Purple for Preemies

Today Millie and I dressed in purple. Did you know that November 17th is "Fight for Preemies" day? Bloggers all over the country are asked to blog about preemies to help raise awareness. For that, Millie and I dressed in purple.

Millie was born exactly one week after November 17th. Having a premature baby never crossed my mind while I was pregnant. Even when I went to the hospital to get checked, I genuinely though I would be going home after a few hours.

Knowing what I know now, I do wish someone had discussed the signs of preterm labor with me. I also wished I had done a little more research, and took my signs more seriously when they first started. I was in labor for two days before I went to the hospital. Had I known the emergency of the situation, I definitely would have skipped Cafe Rio and Twillight for the hospital. I don't blame myself or my doctors for Millie being born early, and I am so thankful for how everything worked out. My hope in writing today, is to bring awareness to this situation. With premature births on the rise, even if you don't find yourself pregnant you probably will be close to someone that is pregnant. If they mention any of these signs to you, you can help them take their situation very seriously.

We got to the hospital early Sunday morning. I walked in, just as most people do (except those in labor). I think my casualness set the tone for how everyone handled me at first. No one seemed concerned, but they were going to humor me anyways with an exam. Once they realized I was fully dilated, panic set in. I remember clearly the nurse trying to stay calm, and leaving the room to call my doctor. You would think it would have felt like an eternity waiting on the doctor to get there, but it seemed so quick. After he got there and confirmed my situation I was inverted (yep, feet raised higher than my head), given all kinds of loopy medicine, and hooked up to a catheter (worst part). There I remained for a few days. In that exact same position. The only thing that changed was where they placed the heart monitor on my stomach since Millie was moving and I would get blood blisters if it stayed put too long. Compared to the catheter, I didn't mind the heart monitor. I didn't even mind the endless amounts of poking and prodding I endured, compared to the catheter.

As soon as I was in position (inverted, etc) I began receiving visits from all sorts of doctors and specialists. I remember talking to Wyck, who was probably the most helpful person I encountered on bed rest. He later became Millie's doctor in the NICU, and I am so thankful for him. I remember him discussing some very realistic statistics with me, but still having a very positive outlook for Millie. It is a big deal I remember any of this. If you remember, I was on magnesium throughout this. Let's just say, I was so loopy I couldn't even feed myself.

A few months after Millie was born, we still had nurses, doctors, and therapists commenting to us how they remember Millie's birth vividly. Our wonderful NICU was waiting for Millie to be born at any second for a few days. Having a 23 weeker is rare, and seeing one survive is even more rare. Not knowing why my body was rejecting her meant they had to be prepared for every possibility, at any moment. We still don't know the reason, and I'm not sure we ever will. I hope to get more answers with my next child, but I'm not holding my breath.

When we first began the process to get Millie into the early intervention program, we had to be interviewed. I remember one of the questions catching me by surprise. They asked us if we remember Millie's birth as traumatic. Buck and I quickly answered that we did not. We genuinely don't. We look at it as Millie's birth. It is what it is. That's how she was born, and our entire experience (though not ideal) was beautiful. Very unusual, but beautiful. Had this been our second child, we would probably feel different. Had I been further along and developed different expectations, perhaps.

After we brought Millie home from the hospital, we returned for a visit before heading to South Carolina. We visited with another Doctor, Charlene, that took care of Millie a great deal. She mentioned that she'll never forget her first impression of Buck and I. She met with us, and couldn't believe how calm and collected we seemed. She said it felt like having Millie in the NICU and born early seemed like something we always expected. I can assure you, we never expected it. Buck later told me he did feel like there was going to be something unique about my pregnancy with Millie. I also felt that, and switched my OBGYN as soon as I found out I was pregnant based off of this feeling. I was very lucky to have the doctor that delivered Millie. He worked a miracle in delivering her, that could not have happened with my old doctor.

My personal experience was with preterm labor, but babies are born early for a variety of reasons. We were very blessed Millie wasn't born sick, as many babies are. That's not to say Millie didn't have her fair share of complications. Do you remember how long it took her to tolerate a feeding? Her heart surgery just at just a few days old? Her eye surgery in March? She also had chronic lung disease, which she has since recovered from. This will probably result is asthma later on, and she will probably wear glasses at a young age. Pretty incredible that (so far) those are the only lasting affects we can see of her miraculous arrival.

I am so thankful for the research and medicines that have been developed of the years. I know that because of these advances in medicine Millie has a much higher quality of life. Just a few years ago, Millie would have been expected to come home with a trach. Now, she can be just like any other child. Looking at her, you'd never know she was a preemie. What a miracle.

We fought for our preemie, and we'll keep fighting for other preemies. Everyone deserves to live. Spread the word, and who knows who we can save.