6 weeks

I can't believe that Audrey is 6 weeks old. In honor of this milestone, we had a penguin party.

This milestone also means that I've been diagnosed with post-partum cardio myopathy for a little more than 5 weeks. I'm doing better adjusting to my new reality. While the echo I wrote about in my last post didn't go as well as hoped for, I am still improving and I just have to keep reminding myself of that.

Brent and I purchased a treadmill a week ago, so I can stay active. And last Saturday my LifeVest came off, which was the best gift of all.

Thank you so much for all your thoughts and kind words.

Meet the power pack

Meet my current fashion accessory:

Yep, this is my LifeVest. I wear it 24/7...unless I'm showering.

The middle part is what's on my back and then the straps snap in the front. The 4 circles are sensors that monitor my heart rate, and the 3 gray rectangular things are the terrifying defibrillators that will shock me if my heart get out of line (if I don't respond to the warning alarm within 30 seconds). The cord going off the bottom of the photo connects to a "battery purse" that I wear around. I think it looks like a binocular case, so I just pretend to be an avid bird watcher.

Yesterday morning, my warning alarm sounded for real while I was sleeping – not only scaring the crap out of me, but also leaving me in quite the funk. Then it did again last night, and again today while I was trying to nap.

The connection between all 3 events? I was sleeping on my left side.

After a phone call to my cardiologist and to the LifeVest company, all is fine. Apparently, the sensors aren't registering correctly at times when I'm on my side and it's giving off "artificial readings." Because of this, I earned a sympathy vote from my cardiologist though – so my echo is being bumped up to tomorrow from Monday.

So, please send any positive heart vibes this way...and hopefully I'll be able to ditch the vest.

Groundhog Day update

Happy Groundhog's Day!

Audrey is now 16 days old and doing great.

As for me, I've been out of the hospital since Friday. While I'm nowhere close to 100% (and who knows if I ever will be), I am getting a little more energy and strength each day. I had my week follow-up appointment with my cardiologist today, and she's impressed with the progress I've made so far. She even reduced my hormone medication to once a day (granted I'm still on 5 different ones – but I'll take any reduction I can get). The real test will come on Feb. 13th, when I have my next echo. Hopefully after that I can say bye bye to the LifeVest.