It's that time of year again...

We are sailing right into one of my absolute favorite days of the year -- April 18th!! Thirteen years ago, my precious babies were born. THIRTEEN!! I know I should be wary of the teenage years....but honestly, I remember 13 years ago TODAY....when my body was NOT cooperating with my pregnancy and I was terrified my babies would not be healthy enough to survive as it became more and more obvious that they WOULD be born early....and probably very soon!

Over the next few days I am going to share some of their birth story. I warn you...their may be some ooey-gooey emotional stuff involved...I'm THAT kind of mother.

But thirteen years ago today....there was less warm-and-fuzzy and more all out fear. I had been contracting since 19 weeks....doctors were not very optimistic at that point that Wade and I would be parents this pregnancy. But I KNEW....I knew these kiddos....I held on to hope like a drowning person holds onto a life-preserver!! On this day, we reached the huge milestone of being 28 weeks pregnant. This had been THE number everyone was shooting for....oh, it was still too early, but at the University of Chicago in 1997, babies born at 28 weeks had a 99 percent chance of survival. There was a celebratory air as we rejoiced truly believing that we would keep making positive progress from this point.

But after Wade went back to our dorm (we were dorm parents and he HAD to be there at night) and all the docs went home (or to their call rooms to sleep)....I felt a sensation that as a first-time-pregnant-woman could only assume was my water breaking. I immediately hit the call button (I had not been out of the hospital bed in more than five weeks....not AT ALL!)...I couldn't not see over my belly (OK, you can smile at that) so had no idea what everybody was seeing as first the nurses, then the doctors poured into my room with faces that told me this was NOT what they were expecting.

What I had assumed was "water"....was in fact blood. I was hemorrhaging and they were not sure how to stop it. Wade made it to my bedside in record time...I think he may have flown!


The room was panicked as the residents realized my doctor had just had flown to EGYPT for a death in his family. When his partner, Dr. Judy Hibbard, arrived she refused to whisk me to the operating room (like we had been told was going to happen)....because she promised Dr. Moawad to "keep you pregnant until he returns!"

More drugs were given to me. When the contractions subsided, so did the hemorrhaging....and we gratefully reached a point where we all took a deep breath and decided to wait. Again.

A blessed ending to a crazy, scary, unbelievable few hours....

More tomorrow!