Katie
My story begins during the end of my 31st week of pregnancy. I had been experiencing some discomfort and pressure so I went to see my OB. One of my OB’s colleagues performed an internal ultrasound and found everything to be okay but as a precaution placed me on modified bed rest until my regularly scheduled 32-week appointment. At the 32-week ultrasound something was wrong. The technician told me and my husband that our baby was in the 11th percentile for weight. We went in to speak with my OB who then put me on a fetal stress monitor to chart the baby’s heart rate. He suggested that I be admitted to the hospital for observation so they could test my protein discharge, which I agreed to immediately.
That night was one of the longest in my life. In the Labor and Delivery ward I was again hooked up to a fetal monitor that caused several scares to the point of about 6 doctors and nurses rushing into my room to readjust my position because the baby’s heart rate was dangerously low. At that point they started the first shot for the baby’s lung development in hopes that I could hold on for the shots to take effect. That didn’t happen. I had developed preclampsia, which was causing my blood pressure to increase to dangerous levels for both the baby and me.
The next morning I had another ultrasound with the perinatologist who said that my placenta was dying in spots and that the only solution to my medical issues was to give birth. Within two hours I was prepped and had an emergency C-Section. Katherine Rose weighted 2 pounds and 15 ounces at birth. She was beautiful but tiny.
Katie spent her first Christmas and New Years in the Stamford NICU experiencing the typical preemie issues of oxygen levels, Apnea and Bradycardia to name a few. The Stamford NICU was the best place for Katie to be. She was cared for and loved by a wonderful group of people. They were able to do things for Katie that we could not.
After a month of transitioning from various breathing issues and moving from IV to feeding tubes to bottles, Katie made her trip home. She weighed about 4 pounds when she got home and now a year later she is a happy and healthy 17-pound baby.
It wasn’t the ideal birth that we had planned to welcome our first child into the world but she is now the healthy baby girl we had prayed for. She is our tiny miracle.
