against doctor's orders

it's been hard to work up the energy to write a new blog! you really don't know how much you value (and need!) sleep until you don't get any! so picking up where i left off... quentin and i left the hospital on saturday against the wishes of a phantom doctor i never even saw. i was in the hospital from wednesday evening through saturday and never saw a single doctor (except the anesthesiologist who did my epidural!) well, as most people know my anemia had been flaring up during this pregnancy. it took a pretty big hit with all the blood loss associated with delivery. right after quentin was born, my hemoglobin level fell to a new all-time low - 6.4, which is apparently in the blood transfusion zone. it was recovering but still not in a great place by saturday when we were supposed to go home. at about noon on saturday, the midwife came in and told me that i had to stay another night so they could monitor my blood. i was NOT a happy camper. i was so ready to get out of that hospital room, so sick of being cooped up with little access to the outside world. it was especially frustrating because i felt fine, and even more because they never even mentioned a concern about my levels until late friday night. it was pretty annoying not having a doctor because i had no idea what was going on the whole time i was there. nurses would come and go every 30 minutes or so, but there was no one person providing any consistency or coherence for what was going on. here it was friday night, and i was prepping to go home the next morning. sounds like a great time to drop a bomb like that. then all saturday morning things were proceeding as though i was going to be able to go home on schedule. then i find out i can't. i cried. lots. jeremy called and spoke with the midwife and busted me out. i don't think she was too happy about it, and i doubt the doctor who wanted me to stay was either. but i don't care. i wanted to go home! all we had to do was go back to the hospital the next morning to do another blood test to make sure my level continued to rise. that was easy! for someone who hates blood work i am now quite the old pro - they had to take blood from me every day for 5 straight days!! it's time for a roo-feeding - stay tuned tomorrow for adventures in breastfeeding!