Trying to make a difference....

Most of you already know that both my daughters were born premature. But for those who I have never shared their story with this post is for you. And incase you have any questions as to why I think your couple bucks might make a difference to me let me share my story.

My wonderful husband and I had only been married for 4 months when we found out we were expecting our first daughter. It was a shock and joy to dive into the world of parenthood. We did everything a first time parent does to prepare for a new addition. We registered, had a shower, went to every doctor appointment together with a list of questions. And until 31 weeks everything seems to be going perfect. After just a week of troubles I found myself probably double the size I was at 24 weeks. And I do not mean the belly. I mean I added about 65 pounds in 1 week. I was scared and worried. The doctor assured us that bed rest should reduce the swelling and keep our daughter safe. Just a couple days later my husband found me curled up in sevear pain in the middle of the night. We rushed to the hospital.

The doctors were confused at what could be causing the pain. After an hour of debating between bed rest at the hospital, ultrasounds, or advanced tests they felt it was best to do a c-section. They were not sure what the cause of my complications because I really had no other symptoms but thankfully my doctors were religious and felt the same prompting I felt from my loving father in heaven... "something is really wrong!" After rushing into an emergency c-section what felt like just a moment after arriving they opened my up to find the shocking answer to my problem. I had a very rare placental abruption. Rare not only because it was a complete seperation of my placenta from my uterine wall that happened all at once, but also because I had no bleeding which almost always is the first sign of trouble. In these cases the child only has 12 hours after the abruption before they most likely will have little to no chance of survival. As wellt he mother only has a few hours past that due to sevear blood loss and risk of seizers.

Layla in her first real home... we brought her lots of clothes and blankets so she would know how much we care and that we were always with her even when we couldn't stay at the hospital.

My beautiful daughter Layla was born right at 11 hours and 30 minutes after I first felt the pain. It is truely a miracle that the two of us survived. Layla spent the next 5 weeks growing and developing in the NICU. Thank fully she was at our local hospital we were able to visit her several times a day. However nothing can describe the joy and pain we felt in our first meeting. Layla was so fragile and was so unstable when I first met her that we were not allowed to hold her. We could only touch her small feet. They were as tiny as half my index finger. I could not even rub her little foot but merely hold in between my fingers. As I lay there in my own bed holding onto her tiny foot I sobbed. I loved this tiny weak child more than I thought humanly possible. I would have given anything for her to make it through. She was tiny but beautiful and she was all mine. As many of you parents know that first time with your baby is precious. For most you have the joy of holding them in your arms and looking into their eyes. After a week we were finally blessed with those precious moments but what a long and scary week that was for us all.

Our tiny little girl a few days before she came home. She finally learned to eat from a bottle and got to remove the g-tube from her noise... so much cuter without it!

After 4 weeks she was growing so much, or at least in our eyes!

Layla in her preemie outfit at home. This is a typical preemie size which is suppose to fit up to 5 pounds. As you can see it swallows her. She was so tiny but such a fighter.

This is Layla at 4 months. She finally is fitting into size 0-3 months. Next to her is the only outfits that remotely fit her when she came home. It is preemie outfit that hung off her tiny 4 pound body. Layla was born 3 pound 11 ounces. At her smallest she was a mere 2 pounds 15 ounces and she came home a gigantic 4 pounds 5 ounces.

After a year with Layla we found out we were expecting our second daughter. We wanted to really be prepared this time around so we saw a specialist and set up a plan that insure a full term pregnancy. We met with the doctor twice a month and I kept my body in shape. I did moderate exercise to help my heart and body as healthy as I could. And I ate better than I ever have in my life. Yet at 30 weeks I found myself short of breath and gaining weight like crazy. The doctor put me on strict bed rest 23 1/2 hours a day. I could use my half hour in 2 minute increments to go to the bathroom, shower, or move from one bed in the house to the next. This lasted for a week and a half. At that point I was not showing any signs of improvement so they moved me to my cozy hospital room. I sat there for 4 days alone while my husband made plans for our daughter. He called in all reinforcements because the doctors felt I would remain in the hospital the duration of my pregnancy still 8 weeks.

Me in my cozy new home, hooked up to who knows what!

After 4 days the doctor told us that things were not improving and they couldn't wait any longer because of the risks for both Isabel and I. They were afraid the same complications I had with Layla might accur and already having preacclampsia and toxima my body couldn't take much more. The risk of seizers was greatly increasing so we sceduled my c-section for that day. Thankfully the medical field had been able to develop a steriod for the development of the lungs in infants that Isa was given the day before her delivery. It was a painful shot to say the least but it made such a huge difference.

This is Isa once we were allowed to come visit. It is always a bit heartbreaking seeing them struggle!

Isa was born yet again 8 weeks premature but was a huge 5 pounds 1 ounce. We thought she was a giant! Thankfully the steriods she was given took effect just as it should and she was only on oxygen for a few hours. This meant that we could hold her after just one day. The first day we were at least allowed to sit with her as long as we wished as long as she wasn't having tests run.

For those who don't know the tube in her nose is what I mentioned earlier as a g-tube. This tube travels all the way down to her stomach. This is how you have to feed babies who are too weak or who haven't learned to eat from a bottle. The girls used these up until 2 or 3 days before they came home.

After 10 days in the NICU Isa was allowed to come home with us. And it was such a blessing to have her home. We were amazing at how much the medical field had learned in just the 19 months between our two daughter were born. They did so many things different and made many changes that helped us bring our daughter home so much sooner and she was so much stronger as well.

There are so many advanced in medicine each year. And with the help from March of Dimes the advances in childhood care many more parents enjoy the blessings of healthy babies. Many one day we will too. The cost for the two girls is far more than we could calculate. When you think about donating to March of Dimes I hope you think of my two wonderful daughters. They are my little miracles. And though things haven't always been easy for us we are blessed just having them here on this earth teaching us everyday to be better parents. Children teach us so much about life. I am thankful that I have my children with me each day to remind me of how much I have been given. I hope to raise just a small amount of money to help even just one family. I know the heart ache they feel. I feel it everyday as I see the babies around me. One day we hope to have another child.

And I hope that maybe just maybe I might be one of those parents who have a healthy strong full term baby. I hope to be one of the parents I am fighting to support. I want to be that mother who gets to hold her baby just moments after her child is born. And I want that joy bringing that baby home healthy and strong. I am walking so that maybe I might one day get to be that mom. But if not maybe just maybe I might help someone else get to have that same dream. I hope this monster long post helps you understand why I am fighting for this cause. I am walking in honor of Layla and Isabel and all those who helped us bring them and keep them here.

Layla and Isa their first time together.

My girls now... still a little weaker than the average kid but they stick it out together!

Our little Family working together to build a better future for our family and other families around the world!