National Prematurity Awareness Day

Today over 400 Bloggers are participating in Bloggers Unite Fight for Preemies to raise awareness of the 20 million babies who are born prematurely each year.  The March of Dimes is fighting to drastically decrease these numbers.     

Something about the holidays and the fact that my girls will be TWO in one short month has made me somewhat emotional lately.  Two years ago next week, I quit working and went on complete bedrest.  I wondered what in the world I was going to do with myself for the next eight weeks.  I had a goal to reach 35 weeks and if I did, my doctor said he would go ahead and deliver the babies.  Little did I know that only three short weeks later, at only 28 1/2 weeks, one of the girls' water would break.  We rushed to the hospital but my doctor and nurses could not stop the labor.  So my girls were delivered that night.  I have never been so scared in my life!   Right before the girls were born we met with a neonatologist and he explained everything that we could experience with babies born that early.....brain bleeds, patent ductus arteriosis (PDA), chronic lung disease, retinopathy of prematurity, etc.  So you hope for the best but expect the worst.    

Meeting the girls today, you would never ever know that they were born at only 28 weeks weighing a combined total of eight pounds.  We are so blessed to have happy, healthy beautiful little girls.  I am so thankful for these girls!  So many stories do not turn out as good as ours.  It was amazing to watch the girls grow and fight for their lives everyday.  We had an amazing team of doctors and nurses taking care of them.   We are so thankful to The Women's Hospital of Texas and March of Dimes!