December
23 . . . the due date of our second child. We watched the day come and go like
any other day – Chris went to work, and Sam and I did our thing. December 25 . . . “Please don’t go into
labor, please don’t go into labor,” I told myself. For one, I’d feel bad for
the poor kid having to share a birthday with Jesus; and my mom wasn’t in town
yet to take Sam while we were at the hospital. The three of us had a calm,
sweet Christmas Day together. December 26, Momma Jo (my mother) arrived to ‘the
cold north’ as she always puts it. Now we were ready to have a baby! December
27, Chris and I celebrated our 7th anniversary one day early and
went to dinner at the nicest restaurant in town.
On
Sunday morning, December 28, I slept in until seven in the morning. When I woke
up, I was feeling some contractions, which had been a common occurrence in the
last few weeks of pregnancy. But this felt a little different, and as the
morning progressed they became more regular. We planned for my mom to take Sam
to church and Chris went for a short run.
Halfway through his run, I texted him that contractions had pretty much
stopped, so he should run as far as he wants. No rush now, I thought. But I was
ready to have this baby! So I got on our treadmill to see if I could help
things progress. After about 15 minutes of walking, the contractions came back
strong and regular – 20 second contractions about three minutes apart. I quickly
called Chris and told him to get back home. After another hour and a half of
laboring at home, we headed to the hospital around noon.
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| About 15 minutes before she was born. |
This
labor closely mirrored my first with Sam, and although it was crazy hard, I was
able to do it without any medication or interventions. After about six hours of
labor, at 4:48pm, with one giant push, our baby girl entered the world! Chris showed more enthusiasm than I did; he kept
saying, “It’s a girl!” I just kept
saying things like, “That was so hard. That was awful. I never want to do it
again.” For whatever reason it took me longer to get over the trauma of
childbirth and enjoy my baby this time.
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| 7 lbs., 11 oz. of sweetness |
Right
away things checked out well – her APGAR score was good and she nursed off and
on for an hour or so. Chris and I
enjoyed our first hours with this sweet baby girl and discussed our name
options. (We didn’t know the gender before birth and hadn’t settled on specific
boy or girl names.) This whole time I found it very strange that no
pediatrician came to examine her after birth. Then she had a strange vomiting episode – it was a brownish
color. And the nurses observed that her breathing was a bit more noisy and
labored than they would like to see, so they called the on-call pediatrician
around 12:30am.
After
some observation and x-rays, and pulling a vial of brown fluid out of her
stomach, the doctors decided to transfer her to the NICU at Mayo Clinic in
Rochester, MN. At first we thought this would be an ambulance ride, but later
learned they were taking her by helicopter and neither of us could go with her.
Although the idea of your newborn being air-lifted to a NICU sounds terrifying,
those caring for her explained it as precautionary, knowing that her symptoms
could not be diagnosed or treated here at our Albert Lea facility. The only
point where I really broke down was seeing her lying there, hooked up to a lot
of monitors and an IV and ready for transport. Before they took her away, we
decided we had to settle on a name, so Jocelyn Marie it was. Jocelyn, simply because we like it; it
means ‘playful’ and we think it sounds like a fun little girl. Her middle
name ‘Marie’ is in honor of my grandmother, Lois Marie.
So
about twelve hours after birth, Jocelyn took her first helicopter ride and I,
thankfully, was discharged so we could be with our daughter. Chris and I
stopped by the house to pick up a few things and explain the situation to my
mom. Then we drove an hour to Rochester and were reunited with Jocelyn. We were
very pleased with both the care Jocelyn received and our interactions with the
staff at St. Mary’s/Mayo Clinic. They were a calming presence in a somewhat
scary situation.
Many
people have asked, “Weren’t you just freaking out when all of this happened?” The answer is, no, I
wasn’t. It may have been a strange combination of sleep deprivation and
confusion over what was even wrong with her, and Chris’ calm nature in any
crisis situation. But really, I can tell you that I know God put peace in my
heart and the faith to trust him with each and every hour that passed. I kept
singing to myself, “I need Thee every hour . . .” and He was so very near to us
and gave me the emotional self-control I needed.
Jocelyn
was in the NICU for four days. Over time we were able to understand what had caused some of
the concern following her birth. She had likely swallowed amniotic fluid, which
meant she needed to be given antibiotics through an IV as a precaution.
Thankfully she never developed any infection. She has a ‘floppy airway’ which
leads to very noisy breathing – something that clears up on its own as she
grows. She also broke her collarbone at birth, which needed no treatment, just
caution as we do things like feed her and get her dressed. We
were surrounded by so many very sick babies in the NICU; our sweet girl’s
health concerns seemed to pale in comparison to others. Our total stay was
close to four days, but there were babies who were there for weeks and some
months. While we were exhausted, those four days were actually some of the most
concentrated time Chris and I have spent together in many months.
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| Dinner date at the hospital cafeteria! |
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| Going home! |
On
New Year’s Day we brought Jocelyn home.
I’ll never forget the hug that Sam gave me after being away nearly five
days. He was immediately interested in his new baby sister. He is super sweet
with her, but is also a toddler going through an adjustment phase. Having two babies under
two is not for the faint of heart! I’m forever grateful to my mother for being
here for us and to my mother-in-law for coming as soon as my mom had to leave.
They have both loved and served us selflessly as we find our new normal as a
family of four. We praise and thank the Maker for Jocelyn’s health and the joy
of welcoming this darling girl into our lives. We love you, Jocelyn Marie, and
can’t wait to watch you grow.
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| Brother Bear & Sister Bear |
