November 17th has been dedicated by March of Dimes as a day to fight prematurity by raising awareness of the premature birth crisis.
Every year, 20 million babies are born premature and half a million of those are in the United States. It is estimated that one out of every eight babies is born premature in the United States.
Knowing the statistics of this crisis is one thing, but it is a completely different story to live it.
So, today, I am going to tell you our own story of premature birth.
It isn’t something that I have written a lot about before. My girls who were born very sick at the gestational age of 30 weeks are now healthy, thriving four year olds. You would never know they they were the tiny babies that struggled to survive after birth…spending weeks in the NICU.
Often when I comment or talk about our struggles with their birth, I feel “brushed aside” because it was so long ago….they’re healthy now, so why dwell on the past.
This morning I read a passage of scripture in Deuteronomy that reminded me of why it is important that I remember, of why I continue to talk about that time even though my girls are so healthy now that you would never know that they were preemies.
…but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this. -Deuteronomy 24:18
In this passage, God commanded the Israelites to be careful of the way they treat the needy among them because they were once needy themselves and tells them to remember where they came from.
It is important to remember where we’ve come from…the struggles that we have survived so that we can honor God and praise Him for His wonderous works in our lives. It also helps us to consider the needs and struggles of others.
One thing that is important to remember about premature birth is that it is not possible to know when and who it is going to strike. Sure, there are certain aspects of pregnancy that may put some at higher risk, but it really is no respector of persons.
I thought I was doing everything right during my pregnancy. We waited until my husband was accepted as a chaplain in the Army and we knew that we would be financially be okay for me to stay at home before trying for babies. And after just one month of trying….I was pregnant!
About a week after learning of my pregnancy on my 26th birthday, I began bleeding heavily, so we were told to come in to my OB’s office for an ultrasound….before I was even scheduled for our first real visit.
In all honestly, I walked into the office thinking that I had already miscarried. But I was wrong.
The first words out of the technician’s mouth were, “Are you taking clomid?” I answered with, “I don’t know what that is…I just stopped taking birth control.” And then she showed me why she was asking.
The ultrasound showed not one, not two, but three (yes, three) egg sacs with yolks.
The technician immediately began talking about triplets, possible bedrest and left the room to get the OB. I think she was completely shocked at the discovery of possible natural triplets.
As were we. My husband’s first response was of praise….I will always remember that will a smile on my face.
It was too early to detect heartbeats, so we were cautioned that anyting could happen and told to come back in a week for another ultrasound. This second ultrasound showed just two beating hearts. The third egg sac had absorbed.
But there were two beating hearts…we were having twins!
After this the next six months went along just perfectly. I felt great and loved being pregnant. Even though we were expected twins we hardly even considerd a premature birth.
My husband left in January when I was five months pregnant to attend his Chaplain’s Basic Course at Ft. Jackson, SC. Thankfully this was located in the same state where we lived, just a bit over an hour’s drive away.
“Our plan” went something like this….ChaplainAndrews would graduate from his course in April, report to Ft. Campbell, KY and hopefully be able to make it home in time for the birth of our babies at a healthy age. We thought that I would possibly need to go on bedrest around 32 weeks, but we never even thought they would come anytime before 36 weeks. Then I would move to Ft. Campbell when our babies were at a good age for traveling, around 6 weeks….easy peasy!
I have learned not to count on “my plans”.
When I was around 26 weeks, I woke up one morning to get ready for work where I taught Special Education, I noticed swelling in my ankles. This swelling did not lessen at all throughout the day, so I called the doctor’s office after work that afternoon. They told me to come in for a check-up the next day.
At that visit, my blood pressure was a little higher than normal, so I was put on bed rest for the weekend and scheduled to come in again the next Monday. I did and after a weekend of rest, my blood pressure was back to normal, although the swelling never went away completely.
For the next four weeks I had pretty much weekly visits to my OB’s office. I saw a different doctor every week. One week the doctor would show concern and the next week the doctor I saw wouldn’t have a clue as to why I was back so soon.
During those four weeks, I spent my time working extra hard at work preparing for IEP conferences for my students. Because of my continuous swelling, I was forced to wear bedroom slippers to teach in and spent most of the day with my feet propped up at my desk.
Each week I felt worse than the one before but I kept a positive attitude and never considered things bad enough to cause grave concern.
That is until I was 30 weeks.
This is getting long, so I’ll tell you more about that time and their actual birth tomorrow….stay tuned.
Until then, you can watch this video from the March of Dimes to learn more about premature birth and consider giving to this organization that is dedicated to fighting for those that cannot fight for themselves.
Today I’m fighting prematurity along with the March of Dimes by sharing our premature birth story. Visit Tackle it Tuesday at 5 Minutes for Mom for more tackles!
Amy @ Finer Things says
Wow, Monica. Bless your heart! Can’t wait to hear more, especially since I know it’s a happy ending. 🙂
.-= Amy @ Finer Things´s last blog ..Giving Opportunities =-.
MoDBev says
Blah. I am now siting on the edge of my chair. I can’t wait until tomorrow!!! Thank you so much for sharing your story and participating in our Fight for Preemies event! I’ll be back.
.-= MoDBev´s last blog ..You can’t call-in sick when you’re a mom =-.
Phoebe @ Cents to Get Debt Free says
I can’t wait to hear more about your story! I had quite a scary birth with my oldest, whom was born at about 32 weeks.
Nancy M. says
Wow, I had no idea. I can’t wait to read the next part.
I like your new look!
.-= Nancy M.´s last blog ..Our Church Drama =-.
Jordan says
Okay…now this preggo gal is in tears! What a powerful story you and that doctor have to tell! What a testament to the power of God! Looking forward to part deux!
Angela says
Thanks for sharing your powerful story! I can’t wait to hear more!
Stop by my Tackle-it Tuesday if you have a chance! 🙂
.-= Angela´s last blog ..Sewing Skills. =-.
Sarah at SmallWorld says
Can’t wait to hear the rest! We just rejoiced with the 10th birthday of a little girl at our church who was born at 24 weeks. What a miracle she is!!
.-= Sarah at SmallWorld´s last blog ..Tackle It Tuesday =-.