Ben and Merrilee: October 2009

Trials and Blessings

Trial: So, about 50 other people gave birth at the same time as I did. They are all up and going places and seem to be fine. I am not. My friends keep giving me odd looks like, "How come you aren't feeling better?", which I interpret as, "Wow, Merrilee, I didn't know you were such a wimp!" Well, last week I called my OBGYN and told her my symptoms (trust me, you don't want them listed here!) and that I was in an inordinate amount of pain. She told me, "It's perfectly normal. If you feel there's something wrong, go to the ER", which I interpreted as, "Wow, Merrilee, stop being such a wimp and wasting my time!" So, I just dealt with it. But...

Blessing: by Friday I was in so much pain, I called four people I trust: a nurse at the hospital, my sister (who's a nurse), my friend (who's in nursing school), and my mom, who's not a nurse, but gave birth to seven kids, and so deserves a medal of honor and an honorary nursing degree. They all told me my doctor was crazy and that my symptoms were definitely NOT normal. Yay for having great people to call!

Trial: So, I went in to the ER on Friday night. Ben and I did NOT want to bring Elias in to the ER (for obvious reasons), and so we weren't sure how I was supposed to get there (I was in too much pain to drive myself). So...

Blessing: thank goodness for visiting teachers!!! I called my visiting teacher, and even though it was a Friday night (and Date Night!), she dropped everything to take me to the ER while Ben stayed home with the baby. Which meant...

Trial: I had to pump. Any woman who has ever had to pump will realize why that is a trial. As if feeding your baby doesn't make you feel enough like a member of the bovine family. But luckily...

Blessing: Eli is not picky. He made some funny faces when he first took the bottle, but he took it nonetheless. So...

Trial: my VT, Andrea, took me to the ER, where the ER doctor took one look and prescribed an antibiotic shot before he even took a culture. Apparently, I have a pretty bad infection. So, the nurse comes in and tells me he is going to give me the most painful shot they have. Thanks for the pep talk. Thankfully...

Blessing: after childbirth, this was nothing! I almost laughed when he gave me the shot. I received two prescriptions for two different antibiotics and we were out of the ER after a stay of only ONE HOUR! Can anyone break that record? I've never been in and out so fast! So, Andrea took me to get my prescriptions, which means...

Trial: I cannot feed Eli for two weeks! :( That is the saddest part of the story to me. So, Ben and I bought formula. Elias gives me the SADDEST look sometimes when I feed him from the bottle (it breaks my heart). His little accusing eyes seem to say to me, "What IS this??? You're holding out on me!" It also means that midnight feedings double in time, since I feed Eli and then time to pump 'n' dump. What a waste! I just pray Eli will switch back after two weeks of eating from the bottle. However, I must say...

Blessing: I'm grateful to be feeling better (I could feel a difference by the next morning!). I'm grateful for modern medicine. I'm grateful for a WONDERFUL husband who gets to take turns feeding Eli (although I still take the night shift, since he has school). I'm grateful for an AMAZING VT- Thanks Andrea!! And lastly, I'm grateful that this was my trial. I know that so many people have it so much worse (for example, there was a sexual assault victim at the ER when I went- how terrible!), and I am grateful that Heavenly Father gave me the opportunity to see how blessed I am!

P.S. I included a picture of Eli so people would actually look at this post. I know how it is! :)