THE BACHMANN FOUR

Welcome to the craziness of our life!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

It's a . . .



Sorry this picture is blurry, but I haven't figured out the scanner we got for Christmas just yet. Anyway, it's a picture of our perfectly healthy baby sucking his thumb!

It's a BOY!!!!

We are so blessed that everything looks perfectly healthy with our little boy. The ultrasound technician said it appears he wasn't bothered at all by the surgery. Praise the Lord! Now we just have to work on names. Whew!

When we told Savannah this afternoon that she was going to have a brother she jumped up and down and yelled "yeah!" She then looked up at us and said "maybe I still get sister." Sorry Savannah, that ain't happening, but hopefully you'll love your little baby brother!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Grateful

This past week has given me an entirely new perspective on just how big my God is. I've always known that He has a plan, is in control, and knows the outcome of each and every situation before it happens, but this week I have experienced God in an entirely new way. As I sit today in a quiet house, still sore, but feeling much better than I did even yesterday, I've had some time to reflect on some of the ways He has provided for our family . . . ways bigger than I ever imagined.


* The night before surgery was a little restless to say the least. However, each time I woke up the following chorus was running through my mind "I will fear no evil, for my God is with me. And if my God is with me, who then shall I fear? Oh, no You never let go, through the calm and through the storm. Lord you never let go of me." Just the words to put me right back to sleep.

* The day of surgery I was sitting in the waiting room waiting for the nurse to come and start my preparation when I noticed that we were sitting directly across from the Hemby children's Center locked door. Was this the door where the angel appeared just a few weeks ago? I'm not sure, but somehow I had a little extra comfort knowing that there were angels completely surrounding me.

* After getting dressed in my lovely purple hospital gown I was taken to a room to wait for another nurse to get some more pre-surgery info. Next to me was another lady waiting for surgery as well. Her nurse was not so nice, nor were the things that she had to endure before being taken to the holding area. I prayed hard for a nice nurse and that I wouldn't have to have the same shots and preparations this lady was having. Thankfully, I was wheeled out before her with not even one stick by a super sweet nurse!

* In the holding area right before surgery, I was moved ahead of about 5 other people waiting for surgery. Immediately the anesthesiologist, who was super calming, came over and started asking me a ton of medical questions. Before I even knew it, my IV was started and I met Christy, the anesthesiologist's assistant, who stayed by my side the entire process. She was probably the one person responsible for keeping me calm as we rolled into the operating room and waited for about a half hour. Christy and I quickly realized that we were the same age and had lots in common which gave us plenty of stuff to talk about while waiting. No tears this time, the last thing I remember is her saying okay, here comes the good stuff, take two deep breaths.

* After surgery, although things were extremely painful, we soon knew that the baby was okay and once settled into my room I had some of the best nurses in the world!

If that isn't enough to be grateful for, here's how my family, friends, and church made me even more grateful.

* My mom and Dave's mom travelled long distances to take turns with Savannah. They were awesome and pitched right in with daily tasks as well as taking care of Savannah. Boy did she eat up that time with granny and grammy!

* Friends prayed, called, visited, brought meals (and are still bringing them), and sent cards to help me feel loved and cared for during this time.

* Our church sent flowers, a pastor to visit, and even called a couple of times to check on us. Not to mention the many prayers that were said on our behalf.

Then there's the icing on the cake.

* I'm healing more and more each day and am able to bend a little further too. This is happening way faster that I ever imagined it would while I was in the hospital.

* My RINGS FIT!! I haven't been able to wear my wedding band or engagement ring since probably late November and they slid right onto my finger today!

I'm sure the list could go on and on, but the point is that I'm super grateful. Grateful for a God who is bigger than any worry, fear, frustration, or issue I may have. So now that I'm on the other side of the dreaded surgery, I can honestly say I'm grateful for this experience. Thank you Lord for the lessons learned . . . I pray that they carry me through the rest of this pregnancy and beyond.

Friday, January 09, 2009

Home at Last!

I'm finally home!! It feels so good to be in my own house with my own shower, couch, pillow, etc. and of course Dave and Savannah too. I have to say that I was a little disappointed that Savannah wasn't more excited to see me, but then again, it's nice knowing she doesn't mind me being gone . . . vacation here we come!!!! Seriously though, I know it's because she has been so well taken care of by my mom, Dave's mom, and of course Miss Heather too.

The pain is much improved, although not gone, but I'm trying to manage without any further medication. The excitement of Tuesday (when we find out the sex of the baby) is keeping me excited about next week when all of our help is gone. Dave's mom is here now and Savannah is still LOVING all of the attention. She is simply not going to know what to do when her granny and grammy are gone. Please just keep praying for a speedy recovery so I can get back to a semi-normal routine.

Thursday, January 08, 2009

I'm Going Home

It's sort of official . . . the doctor said that once I met the checklist (and I have) I could go home and that it would be today . . . so now I wait. Dave is stuck at home with Savannah asleep, I'm stuck here at the hospital waiting for my doctor to come back and write discharge orders, Dave's mom is stuck at the airport waiting for her plane, and Heather is stuck at her house waiting to know which direction to go!

All I can say is Praise the Lord that we have so many willing people to help out! The end is in sight!

Still Recovering

Well, I'd love to say that I'm comfortably recovering at home, but that just isn't the case quite yet. There are a few things that my body still hasn't done (those of you who have had abdominal surgery in the past know what these are) and until these things happen I can't leave. Although the nurses keep saying that the normal stay for surgery like mine is 3 nights, Dr. Fletcher assured me that they would do their best to get me out of here by lunch today. YIPPEE!

The pain is much better and I'm learning to love eating plain soup, as it is a step up from the nasty broth they served for the first two days. Savannah seems to be doing well and loved having her granny here for 3 days. Dave even said she requested to have granny do her bath last night. Who knows what kind of things they got into, but I do know that I am super thankful for my mom's help in keeping Savannah busy and taking good care of her.

Off to shower! Thanks again for all of the continued prayers!

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Recovery

I just want to send out a huge thank you to all of my friends and family for the constant prayers over the past two days. God has been amazingly good and has provided for even the smallest details. I was quite nervous yesterday, but through some great nurses was able to feel rather calm right up until they said "take two deep breaths" as then I was out!

According to my doctor things went really well, although not quite what we expected. Originally we thought that the huge cyst was on the left ovary and that I could possibly lose the ovary due to the size of the cyst. However, after opening me up, what they found was that the cyst (which ended up being the size of a closed fist) was on the right ovary - the same ovary that had a cyst removed back in 2002. For this reason, my doctor removed the right ovary. She also found a smaller cyst on the left ovary, but was able to drain it and fully remove the entire cyst wall meaning that the left ovary could stay. That was probably way too much information.

For now, the prayer continues to be for a decrease in pain. They are removing the pain pump this morning and will switch me to pain pills that will hopefully work just as well. The biggest pain comes from taking deep breaths, not from the incision. I have to get up in a little bit and start walking around so that may add to the pain. Please just keep praying for me and this precious baby. Hopefully we'll return home tomorrow . . . but recovery is 6-8 weeks as I was told yesterday. :(

Monday, January 05, 2009

Surgery Preparations

Well, I think I'm just about ready to head off to surgery. My bag is packed, I've written 4 legal pages of instructions for the mothers who will be here over the next 5 days to care for Savannah, caught up the laundry and dishes, instructed Dave on dinners for the next few days, Savannah's lunch is ready for WEE school, I've gathered some magazines to keep me busy, charged the laptop and cell phone, said good night to Savannah for a few days, washed in my special body soap from the hospital (boy was that a treat) and have reviewed my list of no's for the morning:
  • NO jewelry
  • NO hairbands
  • NO finger nail polish
  • NO makeup
  • NO food or drink
  • NO contacts (I plan to break this one)
  • NO personal items
  • YES to clean clothes - it was on the list!!

Although I am still quite anxious about everything, I have already felt the prayers of our many friends and family. Through these prayers I have been able to hold it together today for a really fun day with Savannah. Plus, it helps that my husband doesn't seem worried at all. I think the fact that we have to get up at 4am is the worst part for him. I praise the Lord for a husband who is so strong and so NOT a worrier! Hopefully the next time I update this blog I'll be comfortably recovering from a successful surgery with a baby still healthy as can be. Until then, keep on praying! :)