You’re Never Prepared For Parenthood
We took the classes online, due to COVID-19, and read up on multiple books and online resources. People gave us tips, ideas and suggestions. We knew what the future entailed for us with lack of sleep, lots of changing diapers and feeding Nova. However, you’re never prepared for parenthood.
Nova was born on May 18, 2021. He is a bright, shining, champion of a baby. Taylor and I could not be more proud of our little one. This all being said, we are till in the care of Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine.
First off, Nova is going to be fine. I don’t want to get too personal about Taylor’s medical history, but she has a blood disorder that was passed down to our son. We were aware of the possibility prior to trying for a baby that this could happen. However, Taylor has dealt with the disorder her entire life and she turned our perfect (well in my eyes). His blood disorder, in addition to him being born at 37 weeks, has led to some complications with Nova trying to expel bilirubin from his body. Therefor, our son has had to be under special lights to help the process and has his blood tested every 12 hours. He is a trooper and is progressing.
Our EMMC journey has included stress, lack of sleep, room changes, MANY nurses, tons of trips to the cafeteria, and did I say stress?
We started out in the delivery room, obviously. After Taylor did everything she could to push, she moved to the Operating Room for her c-section. Following the birth of Nova, we were moved to the postpartum room. Our little family spent the first night in that room, it was beautiful. However, in the morning the nurses moved baby Nova to the NICU to better serve his time at the hospital.
Taylor and I spent Wednesday and Thursday night in the postpartum room, visiting Nova for feedings and family time. Friday afternoon came and they were ready to discharge Mom, so we were on the move. Our family was once again in the same room, NICU, for Friday night. That night was the roughest for our family. Taylor and I barely slept, Nova was irritated with the lights and it just was a test on our will, but we made it through.
Saturday was the day we were finally hoping to leave, but his numbers went backwards again and needed to spend a bit more time at EMMC. After much discussion with the nurses and ourselves, we opted to go home around 9pm on Saturday and spend a good night sleep in our bed while the great people in the NICU lended a hand feeding and changing Nova. It was needed.
Sunday, the levels looked good enough to remove the his feeding tube (was just incase he didn’t eat enough, which he was doing fine at) and again moved us. This time back to the postpartum wing. He was doing well enough and they were running out of room on the NICU floor, so it was best. Then at 5:00pm, he had the lights removed to see how his body would handle no lights.
Monday, we are still here. Waiting for the Doctor to check-in with us and explain the next steps. Maybe we can go home? Might have to be here one more night?
I’ll be honest, I knew becoming a parent was not going to make my stress go down, or even stay the same. I knew it was going to give me more stress. I am okay with that. However, a week in a hospital with your son being tested and cared for is not something I want to do again. I know he is going to be great. He is going to be able to come home soon, just a lot to deal with all of a sudden.
So, as I mentioned at the top. You’re never prepared for parenthood. You might think what the movies show is how things go, it’s not. Anything can happen, big or small, and you have to roll with the punches. Having faith is all you can hope for during these times.
I am glad I have a partner in Taylor. She is so strong. I am so freaking proud of how she is handling all of this and how she is already as a mom. Nova could not ask for better parent in her and I cannot wait to see what she continues to do as a mom. I would NOT be able to parent without her. She is my rock and is now Nova’s rock.
We are excited to bring our boy out the front door of EMMC and to see his home. We are excited to have our parents, brothers, sisters, in-laws, grandparents and friends meet him. Let’s hope it’s today, Monday, but if not, we’ll figure it out.
UPDATE: We were discharged on Monday afternoon.
