A 180 degree turnaround: The birth of Jordan

At 36 weeks and 3 days, I had a scheduled checkup with my doctor and he was not happy with what he saw.

My blood pressure for the last two weeks had been very high and was climbing. My feet were swollen. I was putting on an abnormal amount of weight. My doctor thought I had the start of gestational diabetes. The medications he had given me were not doing what he had hoped, so he ordered me to stop working until further notice, diagnosing me with hypertension. My C-section was scheduled for the following Tuesday, which meant I had four days of strict bed rest and more medications to take.

I knew I had to listen to my doctor. I wanted to make it to 37 weeks to give my baby a better chance. I was on high alert that if anything happened over the weekend, I was to go the hospital immediately!

Bed rest seemed to do the trick. Things were working for me and the much needed time off my feet and TLC helped. My swelling went down considerably and my blood pressure normalized. I was off to the hospital on Tuesday morning. At the hospital, I was monitored for a few hours and the baby’s heartbeat was strong.

I kept watching the clock—it felt like forever waiting for 1:00 p.m. The time came and I was all prepped and ready to go. My hubby was super excited and oh-so-handsome in his blue scrubs. I was given a spinal block which worked its way quickly through my body. The most awful feeling about it was not being able to move my toes. I tried so hard!

Before I knew it, I heard the doctor pulling the baby out and the suction noises started. I waited to hear my baby’s first cry and he did cry quite a bit. It was sweet music to my ears—I had to fight back the tears. My hubby was with the baby taking photos. I asked, “Does he have hair? For all the heart burn I had, my baby surely must have some hair!”

The nurse brought my little boy to me. He was wrapped up in a green towel with only his little face showing. I gave him a quick kiss on his forehead. I remember so vividly how warm he felt. The feeling lasted just a few seconds and then he was whisked away.

I was in the recovery room for only a short period of time, not as long as I had been with my two previous C-sections. Knowing what was going on allowed me not to stress myself silly. I got to my room and settled in. Now was the wait. I so badly wanted to see my baby boy and no one told me anything.

Then my hubby delivered the worst news ever. Jordan was taken to NICU for observations as he struggled to breathe. The doctor needed to do x-rays to check his lungs. My poor little boy was born with water on his lungs. I was absolutely devastated. How could this happen? He was put on machines to help him breathe.

The doctor informed me Jordan would be there for a few days to recover and that this was quite common in C-section babies. But to me, this was unheard of. I’d done so much reading during my pregnancy and never came across this. I felt terrible. What could I have done to change this, what did I do wrong?

The worst feeling in the world is for a mother not to see her baby. I couldn’t walk yet and I was still waiting for the drugs to wear off. I made friends with one of the nurses and she promised to help me get up at 4:00 a.m. to see him.

It was strange walking through NICU because I didn’t know which baby was mine—I had to ask the nurse. Most moms get to hold their little one after birth, I couldn’t. Jordan was lying there so peacefully, but he was a shocking sight to my eyes. He was so full of pipes, tubes and monitors. It was so overwhelming I had to fight back the tears. All I could do was ask God to heal my little boy. I laid my hands on my son and prayed.

I didn’t get to hold him in my arms until the third day. He smelled so beautiful. Babies have their own special scent like puppies do. As hard as I tried to not show the staff my sadness, I couldn’t help it. After every visit to the bathroom, I cried my eyes out.

Jordan got jaundice and reflux on top of everything else that was happening. He stayed 10 days in NICU. I eventually had to plead my case for him to come home. I was prepared to do anything, even if it meant syringe feeding him, as he was tube fed and not taking to the bottle or breast.

As miracle would have it, Jordan made a superb recovery, and when he got home he made a 180 degree turnaround. He drank from the bottle and took to breast feeding with a little patience. There is nothing like a mother’s love and home environment to get a baby on the right track!

Jordan-Lee Ezra was born on the 5th of April, 2011, weighing 3.08kg and 50cm long.

Send us your birth story! Whether you had a home birth, hospital birth, 37-hour labor or emergency C-section, we’d love to read the tale of your little one’s grand entrance. Write up your birth story (click here for tips on getting started) and email it, along with a few photos, to birthstory@pnmag.com. We’ll share it on our Birth Day blog and may even print it in an upcoming issue!