Hayden's birth story

I am backtracking now...but this is where it all began. Hayden Reid arrived at 3:12 p.m. on Thursday, April 17. He weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz and was 21 inches long. I was scheduled to be induced the following Monday, but I had been having contractions for two weeks and was already dilated to a 3 and 60 percent effaced. My back was hurting so bad that I could hardly walk. Apparently he was turned funny and on a nerve. So, when we went to my last appointment on the 16th, my doctor asked if we wanted to move the induction up. He came back a couple minutes later and said we had the first slot the next morning! We were nervous and excited all at the same time. We called the family right away and told them he would be coming sooner than expected.

We arrived at L&D at 6:30 a.m. and I was in my room by 7. A little later, Dr. Broselow broke my water and started the pitocin. I had an epidural, but it didn't exactly work right so I felt most of the contractions and I could feel my legs. The morning kind of drug on, but once I was dilated to a 6 it went by really fast. 6 to 10 took less than an hour. I will never forget the overwhelming feeling of love and amazement when they laid Hayden on my chest. Absolutely nothing can compare to how I felt at that moment.

They discovered a fetal liver calcification when I was 20 weeks pregnant so they did bloodwork and ultrasounds on his head and liver to rule out any complications. Everything came back normal.

He was welcomed by lots of family and friends. We are truly blessed to be surrounded with such great people. We stayed in the hospital until Saturday. Connie, Christi, Pam, Macy, Jill and Blayne had decorated the whole house. Again, it was an overwhelming feeling when I realized that we left the house with two and came home with three!

When we went on Monday for his weight and color check, his bilirubin level was 22. Normal is 10. So he had to spend a week in his very own "tanning bed" which they brought to our house. This was a long and hard week for Garrett, my mom and I because we could only take him out to feed him or change him. I cried everyday when they called and the level hadn't gone down to 10 yet. When it finally went down on Friday, we celebrated by giving him a bath and getting him all dressed up even though we weren't going anywhere.

My mom stayed for ten days after he was born and when she left, it was one of the saddest moments of my life. I hate living three hours away from my entire family. I want to be able to share him with everyone all the time, not just on the weekends.

We got past the jaundice and then at his two week appt., Dr. Hanson felt hip clicks. He had an ultrasound on both hips which showed his left hip to be normal, but his right hip had dysplasia. So, for the next two weeks until we had an appointment with the pedi orthopedist, I researched and prepared myself for the worst, but hoping for the best. Treatment for hip dysplasia starts with a brace, but can result in surgery. I prayed continuously...all day everyday and I asked many others to pray for him. We saw the pedi orthopedist and he didn't find anything abnormal. We have a follow-up in August, but I feel confident that everything is going to be fine. Dr. Hanson didn't feel anymore clicks at his two month appointment.

He had an upper GI done when he was 7 weeks old to diagnose what I already knew was reflux. He drank the nasty barium like a champ. It took ALL day. Needless to say, he is now on baby Zantac and feels SO much better.

We saw the pedi gastroenterologist when he was two months old for a follow-up on his liver calcification and he got the all clear. I work at an amazing hospital that has physicians in many pediatric specialties and always feel comfortable knowing that he is receiving the best care there is.

After reading this, you might think, wow that baby has a lot of problems. Not so. He is healthy and happy. We are truly thankful and we don't take advantage of that. I realize there could be much worse things for us to have to worry about. God has blessed us and seen us through it all. I am a stronger person now and things have really been put into perspective for me. When people say that the love you have for a child is like nothing you've ever experienced before, they're not lying. I want to do everything in my power to make sure he is healthy, happy and safe. Garrett and I love him more than we ever thought possible and we are loving our new life with him!

Sorry this was so long...I had a lot of catching up to do.