The miracle of his birth was overshadowed somewhat by the miracles we were to witness in the neo natal intensive care unit in the coming days.
All throughout my daughter-in-law's pregnancy, I had a strange feeling of anxiety and concern that I just couldn't seem to shake. When she went into labor 6 weeks early, I wasn't completely surprised. I think my earlier feelings of uneasiness along with what I call intuition, and really, many of my life experiences helped to guide me through what would be a scary couple of months.
J.J. was born a little after 3 am. He weighed in at 5 lbs., 6oz. 21 inches long. Nice size for a preemie. He took a big breath, and let out a scream, and then quiet.
His underdeveloped lungs were incapable of doing their job, and he struggled and fought to live. His tiny body and beautiful face obscured and masked with the ugly necessities of life sustaining clinical apparatus of one kind or another. All unfamiliar and foreign in the beginning, but as we began to make sense of the structure that cocooned our helpless grandson the more we embraced the technology that was helping him to live. Time seemed to stand still. For every step forward, seems he took 2 or 3 backward. His breathing would improve, then after a short time, he would fight for oxygen again, and the cycle continued. Watching his little body in constant retractions as he fought to breathe was terrible. Then, typical of preemies, he couldn't maintain his body temperature. Calorie expenditure became a huge concern as he used up precious energy to stay warm once he was able to come home.
He is thriving now, and growing like nobody's business. I know that there are lots of parents and grandparents out there that have been through the struggles of having a baby arrive too early and all that comes with that. I am surprised at how many preemie babies there seem to be, and in absolute awe of the lifesaving techniques that can save even the tiniest and most helpless of infants.
So, I'm here just taking a minute to catch up, catch my breath, and be ever grateful that my darling grandson was able to catch his, so to speak!
I am so proud of my son and daughter in law for drawing strength from one another, and getting through this. Not always in one piece, as there were plenty of meltdowns, but taking it one day at a time. Thanks to all of our family and friends, including many here at yourhub.com for your love, light and wishes.