Sunday, June 13, 2010

Happy Birthday Jett

*disclaimer: I wrote this out in the hospital the days we stayed there and it's my full account of the details surrounding Jett's birth.. it's lengthy and in full detail of my account.

Monday, June 7, 2010 – Welcome to the world Jett Anderson DiFrancesco.

Mom and Auntie Marlene drove me to Winnipeg to go to my fetal assessment appt. I was at Women’s around 10:15. I got the same tech I had the previous week.. she even remembered me which was nice. She was quiet as soon as she started and asked me if I came alone.. I immediately asked her if something was wrong.. she said no but she was unsure of the babies position… ugh my heart sank. I can’t believe he shifted. She reassured me he was just fine and we watched his little heart for a bit. She went to get the Doctor to double check his position. Sure enough Transverse with feet and cord presenting.. oh boy here we go again. She showed me what it looked like and sure enough there was cord mixed in with the feet at the bottom of my uterus. She said she would call Dr. Lee and we would go from there but I was not going home today. The technician came with me to find my mom after I had made calls to Dave and Marla. Thankfully Dr Lee was not on call and Dr. Boroditsky (who I came to Women’s initially way back on May 29th) was on. He said I would be admitted to the third floor and wait the 6 hours since I had had breakfast and we would be having him via C Section that afternoon

Whirlwind. We were immediately admitted upstairs and they began pre op stuff with me. I was loosing a lot of fluid again by this point so I was super thankful to be there. What a mess… I was aware of the disappointment I was feeling but at the same time I knew that we were in the right place and had I gone into labor it could have not turned out well. Dave was finishing a job up at the credit union and was probably so annoyed at all my phone calls as he was just trying to finish welding – lol. I was anxious to have him there… my maybe supper time csection turned into as soon as “the husband” gets here because of my eating a bowl of cereal at 7:30 and all the fluid I was leaking. Dave was finally on his way out of Winkler after 1:15. I was kept occupied by fabulous nurses, meeting the Dr. who was so nice and the 4 magazines my mom and Marlene brought me. I was well taken care of.

Marla arrived about 20 minutes before Dave and we just chatted about how things would go… again I was so blessed to have her here with us. She is just such a calming presence. Dave arrived to everyone’s relief and things moved quickly from there. Marla and Dave were given the green scrubs and blue hats. My FABULOUS nurse walked me down and I gave Dave a kiss. After I was ready they would let them come in. The Aneseiologist was also AMAZING. I walked into the operating room with Hot 103 blaring one of the days greatest hits. The mood was upbeat and pleasant. I sat down and there was chit chat about our kids and other things. She set up getting me my spinal – it’s funny how it all came back from last time. I am so thankful for nurses whispering in my ear telling me to breathe and relax and just reassuring me. It’s maternal I guess. After the spinal is the strangest feeling when they get you to lay down and you feel your body just loosing it’s ability to feel. I kept laughing cause I could swear my legs were up in the air and they were just playing tricks with me. They reassured me that I was laying flat.

I was so relieved when Dave and Marla came in. You never forget the sensation of a section. It’s surreal and I won’t go into details. You also never forget how kind people are the anestiologit who basically has your life in her hands is the boss and she made me feel very well taken care of.

It took longer than I remember with the boys. His position was funny… they pulled him out feet first and then realized the cord was around his neck so they had to maneuver around that.. the doc thought he hairline fractured his arm that was up around his head. It had popped but he is fine so they think it just came out of the socket and went back in. The getting him out was much more uncomfortable than with the boys… much more tugging. He gave a little cry when he came out and I remember being so relieved… they had him over at the warmer just getting him pink and checking his arm out. 4:55 p.m our Jett had joined the world! I had an ugly cry… relief, disappointment, joy, the unknown… it all came out.

They brought Jett to me at some point. He was beautiful so tiny. They took him to the other room to monitor him. Dave went with him and Marla stayed with me while they finished fixing me up.

I was wheeled into Recovery. I remember it did not feel as horrible as the time with the boys. I did not get all shaky and feel as strange as I did. I made some phone calls to share our news. Dave spent time back and forth showing me pictures of Jett. He was just being monitored for some Respitory issues.. just breathing a bit hard. The chest x ray showed he had fluid in his lungs. Poor little guy – he was doing well though. I think we were there for a couple hours. When they brought me up to our room they brought him to the Intermediate nursery just to be monitored.. they said 6 hours from birth. So we got settled upstairs – had a snack and just rested. Dave went back and forth… telling me how Jett was doing. At around 11 p.m. they brought him to me and I held my little guy. He was amazing. So tiny and perfect. He stayed with us and I barely slept.. every sound. He latched on really well but was so sleepy. Nursing was just a comfort at that point.


I’m writing this at the end of day 2 and knowing we get to go home tomorrow. He has come a long way. He is beautiful and perfect. He nurses like a champ and is pooping and peeing more than normal. We love him.

We had lots of visitors on Tuesday. Noah and Ari were pumped.. they couldn’t get enough of Jett. Touching his face and all his parts.. they held him and loved on him. It was adorable. Grandma D and Grandma and Papa came too. You are so loved. Auntie Crystal and Auntie Lisa and Auntie Marlene came. Jenelle came too. Everyone brought us food and brought you presents. It was lovely to have everyone there.

No one stayed long and soon it was just us again. I can’t wait to have you home with your brothers they love you so much!

Your dad ended up staying the next night too I just needed him. He left early this morning to go to work today and it was just me and you all day. We enjoyed each other, learning about each other and resting. Life will be busy soon enough so it’s nice to have some down time to just sit and enjoy each other. I love you Jett and am amazed that I get to be your mom.

10 comments:

Eva said...

It's a beautiful story.. each birth so unique. I love Marla too.. she was my midwife for my last two. That last image of you and your boys is just precious.. what a treasure!

valerie said...

Love. Thank you so much for sharing. Can't wait to see you (and hold Jett!) tonight!

Wenona said...

Great story. Thanks for sharing. I have Marla as my midwife again this pregnancy - I love her to pieces!! I'm glad to hear that he is nursing well and that his big brothers are so in love with him. I pray things continue to go well for you.

kelly ens said...

beautiful! So glad he's here, safe and healthy :)

carol said...

Glad all the drama is over and you get to just "be". Enjoy your little family, you've earned it!

The Nilsen's Journey said...

That's lovely Heather! So glad everything turned out well! That is the goal: baby out safely!

Margaret said...

Congratulations! I have been following your blog for some time now... What a wonderful welcome to the world, for little Jett (LOVE his name). His brothers clearly adore him. You have such a beautiful family!

Anonymous said...

i came across your blog on a slooow work afternoon... saw a cute little photo of a tiny dark-haired baby... annnnd had to read the story (sorry for snooping). :) great story, your family is adorable. good luck and have fun with the addition! AND... congrats!

Lise said...

Jett - you have a birth story to remember! You just had to out do your brothers, right? :)

Melanie said...

Love the story... God provided the care you needed at every point. To the amazing care while waiting, the nurses who held you while getting the spinal, and the doctors... ah, God is good!

Praying for you as you take it easier these next few weeks. The pictures speak of so much love pouring out from all of you. Enjoy Jett. He's adorable (but I didn't have to tell you that, did I?)