Jaxon was born on November 24th at 5:01pm weighing 5 pounds and 5 ounces. We woke up that morning and had no idea that we were going to have a baby that day! Because my ultrasounds were showing that Jaxon was extremely small (less than the 5th percentile), my Dr. had referred me to OSU for a more in depth ultrasound. So on November 24th, Jacob, Henry, and I drove up to OSU expecting just an ultrasound, but left knowing we were going to be having a baby a couple hours later!
The staff at OSU was amazing; during my ultrasound, the tech was so nice and explained to me what she was looking for and what she was seeing. After it was over, she went to get the Dr. to go over the ultrasound with me. I totally expected for him to just come in and confirm that Jaxon was small, but that everything was fine.
Instead, he came in and told me that I had what is called placental back flow. Basically any time Jaxon's heart relaxed, the blood flow in the umbilical cord decreased. Which is most likely why he was so small, but I also tend to have small babies; Henry was only 6 pounds and 1 ounce. After explaining the issue, the Dr asked me when I had last ate which was at 7am that morning. He said "Okay, I recommend delivery 8 hours after 7am" I was like, "What??? Are you sure??"
I immediately started shaking! Partly from excitement, but mostly from being nervous. I'd had a csection before, but I had a lot more knowledge this time around and I was worried about Jaxon being too early - I was only 37 weeks. Because of COVID, Jacob and Henry had to sit in the car. So I was blowing up Jacob's phone saying "we are having a baby today!!!" After talking with my Dr., OSU sent me home to finish packing and then we headed to FMC in Lancaster around 1:30pm.
My experience with my csection this time was pretty similar to when I had Henry, but this time I asked for the clear drape, so Jacob and I were able to see Jaxon being pulled out! I'm so glad we made that decision because it's a moment I'll never forget. All the nurses and doctors were phenomenal during my surgery and after!
Later that night, one of the nurses took Jaxon to the nursery for his hearing test and noticed that his arms and legs were blue and his temp and oxygen levels were extremely low. They put him in the warmer and hooked him up to machines and an IV with sugar water as he also wasn't eating well. Because Jaxon was early term, he didn't know how to eat and some passages in his lungs that were supposed to be closed, were still open (I don't remember what the Pediatrician said this was called. I was super out of it and it was a lot of information to process). They also thought that he might have an infection and was tested for COVID along with being put on antibiotics.
The COVID test came back negative, but the Pediatrician also said that to her, Jaxon was acting like a 35 week old, not a 37 week old. It was really hard for Jacob and I to see him hooked up to all those machines. I felt like he should be with me in our hospital room, but instead he was stuck in the nursery. I know he was in the best hands, but it was still hard. There for a little bit, they were even talking about sending him to Children's because he just wasn't understanding how to eat and his oxygen levels kept dropping.
We spent as much time with him as possible and we were able to hold and feed him. The nurses and Pediatricians in the nursery were so good at letting us know about any changes and taking care of him. By Thursday, he was eating more and his oxygen levels stayed normal, so we were able to have him back with us late that night. We were finally discharged on Saturday morning!
It was a rough beginning and very stressful, but Jaxon has been doing so well! He is now 5 pounds, 15 ounces and eats like a champ. His big brother adores him and the dogs tolerate him. We love him so much and he has already brought us so much joy!
