I peed!
Oh, thank heavens. I really thought I had lost this bodily function for good (or at least until the end of 2009). Though it may be a bit premature, I feel it is safe to declare CatheterGate '09 officially over.
The blessed event took place this morning. I had made a mad dash to my ob yesterday morning (good ole George...we've really bonded over this urination issue.) On Tuesday night, I started to feel achy and tired. Took my temp and it was 99.7. Not a fever, but enough to freak me out that an infection was pending. I saw George first thing Wednesday morning who assured me my urine dip was clean. Thank goodness. I was totally composing a blog entry about "August 33rd" in my head as I waited for the results. But again, it's September and all is good.
Had my appointment with the urologist this morning and this was a different doctor than last week. A much kinder, nicer doctor. I had removed the catheter at 7am with a high level of trepidation, but my appointment was at 9:40am and I was ready to scream for another in-dwelling cath if necessary. By 10:45, they finally called my name (out of the waiting room full of old dudes that made zero eye contact) and put me in a room with more prostate posters than I could count.
This doctor was appropriately empathetic (I do require a lot of hand holding, don't I? Hmm.) and said that he and his wife were new parents as well, and he really felt for me in my situation. I just sat there and cried. He did a quick exam and told me there is nothing physically wrong. No swelling, and my urethra looks "great." (his words, not mine). I asked if this was psychosomatic, to which he replied, "No...we tend not to use that word, since it makes people think they are crazy." Well, hell. There has been plenty of craziness around these parts for the last 16 days, so I figured my days were numbered before I ended up seeing some kind of bladder therapist. He went on to say that I need to relax, take a hot bath, and have a glass of wine. (I REALLY like this doctor). He also said to tell everyone to be nice to me. Man, if he continued, he was going to get added to my Christmas card list.
We went over the self-cathing procedure again ("like a chip shot" he assured me when I asked if this got easier. Why do all male doctors use sports analogies??) and then, the man said words that were music to my ears. "You're a little person, so this shouldn't be hard. When we have larger clients, it can be more difficult for them to bend over." Little person? Me? With my pudgy, post-partum body slumped on his exam table, buddha-belly still very prominent, he was calling me...skinny? My whole mood brighten. I sucked my cheeks in and sat up a little straighter. My tummy seemed instantly flatter. As I drove home, I even ventured to imagine scenarios of drunk Kim after her 4 oz of wine trying to self-cath and was cracking myself up. By the time I got home, I laid out all of the supplies, and then thought I'd just wing it. Four minutes later, I had emptied my bladder the natural way. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Since then, I've had three more successful attempts and one failure. I'm not kosher about the glass of wine but am supplementing with a nice hot cup of tea. I would LOVE a glass of wine right about now, but with nursing and pumping...I just can't pull that trigger just yet. Maybe in a few weeks. Or months.
In other news, Scotty is doing great under the watchful eyes of Grandma. Our schedule right now is "Whatever Scotty wants, Scotty gets." It is definitely working. We had a quick scare when we tried to weigh him on our home scale and found he was down 2 oz from yesterday. Within three minutes, we were all dressed and headed to the ped's office to use their scale. He weighed a whooping 8lbs, 2.5 oz in their office, which is awesome. The ped wanted him up to 8lbs, 2 oz by our Friday appointment, so it's good to know he has already surpassed that. Now, we will just continue to feed, and feed, and feed.
I'm off to pump again. My milk production seems to be coming back, but it is slow going. I figure it will probably take several weeks to get up to normal limits again. Any advice as to help milk production is definitely welcomed. I'm drinking the tea, taking herbs, and drinking lots of fluids. I am also pumping every three hours (or trying to, at least) and giving Scotty the breast when he first wakes up (probably 8 minutes per side). I'm not sure what else I could be doing, so please feel free to offer your own helpful hint or tip.
As for right now, I'm just glad I'm able to answer the call of nature. My fears of becoming cath-dependent have been put to rest, and now I won't have to attend CA. (Catheters Anonymous. "Hello, my name is Kim. And I am cath-dependent." ::everyone:: "Hi, Kim.") Good. Because I have a newborn and I am BUSY. No time for group counseling. :-)
Oh, thank heavens. I really thought I had lost this bodily function for good (or at least until the end of 2009). Though it may be a bit premature, I feel it is safe to declare CatheterGate '09 officially over.
The blessed event took place this morning. I had made a mad dash to my ob yesterday morning (good ole George...we've really bonded over this urination issue.) On Tuesday night, I started to feel achy and tired. Took my temp and it was 99.7. Not a fever, but enough to freak me out that an infection was pending. I saw George first thing Wednesday morning who assured me my urine dip was clean. Thank goodness. I was totally composing a blog entry about "August 33rd" in my head as I waited for the results. But again, it's September and all is good.
Had my appointment with the urologist this morning and this was a different doctor than last week. A much kinder, nicer doctor. I had removed the catheter at 7am with a high level of trepidation, but my appointment was at 9:40am and I was ready to scream for another in-dwelling cath if necessary. By 10:45, they finally called my name (out of the waiting room full of old dudes that made zero eye contact) and put me in a room with more prostate posters than I could count.
This doctor was appropriately empathetic (I do require a lot of hand holding, don't I? Hmm.) and said that he and his wife were new parents as well, and he really felt for me in my situation. I just sat there and cried. He did a quick exam and told me there is nothing physically wrong. No swelling, and my urethra looks "great." (his words, not mine). I asked if this was psychosomatic, to which he replied, "No...we tend not to use that word, since it makes people think they are crazy." Well, hell. There has been plenty of craziness around these parts for the last 16 days, so I figured my days were numbered before I ended up seeing some kind of bladder therapist. He went on to say that I need to relax, take a hot bath, and have a glass of wine. (I REALLY like this doctor). He also said to tell everyone to be nice to me. Man, if he continued, he was going to get added to my Christmas card list.
We went over the self-cathing procedure again ("like a chip shot" he assured me when I asked if this got easier. Why do all male doctors use sports analogies??) and then, the man said words that were music to my ears. "You're a little person, so this shouldn't be hard. When we have larger clients, it can be more difficult for them to bend over." Little person? Me? With my pudgy, post-partum body slumped on his exam table, buddha-belly still very prominent, he was calling me...skinny? My whole mood brighten. I sucked my cheeks in and sat up a little straighter. My tummy seemed instantly flatter. As I drove home, I even ventured to imagine scenarios of drunk Kim after her 4 oz of wine trying to self-cath and was cracking myself up. By the time I got home, I laid out all of the supplies, and then thought I'd just wing it. Four minutes later, I had emptied my bladder the natural way. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Since then, I've had three more successful attempts and one failure. I'm not kosher about the glass of wine but am supplementing with a nice hot cup of tea. I would LOVE a glass of wine right about now, but with nursing and pumping...I just can't pull that trigger just yet. Maybe in a few weeks. Or months.
In other news, Scotty is doing great under the watchful eyes of Grandma. Our schedule right now is "Whatever Scotty wants, Scotty gets." It is definitely working. We had a quick scare when we tried to weigh him on our home scale and found he was down 2 oz from yesterday. Within three minutes, we were all dressed and headed to the ped's office to use their scale. He weighed a whooping 8lbs, 2.5 oz in their office, which is awesome. The ped wanted him up to 8lbs, 2 oz by our Friday appointment, so it's good to know he has already surpassed that. Now, we will just continue to feed, and feed, and feed.
I'm off to pump again. My milk production seems to be coming back, but it is slow going. I figure it will probably take several weeks to get up to normal limits again. Any advice as to help milk production is definitely welcomed. I'm drinking the tea, taking herbs, and drinking lots of fluids. I am also pumping every three hours (or trying to, at least) and giving Scotty the breast when he first wakes up (probably 8 minutes per side). I'm not sure what else I could be doing, so please feel free to offer your own helpful hint or tip.
As for right now, I'm just glad I'm able to answer the call of nature. My fears of becoming cath-dependent have been put to rest, and now I won't have to attend CA. (Catheters Anonymous. "Hello, my name is Kim. And I am cath-dependent." ::everyone:: "Hi, Kim.") Good. Because I have a newborn and I am BUSY. No time for group counseling. :-)
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