it all started with a surprise.

and the surprises kept coming.

our little man came roaring into the world on a lovely saturday afternoon, sticking to his own schedule as he had through my entire third trimester.


the little mister tried to give me the surprise of my lifetime by sending me into preterm labor, and his daddy too, since he was in afghanistan when he tried to make his debut at 34 weeks.  looking back, i'll admit.  i must have been in denial because i was sure i was having contractions but i couldn't quite wrap my head around it and didn't fully believe what was happening.  i had had a few contraction type pains that i was sure were just braxton-hicks earlier in the week and ended up leaving the OB placed on modified bed rest.  i had to take off work and have our nanny come stay many more hours than planned.  i still had lots of finishing touches to add before i was "ready" and this was not conducive.

i tried to come up with every excuse in the book late sunday, december 2nd, as to why i may be having these worsening wrap-around pains in my belly that surely were not contractions, but eventually i ended up at the hospital that night having contractions, just four days after i was placed on bed rest.  i wanted to be sure i got there early enough that i could drive myself since i would have to leave our nanny at home with our other sleeping baby.  i called a friend to come ride this wild roller coaster with me and she was there in no time hanging on to the edge of her seat right next to me. a quick triage visit turned into emergent labs and monitoring and medications and then, next thing i know i'm being loaded in the back of an ambulance and shipped to a high-risk hospital.  this was definitely not written in my book of fairy tales.  i truly couldn't believe it was all happening.  what happened to the perfect pregnancy we had been going through up to this point?  and the last pregnancy that went just as i had planned, to the hour, the whole way through?

after a wild, and very scary 36 hours, the physicians were able to stop the labor, and in true prince charming fashion, creed made it home from afghanistan, walked into my hospital room, and crawled into my hospital bed just in time to take me home. still pregnant. and so thankful.

i was kept on bed rest and had even more doctor's visits arranged and made it to 36 weeks and 2 days. i had continued to progress and they decided since i was so close to being full term, they could take me off of bed rest.  best feeling ever.  why is it that when you need to be relaxing the most and have a doctor's order to do so, it is the least relaxing time in your life? i was so anxious to get off of bed rest. so when the news broke with the warning that i probably wouldn't make it through the weekend into the New Year, grandma and i ran a few errands picking up some last minute necessities.  my in-laws were in town to celebrate late christmas the next day and we made plans to go to a basketball game that next evening.  little did i know, we wouldn't be making it to either.


creed and i headed to the hospital friday night, december 28th and i was admitted for rehydration and was told initially i would be released in time to celebrate another christmas and cheer on the Vols at a basketball game.  when the next morning rolled around, we learned that day was just meant to be our day.  i was so in denial of the entire situation, i never did pack a bag for myself and i didn't get to have my last good shower and take my time getting ready, you know, the essentials for getting ready to deliver a baby. i was sure i would be back home the next day.


so it was go time. and with go time came an overwhelming sense of fear and uncertainty. i knew all about "wimpy white boy syndrome" and our little one was the perfect candidate. he was coming early, too early, and i was very anxious about what that could potentially mean.


preston reid was born saturday, december 29th, 2012 at 3:23PM. 5 pounds 15 ounces. 19 1/2 inches long.

he came out screaming.  i promise you, there is no sweeter, more comforting, more reassuring sound than the sound of your child's working lungs belting out those first high pitch screeches. especially when they are premature lungs. full of air. his apgar scores were high at 9 and 8 and i thought we had finally made it to the end of the crazy roller coaster ride.









but unfortunately, we had not. the next 48 hours were touch and go with more and more respiratory issues building up and finally our poor little guy had fought long enough. the night they shipped him to the NICU was one of the hardest. all of the unknowns that lied ahead were beyond overwhelming.



 it was hard. extremely hard. have you ever had to leave the hospital without your baby? it's something i never even considered happening and a feeling i hope i never experience again. but it certainly could have been much worse.  we were made well aware of that watching the micro preemies struggle day in and day out around us. our little guy took a turn down the wrong path that first night requiring even more help breathing but after that first night, he progressed with leaps and bounds and was ready to go after about 5 days.  our little trooper was gaining weight like a champ, breathing so well, and eating like a pro.





on day 7, january 5th, 2013 they waved the green flag and we raced out of that place as fast as we could. we were taking our tiny guy home for the first time. happy and healthy.

we were in a hurry.  he had a very important little person anxiously awaiting his arrival.

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