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I got pregnant with my first child when I was 27. I had a wonderful

Posted On Thursday, July 11, 2002  by Christina
I got pregnant with my first child when I was 27. I had a wonderful pregnancy. At least it was until the 34th week. I had a regular appointment with my doctor, and I had noticed my feet swelling a little after taking a field trip with my fifth graders to Universal Studios. So, when he saw me, I noticed a funny look go across his face when he looked at my blood pressure.

He told me (and this is a direct quote), "To the hospital you go." I was terrified. I had no clue what was going on, and I only had a month of school left, which I really wanted to finish because I loved my kids. Anyway, I ended up at the hospital, and I was excited to get to see my son's face in detail on the sonogram they ran. That's where the excitement stopped.

I was in the hospital for a week when my blood pressure spiked to 140 over 100. The doctor on call prescribed Oppressaline. That didn't work, so they started the magnesium sulfate. I got about two hours of sleep before I felt like I couldn't breathe. The nurses told me this was normal, and that I would probably go into labor in the next two days. I didn't.

They had to induce me. I laid there in the delivery room for 18 hours, during which time I was given shots in my hips to help Matthew's lungs develop. After all that, I only dilated to a centimeter and a half. So, they did a C-section, which I was grateful for. I thought after Matthew was born, I would get to hold him, but since he was 6 weeks premature, they rushed him off to the NICU. I sent my husband, who was wonderful through all this, with him.

It was 2 days before I could get the strength to go see him. I was very jealous because everyone but me got to see him and touch him. However, one amazing nurse, who also had preeclampsia herself, took me up there and arranged for me to hold him. Thinking about that moment when he was put in my arms still brings tear to my eyes. He was the tiniest thing I had ever seen. He weighed 5 pounds, which made him a giant in the NICU. The nurses called hi Wild Man because he kept knocking off the wires, pulling the oxygen out of his nose, and raising his head off the bottom of the Isolet.

Anyway, I stayed for a week after he was born becuase the pressure kept staying elevated. When I went to see my doctor the day after I was released, it was perfectly normal. He had put me on Procardia, and told me to quit taking it in 3 days. I felt 100 percent better without it. My son came home from the hospital just three days after I was released. He was 10 days old and weighed 4 pounds 10 ounces. The hole in his heart had closed on its own as had the leak in his lung.

Matthew is truly a gift from God (the meaning of his name, which was chosen before I even got pregnant). He is now a healthy, definitely energetic 2 year old. He weighs 38 pounds and is 3 feet tall. People stare at me like I've lost my mind when I tell them he was a preemie. This experience has not dulled my interest in having another child, but I will be more aware of what is going on with my body this time around.
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