One of my greatest blessings.... that almost wasn't.

I would like to introduce you to JAXSON, my adorable, beyond adorable (hey, I am a bit biased here) 2 1/2 year old. 

Jaxson is my first born and ALL boy. He loves anything dirty or sports related. He said football before he said mom(yeah, I may have shed a tear or two over that). He can distinguish a fumble and a sack. He is right there with Mom and Dad rooting on "his Seahawks", as he likes to call them. He is a surprisingly sensitive boy who is also very strong-willed, determined and stubborn. He is what I like to call "busy" and always has been. He is one of my greatest blessings, but almost wasn't.

Let me first say that when my husband and I decided to get pregnant we had been married just a little over a year. We decided we would just NOT try to not get pregnant and if it happened than hey, Great! Well, it didn't happen and it didn't happen. A few months turned into 6 and then into a year. We were just about to consult our doctor when BAM..... a big fat positive. To say we were shocked was an understatement. We had seen so many negative tests, but never a positive one. Our shock quickly turned to excitement. We thought we would keep the news between the two of us for awhile, but soon we couldn't help it , and we told our parents and siblings only.

Two days later, I woke up to some light bleeding. It wasn't a lot, but enough to scare us. I was kind of a wreck. I waited all day to see if it would stop, but it increased. I was only about 6 weeks along and I knew the statistics of miscarriages. I quickly called my doctor and he told me to come in immediately.


When we got there they told us it would be too early to hear a heartbeat by Doppler, so they got out the ultrasound. They couldn't find the baby. I was heartbroken and erupted into tears. My doctor told me that the ultrasound machines in office aren't quite as advanced as the ones at the hospital so they wanted to send me there to make sure that there wasn't something that they weren't picking up. We talked a bit about miscarriages and also the fact that maybe I was not as far along as I thought, therefore making it really hard to see anything. Bless his heart, he was so supportive.

The drive to the hospital was really tough, we were trying to mentally prepare ourselves for the worst.
They got me in right away for another ultrasound but because it was just a technician administering the test, he couldn't tell me anything. They had to have the radiologist read the test results to my doctor who would then give them to us. It was so frustrating because we then had to go back to our doctors.

I remember trying to keep it all together as we walked into his office. We were greeted by a smiling nurse and my doctor was rather happy! Turns out, I was indeed, only about 5 weeks pregnant. They were able to locate the gestation sac and everything appeared to be healthy!
We couldn't believe it!

Unfortunately that was just the beginning of our problems. I bled off and on through out the first trimester. My husband and I decided that I would quit working all together, and just take it easy during my pregnancy. As I entered my second trimester, the bleeding quit completely and I felt like I could finally enjoy my pregnancy without worrying every second.  That feeling of not worrying didn't last very long, though.

Around 28 1/2 weeks I was standing at my front door talking to a neighbor when I experienced a gush of fluid. I thought, no this can't be, and I second guessed myself all the way to the birthing center. They told me that it was not my water breaking. What?! I knew it wasn't urine. Us ladies know the difference! However, when monitored I was having intermittent contractions. They kept me for observation then sent me home with instructions to come back if it happened again.
A few days later it happened again, went to the birthing center and same thing! They did do an ultrasound to check my fluid levels and they were within normal ranges. I was mystified and so were they. I knew, though, deep down that it was my water. So, I kept going back and was persistent.

Finally almost two weeks later, while a friend was in town staying I had another BIG gush of fluid. I almost thought about not going in because what would be the point? The test would  say negative. But, this time contractions kicked in and they hurt!

When I went in, I was armed with all my clothes that had been soaked through. They finally took me seriously and low and behold, this time it came back positive for amniotic fluid. After that, everything happened so fast. Our hospital is not equipped to deliver premature infants so they had to prep me for transport to a hospital about an hour south. My hubby was working an overnight shift at his fire department . I had just enough time to call him and tell him I was being transported.

Scariest night of my life, but somehow I kept it all together, even telling jokes on the ambulance ride down (on a side note, it is the only time I have ever been in an ambulance and my hubby got to actually load me into it). Now, for sake of trying to condense this post ( I guess I have gotten a bit wordy) , I will omit some things.
 My water was broken and I was having regular contractions. I was checked into labor and delivery and spent two days there. I never dilated beyond 1cm and my contractions stopped completely. I was NOT in labor, but because my water had broken I would not be going home until the baby came.
So, the hospital became my home away from home. When your water breaks this early and you do not go into labor naturally, then they keep you under constant monitoring and try to keep the baby in as long as possible, up to 35 weeks. Why 35 weeks? 35 weeks is the cut-off because after that they consider the baby to be out of the woods for major problems, but the risk of infection goes up dramatically after that point.
Now, being in the hospital away from home was hard! I missed my home and even my baby shower and don't get me started on my missed maternity pictures.I worried everyday if he would be born and if he would be okay. I knew, though, that as hard as it was, I was right where I needed to be and I was determined to keep this little guy in till 35 weeks, and you know what? I did!

At 35 weeks, I was induced and 36 hours later, he arrived. There was a NICU team in place and a flurry of activity but he arrived completely healthy and not underweight at all! Besides some jaundice, he had no complications.Finally, after a pregnancy filled with ups and downs, he was here and worth every second of everything I had gone through!

I love you Jaxson

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