Old Mom Diaries

November 17 is World Preemie Awareness Day.  As you may know, my son, Sweet Boy, was born at 35 weeks.  We were lucky,  His biggest infant complication was jaundice.  It seemed like the end of the world when I was in the hospital for a whole week, but I know now that one week is nothing for a preemie.  I would like to take today’s blog to thank all the doctor’s and nurses who were incredibly helpful during our stay.  Four years and 8 months later, I still remember you and still feel so much gratitude towards you.

Mary

My first thank you must go to nurse Mary.  She was everything I needed that week.  She pushed me to breastfeed when the doctors said the time under the lights was more important.  Keep trying she would tell me.  It was what I wanted, so she wanted it too.  She helped me pump when Sweet Boy couldn’t latch.  The pediatrician was concerned when Sweet Boy was knocking the protective sunglasses off with the new overhead lights, so he wanted to send me to UMASS Memorial in Worcester.  Mary saw me crying about it being an hour away from home and she came up with a way to use two of their older devices to get his bili levels to a point where Sweet Boy could go home.  But not only was she a superstar with the medical stuff, on our fifth day in the hospital, my 37th birthday, Mary got me a slice of cake from the cafeteria.   Thank you, Mary.

Anne Amberg

My second thank you goes to the midwife – Anne Amberg.  I had never met Anne before that day, but she was the midwife on duty that night.  (Oddly enough, at my last appointment, they suggested I meed Anne since there was a good chance she would deliver my baby–go figure).   She was amazing.  She and my husband shared a great love of old pop trivia.  At times I kind of felt like the third wheel in the room.  She got me through two hours of pushing and a successful vaginal birth.  But I will never forget the sound of her shouting, “Three, Three, Three!!!”  The big surprise of the evening was that Sweet Boy had his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck three times.  No one expected it.  If they had known, I probably would have had a c-section 22 hours earlier, but Anne got him out just in time.   Thank you, Anne.

Deb Levesque

My third thank you is for Deb Levesque.   She was the breastfeeding consultant that really helped Sweet Boy learn to latch.  It took us a good three weeks of trying and pumping to really get the latch right, but once he learned, Sweet Boy became a voracious eater.  15 months on the boob, I can proudly say.  Thank you, Deb.

Dr. Kesselman, Dr. Mackenzie, Kathy

My last thank you is for three people – Dr. Kesselman, Dr. Mackenzie, and nurse Kathy.  Dr. Kesselman was the OB in charge of my delivery.  She came in a few times to make sure everything was progressing forward, she checked my stats and got me meds when I wanted them, and every visit was pure sunshine.  But when it was “go time,” she let Anne do her job.  Dr. Mackenzie is the hospital Maternal Fetal Health Specialist.  He handles high-risk cases.  I had already been getting a few extra visits with him because of my age and because they just couldn’t get a good image of Sweet Boy’s heart (he’s still camera shy), so I knew who he was.  He was called in to monitor the situation, but he never came in the room.  I could see him through my window though.  His nurse Kathy came in the room many times though during those two hours of pushing. She relieved the nurses who were there and to help, all while gathering all my numbers to give to the doctors.  I didn’t figure that part out until I was pregnant with girlie.  Kathy had the lucky job of giving me my hormone shots in the rear before my cervix checks.  I recognized her instantly and put it all together.   Maybe it was just Kathy’s shift on the birthing unit, but I still believe she was Dr. Mackenzie’s runner too.  I have to say, those Doctors were brilliant.  Some doctors might say 35-week PPROM, send the patient to UMASS.  Some might let their ego set in and insist that they do the delivery.  But Doctor Kesselman and Dr. Mackenzie knew how nervous I was and kept everything as normal as possible, even though it really wasn’t.  Doing their best to keep me calm was the best thing for me and my baby, and in this case, that meant staying behind the desk.  Thank you, Dr. Kesselman.  Thank you, Dr. Mackenzie.  Thank you, nurse Kathy.

Day Kimball is a small hospital.  It doesn’t have a NICU.  But their top quality doctors and nurses took amazing care of me and my baby.   The whole mother and the whole baby.  Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.–Jen Cooney

Photo by Sander van der Wel