Bringing Home Baby & Blindsiding News

Brayden was born on Thursday and we brought him home Saturday evening, after a quick stop at my parents to introduce him to my Dad's family who was in town at the annual Cline Christmas shindig.  As any first time parent knows, the first couple days at home with a newborn baby are scary to say the least. You are completely sleep deprived, but running on adrenaline. You feel like the most awkward, unprepared parent in the world, no matter how much preparing and planning you have done, how many books you have read, or how much advice you have gotten from every woman you come into contact with during your pregnancy.  You second guess everything you do, and wonder how on earth you could be responsible for the complete well being of such a delicate, precious, little life.

I'm so thankful I had Jeff there with me for almost a week after we came home. Together, we realized that we were capable of caring for our little guy, and that we would get this parent thing down sooner or later. (Not to mention I had him to change lots of dirty diapers that first week, yay!)

Now for anyone thinking of having a baby around the holidays, I don't recommend it. It's just not enjoyable to pack up and head out in cold weather with a newborn baby. You're tired, don't feel like getting out of bed, let alone putting on anything that resembles acceptable attire, and you will not want to give up your little bundle of joy you are just getting to know to let Great Aunt Bertha or Uncle Wilmer hold them.  If you do have a holiday baby, make anyone who wants to see you come to you!  I did not receive this advice and thus spent time I should have been sleeping and cuddling with my baby boy getting ready and traveling to and from family gatherings.

Anywho, back on track...just when we were starting to get the hang of the sleep deprived, up every 2 hour way of life that accompanies a newborn baby, we got the first of two phone calls that would change our lives forever.  We came home from the hospital on Saturday, December 18th, and got a call from the pediatrician's office on Thursday, December 23rd telling us that Brayden's newborn blood test had come back abnormal, and that we needed to schedule a sweat test to have him tested for cystic fibrosis.  I was completely caught off guard and confused...hadn't the newborn screen tested for CF? Why did we have to go have another test done? Does he have CF or not, and why won't you just tell me!? was what I was thinking.  She said it just came back abnormal and further testing needed to be done.  After doing some research we learned that just because the newborn screen comes back negative does not mean CF is present.  At this point we just began to pray and trust that God had a plan.

Unlike some families who are completely caught off guard with the news of possible or confirmed CF, we knew there was a possibility for us.  Jeff had two aunts with cystic fibrosis, so we were both tested during my pregnancy, and found out that we were both carriers.  It was not such a surprise in Jeff's case, but it was in mine, having had no known family members with the disease.  However, throughout my pregnancy we believed that our baby was healthy, having only a 1 in 4 chance of having CF, and that no matter what, he was in God's care.  Looking back I can say that knowing there was a possibility did make things easier when we got that call, but at the time, it still felt like life stopped for a few days while we waited for the sweat test.  (This also made our holidays not the most enjoyable since we found out about the newborn screen 2 days before Christmas and were awaiting our sweat test on the 27th.)

The next few days were somewhat of a blur for me. We were thankful to be surrounded by family and have the reminder of God's love that is the true gift of the Christmas season, and I think those two things got us through that time and helped us not to completely dwell on it.  Monday was the sweat test, and I remember every detail of that appointment. We showed up and they mistakenly prepped him for blood work which he did not need...as if my anticipation and nerves were not already at their wits end, this added an unnecessary 20 minutes to our trip. We were then taken back to a private area where I watched them strap my 11 day old tiny baby's arm up to a machine to produce sweat so that they could test the level of salt in it.  I will always remember how brave Brayden was, he did so well, and made the process that much easier for me to get through.

I was expecting a call the following morning, so was again caught off guard when his pediatrician called me that night at 5:18PM.  She told me she wanted to call me herself to tell me the results, and she didn't want me to have to wait all night.  For those two things, I am grateful.  As you all know by now, the news was not what I wanted to hear. The sweat test showed without much doubt (because of the level of salt in his sweat) that Brayden