Experiencing firsthand what it's like to give birth to a child with special needs! During my pregnancy with my only daughter, I had no idea she was going to be born with Down Syndrome and what was in store in the days ahead.
I was about to be giving birth to a special needs child too early.
When I was nearly 32 weeks pregnant, my precious little baby girl was not moving for some reason.
I did all the tricks and tips the nurses suggested - didn't work! I am a worry wort so, just as a precaution, I decided to drive myself to the hospital just to see if everything was OK.
Turns out, after a few long anticipating hours, the doctors decided to do an emergency c-section.
My precious little unborn angel was not getting enough oxygen.
Was I ever shocked to know I was about to meet my little girl for the first time! The doctor told me on several occasions that if I would have waited just one or two more days before coming in, my daughter may not have made it.
He praised me over and over again for paying attention to my body - that I probably saved my baby's life! We have a Miracle baby here - straight from Heaven Above! God has a plan! While the doctors were preparing for surgery.
I felt so overwhelmed, excited and petrified all at the same time! I was shaky and wasn't sure exactly how to feel.
I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of my newborn daughter and thinking to myself, I will be a new mom in just a few short minutes.
Again - I thought, I will be getting to take my newborn baby girl home in just a few short days.
Was I ever wrong! Here we go - The Time is NOW - I get prepped and go to the operating room.
About 10 minutes later they pull my little girl out and rush her over to suction her out and make sure she is OK.
Here it comes, the words I never thought I would hear - The doctor comes over to me and says: We feel that your newborn daughter has the characteristics of having Down Syndrome.
I thought to myself, surely not, the denial started! I start replaying over in my head the past few weeks, her 26 week ultrasound came out just fine, nothing to worry about, everything looked normal! On that day, we found out "it's a girl!" Then I thought - No worries! We will love her regardless of our challenges to come and can overcome this! In my mind, I am still thinking that I will be taking my little girl home in a few short days.
I don't think it ever hit me that she was going to have to be in the hospital in a NICU for several weeks until I actually laid eyes on her for the first time.
I finally got to see just a glimpse of her before they Medi-flighted my newborn baby girl to the NICU in Oklahoma City's OU Children's Hospital.
I had to stay back at the local hospital to recover from my c-section.
Talk about separation anxiety! My hormones were so out of whack, all I knew is that I wanted my newborn baby girl near my side.
I had to wait till I was discharged from the local hospital before I could even drive to be with my only daughter! My husband and I were swarmed when we reached the NICU by genetics counselors, many specialty doctors, every specialty you can imagine with her being a preemie plus in addition to having the characteristics of having Down Syndrome.
Well, here it comes! Confirmed - Our Baby Girl has Down Syndrome! Over the next few weeks, I had so many thoughts go through my mind - one of which is "WHY?" - Many times, over and over I would talk to God and just say "WHY?" Well, I got my answer just a few short weeks later - His answer - God gave us this precious gift from Above because He knew we could do this special job He instilled in us to do.
She was our purpose! Our little girl is a very precious child sent straight from Heaven! We love her very much! Could not have asked for a more precious, lovable little girl! She's my life, my everything! 7 weeks later, we take our baby girl home! UPDATE - September 21st, 2010 We lost our little precious girl after only a few short 17 months - not because she had Down Syndrome, but because of her pulmonary veins.
Her hospital stay ended up being a total of 14 month out of Leah's 17 months of life.
Yes.
she gained her angel wings a bit too soon! And Yes, she had Down Syndrome, but she ended up having a more underlined medical problem which includes diseases such as Pulmonary Hypertension, Pulmonary Vein Stenosis, Chronic Kidney Disease, and due to being on the ventilator too much, her lungs were damaged.
Even though we lost our only little girl, she was a precious gift from God and gave us a purpose in life.
I now run a ministry for parents of hospitalized children - please follow my blog, Leah's Hope for encouragement for families of hospitalized children.
Link is below!