Finding out we
were pregnant with Colby a few days before our daughter's first
birthday was one of the happiest days of our lives. We were
hoping for a son to round out our family, but would be elated with
either a boy or a girl. I couldn't have asked for a more
perfect pregnancy. I knew in my heart early on that we were
having a boy. My husband, Dwayne, was preparing himself for
another girl, but I kept telling him, "It's a boy, I just know
it!" Sure enough, the midterm sonogram proved it was a
little boy, perfectly healthy in every way. We were so anxious
to meet and hold our new baby boy. Dwayne was so proud.
Finally on August 17, 1998 at 2 a.m. I went into labor. When
we arrived at the hospital I was 4 cm dilated and progressing
quickly. Colby was coming out on his own with every
contraction. Before my doctor got there, the nurse kept
saying, "Don't push! I've delivered lots of babies
before, but I want the doctor to be here for this one."
Colby arrived at 9:57 a.m. after just a couple of pushes. He
had apgars of 9 and 9. He was beautiful and perfect.
Colby weighed 6 pounds, 13 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long.
Just like my
daughter Caitlyn, he was a very easy baby. And very hungry!
He was soon eating 4 ounces of formula every 3 hours. He got
so big so fast that we joked with friends that we fed him pancakes
and bacon for breakfast. We didn't mind getting up to feed him
during the middle of the night because he gulped his bottle down in
just a few minutes. He never spit up either. We couldn't
believe he was such an easy baby. After a four week maternity
leave I was ready to go back to work and get back into a routine.
While I was at work, my babysitter, Marilyn, took care of the kids.
She is a licensed in home child care provider who lives just a few
minutes from my office. She is wonderful and very trustworthy.
Colby fit into our lives perfectly. We were so happy and
complete. We didn't know our lives would soon be changed
forever.
Colby only got to
stay at Marilyn's just 5 short weeks before he died. When he
was 9 weeks old I took him to the pediatrician for his two month
check up and immunizations. Our appointment was at 10:30 a.m.,
so I picked him up from Marilyn's at about 10:10 a.m. While we
were waiting for the doctor, Colby was giving me some big smiles and
cooing at me. I was enjoying this break from work a lot!
Our pediatrician pronounced Colby very healthy, weighing in at 12
pounds, 10 ounces and 24 inches long. WOW! I couldn't
wait to brag to everyone about my big boy. After the doctor
checked him out, the nurse came in to administer his shots. He
received IPV, DTP, Hib, and his 2nd Hepatitis B. Two shots in
each leg. Ouch! Colby of course cried. The nurse
told me to pick him up and love on him. I think it hurt her
almost as much as it hurt him. We gave him some Infant's
Tylenol to counteract any reaction or fever. I got Colby
settled down, and then he gave me one more cry. This time it
sounded like he cried, "Mom!" It brought tears to my
eyes. I jokingly thought, "He just called me Mom."
I got Colby back to Marilyn's around 11:30 a.m. He was
sleeping soundly in his infant carrier after such a big day. I
went back to work and bragged to my friends during lunch about
Colby's big size.
Around 3 p.m. is
when my world came crashing down and my life was changed forever.
My good friend and co-worker, Sheila, came to my desk and told me it
sounded like Marilyn on the phone and she was very upset. My
stomach knotted up as I picked up the phone. Marilyn asked,
"Michele, can you come to the house?" I asked what
was wrong and she repeated her question. I said,
"Marilyn, what's wrong? Is it Colby?" She was
silent. Marilyn again told me to come to the house. I
was panicking, my heart was beating fast, and I needed to know right
then what was wrong. I said, "Is Colby okay?"
She said she didn't know, he was out in the ambulance. I
frantically asked, "Is Colby alive?" She tearfully
said, "I don't know." By this time Sheila had run to
get my dad, as we work together. He was already at my desk
with his keys in his hand saying, "Come on, let's go."
When we arrived at Marilyn's there was an ambulance and a fire
engine in front of her house. Colby was already dead, but I
didn't know it. I called my pediatrician and told him what I
knew. Marilyn put Colby down for his nap on his side and
returned a little while later to find him dead. There was
blood coming out of his mouth, which is something that happens when
you die. She performed CPR to no avail. I'm sure my
doctor knew he was dead, but didn't want to tell me without being
there himself. While I was on the phone my husband showed up
and the ambulance took off to the local hospital. Once in the
emergency room, the team of doctors and nurses surrounded Colby's
tiny fragile body. How odd that earlier in the day I was
impressed by his big size. The doctor shook his head at me and
my husband and said something like, "I'm sorry, but too much
time has passed and his temperature is so low." I
remember screaming and sobbing, "No! Please save my baby!
Save my baby!" I sunk to my knees and clung to my
husband, who somehow managed to find a chair before collapsing
himself. It was like a slow motion movie. It was so
unreal. To this day I still can't believe that it happened to
us. Colby was pronounced dead at 3:53 p.m. Fortunately
they let us hold Colby for as long as we wanted. All of our
parents showed up and got to hold Colby, too. It was such a
sad and unbelievable day. I never before worried about SIDS.
The doctor questioned the shots he had been given earlier, but
attributed his death to SIDS more than the immunizations. His
belief was confirmed by the coroner as well.
It
is unbelievable that in this day and age SIDS is still a mystery.
No one knows why our precious babies are dying during their sleep.
All we can do is reduce the risk and trust that God will watch
over them.
Since
Colby's death, we have been blessed with the births of our
subsequent baby girl, Carlee, on November 23, 1999, and our
subsequent baby boy, John Cooper, on February 2, 2002.
Our prayers are
with the families of all the precious SIDS babies.
