My OB at the time said that she could either induce me or I could just go on with my life and let nature take its course. Well, my husband and I went to a different hospital to seek a second opinion. We were referred to a Perinatologist and we were given news mother never wants to hea–that the odds are stacked against us, that I could carry full-term but have a baby that can not breath outside of the womb, that I have a high chance of miscarriage, etc. But what the Peri also told us was that there was hope for us and our baby. That bedrest would prolong and pregnancy and if I could make it to 24 weeks I would be admitted into the hospital. So I did just that. Bedrest at home with a 13 month old! I had tons of help from my parents and my sister-in-laws. I made it to 24 weeks and was admitted into the hospital a few days before Christmas. It was really hard being in the hospital and not being able to see my daughter. It killed me inside, but I knew that what I was doing was making sure I brought a sibling home for our daughter.

Christmas passed, New Years 2009 passed, and I was still in the hospital….We ended up having our precious little boy, Ethan, at 28 weeks 6 days gestation on January 22, 2009(1/22 at 1:22pm. He was born on National Pro-Life Day which was very symbolic for me…so many doctors wanted to give up on him before he was even born and then to see what faith, hope, srength, and determination can do for an unborn baby! We believed in our baby from day one and I knew we would have ourselved a strong baby.

Life in the NICU was very hard for me to handle at first, the first couple days after I had Ethan I didn’t really want to look at him. As weird as that may sound…I didn’t even want to touch him or kiss him good-bye when we would leave because I didn’t want to get my hopes up and get attached to him in case something were to happen. I never told my husband that or even my family, but it all felt like a dream. The day I was discharged I finally was able to hold him and I think it was then that it sunk in to me that he was here to stay and that I could let my worries go.

Juggling a 15 month old and NICU visits were very difficult. Mikenna really didn’t understand what was going on and she really couldn’t visit. So we made sure that we took lots of pictures and showed them to her daily. We talked about Ethan all of the time. Ethan was ventilated for a day, then on CPAP a few days, and then regular nasal canula for the remainder of his stay. Towards the end of his hospitalization Mikenna would come up to visit briefly, but still I don’t think she ever realized he was her brother. We tried visiting Ethan mostly during the evenings after she went to bed. During this whole ordeal with bedrest early on, we terminated out lease and moved back in with my parents. This made it easier for us to take care of Mikenna and keep life as normal as possible. My husband and I both work, so after 5 weeks of maternity leave I went back to work.

It was hard not being able to be up at the hospital everyday all day, but I did what I could. That is all a parent can do. I knew my son was in great hands and I called all the time for updates…the hospital was about 45 minutes away, so I couldn’t run up to the hospital at different times throughout the day.

Ethan spent 112 days in the NICU and came home with oxygen, medications, and monitors. After being home for 3 months, we started weaning him of the oxygen and now he has been off for 2 months now! He just turned 9 months old (about 6 1/2 months adjusted). He is one happy little boy and I am so thankful for my Mommy instincts! Mikenna loves being a big sister and I don’t think she even remembers Mommy being in the hospital and I don’t think she even realized Ethan was in the hospital too! Good luck to all! And if you have any questions, find me on Facebook- Lauren Bolte Wentzville, MO