‘Surprise, Surprise, and More Surprises’: A team member’s journey as a NICU Mom
Jaclyn Martinetion, Director of Learning and Development for Auto Glass Now, leaned on her team at work when her twin daughters had a NICU stay.
After finding out she was pregnant, Jaclyn Martinetion, the Director of Learning and Development for Auto Glass Now, went to her first ultrasound in early November of 2022. She and her husband had recently married in October and were shocked to find out they were expecting shortly after returning from their honeymoon.
At the initial ultrasound, Jaclyn hoped for a healthy heartbeat.
“They found the heartbeat really quickly, which was exciting,” she recalls. “Then, they zoomed in to get a better measurement and were like ‘here’s another heartbeat!’”
As a twin herself, Jaclyn was not completely shocked, but the news did surprise her and her husband. She said, “He looked like a deer in the headlights. We were wearing masks, and all I could see were his big, blue eyes getting wide. But we got excited afterwards for sure.”
The doctor initially thought the twins were fraternal, like Jaclyn and her sister and sent her to a maternal fetal specialist. At Jaclyn’s 13 week appointment, the specialist confirmed the twins were in fact identical, which meant they shared one placenta and elevated the risk level of her pregnancy to moderate.
A former teacher, Jaclyn joined the Take 5 Oil team in 2018 where she applied her education skills and background as a New Unit Growth Administrator.
In 2022, she transitioned to Auto Glass Now, where she now leads the curriculum team, who offered nothing but support throughout Jacyln’s journey which involved sickness, fatigue, and taking time to get an ultrasound every other week to monitor the babies’ growth.
“I had an amazing team that assured me, ‘hey, just take care of your family. Take care of your body and your babies,’” Jaclyn says. “It was a really stressful time for me, but they helped so much.”
Everything seemed to be progressing on track until Jaclyn’s 29 week appointment. When looking at the blood flow in the middle cerebral artery, the doctor noticed there was an unequal blood flow between the twins which indicates a condition called twin anemia polycythemia sequence (TAPS). Essentially, one baby gives away their blood supply which causes them to be anemic, and the baby receiving all the blood ends up with an imbalance in red blood cells and hemoglobin. Untreated, this condition can be fatal to both babies.
Looking back on the entire experience from an unexpected pregnancy to this diagnosis, she says, “It was like surprise, surprise, and more surprises.”
Jaclyn and her husband were sent to the John Hopkins team in Baltimore, Maryland where doctors confirmed the TAPS diagnosis and immediately gave an in-utero blood transfusion for the anemic baby and an in-utero partial blood extraction from the other baby whose red blood count was too high.
Jaclyn and her husband traveled to John Hopkins two more times to have this procedure done until she was 32 weeks when the specialist team recommended induction.
On May 18, 2023, Jaclyn gave birth to Harper and Blakely Bounds. Despite knowing that both girls would require a stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), Jaclyn was surprised and happy when both girls were born in decent shape.
Harper, who was born weighing 2.12 pounds, spent 49 days in the NICU; her sister Blakely, who was born weighing 3.8 pounds, spent 37 days there.
Originally, Jaclyn planned to take a 12-week maternity leave after the girls came home from the hospital which meant balancing work and a NICU stay. To allow her to still be near her babies, she worked it out with her team to work from the hospital.
However, two weeks after her girls were born, Jaclyn’s father suddenly passed away which forced her to change her maternity leave plans.
“It was a rollercoaster,” she recalls. “I decided to take leave a little bit early and ended up taking more time to just figure out my emotions and everything out while spending still time with the girls.”
Jaclyn took four months to be with her family before returning full time. Learning to juggle her professional responsibilities and motherhood has been an adjustment, but the team at Auto Glass Now has been there for her every step of the way.
“I’m really thankful for the people on my team that have really just kept everything together,” Jaclyn says. “They're great workers, and my leadership is great, too. That made it a little bit of an easier transition back to work.”
As grateful as Jacyln is to her coworkers and Driven Brand family, she’s even more grateful for what she gets to go home to every night: two healthy, thriving baby girls.