Olga's Flavor Factory

  • Home
  • About
  • Recipe Index
  • Ebook
  • Olga's Tips
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipe Index
  • Ebook
  • Olga's Tips
  • olgasflavorfactory@gmail.com
  • //instagram.com/olgasflavorfactory
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Related

search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipe Index
  • Ebook
  • Olga's Tips
  • olgasflavorfactory@gmail.com
  • //instagram.com/olgasflavorfactory
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Related

×
Home » Recipe Index » Miscellaneous » Life/Family

Enjoying Our Time At Home

Published: Mar 18, 2015 · Modified: Apr 7, 2019 by Olga · This post may contain affiliate links

Recuperating at Home-1-35
"Home is the nicest word there is." Laura Ingalls Wilder

We've been home from the hospital for a week and a half and let me tell you, there's no place like home. It's wonderful to be in the midst of familiar surroundings and in my safe haven. I love to relax with my books, a cup of tea and in the presence of family. 

Recuperating at Home-1-32
My parents with all their Floridian grandchildren.

My parents came to Florida the morning of my c-section and they stayed for 2 ½ weeks. What a treat it was to spend so much time with them and it was such a huge help for us.

We didn't expect to be in the hospital for ten days. I thought I would be home within 3 days, like most normal c-sections. What a bummer. Nathaniel was in the NICU for some acute respiratory issues and I ended up having another surgery the Saturday after delivery. My c-section incision developed a huge hematoma (collection of blood) and that needed to be cleaned out. They had to leave the wound open and now I have a wound vacuum there, which helps with the healing. Since I had the blood clot back in September, I've been on blood thinners ever since, which is one of the reasons that I was prone to a hematoma, and also because my protein levels are so low that my body has a hard time healing. We were discharged from the hospital very late on Thursday night, March 5th.

Finally on the way home. What a joy to leave the hospital with a baby in our arms.
Finally on the way home. What a joy to leave the hospital with a baby in our arms.

As they were wheeling me out of the hospital and we got Nathaniel settled in the car in his car seat, I remember getting really emotional, realizing that the hospital stay was finally over and we were going home as a family of three. From now on, we will always be a family of three and that is such a happy thought.

Recuperating at Home-1-31Sergi took two weeks off from work and unfortunately most of it was spent at the hospital. He only got to enjoy Friday, Saturday and Sunday at home before going back to work.

We had many visitors in the hospital and at home. Thank you so much to everyone who stopped by and shared our happiness with us. Our room looked and smelled like a garden, it was so full of lovely flowers.

Recuperating at Home-1-51Nathaniel is 3 weeks and 2 days now. Time sure has flown by so quickly. He will be one month this Monday.

We have gone to two doctor's appointments with him since he was discharged from the hospital and we are so pleased with how he is doing. Recuperating at Home-1-29

Recuperating at Home-1-54He is growing quickly and is gaining weight and is finally able to fit into newborn outfits. When he was born, he was in a really awkward size, since preemie outfits were too small on him and newborn outfits were too big.

He is such a good baby. We feel very blessed that he has a very happy disposition and isn't fussy. Of course, he still wakes up often at night to eat, but that is normal for newborns. He is very alert and smiles so much. He smiles at least 5 times a day, and not just in his sleep. I'd like to think that he smiles because he's so happy and because he feels how much he is loved. Recuperating at Home-1-52

Recuperating at Home-1-30My favorite activity is gazing at my beautiful son. I never get tired of it. I'm still amazed that I am his Mama. He loves to snuggle and I love it even more. You will find me many times just holding him in my arms, perfectly content to stay in that position, just soaking it in.

Recuperating at Home-1-36

Recuperating at Home-1-45Throughout the pregnancy, I struggled with gaining weight and was actually a few pounds less right before I delivered the baby than before I got pregnant. As many of you know, after my whole medical scare in 2007, I was on TPN for almost 2 years at home. TPN is total parenteral nutrition, basically nutrition given intravenously. It's a mixture of electrolytes, proteins, lipids, vitamins, etc, that you would normally get through the gastrointestinal tract that is given intravenously.

Recuperating at Home-1-46
My weekly supply of TPN

It took me many years to gain weight and be able to maintain my health by diet alone, without medication or TPN. That is a miracle that just can't be explained.

Right before I got pregnant, I was the healthiest that I've been since before everything happened in 2007. I felt great, was able to stay at a healthy weight and did not take any medications, besides triple doses of vitamins. It was such a blessing to become pregnancy during the time when I was the healthiest. I truly believe that this is what helped with this pregnancy and the fact that Nathaniel is perfectly healthy and strong and doesn't have any medical issues at all. Praise God for answered prayers.

Recuperating at Home-1-27The moment after I had the baby and the spinal wore off, my appetite returned and I've been happily munching on food ever since. I'm so happy to be enjoying food again. Recuperating at Home-1-26However, I feel very drained and weak, because I'm so depleted nutritionally. Even though I've been eating again, the food just isn't staying with me and i'm still losing weight. My doctors have put me on TPN once again for the next few months so that I can gain some strength and hopefully some weight back as well. I was really hoping to leave the hospital without any foreign objects and medical devices in me, but I guess I'll have to settle with knowing that it won't be much longer. I can be patient a little bit more. Even though it's not fun to be hooked up to the IV all night, at least I'm getting nutrients and hopefully this will be short term and I'll be back to normal very soon.

I am so happy to be home and I feel like the most blessed woman on the planet. God has been so good to our family and shown us His grace again and again. Nathaniel was worth it all and I would go through it all again in a heartbeat.

Recuperating at Home-1-55

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related

More Life/Family

  • Christmas Gift Ideas For the Home Cook
  • Christmas Gift Ideas For Kids
  • Life in Tampa Bay Florida
  • Kitchen Tour

Comments

  1. Amanda says

    April 22, 2015 at 1:41 am

    Oh my... you are the cutest family EVER!!!!!! Congratulations!!!! Wishing you a lifetime of happiness.

    Reply
  2. Kel says

    April 17, 2015 at 7:57 pm

    Sending you a big hug--- I hope your health is improving and the baby keeps growing!

    Reply
  3. Missy M says

    March 30, 2015 at 8:00 am

    God grant you all many years! So happy for you and your family! Have a blessed Pascha!

    Reply
    • olgak7 says

      April 01, 2015 at 4:17 pm

      Thank you, Missy! Happy Easter to you too.

      Reply
  4. Alena says

    March 24, 2015 at 4:32 pm

    Olya, first of all, let me say congratulations to you and your husband! What a beautiful baby! I know you guys wanted to have a baby for a long time, and what a blessing!
    I've been reading your blog for a long time and it's fascinating! You have very creating recipes and photography is gorgeous!
    I remember those days when I was tired after having a C section with a new born at home and a very active 4 y/old. Thankfully, I didn't have any medical equipment attached to me, so I feel for you. It must be very difficult. I don't want to offer any advice, but well.... I will. I just feel so compelled. I'm from Belarus too and I just like you so much. And maybe it'll help. So, why not. When I was feeling so fatigued, I started juicing. And I don't mean fruit juicing, but vegetable juicing. I usually take a cuke, a bunch of kale, maybe some celery and parsley, then add an apple or too for sweetness. I know you eat a lot of vegetables and have a healthy diet. But it's still eating. When you "drink" your veggies, you get all the vitamins and enzymes in your bloodstream in 10-15 minutes! And it's powerful. I even give the juice to my kids. Even though my 5 y/o daughter says it's "green and super gross" she still drinks it and feels great! Anyways, I apologize for such a long message, but maybe it'll help get your energy and weight up. I truly believe that "liquid" vegetables can do wonders!

    Reply
  5. Elena says

    March 21, 2015 at 11:41 pm

    Love, love, love! Thank you for sharing and God bless!

    Reply
« Older Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Olga in the kitchen

Welcome!

Hello. I’m Olga, the creator and photographer of the recipes that you see here. Welcome to my online kitchen, where I share step by step recipes and kitchen tips, to make homemade cooking easier, practical, and of course, more flavorful.

More about me

Get Weekly Menu Ideas, Recipes, Kitchen Hacks:

Join thousands of others to get my best cooking and meal prep tips plus handpicked seasonal menu ideas in your email.

Olga's Flavor Factory ebooks bundle
Olga's Ebooks
Olga's Flavor Factory family 2024
Life/Family

Popular

  • Honey Garlic Glazed Meatballs
  • Limoncello Cake
  • Easy Homemade Bread Recipe
  • Ultimate Steelhead Trout Recipe (VIDEO)

Seasonal

  • Healthy Cabbage Salad
  • Fish and Vegetables En Papillote (Fish in Parchment)
  • Borscht - Борщ
  • Orange Salad

Related

Footer

↑ back to top

The Home Cook's Handbook

A Practical Kitchen Resource Guide

Learn more
Buy now

Get Weekly Menu Ideas, Recipes, Kitchen Hacks:

Join thousands of others to get my best cooking and meal prep tips plus handpicked seasonal menu ideas in your email.

About

  • About
  • Starting A Blog
  • FAQ
  • Olga’s Tips
  • Shop

Social Links

  • Instagram
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Privacy Policy

© 2024 Olga's Flavor Factory

Related