Happy Birthday Ezekiel....

When the time finally came for Ezekiel's birthday it came FAST!!! Although the nurses kept telling me that I still wasn't in labor and the the contractions were inconstistant I knew something was happening. I basically had to beg my nurse to check to see if anything had changed because they were not allowed to check me "just because" because my water could potentially break and they didn't want that to happen... at 2:00 am I was asking for some pain meds because I just wasn't going to be able to sleep if these "contractions" didn't stop... at 2:30 am I was pushing the button for the nurse because the meds weren't doing a thing.... at 3:00 am she got permission to check me HA! I was complete! Ezekiel James arrived at 3:24 am with only 4 pushes... and I had no epidural!!!!







My precious baby boy surprised us in more than one way! Not only did he gain more than a pound in that 2 weeks I was in the hospital weighing 5lbs 12 oz. But he didn't need ANY help breathing! And to my excitement he didn't look like an alien (My biggest fear of having a preemie... haha)!

Unfortunately he hadn't mastered the suck, swallow, breath process and had to have IV fluids and a tube put in his nose for feedings and I was forced to have a new best friend.... the PUMP..UGH! He did so good those first few days surprising all the NICU nurses and Dr. Hoffmeister. He started to take his bottle well and then his jaundice levels increased causing him to have to have treatments which unfortunately made him exhausted and slowed his desire to eat and then came the NG tube again. But after 11 days and the help of a wonderful nurse named Katy who pushed my baby and the doctors our little Ezekiel got to come home!

To all moms and future moms out there... never take forgranted the day that you got to come home with your baby from the hospital. I speak for myself and for other moms who have experienced this on top of being an emotional mess from just delivering a baby, having to leave the hospital and not getting to take your baby with you is one of the most awful feelings in the world and I was blessed to have a baby that was considered "healthy". Even after spending 2 weeks in the hospital before Ezekiel was born, the day that I got to go home was not a joyous occasion and no one prepares you for such an event.

Here I am 3 months later and I am so thankful for my healthy baby boy and how unless someone told you his story you would have never known that he was born premature.