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Hello Everyone!!! This is our first baby, and we are very excited! So happy that during the Big Scan we decided to find out the sex of our little pickle!!!! So glad we did, because we thought she was a boy!!!!! All the old wives tales and the Intelligender test said boy!!!! The only thing that was right besides the 3 lines seen on ultrasound, was the Chinese Lunar Calendar!!!!

Hello Everyone. I have not been on this site for about a week now because I have had my baby 13 weeks early. Anelise Marie was born at 12:57am on April 17, 2008, weighing only 2 lbs 5 oz. My due date was July 15th. I was in the hospital sunday April 13th til sunday April 20th and it was a very scary time for me. The Drs gave me all kinds of drugs...terbutaline, Mag sulfate (almost killed me) procardia, and indicine, to try and stall her arrival, but she had other plans. They needed to try and keep her in me as long as possilbe and at first I was placed on complete bed rest in the hospital....but bed rest or not, drugs or no drugs...she was coming. The cocktail of drugs they gave me almost put me into cardiac arrest so at that point they had to take me off and just let nature take it's course. We were buying time and every hour was important. They gave me steroid injections because they would help her lungs develop if she were to come. The steroids take about 24 hours to work, and that is what I got....24 hours...not 2 months on bed rest.

Continued..... So...with out getting into too much detail, I will give the shorter version of the story. The first night when I went into the hospital on Sunday...it was after work late at night. I was having BH contractions like before but this time my lower back was hurting me so bad. I called my ob and he told me to go straight to the ER. I woke up my husband and we were off. They hooked me up to monitors...and what do you know...I am having contractions every 5 minutes!!!! I guess I have a huge tolerance for pain to be able to stand them for 9 hours. In any case...they started me on IV's, gave me shots to stop contractions....about 3 of them over the course of the night, into the morning. Things seemed to calm down, so they sent me home, knowing I had an US app on monday (3 hours later). At my US app, they saw that my membranes were funneling into my cervix and i was 60% effaced and one centimeter dilated!!!! My dr sent me back to the hospital where I started my long and painfully scary journey. The drugs they gave me seemed to stop the contractions, but they were killing me in the process. My BP was 170/100, my HR was 160 bpm.....and I could not breathe....it was the worst I felt in my life! They had to do EKG's, chest xrays, and cat scans to make sure I was not going to have a pulmonary embolism. In any case...they decided to stop the drugs. Contractions started right back up...and very regular. It's now day 3 and I have not slept or eaten anything....I'm tired, scared, and so sick. 6:30 am on the 16th I go into full blown labor!!!! After 19 hours, I give birth vaginally to my little girl Anelise on the 17th (my mother's b-day). She was a fighter the whole time through my labor and I was so happy that I did not require a c section. Labor makes small babies stronger. In any case...she will be in the NICU for 10-12 weeks and it will be a very long and difficult journey with many setbacks to endure. We are praying for the best. Right now she is on C-PAP, iv's and in an incubator. I have been pumping so she gets my breast milk which they feed through a tube into her belly. I was fortunate that my milk let down happened only 2 days after her birth. My husband and I are home as of today, but we have 24 hour access to the NICU to visit her. I ask you all for prayers. I was totally not ready for her...we had nothing ready as we thought we had 3 months left! Ladies...if you ever question anything that's strange with your contractions or how you feel...please check it out. I waited too long I think, as I don't like to complain about things. I have fibroids that have caused me pain (possibly put me into pre-term labor) since I got pregnant so i deal with the pain. This time was different. A part of me believes that no matter what, she was coming...as that is what she did. It's bitter sweet that she was born on my mother's b-day, but I was really hoping for my husband's b-day which was when she was due. If anyone knows of anyone who can help us with any info on premature babies please let me know. I guess I have to start posting on a different page. I miss her in my belly, and I feel sad because I missed a whole part of my first pregnancy.:( We remain positive and pray that she will be okay and start to thrive. I can't even hold her yet.:( Alrighty ladies...take care...and don't ever second guess anything!!!!

Oh, and some final thoughts....I will continue posting on this site and continue on the path that I would be at if I were still pregnant, so this way I can follow all of you til the end. I will also give you updates on Anelise as she grows and matures. Hopefully, when all of you are giving birth, I will be taking her home. It's so hard knowing she is here, but I can't be with her nor can I take care of her at this time. I know once I have her in my arms...I will never let her go.