Jonas' Birth

Hey all! Most of you know from Facebook that Tuckling #2 was born last Thursday. I wanted to give the full story here:

Well, first of all, my due date was November 6th. Sydney had come a week late and so I wasn't holding my breath that the little man would come before November 6th. I hoped he would come in October because that would mean only paying COBRA insurance for the month of October and not November too but whatever. Sydney was a C-section and I desperately wanted to try VBAC (vaginal birth after Cesarean) which my doctor was all for. I had an appt, last Tuesday (Oct 12th) and I was 1 cm. I was happy with that and thought, "Maybe he'll come in a couple of weeks, that would be great". I was also tested at this time for Group B Strep- which I did not think I would have.

Just so you know the timing, my sister Drea was planning on having a baby shower for me on Sat. Oct. 16th. Again, we all thought that I had more time.

Thursday I laid down for a nap. I was kind of in and out but do recall a few painful cramps while I was napping. I had had some in the past week which I knew was normal. (Oh, and by the way, on Oct 14th, I was 36 weeks 5 days). After I got up from the nap and gave the kiddos snacks (recall, I watch my niece and nephew along with Sydney), I leaked. I went and changed my pants and talked to Brian about it. I told him I thought I most likely just had some incontinence. He seriously stated that my water probably broke. But he seemed so calm. Then, I leaked again. This time, Brian went and got my grandmother. She asked how much I leaked and suggested we go see my doctor. I called my doctor's office and they told me to go to the hospital! I was shocked! so my grandmother took me to the hospital, I called my sister and she was on her way home to watch the kids and Brian packed our hospital bag (Two nights before Brian had suggested we pack our hospital bag and I laughed at him).

They gave me a room at the hospital but I had not pre-admitted myself (another lack of preparation piece on our part!) so my grandma admitted me while the nurse asked me 100 questions all about if I was abused at home, my nursing preferences, my drug and health history, etc. After my grandma got me admitted, they started monitoring me and I was having contractions. Jonas' heart rate however was at 180 steady- contraction or not. I got checked in at the hospital at about 4pm. At about 5:30 maybe, the doctor on call came in. What do you know, it wasn't the doctor that I had all my prenatal care with (same thing happened with Sydney). He did not want to try VBAC on me since he did not have a note from my doctor and he noticed the baby's heart rate was bad. Also, it turned out I was Group B strep positive. The doctor checked me and Jonas was really high and I was still 1 cm. Lying in bed, my contractions got to the point where they were 2 minutes apart and very painful. But the doctor was saying I was getting a C-section so I just bore with it for a while. Sometime after 6pm, I was getting a spinal block put in. Brian wasn't there to help me but I managed. Miraculously, when I sat up, I had no contractions through the whole spinal block procedure. Stupid bed.

Anyways, they start cutting into me and I can feel Jonas up by my ribs. The doctor said there was a lot of scar tissue. Then, the nurse and anesthesiologist were pushing on the top of my stomach. Turned out that Jonas was so high, the doctor could not reach him. They pushed so hard I was sore later on. I heard Jonas' cry and Brian and I looked at each other and smiled. It was such a sweet little cry. The first comment I heard from the doctor was, "He has a big head for a 36-week baby!". Turns out, Jonas Kirk Tuck was 7lbs 2 oz and 20.5 inches long. That is a good size for a pre-mature baby (which he is technically since he was more than 3 weeks early). They washed him off and Brian held him for a minute before they took him to the nursery and Brian stayed with me while they stitched me up. I was so sore from where they pushed on me, I was moaning. It ached! Because of all the scar tissue, the doctor used metal staples on me and I have to say they look pretty freaky.

Anyways, shortly after getting into the nursery, nurses noticed that Jonas was breathing fast, so he was admitted to the NICU. One nurse told me that was common and he would probably be there only 24-48 hours. He was breathing at about 100x per minute and the normal range is 30-60x per minute. Because they wanted to reduce his stress, I was not allowed to hold him. I was wheeled to him Friday morning and could only look on as Jonas had all kinds of wires strapped to him and a IV in his hand. I was told not to even touch him. That was kind of hard on me. He was not positive for Group B Strep so they were not really sure what was wrong with him.

By Sunday. I was discharged from the hospital and Sunday evening, Jonas' breathing had improved enough for me to hold him. Brian's parents came into town Saturday as well and got to hold him Sunday night, too. I started pumping Friday morning and sending my colostrum/milk to the NICU which he started receiving via feeding tube on Saturday. He is now bottle-feeding. They did an xray of his lungs this morning and discovered some pneumonia and so they are finishing up two more days of antibiotics and he should be home Thursday!

It has been hard but I have appreciated all the support I have here, Brian, my sister Andrea and her husband, my grandparents and Brian's parents. Thank you everyone for your well wishes and prayers.

PS- The name Jonas mainly came to us from the Weezer song "My Name is Jonas" but it means "a gift from God". Kirk is the name of Brian's late brother, who passed away 4 years ago.

And a huge shout-out to my husband Brian. He was so amazing! He packed things I had not thought of, he was so calm and collected through the whole thing which really helped me to stay calm. He helped me out in the hospital without complaint even when I was waking him up every 3 hours to help me pump. He helped me shower and put on my underwear, fetched me whatever juice I wanted, gave me full reign over the tv and countless other things. He even went home for a few hours and helped clean up our room so it was so beautiful and spotless when I got home! He was super amazing and I am so happy to have him for a husband. I don't know what I would have done without him. I love you babe!

Better pictures to come soon.