Jasper
|
|
Jasper was born at 29+6 in August 2013. Over a week before my waters started to leak, I thought I had bladder weakness, as it got worse I thought I had a UTI but the antibiotics didn’t help and I started to get green discharge. We went into the maternity unit where they found my waters had broken and the baby was breach and in distress.
I was prepped for theatre but was able to be awake with my husband with me. We had a scary moment when the doctor felt it was taking too long to get him out but then at 9.41 am he was born with a small cry. I watched as a team of nurses and doctors worked on my tiny baby. They brought him over for me to see before racing him through to the NICU with his daddy following. In recovery I was given a photo before being taken to see him in my bed.
He was ventilated self extubating at 9 hours old but he wasn’t able to breathe properly on his own. He was put on vapotherm having rejected c-pap. He had apnoea and was put on caffeine to help him remember to breath. Developed reflux and had frequent bradys and desats. As well as low levels in various minerals.
At 3 days old I got to hold him. We soon got into a routine of days in the nicu and the constant expressing for me determined to feed my milk to my baby. Kangaroo care became a constant, Jasper was always in my top as I read to him or snuggled up with his Daddy.
He was in ICU for 8 days, HDU for 11 days and SCBU for 16 days. Suddenly at just over a month old we were preparing for home and rooming in.
The Neonatal Unit not only looked after Jasper but helped us as well. Andy had never held a newborn or changed a nappy suddenly he had to do all this around wires and lines. The nurses were always there to lend a helping and supportive hand.
We now have a lively, determined and strong willed toddler who lets nothing faze him. At 22 months he’s still petite but that seems to only add to his speed. Everyday there’s something new which is great fun.
UPDATE - MARCH 2019
Jasper is now at school. Being born in August it meant he was expected to start a year earlier then he would have had he arrived on his October due date. His development has clearly followed his due date. We decided to send him to school with his due date cohort. Due to recent changes in Hertfordshire this was straight forward we simply applied the following year and kept him at his school nursery for an additional year. He is now thriving in reception slowly learning to read and write whilst enjoying playing and making friends. Waiting so he went in with the year he should have been in was the best decision we could have made for him and he will excel rather then struggle further down the path.
Recently he has suffered with leg pains which seems to be caused by low vitamin d levels and has a heighten awareness of physical pain. But on the whole he is a happy healthy five year old who likes nothing more then to ride his bike as far and as fast as he can.
I was prepped for theatre but was able to be awake with my husband with me. We had a scary moment when the doctor felt it was taking too long to get him out but then at 9.41 am he was born with a small cry. I watched as a team of nurses and doctors worked on my tiny baby. They brought him over for me to see before racing him through to the NICU with his daddy following. In recovery I was given a photo before being taken to see him in my bed.
He was ventilated self extubating at 9 hours old but he wasn’t able to breathe properly on his own. He was put on vapotherm having rejected c-pap. He had apnoea and was put on caffeine to help him remember to breath. Developed reflux and had frequent bradys and desats. As well as low levels in various minerals.
At 3 days old I got to hold him. We soon got into a routine of days in the nicu and the constant expressing for me determined to feed my milk to my baby. Kangaroo care became a constant, Jasper was always in my top as I read to him or snuggled up with his Daddy.
He was in ICU for 8 days, HDU for 11 days and SCBU for 16 days. Suddenly at just over a month old we were preparing for home and rooming in.
The Neonatal Unit not only looked after Jasper but helped us as well. Andy had never held a newborn or changed a nappy suddenly he had to do all this around wires and lines. The nurses were always there to lend a helping and supportive hand.
We now have a lively, determined and strong willed toddler who lets nothing faze him. At 22 months he’s still petite but that seems to only add to his speed. Everyday there’s something new which is great fun.
UPDATE - MARCH 2019
Jasper is now at school. Being born in August it meant he was expected to start a year earlier then he would have had he arrived on his October due date. His development has clearly followed his due date. We decided to send him to school with his due date cohort. Due to recent changes in Hertfordshire this was straight forward we simply applied the following year and kept him at his school nursery for an additional year. He is now thriving in reception slowly learning to read and write whilst enjoying playing and making friends. Waiting so he went in with the year he should have been in was the best decision we could have made for him and he will excel rather then struggle further down the path.
Recently he has suffered with leg pains which seems to be caused by low vitamin d levels and has a heighten awareness of physical pain. But on the whole he is a happy healthy five year old who likes nothing more then to ride his bike as far and as fast as he can.