For as long as he could speak, Mikey had been demanding a baby brother. My husband and I thought an additional pregnancy would be easy afterward getting married, having Mikey, and buying a house in a single, hectic year. However, we required the help of a fertility specialist after a year of trying.
On Mikey’s fifth birthday, a optimistic test resulted from surgery to remove fibroids. When I failed at 11 weeks, that happiness came to an end a few weeks later. Trisomy 13 is a fatal disorder that our baby boy was found to have through testing. We moved, gave away baby stuff, and started adjusting to life as a family of three after feeling heartbreak.
When Mikey ongoing kindergarten in August 2017, I found out I was expectant once more. The first few weeks were full with anxiety and bleeding, but by Halloween, we were certain we were pregnant another boy. Growth issues started to surface at 18 weeks, and by 23 weeks, I had been identified with severe intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Determined to fight for our son, I consumed a month in antepartum upkeep after being self-confessed to the hospital at 26 weeks.
When his developing growth stalled at 30 weeks, doctors had to do an emergency cesarean section. Jake Eric spent 62 days in the NICU after being born weighing 1 pound, 12 ounces. At first, Mikey was unable to grip him, but on March 17, 2018, he developed the first sibling at Beth Israel’s NICU to do skin-to-skin, a moving moment that wired their relationship.
Tooting screens, feeding tubes, and daily care times were all part of NICU life. Every little triumph was famous. Mikey took on the role of big brother to the fullest when Jake eventually repaid home, soothing him in a way that no one else might.
Both boys are now frizzy up in my bed at the start of each morning. Every day, Jake’s gaze on Mikey serves as a cue of the joy, love, and resiliency that got us through.
