was chilly, but I liked listening to everyone talk and move around me. Everyone was very professional and so sweet. Dr. Winter came over to me and asked if I was warm enough. I told him I was a bit chilly but didn't mind as I would be asleep in no time. He then left and got me a warm blanket. Let me repeat that...HE left and HE got me a warm blanket. Such a sweet man! He covered me up and then said it was time and that they would take care of me and our sweet baby. Darkness....PAIN...EXCRUCIATING PAIN AND NAUSEA... I was in post-op recovering. I was in more pain than I had ever been in up to that point in my life. More pain that my C-Section, more pain than the 5 other surgeries I've had. My nurse told me that she had given me enough medication to put a grown man to sleep for hours. She was shocked that I was still awake and coherently talking to her. I asked for her to call Matt. I knew that I had a funky metabolism and medications rarely worked on me. Matt came in and helped me curl into a ball. I was heaving and retching which made the sutures hurt all the more. I was moved to another room where I continued to vomit. The surgery was more extensive than they had anticipated. It turns out of course that my bladder was adhered to my uterus with scar tissue and had to be separated. Thank you endometriosis for that. Then to make things harder on our wonderful doctor my uterus was completely retroverted meaning it was very low and turned back. He couldn't reach it from my belly, so he decided to do the next best thing. He had a very eager OB assist him.... OK it gets a bit graphic here so skip if you don't want to hear about my va-j-j.....
So Dr. Winter was working in my abdomen and had the assisting OB reach her hand, well it ended up being her arm into my poor little opening to manually push my uterus up to him so he could work on it. YUP I felt like I had been kicked in the crotch and in a way I had been. I hurt so bad. I was moved onto the labor floor and had a really nice room and very sweet nurses. Matt was scheduled to work the following day so I encouraged him to go home so he could get a good night rest and be with Harvey. I told him I would be ok and that there were lots of nurses with me. Off daddy went.
The pain was an absolute joke! My bodies typical response to pain is to shake and throw up, so I shook and heaved the entire night. I didn't sleep at all. I got up frequently to go potty and also to help with my recovery. I knew the sooner I moved the sooner I would heal. I needed to pass gas and also get some food in my system. The following day Dr. Winter and Lagrew came to see me. I seriously cannot say enough good things about these two guys. So awesome!! They joked about my crazy surgery and told me they were so thankful it "wasn't their first rodeo!" We rechecked the baby and were told to try eating. If I was able to eat I could go home. DONE!!! I ate, well tried to eat, stashed some food in my bag and called my sweet friend Megan to come get me. She arrived cheerful as always and was shocked to see me in my awful state. Usually I'm such a trooper and I was a complete mess. The nurse was unsure if we should leave but after some convincing on our part she agreed. A few hours later I was being rolled down to Megan's car. We got home and she got me all settled on the couch. She then took my sweet boy Harvey on a nice long walk. I was so grateful. She tucked me in and told me she would be there the next day to cook and walk Harvey. She is seriously THE BEST!!
I drifted in and out of sleep. The pain was just unreal, the nausea was horrible and there was nothing I could do about any of it. I had this grand plan of using my wonderful oils to help with the gas pain, and the nausea but my shipment hadn't arrived. I called the company and to my dismay my order was at will call. Since the office is in Utah I told them I wouldn't be picking it up and to please send it asap. Days passed and the pain and nausea were still bad. I went for my follow up and had lost 5lbs which was a no no. I was told to work on my fluids and food or else we would be sent back to the hospital for some. I was given a different medication for nausea and headed home. Thankfully my order had arrived and I eagerly opened it, well Megan opened it while I watched her unload the contents. Heehee We diffused and rubbed everything possible on me to help with the nausea and gas pain. Finally I was feeling better. I was on strict bed rest meaning I was only allowed to get up to pee. Megan helped every day that Matt worked. She was so so great! Harvey was so spoiled and so was I. Megan made some delicious meals for me, and by my next visit I had remained the same weight which was better than losing weight. Aside from Megan and our doctors we hadn't told anyone we were pregnant. We needed to get past our surgery and then really didn't want to tell anyone until we brought a live baby home. Matt and I both knew this was unrealistic. I couldn't avoid people for the next 6 months and if I was going to remain on strict bed rest people would surely find out. At 17 weeks my cervix measured 3cm!!! The longest yet! Dr Lagrew was very pleased and told me that I could start resuming activities again. I was given an hour distance allowance and told to "enjoy this time since we didn't know how long it would last". The allowance is for travel time. Since there are so few doctors who perform TAC placement or management we needed to be within an hours driving distance of the hospital at all times incase we needed to be delivered.
With TAC doctors have very little tolerance for contractions at all, and stop them immediately. If they cannot be stopped you are usually required to deliver. They do this because the risk of uterine rupture is much higher in patients like us. Especially patients who have numerous c-sectoins or abdominal surgeries...ding ding! It is a rare but very seriously and deadly complication. Enough reason for us to obey orders, take it easy and stay close to home. The TAC has been our saving Grace and we are always surprised when we have a weekly check up and its still intact and my cervix is still there. It is the only thing holding our sweet baby in and we are so grateful WE were strong enough to find the education and physicians to help our dreams come true!
This was taken the day after surgery...not too bad looking :)
All totally worth it:) We would do it all again, even the pain and nausea for our sweet babies!
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