Welcome Jacob!

Yesterday, Friday September 17 at 2:33 am, our son Jacob was born. He was 25 weeks, 2 days gestational age, weighing 1 pound, 15 ounces, and 11 3/4 inches long. It has been quite a journey to this point, ending with both my greatest fear, and the greatest miracle and answer to prayer.

Thursday had been a great day on bed rest, I was feeling better and bleeding was light to medium, a huge improvement from earlier that week. I had two great visits with the kids that day, and my husband was with me all day long, working from my hospital room.

In the middle of the night, I felt some bleeding so woke up to use the bathroom. I felt lightheaded which can be normal after losing so much blood earlier in the week and being confined to my bed. But this time was different, much worse. I could not make it back to my bed and somehow ended up on the floor. I wanted to stay there but knew I had to make it to my bed to press the nurse call button. Somehow I did. Instantly 4 nurses descended on room (they must have heard the trouble in my voice). They said I was clammy and cold. I began to feel severe abdominal pain, they put me up on the baby monitor and I could not hear that familiar rhythmic beat. No baby's heartbeat, I was in pain and feeling sick and begged them to call my husband. I kept asking about the heartbeat, finally they said they found it, but it was 70 bpm instead of the usual 140. I knew it was time, they rushed me into the Operating Room. Everything happened so quickly, yet seemed to take forever. Jacob was delivered less than 20- 30 minutes from when I woke up.

On the way to the Operating room and later on the OR table waiting for general anesthesia, I was pretty calm, I had my eyes closed. I didn't ask questions but stayed still and did whatever they asked me to do and answered their questions. I was praying for Jacob, for him to hold on and make it through the rescue cesarean. Hours earlier when I fell asleep Thursday night, I prayed for God to teach me how to rely more on Him and Him alone. Up to that point, I had relied on God, but also on my husband, family, friends for strength. The encouragement and prayers literally around the world had sustained and helped me so much to this point. But now I was alone in a crowded and frantic Operating Room with only God to rely on. I felt peace and faith that Jacob would survive....

When I woke up, my husband was there as well as many doctors and nurses. I learned Jacob was ok and in the capable hands of the NICU team. But I also learned that we had survived my greatest fear of the last 7 weeks- I had an almost complete placenta abruption meaning the placenta had pretty much entirely separated from the uterine wall, which is one of the most dangerous pregnancy complications for mom and baby. Behind the placenta were several huge fist-sized clots, and my uterus was full of blood. The umbilical cord was wrapped around Jacob's neck 3 times. We were later told that Jacob was born completely unresponsive. But his NICU doctor said it was a textbook resuscitation that could have been videotaped for teaching purposes. He was pushing back tiny breaths on the bag by the time they were heading through the NICU doors. His doctor says he must not have been under very long because of how quickly he came back. Praise God. My blood count was "in the toilet," a direct quote from the doctor. I had every blanket from the 3rd floor on me to raise my body temperature while receiving the rest of my blood transfusion. I was described as looking grey, which sounds awfully strange. Everything had gone wrong, but we survived. An answer to prayer, God DID Protect.

I have so much to be thankful for. Being in the hospital: Jacob certainly would not have survived if this abruption had happened anywhere else. I could have died as well from all the blood loss. Waking up at 2 am and going to the bathroom: if I would have slept minutes longer or if I was still confined to bed, then I would never have noticed and reported anything to the nurses and it would have been too late for Jacob. Remember the creepy doctor that wanted me to stay in my bed? Well if he had his way, I would have stayed in bed bleeding rather than getting up to check on it, and would have never noticed the lightheadedness from the even more critical internal bleeding, and it would have been too late. Another doctor and the nurses repeatedly encouraged me to take sleeping pills that night, which for some reason I stubbornly refused -imagine if I was sleeping too soundly to wake up? I am also so thankful for reaching 25 weeks + 2 days to allow Jacob to mature that much more. Jacob is stable now, we know there will be good days and bad days along the way, but we know with continued faith, love and excellent care from a really great NICU team, he will continue to grow and develop and come home with his mom, dad, sister and brother who love him so much.

Thanks again to family and friends close and far for all the encouragement and prayers. You have touched and sustained us more than we could have ever imagined. Thanks to my sister who rushed to be at my side and of course my husband who was there when I woke up - they visited and touched Jacob to show him our love before I could visit him. My parents got the kids to school and both my sister and our sons friend hosted individual sleepovers for the kids so my husband could stay with me all day and all night to take care of me and nurse me back to health.

Thanks for continued support and prayers for Jacob - we expect him to be in the hospital until December, and will not be complete until we can bring him home.