| After two terrible
trimesters of pregnancy I was finally starting to feel pretty good.
I was ready to decorate the nursery for my adorable little girl
who I would be delivering in 3 short months. This was a high-risk
pregnancy because I was an older expectant mom and my weight was
far from ideal. Due to these factors I dealt with blood pressure
issues as well as gestational diabetes. Both stayed under control
with diet and exercise but this meant I was seeing a high-risk
doctor every week and they performed an ultra sound once a month.
During each ultrasound the technician and doctor would confirm
that my angel was in fact still a girl.
On New Year‘s Eve I called the doctor with a concern
that I wasn‘t feeling my daughter move. She of course sent
me to the hospital and they monitored me for a while and said
the heartbeat was fine but she wasn‘t moving much. I was
to go home and come back in the morning. The next morning we
were thrilled that she was moving and had a very strong heart
beat. Although I still couldn‘t feel any movements we could
see it on the ultrasound. We left but I felt no movement at all
for the rest of the day. This time the doctor had me go to the
hospital and stay the night, so they could monitor the baby.
The baby they said was fine. It was my "perception" that
I wasn‘t feeling anything. She was definitely moving.
I went to my regular doctor appointment the following week
and announced that I was feeling better that I had since starting
fertility treatment. I got a great report. Even with the holidays
my blood sugar was great and my blood pressure was under control.
It was time for my ultrasound. I could tell something was wrong
right away because the doctor and technician stopped talking
and would point things out to each other. I kept asking what
was wrong and they told me to wait just a second. They were just
checking something. Then, the doctor told me that there was no
diastolic flow through the umbilical cord and so the baby as
not getting any nourishment and had not grown at all since my
last ultrasound. I was to go straight to the hospital and lie
on my side until the baby was born.
In the hospital I was hooked up to a monitor all of the time
except for the five minute shower I was allowed to take daily.
The baby‘s heart would occasionally slow down to an alarming
rate because of the lack of nutrition. I was given a round of
steroid injections to help develop the baby‘s lungs because
it was becoming obvious that his little one was going to come
way too soon.
I had originally
denied an amnio because we were not going to terminate the pregnancy
no matter the results and there was some risk of miscarriage.
Now, we agreed to one for diagnostic purposes. Well, we were
shocked; our little boy had no chromosomal abnormalities. "Boy?
I guess the pink and purple butterfly and flower theme is not
going to work," I thought the fact that I was having a boy
and was preparing for a girl was not the problem. The problem
was that now the baby was having more episodes of his heart slowing
down. The doctor had to decide when the baby when the baby was
in so much distress that even a very premature birth would be
better. That decision came the next morning. I will never forget
my doctor walking in and asking me if I had eaten breakfast.
When my answer was no she said, "good because it‘s
time to have baby." Because the baby was weak a C-section
was our only choice. An hour later, Trey Eldon Moreland was born
weighing 1 lb 11 oz. When I heard his tiny little cry it was
pure music to my ears. Trey received a medication that helps
the lungs function properly, and was there in the Or before they
transferred him to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). My
husband was able to be with him most of the time. I however had
to wait 24 hours before I could se my new and very tiny son.
Both sets of grandparents, my husband, several aunts and even
an uncle were able to take a peek at their newest family member.
They would tell me how he looked little but good. I could tell
they were trying to be encouraging. The next day I was incredibly
nervous as my husband wheeled me to the NICU to meet my child.
When I saw him my heart sank. He was adorable and I loved him
immediately, but he did not look good at all to me.
I looked at
him and wondered how we were going to get him to survive. He
as no longer on the ventilator but an instrument that helps with
breathing was in his nose. IVs were hooked up, and of course
monitor wires were everywhere. He was severely IUGR so he looked
like a little skeleton with a thin layer of skin draped over
him. This began our life in the NICU. We were there for nine
weeks praying like I never had prayed before. Really, I am a
Christian, I was very involved with my church, I even taught
Sunday school and Vacation Bible School but I never prayed before
the way I did while Trey was fighting for his life. I prayed
while my head was laying on his isolet. My husband and I prayed
together. We were on prayer lists across the country. I prayed
with other parents in the NICU and every night my husband and
I prayed very specific prayers with Trey before he would drag
me home to get some rest. By the grace of God I am thrilled to
report that this part of the story has a very happy ending. On
March 15th, my 39th birthday, my husband and I got to spend the
night with our son at the hospital. The next day were were able
to take our big 3 lb 13 oz. baby boy home. By this time I had
exchanged flowers and butterflies for an all-star sports theme
and we were ready for our tiny man to live at home with us. That
evening I thanked God as I rocked my baby for the first time
in the swing on my patio. This marked the end of a very scary
time for us and a whole new beginning for Trey Moreland.
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