I’ve been de-bugged…3 times in the past few weeks, actually.

I did a video update about 2.5 weeks ago; you can find it on Odysee or YouTube. Basically…3 weeks ago was just horrible, pregnancy-wise for me. And, after that video, it got even crazier.

Just an F.Y.I. – I get graphic about some of the issues I dealt with before and after having Baby Bug, so…be warned.

It all started around midnight on the 7th. I woke up to pee, and was shocked to find blood in the toilet. I called Labour & Delivery, they wanted me to come in. In-laws were called, and they made it to our place in record time to stay with Little Man while Squatch and I were at hospital. Turns out I had a bladder infection. I had absolutely zero symptoms, so the diagnosis was quite a shock. The doctor on call (who was HILARIOUS, BTW) prescribed me Amoxicillin to fight the infection. Now, all the times I’ve taken antibiotics in the past, I’ve dealt with yeast infections, so I was prepared to handle that. I was NOT expecting the side effect that did come. Tuesday I had my weekly Non-Stress Test- all went well, no concerns, although we noticed that I was having regular contractions every 15-20 minutes.

Wednesday, I was sick – diarrhea every hour or so, with cramping, and the contractions. So, I called L&D again, they had me go in. This week, Bug was being a bit of a beast, and kept moving around so we couldn’t track his heartbeat as well as in the past, so Squatch and I joked that if we had a boy, he would be named after my Uncle who passed away earlier this year (he hated doctors and was a terrible patient). Anyway…they tracked my contractions for several hours, and made sure I was hydrated, and sent me home with the option to do another NST Friday (I declined because my final one was set for Monday morning) and the instruction to keep hydrated, that the diarrhea was a side effect to the antibiotic.

The weekend went well. Squatch picked me up a ton of yogurt and a probiotic to take. The diarrhea was getting better; I wasn’t running to the bathroom every hour like I had been on Wednesday and Thursday. We just kept things simple, and I stayed home. I wasn’t on bed rest, but we treated it as if I were. The contractions were still coming every 15 minutes on the quarter hour. Yeah…I could set my watch to the dang things. They didn’t get closer, but they were getting stronger and more annoying.

Now, with Little Man, I was scheduled for a C-Section at 39 weeks. I had zero Braxton Hicks contractions, no dilation, nothing, before going to hospital the morning I had him. The contractions I was having with Baby Bug were all new to me. Monday morning I was back in for my last NST and a COVID test. Nothing was different – Bug kept moving around, so the NST took longer than planned as the nurse had to keep coming back to adjust the monitor. (The best part about the NSTs was the fact that I got a 20-40 minute quiet nap time!) I went home, and Squatch headed off to work as usual.

Well…that night around 7 or so, the contractions started coming more often, and they were even stronger. I figured I would keep an eye on them, and if they got to 3-4 minutes apart, I would call Squatch to come home from work. As luck would have it, the contractions quickly went from every 15 minutes to every 5 minutes. I tried to get Little Man down to bed, but the frequency and intensity of the contractions just sped up. He was such a champ, you guys. When a contraction would hit, he would either rub my back or my belly “It’s ok, Mama. I’m here to help you,” he would say. SOOO ADORABLE! Anyway, around 830, I decided I was done, and called Squatch on his cell, then his office…and his cell and office back and forth several times until I finally got hold of him at 845. “You need to come home, and call your mother to come watch Little Man. Contractions are 5 minutes apart.” I managed to get out as I timed my calls to him in between contractions. He was home 20 minutes later, and his mother was about 20 minutes behind him.

Squatch drove me to hospital; I had called L&D after Squatch to let them know I would be on my way in. The OB from the previous Sunday was on call still (my OB was on vacation until the 16th), and I smiled as she walked into the room. “My Man will be so excited to see you. He was hoping you would be the one to deliver Baby Bug,” I told her, and she laughed back at me “I’ve got my party shoes on!” I got the lovely belly band and monitors on my stomach once again, and lo and behold, the contractions were getting closer and closer together. It turns out that my water had broken (dang nurse didn’t even buy me dinner before performing that test!), hence the more frequent and stronger contractions. So, the surgical team was called in, and we prepared for the C-Section. “Let’s get this baby out while it’s still the 15th,” the OB said. “Yes, please…sooner rather than later,” I laughed back. “At least Bug will have his or her own birthday, instead of sharing it later on this week.” (I really didn’t want Bug to have the 18th as a birthday)

Anyway…We lucked out, and they had giant sized scrubs for Squatch to wear in the OR (when I had Little Man, he had to wear two hospital gowns, front to back, because the hospital didn’t have big scrubs available for him). The Anesthesiologist was awesome and hilarious. I felt nothing when he did the spinal, and he hooked up a warm blower for my arms/chest to help me with the chilling effects of the anesthesia I always have to deal with. During prep, and closure, he and I talked movies with the OB – we’re all nerds and love LOTR, Avengers, etc. I almost died laughing, though, when the pulled down the drape and the OB held up Baby Bug “It’s a boy!” she said as she held Bug up for me to see. My first sight of this handsome little man were his balls. “Yup, definitely a boy!” I told Squatch as Bug was handed off to the nurse and pediatrician and the drape was pulled back up. Bug ended up measuring half an inch shorter than Little Man was, but half a pound heavier. It will be fun to see how they stack up as Bug gets older; he was almost back to his birth weight at his one week appointment (he had even gained some weight before we left hospital!).

Tuesday morning, I just waited for the anesthesia to wear off, and did some walking around the room. I had these awesome massaging things on my legs that would compress and release and just felt AMAZING. They were a PITA though, because I would have to call a nurse in to unhook them so I could go to the bathroom.

Unfortunately, that night the diarrhea came back…with a vengeance. I was racing to the bathroom every 15-20 minutes to go. It was bad. The poor night nurses…My OB wanted them to record how much I was peeing, so I had to call them each time I went to the bathroom (and to unhook the massager things). They ended up delivering another baby that night, so I gave up calling each time I went to the bathroom; just letting them know once an hour or so, and I reported the intense diarrhea to the nurse supervisor on duty that night. Next morning, after consulting with my regular OB, it was decided to test me for C.Difficile (C.Diff).

I had heard of C.Diff before, and knew that it was a potential side effect to antibiotics, but it is quite rare. However, taking into account the antibiotics I had been on the week prior for the ladder infection, plus the fact that I had just had surgery, my OB immediately thought C.Diff. Let me tell you – it is difficult to collect a stool sample when you are also collecting your urine output for measurement. I had two collection “hats” in the toilet, and it took several trips before I was able to successfully isolate the urine from the poop to get the sample required. Unfortunately, the hospital I was at didn’t do the testing for C.Diff, and they had to courier the sample down to Eau Claire. Let me tell you how NOT excited I was to find out several hours later that I had C.Diff. It meant I was not able to take Immodium to clear the diarrhea up, and instead just ride it out. The OB put me on Vancomycin, and said I could go ahead and take a probiotic with the antibiotic to see if it would help my gut. I started out taking FloraStor twice a day (I would take the Vanco 4 times a day, probiotic 2 hours after the 1st and 3rd Vanco), and then once I was done with the FloraStor and the Vanco, I now take a S.Boulardii capsule at lunchtime.

The plus side to having C.Diff meant that I was up and moving A LOT. The down side – I was still in the bathroom A LOT. I was in hospital until Friday morning. I had gone from 2-3 trips to the bathroom each hour to once every hour and a half. My appetite wasn’t really there – most foods just didn’t appeal to my stomach, or it didn’t taste right once I ordered it. Squatch brought me in several containers of yogurt, so I ate a lot of that while isolated in my room. Oh yeah – did I mention that C.Diff means you are isolated? I had hoped to send Bug to the nursery at night, so I could get some sleep, but due to the isolation, he couldn’t leave my room.

Anyway, I digress…We escaped hospital Friday morning, and went home. Little Man had been at Granma & Granpa’s since Tuesday. He came inside, clutching his backpack, and looking around for Bug. I walked him over to the Pack n Play, where I had Bug laying in the little bouncer chair. “Here’s your little brother,” I told him. I picked Bug up, and sat down so Little Man could see him “I’m your big brother, and I’ll always protect you,” Little Man said to his baby brother. Oh my goodness, my heart just melted! He has been a rockstar big brother the past week and a half since we’ve been home. Little Man always wants to hold Bug, and “babysits” if I run to the kitchen or bathroom. It’s been great to see him get along so well with Bug.

As for me, I worked with Squatch to figure out a plan for dealing with the C.Diff now that we were home. I ended up taking over the main bathroom, and sleeping on the couch with Bug. Squatch and Little Man were relegated to the master half-bathroom. If Little Man got a bath over the past week and a half, Squatch would clean the main bathroom with bleach so we would reduce the opportunity to spread my C.Diff. (Yes, I had it for a week before it was diagnosed, and neither Squatch nor Little Man showed any symptoms, but better safe than sorry, right?). I kept up with the yogurt at breakfast and lunch, took the probiotic twice a day, and hydrated. By Monday, I was starting to have solid poops, and the frequency was at about every 2 hours or so. Thursday I was not having any major issues, either! Now, the best thing you get in hospital when you have a baby is a peri bottle to spray down there and clean everything up. That bottle is good, but I have to recommend this one. I actually have the older version, which I got back in 2020 when the toilet paper shortages began. It is also a lifesaver when you are constantly shitting your brains out. Wiping a lot causes pain…Being able to rinse and then just blot dry, now that is good.

So yeah – I was bugged, de-bugged, and then bugged and de-bugged again. It has been quite the adventure these past 2 weeks, and while I had to deal with C.Diff (which I wouldn’t even want my worst enemy to have to deal with; it sucks!), I have a happy and healthy baby boy. I’m not constantly shitting my brains out. I slept in my bed for the first time in 2 weeks last night. And, best of all…I’ve been able to collect about 3 ounces of breast milk in the past few days using a MilkSaver milk collector while nursing. It is truly amazing to see that I can provide for my baby! So, stay tuned as the rest of the year goes on, and I share how things are with a new littleone in the family!