Giving My Triplets a Great Start

September 22, 2007, was a day that changed our lives forever! Upon awaking I noticed that my water had broke, I called my physician and he advised me to head on into Bergan Mercy Medical Center to confirm my suspicions.

That morning at around 10 a.m. I walked into the hospital extremely unprepared for the roller coaster of emotions I was about to face. I was greeted with open arms by the labor and delivery nurses. I have never felt such warmth from strangers in my life; little did I know, that was just the beginning to a start of “top notch”, warm hearted people at Bergan.

As much as I thought I had readied myself for this day, I clearly was not mentally ready to go from one child to four in three minutes! I was assured that everything was going to be fine, that the best doctors and nurses would be taking care of me and my precious new bundles that would soon be arriving, whether I was ready for them or not! They explained every step that would take place before and after the delivery. I was asked many times if I needed anything or if there was anything anyone could do. The only thing that I needed was reassurance. I was so scared, terrified to be exact!! I mean, what mother would not be! I was about to give birth to triplets at 31 weeks gestation. I had no idea how small they would be - would they breathe on their own, would they survive…these were questions running through my head. As I waited through what seemed to be hours until the 11:30 a.m. scheduled start time, I was visited by NICU staff members, doctors, nurses and everyone in between letting me know that my babies and I would be just fine. They were prepared for this day as my doctor, Dr. Barsoom had given warning to them and they were more than ready for us!

As I took the long walk down the “hallway” to the OR hand in hand with my L&D nurse. I felt her strength and support leading me into a day I will never forget! As I entered the OR I was again greeted by the nurses that would soon be rushing around in a whirlwind to stabilize my new baby boys. One by one they came and told me who what child they would be taking care of, it seemed as if they had done this a thousand times before. As we got started and the babies started getting swooped away to the NICU staff, I kept hearing them yell out to me the lengths, weights and “mom they look so good” or “mom they are doing fine.” Words such as those, even among the other craziness, meant the world to me. With as much noise as there was in the OR at that time - with all of the people in there - that is all I heard.

Soon one by one, like the circus leaving town, they left the OR and headed to the NICU with my babies. I was scared, worried, and I could not hear what was going on at this point. I became panicked as I lay there wondering about all the unknowns not sure what to expect. A nurse, a liaison if you will, came to tell me they were doing well. All the babies were surprisingly well.

Over the next hour or so I waited in recovery for the moment when I would get to see my boys. I was given updates on the conditions of the babies about every 10 minutes. Finally I was wheeled into the NICU, this wonderful place made just for the babies. Everything is designed to make it feel like home. Again, I was greeted with words of encouragement, congratulations, and introductions from the wonderful nurses that would soon become my friends. I had placed every ounce of trust into them and I was never let down. Every single time I walked in there and someone new was taking care of them, I immediately I learned their name, who they were taking care (baby A,B or C) and how they were doing. I never had to ask! I was comforted in every way possible through words, kind smiles and compassion.

We had our ups and downs just like any preemie would. Along every hill, they explained what they will do to work through the problem. I just knew in the end I would be taking them home with me! I was shown ways to hold, bond, feed and burp them. Whoever new smaller babies could be so different?

To this day, nearly two years later, I still get that warm and fuzzy feeling when I think about how incredible our time at Bergan was. In a way, I miss my friends, the people I trusted with my life and the lives of my children for over a month.

If I had to do it all over again I would not change a thing or ask for anything to be different. I would recommend the NICU and Bergan to anyone.

Thank you Bergan - you gave my babies a tremendous start!
—Jessee