I don't know that we thought it specifically, but by the time we got to our third pregnancy, we were feeling fairly comfortable and even experienced in the process. We thought we knew what we doing. We weren't proven wrong, just gently reminded that there was much we didn't know and gently reminded how blessed we had been, of the miracles the previous pregnancies and deliveries had been.
The reminder started with a few drops of blood. Julie noticed staining in her fifth or sixth month of pregnancy. Such are precursors of miscarriage rather than of a successful pregnancy. Our physician had been monitoring the growth of this child as he did the others. All had seemed fine. This spotting worried him. He sent us to have an ultrasound.
Ultrasounds were still fairly new at this time. They were not offered at every OB/GYN, but only at special radiology centers. We went there, were greeted by the nurse, technician, and doctor. The ultrasound was an event. I watched the screen and the procedure with great interest. The grey lines were mostly unintelligible to me. Occasionally, recognizable shapes would come into focus and align on the screen. A head, an arm, a hand. We learned what I already knew - that it was a boy. We couldn't really identify anything wrong. Perhaps there was a slight separation between the sack and the uterine wall.
We left relieved. Jefferson had already impressed himself on our minds as an energetic baby - he kicked and moved more than his older brothers had. He had received his name, after the usual consideration and thought, in honor of my most constant best friend growing up - Jeff Smith - as well Thomas Jefferson. His middle name had the triple conjunction of being in remembrance of the Clark family of Lewis and Clark fame, Jerry Clark who I played basketball with in our Orem ward, and as containing letters similar to those in my middle name. The Clark family was brought to my attention while attending a Tau Beta Pi national convention in Louisville, Kentucky the October before Jefferson was born. The town had been founded by the Clark of Lewis and Clark and named after his friend and partner. An interesting note, Jefferson has chosen a career in the military like Clark, is getting a degree in Chemical Engineering like Jeff Smith and me, and is focused on medicine like Jerry Clark.
Jefferson continued demonstrating his strong minded nature before his birth. Energetic kicks, movements, and a tendency to be extremely active in the early hours of the morning. We later learned to mark the times the babies were most active because it appeared to correlate with when the delivery would occur.
It this case we were correct. Julie had experienced late night/early morning Braxton-Hicks contractions again. She was more relaxed about my inconsistent responses to her requests to time her contractions. She had more faith that I would wake up. Then one morning, before the due date, the contractions became real. As I timed the contractions and watched them accelerate quickly, we realized we had to leave soon. Following the advice of our doctor given after the birth of David Seth, we called our Doctor at home. We then opened the door to upstairs to notify Richard and Heidi and discovered activity already afoot. Apparently a gerbil had escaped and the search was on. Why they were looking so early in the morning I can't recall. But they were ready to watch over Jacob and David Seth.
We hurried to the hospital and Julie made her way to the third floor, pausing with each contraction. Dr. MacArthur made it with time to check on Julie. We all prepared, and the delivery became serious. Jefferson led with a hand instead of just a head. He came out, squalling and kicking. At a check-up later, it was noted that he probably broke a collarbone during the delivery.
Jefferson's positive struggling behavior was on display from birth. We noted that he had a droopy eyelid. We explored several options with our pediatrician, who happened to lead the pediatric association of the area and was widely recognized as one of the best, if not the best pediatrician in the valley. It was decided to perform an MRI. We took him to the radiology section of the hospital. For the procedure to be successful, Jefferson would have to be asleep. A soporific was administered by a suppository. He repushed it. We pondered what to do. We were uncertain as to how much had been absorbed. We waited a moment, and then tried again. This time, it was successful. I offered to go in with him and watch over him. I felt the powerful pull of the magnet. I reviewed the projections on the screens of technicians. I couldn't see anything wrong. After analysis by the radiologist, he couldn't find anything specifically wrong either. Jefferson was OK.
And that was the miracle. Despite the indications that something could be wrong, we discovered that all was well. We also learned Jefferson was a fighter. And that he was meant to be in our family. That he fought to be in our family. And all would be alright.
It is interesting that the child with the earliest experiences with radiology should, at least at the present time, desire to be a radiologist.
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