Introducing...Jayden Brett Skilbred

It's a boy! At least Christie told me so. After watching the miracle of birth I forgot to process what was, prior to birth, the most important question on our minds...boy or girl. So begins the tale of our new pride and joy.

In preparation of the birth, Christie and I had set Wednesday, November 21, 2007 as the date upon which all loose ends were to be tied. We were told by others of the urge to "nest", but wow did we see and feel it first hand. With every nook and cranny cleaned, school lesson taught, budgets submitted, and infant clothing washed (3 times), neatly organized and folded, we awoke Thanksgiving morning with an interesting feeling. The nesting urge was still fully intact but the tasks upon which to focus were gone. So, we cooked and successfully kept our minds from waiting. Day two was a different story.

On Friday, November 23, 2007 we struggled to suppress our waiting minds. We awoke to a brisk 30 degree day with few clouds and a shining sun. So, we walked, cleaned again, fabricated new projects and chores all in hopes of getting through the next hour without thinking about "the wait" as we now called it. Struggling for things to do, we remembered a comment made early in the afternoon during a phone call with Mom Skilbred. She told us that what was done when she was growing up in Iowa to encourage labor was to drive fast through plowed cornfields. Off we went aboard our white steed, the work truck, to find the bumpiest road possible. Oh where to find such a place...why the quarry!

The quarry is where the rest of this story begins. Ten minutes after arriving home from our giggle filled and belly bumping laps around the quarry Christie announced that her water had broke. By 4:40 we were in the hospital. After being checked by the doctor and told that Christie was only 3 cm dilated we settled in for what we thought would be a long labor. To the contrary, when checked at 9pm Christie was 8/9 cm dilated. We, as well as all labor support, were convinced the little one would join us before midnight. Once again, we were fooled. Christie began pushing at 11 and 2 hours and 16 minutes later Jayden Brett Skilbred was born.

Our 6 pound 12 ounce, 19 1/2 inch bundle of joy stubbornly entered the world at 1:16 am on Saturday, November 24, 2007. He wasn't properly rotated causing labor to pause while the side of his head crowned. Besides the lengthy pushing stage, the only other result of his improper rotation was a lopsided cone on the top of his noggin. Like all babies, Jayden's lungs were filled with fluid in vitro. Instead of emptying with the introduction of air and the help of suctioning, his lungs held some of the fluid. As a result, he is not transferring all the air he breathes into his blood and is being kept in an incubator. The good news is that all other tests are positive and we are just waiting for his lungs to clear the fluid.

   

In the meantime, Christie and I are in the hospital cherishing each opportunity to spend time with our son while Mom Addante holds down the fort keeping our other babies well fed. Look for more posts as we progress.

Love to you all,
Brett, Christie, and Jayden