Story Telling

This past Sunday, I participated in the March of Dimes Walk in Richmond, VA.

It was a rainy, dreary, mess of a day, but that didn't keep the thousands down who showed up to walk for babies! My team was the RAMOM Early Birds ( my local mom of multiples organization).  Although we were soaked from head to toe by the end of our 5 mile walk, it was so worth it, and it was so inspiring to hear stories from other parents of premature babies.

Complications and high-risk come with the territory when you are dealing with a pregnancy that involves multiples, and being an active member in my mom's of mulitples club, I've heard a range of preemie stories.  At the walk Sunday, I heard even more.

March of Dimes isn't just for mom's of multiples of course, so it was touching to hear all the stories of hardships and extreme premature births that ended happily.  Of course, many were walking in memory of preemies who did not make it.  Sobering, to see and hear their stories, it certainly made me hug my own children more closely.

Our big girl was born a day before her due date, right on time, so I know how important those last few weeks in the womb matter during pregnancy.

On September 7, 2010 my twins were born 5 weeks prematurely.  5 weeks early, sounds pretty good considering I was carrying twins, but still early none the less.

 We faced many complications during the pregnancy, and from day 1, were told one of our girls would not survive the first trimester.  Well, she did, then we were told she wouldn't make it past 20 weeks, well she did. THEN, they said, there is no way I could carry them past 28 weeks....I DID. Again, before I had my c-section, they said, I probably wouldn't be able to see her, she would need to head to the NICU immediately.  Well, my 3lb. 14 oz. little girl was MUCH smaller than her twin sister who came in at a whopping 5lbs. 12 oz, she was small, but her lungs were mighty, and she screamed LOUDLY, letting everyone in the OR know she was just fine!  Because of her weight, she eventually was taken to the NICU, and originally we were told she wouldn't be released until her due date, but they were wrong again.  She was only in the NICU for 8 days total! She was born at 3lbs. 14 oz. and she came home weighing 3lbs. 15 oz.!!!

 She was a rockstar, and of course so was her sister! We were incredibly blessed. For the most part they hit their milestones right on target with the exception of sitting up (they didn't do that til about 8-9 months) but that was literally the only development milestone where they showed their prematurity....

They are 19 months now, and you would NEVER know how far they've come! They keep up just fine, considering the start they had in this world!