I was feeling very tired last week after my last treatment and then Saturday when I was shopping with Thomas, I started having burning/tearing pains in my lower abdomen. I decided not to go in to OB because I wasn't contracting and wasn't passing any blood, etc....the next day was Easter and I wanted to be home for the kids. Sunday I felt much better and thought things were fine. I had my ultrasound appointment on Monday and the u/sound tech tried for a very long time to find amniotic fluid...she was able to find ~ 3.5cm. Baby was doing ok, but had not been moving much.

My ob appointment was right after the u/sound. He decided it was "time to pull the plug" after conferring with the perinatologist. I was sent to the hospital to be monitored, and by the time I got there, I was passing brown clots (old coagulated blood) and brown fluild. I was very nervous until they got me back onto the monitor and we were able to see that she was still doing well.

At 3.50pm she came screaming into the world with her tiny little lungs (she sounds like a little puppy!) and an apgar of 8 and later a 9 (better than two of my term babies!). Initially, when I visited her she had a wet lung and she was making horrible seal-like sounds when she breathed. Her little chest heaved up and down and she seemed miserable. I was allowed to hold her that evening when her breathing had stabilized. By morning she was just on regular air by nasal canula...by afternoon, she was breathing freely without any canula.

She is a big baby for 33 weeks...I was told this was likely due to the steroids and my elevated sugars when I was taking them. Despite her good size, she is still working to regulate her body temp and is unable to feed on her own...BUT...she tried to nurse today for the first time (we got the all clear from the oncologist and perinatologist to breastfeed! Very Happy ) and has tolerated feedings through an NG tube well. Within two days we expect her to be feeding from a bottle or the breast (if my darn milk will ever come in)

She is beautiful...and perfect....and I am amazed every time that I hold her or look at her that she is doing so well and that she is mine. I am so...happy...and so relieved. I can\'t wait to post pictures to show her off to you!

The kids are so happy. Andrew and Amanda came to see her the next day (Alex was home with the flu and cried for an hour after Thomas brought them up). They examined every part of her and Andrew probably hugged me 7 or 8 times because he was so happy. Amanda was beside herself with joy...though she was quick to comment on the baby 'pimples' and double chin she has. Alex was feeling better, so we let him skip school so he could come up with Aidan today. When he saw her, Alex squealed with joy and kept saying "she's so cute, she's so cute, I love her so much!". Aidan had been told he was coming up to see mommy and baby Zoe and that baby Zoe was "here". He ran into my room and when I lifted him up onto the bed, he pulled up my gown to "see" baby Zoe. The look on his face when he actually got to see her was ... priceless! He was completely in shock...then he immediately begged to be able to hold her. When I explained that he was too little to hold her, he quickly lost interest. We spent the next 2 hours on the pedi floor in the playroom playing!

I wish you all were here and could come in and see her.