The Births Part IX

Shaun Patrick Zysk was born August 14, 2001. His mother went into labor August 12th, but he did not make his arrival until late Tuesday night August 14th. This child made me a grandmother. I remember looking at him through the Nursery window shortly after his birth and saying to myself that I felt no different. I was not sure how I was suppose to feel, but I did not feel different. Well, that all changed the following day when I held him in my arms for the first time. My heart overflowed with so much love, I thought I would not be able to contain it. He was precious. He was beautiful. I had totally and completely became a grandmother that day. When Trish and her baby were discharged from the hospital, I spent the night at their house. The baby slept in a cradle by my side because I wanted Trish to get some rest. She had a long hard labor and it ended in a C-Section. But when the baby cried during the night, I watched her get up and move slowly down the stairs to care for her infant. I watched this woman become a mother and I knew at that moment, I would go home and allow these three people bond and become a family.

Nikolas Joseph Zysk was born on November 30, 2004 by a planned C-Section. I remember my son Shaun coming out excited and overjoyed at the birth of his second son. We were all amazed how much Nikolas resembled his older brother Shaun Patrick at birth. I remember looking at him through the Nursery window and thinking he was breathing pretty hard but the nurses did not seem concerned, so I thought perhaps this was normal after birth. I left the hospital and no sooner had I entered my front door, I received a frantic call from my son telling me Nikolas went into respiratory distress and Trish's heart rate dropped. I remember feeling sick as we raced back to the hospital where Joe dropped me off at the front door and he went to park the car as I ran up to the floor where Trish had just given birth. I told Shaun to stay with Trish as I went to the NICU to stay with Nikolas. I do not remember how much time passed, before Shaun came to the Nursery to tell me Trish was Ok. It would be three days before we would know if Nikolas would be Ok. Each day I entered the NICU and rubbed his feet and hands as he was hooked up to oxygen and IV's. I would tell him he had to get better so he could spend weekends at my house like his older brother. I recall a nurse telling me babies who are sick do not like to be touched. I told her I believed the opposite. That nurse hated when I came to the NICU because I continued to touch and talk to my grandson. On the third day, Nikolas woke up and I knew he was going to be fine. He went home with a device that monitored his breathing and an alarm went off everytime he stopped breathing. The problem with that device was it also went off when he moved in certain ways. Those first few months were scary. I remember my son telling me that his family was complete and that he was not risking Trish's safety for another pregnancy.

June 9, 2007, I was blessed with the very first female in my life when Ava Marie Zysk came into this world. She was born to my son Joseph and his girlfriend Jackie. I remember my son's face when he came out to the waiting room to tell us she had arrived. He had a huge tired smile. Jackie had been in labor nearly an entire day. Right before Ava was born, they could not hear her heart beat and prepared Jackie for an emergency C-Section. Thankfully, the change in Jackie's position brought back the heart beat and Ava was born naturally a short time later. I remember going into the room and seeing her for the first time. She seemed so tiny. The difference with her birth as oppose to the boys was she remained in the room with her mother and was not taken to the Nursery. A few days later, Joey, Jackie and Ava came home to my house where they would reside for the first six months of Ava's life. The middle bedroom was made into an Nursery, but the baby spent most of her time in a cradle by her parents' bed. In the first few months of Ava's life, she screamed and screamed. I remember singing to her, rocking her, walking the floor with her. Finally, the doctor began treating her for Acid Reflux and what a difference that made. During those first few months of Ava's crying, I have to say her parents were fantastic. It was a difficult time for them, however, they had the patience and tolerance to take care of their daughter and to this day I can say they are great parents even though their relationship did not last, they always made/make decisions together based on the welfare of their daughter.

Three sons, two grandsons, one granddaughter and a wonderful daughter-in-law and granddaughter's mommy later, I count my blessings to have all of them in my life.