So this is long overdue and it's going to be a long post. Mostly for me. I wll chronicle everything that has happened over the last five days so that I have a record of how I was feeling when everything went down. Don't worry, you'll get a full update at the end.
SUNDAY, JULY 1
At about 3am Sunday morning I woke up with contractions. They were about six minutes apart, so I thought that if I could just go back to sleep then they would've away. I wasn't ready to have this baby yet, it was too soon. So back to sleep I went. I woke back up around 7:45am, which is about normal for me, and I was still having contractions. They were 6-10 minutes apart so I knew it wasn't time to do anything yet. I kept drinking water and Gatorade hoping that if I got hydrated then the contractions would stop. No dice. Jayson and I dropped Jeffrey off with my parents and headed to the hospital around noon. By the time I got there, the contractions were 2-5 minutes apart. I told my mom a few days prior that this baby wasn't going to wait and I was about to be proven right. There was one major problem though: absolutely no beds in any NICU anywhere in the city. Which meant that I would have to be transferred to another city to deliver Jaxson. This possibility scared me to death. I didn't want to go to another city where I didn't know the doctors! I wanted to stay here and be comforted knowing that Jaxson was in the hands of people I trusted.
Well, the doctors weren't too keen on transferring me either, and they weren't thrilled about Jaxson being born so early. So they started an IV with some medication that would stop the contractions if I were dehydrated. That was a miserable failure. I knew I wasn't dehydrated and so did the nurse, but we tried it anyway. When it didn't work, the doctor ordered a shot of tributolene. That stuff started to slow things down, but not enough to satisfy the doctors. They wanted to give me a shot of dilaudid. I hadnodesire to have that in my system or in my baby's system. The nurse said that I could refuse it, but that it was extremely dangerous for me to deliver my baby right then because Riverside was not equipped to deal with a baby like Jaxson and transferring him to another city could kill him. It was safer to take the drug, so through tears and guilt I let them put the dilaudid in my IV.
The dilaudid did the trick. No more pain, contractions slowing down and spreading apart. Then, miracle of miracles, they told me that three beds had opened up at children's. S if I went back into labor when the drugs wore off, I wouldn't have to go anywhere. I stayed for a 23 hour observation, but ended up being sent home.
Sunday was a day of emotions. I was not ready to have Jaxson, and since I never dilated he apparently wasn't quite ready to come. He had me scared to death that day, and I knew when I left on Monday that I would be back before the 17th to have him.
MONDAY and TUESDAY
We waited three hours after being told I could go home before I was actually able to leave. It was right before lunchtime that I was told I could go home, and apparently someone dropped the ball somewhere and I didn't get out of there Neil 3pm. I was feeling better, but still having contractions anytime I moved around. So when we got home I just layed down and took it easy. Contractions still came and went, but nothing consistent or painful enough to warrant going back to the hospital.
Tuesday was more of the same. I took it easy all day. I had an appointment with the neonatologist at Riverside that day to discuss the process at birth that they would go through. God must have been looking out for us because the doctor did not have any copies of Dr. Weller's reports. So he knew nothing of the heart isssue. He was not happy, and needless to say, neither was I. So it's a good thing Jaxson didn't come on Sunday because the doctors would have been clueless. At that appointment, the doctor has the reports from all of my ultrasounds. He proceeds to tell me that Jaxson's head is measuring small, which is a symptom of Trisomy 18. Awesome, so we're back to that. No one told me this up to that point, so I was thankful that he brought it to my attention. We weren't out of the woods with T18, and now it wouldn't be a shock if he was born with it. Something else they failed to tell me was that Jaxson had a cyst on his kidney. It as a very small cyst and likely nothing to worry about, but I still wasn't told.
I was livid when I left that appointment. Thankful that the doctor had been so open with me, but livid at the lack of communication. The neonatology unit should have had every report ever done on Jaxson, and I should have been told if there was anything else potentially wrong with him. I went home stressed and mad.
After I got home, I layed down again because I was starting to get uncomfortable and have some contractions. Jayson had to go to work for a few hours, so it was j ust me and Jeffrey. We just hung out and watched tv until my mom texted me to see if I wanted to get dinner with her and dad. A pregnant lady never turns down free food, so of course I would go. We went to Buffalo Wild Wings where the hostess sat us at the farthest table from the doors and bathroom, and what also seemed to be the hottest area of the building. Oh well, we sucked it up and ate. Jayson met up with us in time to enjoy some jalapeño bites and a beer before we all headed home. It was a nice way to end an otherwise stressful day.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 4
Wednesday was a big day. I woke up at 7:41am with severe contractions 6 minutes apart and I was bleeding. Not a lot, but enough for me to raise my eyebrows. I waited. The last thing I wanted was to get to the hospital only to have them send me home again. These contractions were pretty severe, though. I could barely breathe through them and Jeffrey was really worried about his mommy. Around 1 we decided to head to my parents. I figured that I could lay down there and Jeffrey could play with Lexi. That way if we needed to leave, Jeffrey was already in good hands. Staying at my parents lasted all of 20 minutes. My contractions were getting worse and closer together. I had no choice. It to cross my fingers and hope that I didn't get sent home again. And thank God I didn't! When we got there, the nurse did things a little out of order on purpose because of the amount of pain I was in. So she checked me before doing much else. I was 3-4cm dilated! Finally, I was in what they call "active" labor. My Sunday labor wasn't considered active because I never dilated. Now we were getting somewhere. And the doctors didn't mess around. Once they decided I was having this baby, it was a whirlwind of action and nurses and doctors all over the place. At that point I knew my pain would be over soon and I was so thankful that everyone was moving so fast. My mom got there just intime to give me a quick kiss before they got me on the table. I texted m family at 1:28 that we were headed to Riverside. Jaxson Douglas Burks was born at 3:51pm. He was 5 pounds, 10 ounces and 18.5 inches long. His head was 23cm.
The doctors worked their magic on me and got me back together while the neonatologist worked on Jaxson. Then he came over to talk to us. Jaxson has a hole in the roof of his mouth, he said. The back of his head is flat. His ears are a little big. His color looks okay, but we're starting a medication to keep the opening between the two sides of his heart open. Dad can come see him and take pictures now. Jayson went to see our baby while I layed strapped to the table, tears streaming. The nurse anesthesiologist wiped my tears. Jayson came back to my side while they wrapped Jaxson in a blanket and brought him to see me. I got to kiss his little face and touch him before they took him to the NICU. After they finished putting me back together, I was taken to a recovery room. I wasn't allowed to go to my room until I could move my legs and hips. It only took 45 minutes and I was ready to go.
I was in my room for maybe 20 minutes when they brought Jaxson by before they took him to children's. I still couldn't hold him because he was in a portable NICU bed and attached to too many things. I couldn't move very well still because of my soreness, but I got to hold his hand and rub his belly before they took him away. Jayson left shortly after that to take Jeffrey to his other grandmas house and then go to Children's to talk to the doctors. Sara and Lexi left shortly after Jayson did, and my second parents came to see me. Amanda, Mary and Shel didn't stay too long, but it was nice to see them and have some additional support after such a stressful day. When they left, dad went to Children's to be a second set of ears for Jayson and mom stayed here to keep me company. We didn't find out a whole lot that night, so I went to sleep after my mom left and I knew Jayson was handling tings for Jaxson,
This brings us to yesterday and today. I'm going to clump them into one as its been a lot to take in during a short period.
THURSDAY and FRIDAY
Thursday was a day for tests. Bloodwork. ECGs. Monitors. Doctors in and out to pike and prod Jaxson. Me basically left alone all day with the exception of Amanda coming to visit and a short stint with my parents. Jayson came by in the evening to keep me company for a little bit too, but most of the attention was on Jaxson. But that was okay, he needed the attention. The days test results told us that Jaxson's heart wasn't as bad as we thought. The left side is slightly smaller, but it's functioning correctly. His aorta is thin, so they kept the valve between the two sides of his heart open for the time being. His brain scan came back fine, but it looks like he'll need an additional scan to see if some of his skull bones have fused together early. He has a small cyst on his kidney that's not affecting anything so they aren't doing anything about it. His skull and cleft palate are not emergencies either, so doing anything about them will take place later. We should have the chromosome testing back on Monday and the genetic testing in a couple of weeks. First and foremost, let's focus on the heart.
Which brings us to Friday, today. This morning at 6am they took Jaxson off of his heart medication to allow the opening between the two sides of his heart to close. He is being monitored very closely. If he has any reaction whatsoever, they start him back on the medication and we talk about surgery. If not, we discuss other things. As of right now, I was discharged and went to see my baby boy. I got lucky and they let me hold him for awhile. Then they moved him to a different pod and I started to feel sick so we left. Jeffrey and Buckeye were extremely happy to see me tonight. Hopefully I feel better tomorrow so I can go back. Oh and so far so good without the heart medicine! Fingers crossed and prayers it stays that way so we can bring him home soon!
In closing, I want to thank everyone for their continued support and prayers. We could not do this without any of you! I wish I could thank everyone individually, but we have been so overwhelmed that it would be impossible. And that means more to me than anything. So thanks. And keep those prayers coming!
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