Being pregnant with our first was
exciting. I have been healthy my whole life so the misery I was about to endure
came as a surprise. I had severe morning
sickness (I made my mark all over Austin!) and contracted for months (the
Terbutaline didn’t help). I knew my
first ever stay at a hospital was coming; I just didn’t realize it would be so
soon and so often. In the end we saw 3 longhorn football games in a hospital
room.
At 29 weeks gestation, I was given
a steroid shot (to help develop the baby’s lungs in the event he would make his
appearance that week), admitted to the hospital and put on magnesium. I knew
having a baby was going to be tough, but nothing prepared me for this. The scariest part of this process was how
excited the doctor was every day the baby still hadn’t come. Every day counts
and weeks are huge milestones. The day I
hit 30 days gestation, there was not much time to celebrate. The contractions were so strong I couldn’t
bear it and I was rushed in for an emergency c-section. The nurse swaddled our little miracle,
brought that pink and perfect bundle over for a kiss from mommy and daddy and
they all rushed off to our baby’s first home, the NICU.
The gender took a backseat to the
health of course, but we were finally able to take in the fact that our 3
pound, 3 ounce little boy was ready for his debut. He fought hard and only had to stay in the
NICU for 4 weeks. Jett is a healthy,
happy 4-year-old today.
He has a baby brother who thanks to
progesterone and bed rest was born full term.
Cruz has a hole in his heart and was born with bilateral club feet, but
he is doing well and at 8 months is crawling all over the place and hitting all
of his milestones on time. 2 boys and 2 very different experiences.
We sought out the March of Dimes in
an effort to help other families and with the wish that the day comes where
others do not have to go through these scary battles. We feel it is imperative to raise awareness
for the March of Dimes and what they do to have a support system for families
and to find a way to prevent these things from happening.
We are a top family team in Austin
every year thanks primarily to my job and Facebook. Recruiting walkers to join your team is where
it all begins. Enlist your family, friends, and all of your contacts on social
media. I am a teacher and recruit my students and colleagues. I get my neighbors; reach out to the Home
Owner’s Association, Jett’s preschool, and soccer team. You come into contact with many people
everyday that would probably love to help such a great cause. You just have to give them the
opportunity. You will be surprised with
who all you can get to join in supporting this cause.
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