Dear Birth Place at Olathe Medical Center,

Happy birthday! I saw that The Birth Place’s NICU is turning five this month, and I wanted to express my family’s gratitude for your services. We are forever grateful for this NICU and the wonderful people who work there. In recognition of this milestone, I shared some highlights from our NICU experience below.

A Jump Start

Wesley’s due date was April 11, 2019, but he made his grand entrance seven weeks early (at 33 weeks) on Friday, February 22, 2019. The Sunday before his arrival, we had his baby shower with plans to get his nursery together the following weekend. On Wednesday, February 20, I began having back pain. Although the pain worsened throughout the day, I didn’t think much of it – our due date was still so far out! The pain came and went over the next couple days, but by Friday morning (February 22), the pain was constant.

With my husband, Charlie, already at work (30 minutes into town), we decided to meet at the hospital. After arriving at The Birth Place around 8:30 a.m., the care team promptly began monitoring me and Wesley.  At this point, we learned the “back pain” was actually contractions and I was dilated to 9 centimeters. Talk about shocked! Because Wesley was still breech, which posed a higher-risk delivery, I was scheduled for an emergency C-section. Shortly after, Wesley Cole Brulez was born at 10:19 a.m.

Extra T.L.C.

Weighing just 4 pounds, 4 ounces, Wesley was taken to spend some time in the NICU. While this was scary at first, staff reassured us he was in good hands and just needed some extra care. Once we were reunited with Wesley in the NICU, it was love at first sight. He was so tiny and seemed extra tiny with a breathing mask and all the cords hooked up to him. Told he would most likely be in the NICU until his due date, or until he was doing what a normal full-term baby was doing, we prepared ourselves for a 7-week stay.

In the weeks ahead, we spent time with Wesley in his private NICU room, which was the absolute BEST! Here, I was able to room with him as much as possible. From security and associates who brought us meals to the nurses and doctors, everyone was so kind – it felt like we had one big care team.

I can honestly say the nurses on the NICU floor helped shape me into the mom I am today. As a first-time mom with a preemie baby, I had no idea what I was doing. They helped us every step of the way, though. Together, the amazing NICU staff helped us breast-feed, bottle-feed and bathe Wesley. And on March 23, after 29 days in the hospital, Wesley was discharged home. It was bittersweet; as excited as we were to finally bring home our son, we were sad to leave our “new” family.

Today, our family of four (Evelyn – born at The Birth Place on 8/31/21 at 38 weeks’ gestation) cannot thank the staff at The Birth Place NICU enough for being there as we started this exciting journey!

Warm Regards,

Jordyn, Charlie, Wesley, and Evelyn