This was my first pregnancy. With the
exception of some minor bleeding in
the beginning, everything went
smoothly.
One night I woke up sopping wet. I
thought I had wet myself. Isn't that
what happens toward the end of
pregnancy? I went back to bed and just
kept changing the pads and going to
the bathroom. I had read about PROM,
but that was what happened to women
who smoked, had cerclages or amnios,
previous pre-term deliveries, were
really young or old, or had other risk
factors, right? wrong. I was 30 years
old, healthy, and was having my first
baby. It couldn't be happening to me.
I went to my moms' Bible study that
met the following morning, and noticed
that the leaking wasn't stopping, it
was constant. I mentioned it, and was
told to call the doctor. I got checked
and lo and behold, it was fluid.
I felt like I had been hit with a ton
of bricks. I was told that I would go
to the hospital and that my baby would
be born today. Not at 34 weeks, that's
way too early! This was not what I had
pictured the birth would be like. I
still had a month and a half to be
pregnant! After being monitored for a
day, they realized that I wasn't going
into labor. My AFI fluctuated between
3-5 and I leaked and gushed
constantly. Still they wanted to wait
until 35 weeks, to let his lungs
mature a little more.
Christopher was born weighing 5 lbs 4
oz and 19" long. He was whisked away
after a quick kiss, while I was left
to sit without my baby, wondering what
he really looked like. I wanted to
study him and examine every feature,
but I couldn't. They took me to my
room and I didn't get to see him until
8 hours later when my husband could
could come and wheel me to the NICU.
He was perfect, just small. He
remained in the NICU for 7 days for
jaundice.
The hardest part was leaving the
hospital without my baby. But, it is
all a distant memory now. He is 6
years old and just started first
grade.
Since then I have had 2 more PROM
babies, at 32 and 29 weeks. By far,
his was the most difficult beause I
didn't know what to expect.
Elisabeth´s
second pregnancy >>
Elisabeth´s
third pregnancy >>
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