I am a mother to 3 preemies and a full term baby. Haley and Ashlyn were born at 25 weeks 4 days, after I went into preterm labor at 21 weeks and was on bedrest in the hospital for 26 days. As in Haley and Ashlyn's case, there was no answer why I went into preterm labor. The best reason they came up with was "twins". We became a statistic that day, our girls had a 50/50 chance of survival. Our sweet Ashlyn passed away due to severe prematurity complications and Haley spent 84 days in the NICU. It was quite the roller coaster ride. She is doing absolutely wonderful now, you would never know that she had a rough start to life! She loves 1st grade and is very social! She loves to read chapter books and loves to do homework! She is also about to start her 4th season of Soccer! She is truly a miracle. She is full of energy, determination, and love.
Easton was also born premature. He was 6 weeks early and weighed 5 lbs 9 oz. He stayed in the NICU for 4 weeks. He is now healthy as can be, and almost passing up his big sister. What a kid! He is 5 years old and getting excited to start Kindergarten in the fall! He played soccer in the fall and is playing T-Ball in the spring!
Then along came Hudson!! He was born January 19th 2007, only 5 days early! You heard that right! I walked into the scheduled date for my c-section! I think he would have stayed longer if we let him!! He weighed 8lbs 7.6 oz!!! what a chunk!! Having a full term baby was such a great experience! He just celebrated his 2nd birthday and is quite the little boy!
Hudson's pregnancy we tried something a little different.I researched and saw that MOD had evidence that progesterone injections could prolong pregnancy. So I asked about it and my Dr felt we had nothing to lose. So, I took an injection of progesterone weekly from about 19 weeks until 34 weeks. My pregnancy was typical of the other two, plenty of braxton hicks. I noticed when I would get my shot, the contractions would be less common. I am confident that the injections helped keep me pregnant! I never dilated early, and actually even up until Hudson was born, I wasn't making any sort of progress!
I can thank March of Dimes for the research they have done that helped save my children, and has helped prevent preterm labor for me! I hope the answers and solutions are in the near future for all mothers!
We have been blessed!
you can email me at buhtafly@gmail.com if you have any questions or comments!
The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.
