Dear family and friends,
First we want to begin by saying thank you! We are so appreciative of your prayers. We have a mighty God and he is so good to us! JT is strong and beautiful!! For those of you interested I will give the short version of what has happened, then I will tell the long story for anyone who wants to read it. I know long emails can be draining to read :-)
SHORT VERSION:
I had contractions at 25 weeks which were stopped. Had contractions on Tues. night which were stopped. Had contractions on wed. which induced labor and well, he arrived! My labor progressed too quickly for them to stop it with drugs. JT's heart rate was strong the entire time and he was delivered fairly quickly. He was then taken to the NICU to receive care. He was put on a ventilator and within the day was placed under bilirubin lights. Within 24 hours he was taken off the ventilator and placed on a cpap machine (tubes up his nose instead of a tube down his throat) within 24 hrs of that he was back on the ventilator. The breathing on his own was just a little too much for him. He was getting too tired and burning too many calories. that puts us int he present. He is on a ventilator and is in and out of the bilirubin lights. He is doing well though and we are so thankful for him!!
LONG VERSION:
I had contractions at 25 weeks which my doctors were able to stop. I had contractions on Tuesday night which my doctors were again able to "stop". I was also given a test both times that can determine with 99% accuracy if a baby will be born within 2 weeks. Both times the test was negative which meant that I WAS NOT going to deliver in the next 2 weeks. :-) Justin decided otherwise! I received some pills that were suppose to stop labor. I took on on wed. as the contractions were continuing and waited an hour. The contractions just got worse and worse. I finally called my doctor and they wanted to see me. We went in and I was 5cm dialated. The immediatly sent me to the hospital to have the contractions stopped. When I arrived my doctor looked at me and stated very clearly that it might be too late to stop the labor. After an exam she told me the train was rolling and there was no way to stop it. I was going to have my little boy! Just like Ethan the labor was FAST! Within a few hours Justin was ready to arrive! Thankfully they were totally prepared for him, he cried as soon as he arrived to let Jake and I know he was present! :-) They allowed me to hold my little boy for about 1 min. but it was a delightful and blessed minute! Then they took him off to the NICU to get help. He was placed on a ventilator and put in an incubator. After a few hours Jake and I were taken down to see him. He is so tiny and had so many cords and wires and tubes all around him. It was slightly intimidating! The nurse was wonderful. She told us what everything was and why it was there. They also give lose expectations of what the next few weeks are going to look like. We were allowed to put a finger on him but not much more than that. So much of him hasn't developed yet. Too much stimulation can be damaging. So for now we visit and look at him a lot. Talk to him a little and touch him a little just to let him know we are there. Anyway, back to details :-) about 24 hrs after birth the doctor felt that he didn't need the ventilator. He felt it was too much for my little man! So they decided to put him on the cpap machine. This machine is tubes up the nose instead of a tube down his throat. It also provides less assistance in breathing and allows Justin to do most of the work on his own. about 24 hrs after that the doctor (another doctor) decided that Justin was working too hard and that the ventilator would need to be put down his throat again. After they placed the ventilator back down his throat they informed us that his trachia is off center and he is a very difficult child to intibate :-( Its normal but just more difficult. He was very upset after that!
This evening the hospital was kind enough to call us and tell us that after we left he had a good day! His oxygen levels are good and he is resting well. (they want him to rest more to allow his body to heal, they gave him some drugs to help with this) They also informed us that he was unable to have some tests due to the ventilator and that those tests would be done on Mon.
HIS NAME:
I figure many of you will ask so here is the story behind the nick name JT
When I had contractions at 25 weeks Jake and I began to talk about names. I said what do you think about Justin. Jake thought for a moment then said "I like it... Just in time" I cracked up! He then said we could make his middle name cool by spelling it Thyme. Again as I am cracking up I said that's it Justin is out! we are NOT naming our child Justin. Over the next few weeks we kept talking and making Just in time jokes. When we were in the delivery room I REFUSED to have a child without a name. We talked about Justin which I also said was OUT! and Caleb. Jake really wanted Justin so we decided to name him Justin Richard. Richard is my brother who passed away a few years ago. So, I know his initials are JRF, buuuuut, to me, he is Just in time! So he is JT!
PRAISE:
- Justin is here and alive!!
- Our hospital has a very good NICU with wonderful doctors and nurses!
- He was able to breath on his own for almost an entire day!
- the peace that Jake and I feel over all of this!
prayer request:
- Justin has an open valve in his heart that needs to close. Please pray that that would heal and close asap
- He will have a sonogram of his brain to determine if there is any bleeding. Pray that there is NO bleeding in his brain!
- Pray that next time he gets off the ventilator he is able to stay off
- pray for the healing of his throat (he had some blood in his lungs after they put the tube in. The tissue in his throat is raw and bleeding)
- pray for Jake and I and our marriage as we learn how to support each other through all of this
- pray for Ethan as this is a HUGE adjustment and I will be gone daily to visit Justin.
Once again,
thank you all!! We are so appreciative of the love and support we have received from you all. God is so good and we have peace. I will try to update you all again weekly if possible. If there are any drastic changes I will try to let you know ASAP!
May God bless you all as we have been so blessed by you and your outreach to us
Jake and Melissa
PS - if you are in the area and are interested in helping us in any way my amazing and dear friend Emily Abrantes is organizing things for us. Please feel free to contact her at emily.m.abrantes@gmail.com. Please give her time to get back to you as she has two young boys of her own to care for.
* PICTURES TO COME LATER
First we want to begin by saying thank you! We are so appreciative of your prayers. We have a mighty God and he is so good to us! JT is strong and beautiful!! For those of you interested I will give the short version of what has happened, then I will tell the long story for anyone who wants to read it. I know long emails can be draining to read :-)
SHORT VERSION:
I had contractions at 25 weeks which were stopped. Had contractions on Tues. night which were stopped. Had contractions on wed. which induced labor and well, he arrived! My labor progressed too quickly for them to stop it with drugs. JT's heart rate was strong the entire time and he was delivered fairly quickly. He was then taken to the NICU to receive care. He was put on a ventilator and within the day was placed under bilirubin lights. Within 24 hours he was taken off the ventilator and placed on a cpap machine (tubes up his nose instead of a tube down his throat) within 24 hrs of that he was back on the ventilator. The breathing on his own was just a little too much for him. He was getting too tired and burning too many calories. that puts us int he present. He is on a ventilator and is in and out of the bilirubin lights. He is doing well though and we are so thankful for him!!
LONG VERSION:
I had contractions at 25 weeks which my doctors were able to stop. I had contractions on Tuesday night which my doctors were again able to "stop". I was also given a test both times that can determine with 99% accuracy if a baby will be born within 2 weeks. Both times the test was negative which meant that I WAS NOT going to deliver in the next 2 weeks. :-) Justin decided otherwise! I received some pills that were suppose to stop labor. I took on on wed. as the contractions were continuing and waited an hour. The contractions just got worse and worse. I finally called my doctor and they wanted to see me. We went in and I was 5cm dialated. The immediatly sent me to the hospital to have the contractions stopped. When I arrived my doctor looked at me and stated very clearly that it might be too late to stop the labor. After an exam she told me the train was rolling and there was no way to stop it. I was going to have my little boy! Just like Ethan the labor was FAST! Within a few hours Justin was ready to arrive! Thankfully they were totally prepared for him, he cried as soon as he arrived to let Jake and I know he was present! :-) They allowed me to hold my little boy for about 1 min. but it was a delightful and blessed minute! Then they took him off to the NICU to get help. He was placed on a ventilator and put in an incubator. After a few hours Jake and I were taken down to see him. He is so tiny and had so many cords and wires and tubes all around him. It was slightly intimidating! The nurse was wonderful. She told us what everything was and why it was there. They also give lose expectations of what the next few weeks are going to look like. We were allowed to put a finger on him but not much more than that. So much of him hasn't developed yet. Too much stimulation can be damaging. So for now we visit and look at him a lot. Talk to him a little and touch him a little just to let him know we are there. Anyway, back to details :-) about 24 hrs after birth the doctor felt that he didn't need the ventilator. He felt it was too much for my little man! So they decided to put him on the cpap machine. This machine is tubes up the nose instead of a tube down his throat. It also provides less assistance in breathing and allows Justin to do most of the work on his own. about 24 hrs after that the doctor (another doctor) decided that Justin was working too hard and that the ventilator would need to be put down his throat again. After they placed the ventilator back down his throat they informed us that his trachia is off center and he is a very difficult child to intibate :-( Its normal but just more difficult. He was very upset after that!
This evening the hospital was kind enough to call us and tell us that after we left he had a good day! His oxygen levels are good and he is resting well. (they want him to rest more to allow his body to heal, they gave him some drugs to help with this) They also informed us that he was unable to have some tests due to the ventilator and that those tests would be done on Mon.
HIS NAME:
I figure many of you will ask so here is the story behind the nick name JT
When I had contractions at 25 weeks Jake and I began to talk about names. I said what do you think about Justin. Jake thought for a moment then said "I like it... Just in time" I cracked up! He then said we could make his middle name cool by spelling it Thyme. Again as I am cracking up I said that's it Justin is out! we are NOT naming our child Justin. Over the next few weeks we kept talking and making Just in time jokes. When we were in the delivery room I REFUSED to have a child without a name. We talked about Justin which I also said was OUT! and Caleb. Jake really wanted Justin so we decided to name him Justin Richard. Richard is my brother who passed away a few years ago. So, I know his initials are JRF, buuuuut, to me, he is Just in time! So he is JT!
PRAISE:
- Justin is here and alive!!
- Our hospital has a very good NICU with wonderful doctors and nurses!
- He was able to breath on his own for almost an entire day!
- the peace that Jake and I feel over all of this!
prayer request:
- Justin has an open valve in his heart that needs to close. Please pray that that would heal and close asap
- He will have a sonogram of his brain to determine if there is any bleeding. Pray that there is NO bleeding in his brain!
- Pray that next time he gets off the ventilator he is able to stay off
- pray for the healing of his throat (he had some blood in his lungs after they put the tube in. The tissue in his throat is raw and bleeding)
- pray for Jake and I and our marriage as we learn how to support each other through all of this
- pray for Ethan as this is a HUGE adjustment and I will be gone daily to visit Justin.
Once again,
thank you all!! We are so appreciative of the love and support we have received from you all. God is so good and we have peace. I will try to update you all again weekly if possible. If there are any drastic changes I will try to let you know ASAP!
May God bless you all as we have been so blessed by you and your outreach to us
Jake and Melissa
PS - if you are in the area and are interested in helping us in any way my amazing and dear friend Emily Abrantes is organizing things for us. Please feel free to contact her at emily.m.abrantes@gmail.com. Please give her time to get back to you as she has two young boys of her own to care for.
* PICTURES TO COME LATER
