Welcome Jack Allan Sciscio

Let me just start out by saying that both Mom and Baby Jack are resting and doing well. I apologize for creating some concern with the lack of information. However, the last twelve hours have been an extremely scary but ultimately joyous roller coaster ride of emotions.

Around 7:45am Baniela's doctors decided it was time for her to start pushing and working the baby "toward the exit". After almost three hours of pushing, contracting and breathing it was decided that the baby's head was just too big for a regular birth and Mom would be sent in for an emergency C-section. At this point, Baniela was absolutely exhausted. And while she was certainly disappointed, she was also a bit relieved that she did not have to continue attempting to advance the immovable object into the irresistable force. Leave it to Baniela to get the "full experience".

Around 11:00 am I joined Baniela in the operating room and at 11:15am Jack Allan Sciscio was born. We were, of course, absolutely thrilled but also a little curious as to why the baby was not really crying or doing much of anything for that matter. I have exactly zero experience with baby deliveries but I could tell something was not right. It wasn't long before the Neotaologist called me over to explain that the baby was "depressed" and not nearly as active as a newborn should be. The doctor further explained that he felt the baby likely had a skull fracture along with fluid build up on his brain which was brought on by the trauma of being "pushed" into the birth canal for such a long time and then subsequently extracted from the canal during the C-section. The doctor showed me where the fluid was built up and ran my finger along a "rough edge" of bone in his skull which may be a fracture. Our son would need to be taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for tests and observation.

Needless to say, my heart and mood went from the heights of exuberance to the depths of despair at that moment. I got to stay with Jack by the warming table for a few moments as the doctor spoke briefly to Baniela. I then rejoined Baniela as they rushed Jack to the NICU and spent the next 30 minutes finishing Baniela's surgery. Thankfully, Baniela was so tired and "dopey" to grasp the full gravity of the situation.

The next couple of hours were unlike anything I had ever experienced. I will not go into everything but as Baniela recovered we spent about two hours "in the dark". Baniela's OB told us that skull fractures, while rare, are possible. He also told us he felt everything would likely be fine. I had to inform my parents of the situation who were in the waiting room by text message, partly becasue I wanted to be around if the Neonatologist came to talk to me and partly because there was no way I could explain the situation face-to-face without breaking down.

Eventually, I was told I could see Jack in the NICU. Upon arriving by his side I was told that he was acting more "appropriately". Dr. Pearl explained that all signs were good and that jack would have a CT-Scan that afternoon to see if he did, in fact, have a fracture and/or bleeding in his brain. By this point, poor Baniela, Merita and my parents were truly without any information. Baniela had been moved from the reovery room to her permanent room. I was only able to send one text message update before my phone battery ran out. I was not about to leave Jack's side. I don't know how they got through it without much information.

I wasn't able to hold Jack but I could touch him, talk to him, listen to him cry and even calm him down with a pacifier dipped in sugar-water. Truth be told, at one point I listened to him cry for about 2o minutes straight as it was the greatest sound I had ever heard after not hearing it right when he was born. Jack was eventually taken to his CT-Scan. I have to say it was a long trip from the NICU to Radiology and along the way Baby Jack received many admiring glances and approving comments. My son was an absolute angel during the scan and the back and forth trip.

Finally, I was able to track down Baniela and my parents and give them the update. Baniela, could not yet make the trip to see her son but my parents did. Around 5:00 we arrived back in the NICU and were greeted with the great news that not only was there no bleeding on the brain but there was no fracture, either. Unbelievable.

This picture was taken just moments after receiving the greatest news I had ever heard. Words cannot explain what I felt at that moment. Unfortunately, Baniela has not yet been able to see the baby beyond the 30 seconds she got during the C-section. The baby will stay in the NICU for tonight as a precaution and hopefully Mom and I can venture down around midnight (she has to stay in bed for at least 12 hours after the C-section) so Baniela can spend that time she so deserves with our son.

I cannot wait for that moment.

I love them both, so much.