Unexpected Surprises

Well, nothing about my second pregnancy went according to the general plan.  And nothing about my previous week has been as expected. 

I fully intended to update everyone on my extended stay in the hospital.  I thought I would have plenty of time to post updates as I awaited the arrival of my bouncing baby boy.  I thought my little man was going to settle down.  I thought he would take his precious time in growing and developing inside my womb before he made his entrance into this fragile world. 

That was not the case.

Cinco de Mayo rolled around and my kiddo decided it was time to party.  So, one week ago, I checked into the local hospital for monitoring due to the passing of large blood clots and mild contractions (in connection with my large, subchorionic hematoma.)

My water broke at the local hospital, and they transferred me to a larger hospital that was better staffed and equipped to handle the possible arrival of a premature baby.

It's a good thing they transferred me.  The larger hospital was able to stop labor twice throughout this past week.  But then early Friday morning, my husband and I received an unexpected surprise.

Our son was delivered by emergency C-section on Friday, May 10, 2013.  He was 24 weeks and 4 days, 1 pound and 10 ounces, and 12 inches long - my little foot-long!

To our additional surprise, we were told he cried upon delivery.  He was breathing on his own.  And he passed his Apgar's tests with 9-9!  This is an amazing feat for one born so premature.

Our baby boy has had 3 successful, uncomplicated days of life in this world so far.  The nurses rave about his "stellar" performance.  However, we know we have a very long road ahead of us.  We celebrate the good days.  We assume there could be some tough days ahead - yet we are not going to focus on those possibilities.  Again, we are going to take things one day at a time, and count our blessings along the way.  One small victory at a time, and hopefully we'll be able to take our little man home one day soon.

We appreciate everyone's friendship, support and prayers.  My family and I are very blessed.

(Hopefully, I'll be able to go back and write about my experience over the past week.  Must heal first... but stay tuned for more updates.)