Welcome to the World, Jack

April 11, 2019 5 Comments

Category: IVF Journey, Motherhood, Parenting
Tags: Baby boy, IVF Success, Jack William Randall, Vasa Previa, birth day

On April 6, we welcomed our baby boy, Jack William “JW” Randall into this world and our lives were forever changed. Our family is now complete and I truly couldn’t feel happier.

Jack was born 6 weeks early via c-section due to my Vasa Previa diagnosis. Despite his early entrance into the world, he weighed a healthy 5 lbs, 3 oz and is 18” long. He has a full head of hair and an adorably similar face to his big sister, Chloe. We are so in love.

Where He Got His Name

The name Jack William Randall is very special to me and represents strength since he fought so hard with us to be here.

“Jack”

One of the strongest and most resilient people I know is my mom’s sister, my Aunt Jackie, who I lovingly called “Jack” since I was a kid. As a mother of only boys, I became her “daughter” and she treated me as such for my whole life. Every morning for 10 years I used to call her on my walk to work and we’d chat for 30 min about my wedding, pregnancy, or her daily activities and routines. Now I talk to her when I pick up Chloe from school and send her pictures to she can live in our daily lives. She has always been a rock to me and incredibly special person in my life.

Since last summer Jackie has been in and out of emergency and ICU, rehab and hospital stays and defeated the odds of life being cut short on so many occasions. Between stage 4 kidney disease, more bouts of infections and pneumonia than I can even count, it’s a miracle – truly – that she is alive. As a petite woman who weighs close to only 90 pounds, her body should have given out but her resilience and mental strength has literally defied all odds. Jackie wants to live. She wants to see her grandchildren grow up, to regain her strength and life back and to see her nephew born into this world. Like our Jack, she wants to be here, in this family, in this moment and I’m so lucky to have them both to share my world with.

“William”

There is no one more determined, focused, or loyal than my husband. When he decides he to wants do something, to create something, to work towards something, there is no doubt in my mind he will do it. It is this same strength and agility that makes him a great father and husband who cares so deeply for his family.

There is nothing more than my husband wanted in his world than having a son. Like most men, he dreamt of having a boy that he could play baseball with, coach basketball for and teach the ins and outs of life to. Bill is such a great dad to our Chloe and I know that he will have a unique and special bond with Jack too. He will put the same dedication into raising him to be a good man with the strong values he shares so it’s only fitting that they share a name.

JW is his nickname – short, sweet and yes, strong.

JW, we hope you know how much you are loved and that we will be there for you every day of your life. To guide you, protect you, to encourage you and support you through all that you do.

I look back at the journey we went through to get to this moment and feel endless amounts of gratitude. We tackled an infertility journey that included IVF, an unexpected pregnancy complication, all while juggling my MS, full-time jobs, parenthood, and our marriage. It was a lot, and I’m not going to pretend like any of it was easy. We struggled and cried at times; I felt hopeless, weak and tired – but together with my husband, we powered through to reach our goal, our baby boy. And I can now say with total confidence that it was so totally worth it.

We love you, Jack William, and we are so proud to be your parents. Welcome to the world.