My stupid body and some questions « Back to Group Discussions

[belacmsage]

Hello all! Sorry I've been MIA lately but quite a lot has happened since Cayleigh was born. Starting on Memorial Day I started to have back pain that traveled down my legs. After 2 weeks of pain so bad I almost couldn't walk, my doctor sent me in for a doppler of my legs. I was rushed over to the hospital after being told there was a blood clot that needed treatment right away. I was admitted and multiple blood and CT tests were run to see the extent of the clot and blood thinners were started. By Friday I was rushed into surgery after it became clear the clot was still growing and a small piece had broken off and traveled to my lungs. While I was still recovering, the surgeon talked to my family and we learned to true extent of the blood clot. In my left leg the main vein was completely scarred and closed up due to a blood clot years ago I never knew about. In my right leg there was a clot in my major vein from my ankle to my upper thigh. The surgeon had to put in five stents to keep the veins open and a filter to stop more pieces from breaking off and going to my lungs. On the next Tuesday I went into surgery again so that the stents could be adjusted. I spent 8 days in the hospital away from my babies and left with a life changing condition and nerve damage in my right leg. The nerve damage was so bad I could barely move my leg at first. I can now move it but I am in PT twice a week working on strength and continued mobility.

The surgeon also told me before leaving the hospital that having more children would probably kill me due to the extent of the blood clots and damage done to my body. However, some of my other doctors disagree. There is an increased risk of bleeding since I am on blood thinners and a csection would be really bad but another pregnancy would not be bad as long as I am monitored. My husband and I want more children and we had already decided to have another before all this stuff happened. Now I am unsure. We have already decided to foster/adopt as well so that is not an issue with us even if we did have more biological kids. I guess my question is this, would you risk it knowing the pregnancy would probably be fine but high risk and the birth could cause major health problems?

Oh, and another question that has been bugging me, what do you ladies use to put dirty cloth diapers in? We just started cloth diapers and are unsure what is best to use. Thanks!   

[flavorfull1]

wow bela, I am so glad you are ok but sorry you had to go through all of that and are still recovering. I hope you are getting some help from friends and family so you can recuperate well. How intense!

as far as what to do with the dirty diapers, we put them in a cloth diaper wet bag and then just wash every day or every other depending on how many diapers we have used.

[Thursday Girl]

oh Bela, that's crazy and scary. I'm not sure what I would do, my immediate reaction would be to not have any more at least not talking to more dr's just because if something happened and you weren't there, especially since you are already open to adoption, but then you start thinking and gosh being pregnant is speacial and amazing, but any life is amazing. I don't know, i just don't know.

as for diapers, like flav we use a washable wetbag but only while out, at home i have a simple human can I use without a liner.

[daylicious]

Oh my goodness! I'm so glad you're okay! That is so scary. My immediate knee jerk reaction is to say I wouldn't have more biological children. If you're open to foster/adopt already, I'd say focus on that. Your babies and DH need you, and oh gosh, I don't know if you would want to risk it. That being said, maybe get a few more opinions first?

We also use a wet bag. Bummis brand. I just throw it in the was every time the dipes go in.

[chiromama01]

Wow bela, what an ordeal, I'm so sorry you've ahad so much to deal with! I'm going to preface this by saying that right now u should be focused on recovering!! Personally, I would probably not risk having another baby, I just couldn't bare the thought of not being here for my kids, or worse yet, becoming disabled and needing them and dh to care for me. I know it must be so much to digest right now, and I'm sure what's right for you will be clear soon. For now, please do take the time to rest and recover. Best wishes

[belacmsage]

Thanks so much ladies for your opinions and well wishes. Sometimes you just need the thoughts of others to make things clearer to you. The thought of leaving my kids without a mom breaks my heart. I cried repeatedly in the hospital about how close it came to being that. With that in mind, I am leaning strongly towards having no more biological. I guess the hard part of the whole situation is that we were already talking about having another after Cayleigh was born. Then the option was taken away from us when the surgeon said no more kids. Then the option was back on the table when all the other doctors said pregnancy shouldn't be an issue but the delivery might be. Now that the choice is up to us, it is easier to accept. It's sad how that works. I'm honestly just glad that Cayleigh is healthy and that I will be here for Connor's 2nd birthday tomorrow.

As to cloth diapers, thanks for the advice. I had been thinking about getting a bucket with a lid or a washable wet bag but wanted to see what others were using first.

[CherryBombMama]

Wow, what an ordeal! Glad you are alright. As for babies, I don't know.  I would talk to as many health professionals as possible before making that decision.  You know how some people just jump the gun.  I would want someone to give me some serious pros and cons before deciding no more biological children.  Adopting is always great, I have an adopted brother 

For diapers,  I use a big laundry hamper, a plastic one with big holes all around.  This has worked best for us because 1) I hate spending extra money.  Wet bags cost a lot (for us.) 2) It is way easy to wipe clean, if needed. Sometimes I take it outside and hose it down.  3) It airs out the diapers, yet I hardly ever smell them and 4) It is BIG. We have two in diapers, so I need lots of room to store them in.  

:)

[belacmsage]

Well, I've done a ton of research since last posting and talked to other women who have gone through similar situations. It turns out that another pregnancy wouldn't be such an ordeal and that as long as I have a high risk OB who is knowledgeable about blood thinners and labor there should be little risk during delivery. I won't be able to try for another one until I am considered theraputic with my blood clotting levels and have lost about 30 to 40lbs (It makes the chances of clotting less both during and after pregnancy) but it is now something we are discussing. It means giving myself a shot once or twice daily and a much more hands on pregnancy but I might still be able to try for a VBA2C instead of a repeat csection.