Jensen's Birth Story

As everybody knows, our little guy, Jensen, made an early debut on February 5th. I was only 36 weeks along so the past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind. I was originally scheduled for c-section on February 23rd. That didn't quite happen....Here is the story of his birth.

Monday, January 26th
At 35 weeks along I made my first trip to Labor and Delivery for strong contractions. I was given a shot to stop labor from progressing. That week I made a couple of trips to my OB and was told to rest and take it easy. I was also put on a pill to take every 8 hours to continue to delay labor. I had really bad side effects with the pill but took it to keep that baby inside.

Tuesday, February 3rd
We got a 36 week sonogram to check out Jensen. He was already 6lbs 14 oz and everything looked safe internally. I was told I could stop the yucky pill, but to take it if regular contractions returned.

Wednesday, February 4th
Regular contractions returned. Surprise. I took the pill but this time it was not effective in stopping everything so I went back to Labor and Delivery. I wasn't dilated at all so the doctor didn't want to risk doing my c-section unnecessarily early. I was told I could either spend the night or go home with and take an Ambien to sleep through the night. I decided to go home. I did get some rest but did not sleep through the night. I was up with contractions and laboring from about 4-7AM, then I went back to sleep for a while.

Thursday, February 5th 
When I returned to my OB's office at 11AM. I had already been having contractions for 17 hours. At this point I was ready for this baby to get here, but I also knew it was still too early to try for a c-section. My doctor checked me out and this time I was dilated enough for her to decide that there was no turning back. She told me that we would be doing our c-section that day and to head back over to Labor and Delivery. Thankfully her office is located inside of the hospital so it wasn't far to go. When I got admitted they confirmed that I would in fact be having my c-section that day at 1:30PM.

It was very different to do a planned c-section than to go through labor and end up with a c-section, like I did with Eva. They got me changed, hooked up to an IV and then I actually walked into the operating room myself, with a nurse to help, wearing that awkward hospital gown and a blanket wrapped around me. And some snuggly hospital socks of course! I'm sure I was the image of fashion. I was honestly very anxious about the whole process of getting prepped for the c-section. When I had Eva, my epidural was wearing off and I ended up having to go under complete anesthesia so I wasn't sure what to expect this time around. Weirdest thing - when I walked into the FREEZING operating room they were playing some crazy tunes. My nurse, Nancy, was really comforting and just hugged me and assured me I was doing well while they gave me my spinal tap. She was so fantastic and really helped keep me calm. Then they called Ryan in to stay beside me and within a few minutes I heard those first baby cries!

Jensen Bruce Bradley was born at 1:53 PM, weighing 7 lbs, 6 oz and measuring 19 1/2 inches. Being awake during a c-section was such a surreal experience. It is strange to be awake and coherent but at the same time not feel everything. Almost like a weird trance. But I remember the moment I heard him cry and getting to see him and have him on my chest for a few minutes before he was taken away.

Since he was born at 36 weeks we were warned that it was very likely he would end up in NICU, and sure enough he was taken there right away for premature lung disease. After I was fully out of recovery I was able to be wheeled into the NICU on my recovery bed and actually got about an hour to hold him. I didn't know that would be the longest time I would get with him for a few days. I am so thankful that I got that hour to snuggle him and kiss him and just hold his brand new body against me.

Friday, February 6th - Monday, February 9th
I spent these days in my own hospital room. My days were a blur of taking pain medication, trying to sleep and recover, and eventually getting to make lots of trips back and forth to the NICU. There were some initial days when all we could do was just make short trips where I couldn't even touch him yet because his condition was too sensitive. It broke my heart to see my little baby all wrapped up and not be able to touch him. He had a feeding tube, an oxygen tube, respiratory and heart monitors and an IV going through his head, which seemed so sad but they said was actually more comfortable for him than the arm IV so that he could move his arm.  It wasn't until Saturday evening that I was actually allowed to hold him again, and even then it had to be limited. By Monday he had improved enough that I finally got to hold him and bottle feed him. We were lucky to have some really great nurses for both me and Jensen. I sure appreciate all those post-partum nurses who took care of me and all of the sweet nurses who looked over my baby in the hours when I couldn't be right there. Leaving Jensen behind when we left the hospital was so extremely hard, but I had to just keep telling myself that our baby would be home soon.

Tuesday, February 10th - Thursday, February 12th
We made twice a day trips to see Jensen in the NICU. I am very grateful for everybody who helped take care of Eva so that we could go see Jensen. Having to divide my time, energy, and emotions between the three year old who needed me at home and the tiny newborn waiting for me in the NICU was really rough. I have so much empathy for anybody who has ever had to leave a baby in the hospital, and even more so for anyone who had to keep loving and caring for other kids at home. Wow. It is more difficult than you can imagine and your heart is so torn. And we only had to do this for 3 full days - I can't imagine struggling through this for multiple weeks or even months. We were literally PRAISING GOD when we got the call on Wednesday that we could plan on Jensen coming home on Friday.

Friday, February 13th
We took our little guy home!!! It was such a sweet homecoming for Eva to FINALLY get to see her little brother. Life at home has been exhausting but I wouldn't trade it. As tired as I am in most moments, nothing is better than looking down and seeing my two children nestled in my arms together.

Jensen is now doing great! I hope to blog again soon (hopefully in the next week) but he is healthy and so far such an easy going baby. He nurses or takes a bottle about every 3 hours and mostly sleeps the rest of the day. He cries when he is hungry or when we change him, other than that he is so calm. That is what we need in our home! Really, an answered prayer. Lots of people have asked how I am feeling....while I am still quite sore from the surgery, I honestly feel 10 times better than I did for most of my pregnancy! Thank you to EVERYBODY who prayed for our family and for Jensen. I want to write another post about the power of everybody's prayer, so for now I will just say thank you.