My First Baby's 20 Today!

 

 On March 5, 1992, I was being wheeled up to the 6th floor of the hospital.  I was terrified!  I was 32 weeks pregnant with my first child and I was being told I was in labor and that my baby would be born shortly.  I knew I wasn't ready just yet to be a mom!  I was taken into a room where I waited for the doctor to come in and talk to me about what was going on with this child.
    The doctor made his appearance finally.  I was leaking amniotic fluid. and was in labor.  If the labor couldn't be stopped, I would have a two and a half or three pound baby!  I was so frightened!  Nurses started an IV of medication.  They would have to take blood every few hours to be sure that the medicine they were using to stop my labor didn't build up in my bloodstream because it could have endangered me.  I received two steroid shots to try to strengthen the baby's lungs since those were underdeveloped at that stage of pregnancy.  And I worried.
    My labor stopped at last.  I stayed in the hospital for a week, had ultrasounds every day to keep an eye on the level of fluid around the baby, and started to have pain in my back.  One week to the day that I was brought up to the 6th floor and after a day and a half of back labor, on March 12, 1992, Mason was born.  He weighed in at four and a half pounds!  I was thrilled even though he was so tiny!  He was quickly taken from me and whisked to the Neonatal ICU where he spent the next six days.  After that, he was transferred over to the regular nursery and stayed there for another six days.  Finally, he was able to come home after spending twelve days in the hospital.
     I was one excited mama bringing home a four pound, tiny, dried-apple-doll of a baby!  I'm still one excited mama, but Mason is now a sophomore in college and a healthy, happy young man.  Happy 20th Birthday, my sweet son!