Jarrett's Story

I am blessed with a wonderful husband and when he broached the subject of having children and how we wanted to raise them, I knew he would be a wonderful father. Amazingly, we became pregnant right away. From the day he found out that we were expecting, my husband became so excited that, on that same night he began cleaning and remodeling our spare room for the nursery. Every day, I was filled with more and more love for him and for our baby boy. I looked forward to the day that I would see the two of them together for the first time.

Everything progressed normally and time passed quickly. I had my baby shower during my 28th week and was poked fun at for doing it so early but I believe in being prepared! By my 30th week I was slowing down and experiencing swelling. At my 32nd week, my doctor told me he wanted to keep a close eye on me in case I was developing pre-eclampsia, but assured me that he was prepared to handle it and it was nothing to worry about. At the end of my 33rd week I had to be escorted to our company's nurses' station, and after checking my blood pressure, found that it had skyrocketed.

I somehow convinced the doctor that I could work as long as I took three 20-minute naps a day at work. As the following week progressed, I became increasingly tired and swollen. There was no denying that the pre-eclampsia had developed. At the end of my 34th week the doctor said I was finished working and had to go on bedrest, making sure that I lay on my left side as much as possible. My husband was so supportive and worried! He took extra special care of me during these last few weeks and made calls to our parents and neighbors to check in on me during the day. The first week I was on bedrest, I didn't get much rest. I spent the week running back and forth to the lab to deliver and let them collect various samples for a multitude of tests. My doctor told me I may be out in the hospital by that coming Friday for observation.

That Friday came and so did the call. I was to head to the hospital and stay there overnight. My husband took the day off to be home when I got the call, as he was quite worried about the baby and me by that time. We packed a small overnight bag and I threw the diaper bag and carseat in the car "just in case." When we got to the hospital, they checked me in, took some more samples and we waited. Then everything happened so quickly!

The nurse rushed in, saying, "You're going to have a baby tonight." My husband and I looked at each other in disbelief. I was only in my 36th week!

The staff at the hospital assured us everything would be ok, and that a NICU team would be waiting to perform a health check of the baby as soon as he was born. I also had a small window of time to deliver in. My doctor was on call from midnight to 8 a.m., and if I hadn't delivered by 8, I would have another doctor assist in the delivery. It was a relief to both my husband and I that my doctor actually came to the hospital at midnight to sleep until I was either ready to deliver or his time expired.

Luckily, my labor, which was induced at 6 p.m. on Friday, was over by 5:04 a.m. Saturday. The time between the induction and starting to push seemed such a long time, and then in less than an hour of pushing I delivered our beautiful son, Jarrett Michael. We were awestruck and in love at the first sight of him. The only "obstacle" was the NICU clearing his health. After an anxious passing of several minutes, they cleared him and gave him to my husband to hold. The sight of the two of them together, each regarding the other quietly, wide-eyed, and with equal awe with my husband's love clearly reflected on his face was well-worth all of the anxiety, swelling, and health risks imposed on my body to deliver this little miracle to me and my husband!