Welcome to Holland

[njj20404]

Hi!!! I just found this site and it has been really helpful. My son, Nicholas was born at 31 weeks by an emergency c-section due to severe pre-e and placental abruption. He was only 2 lbs 1 ounce when he was born, yesterday he weighed in at 3 lbs 10 ounces. He is still in the NICU but he is doing really well. Breathing on his own and taking all of his feeds by bottle. It looks like his next big hurtle will be to keep his own temp. The nurses say he might be home in a few weeks. I am very excited and very nervous, too!![:D]The hospital gave me this little story about having a premie and it really helped me put things in perspective. As scary as it is at times, We are living with amazing little miracles.

Welcome to Holland

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip -- to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?," you say, "What do you mean, Holland? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy plae of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guidebooks. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a differenct place. It's slower paced than Italy, less flasshy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you cantch your breath, you look around and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills; Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life you will say, "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever go away because the loss of that dream is a very significant loss.

But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland.

- Emily Pearl Kingsley

[sandy]

Welcome! Sending good wishes your way that things continue to progress. Appreciated this "Welcome to Holland". Thanks for posting.

~Sandy/DD born via emergency C at 35 wks. June '03 due to Severe PE/class III HELLP/chronic HBP/asthma

[annes]

I'm sure that someone has also given you this little passage from Erma Bombeck, but I like it, and they had it up in the NICU that my son was in. Good luck with your little one.

THE SPECIAL MOTHER by Erma Bombeck
Did you ever wonder how mothers of premature children are chosen?

Somehow I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting his instruments for propogation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, He instructs His angels to make notes in a giant ledger.

"Armstrong, Beth; son. Patron saint...give her Gerard. He's used to profanity."

"Forrest, Marjorie; daughter. Patron saint, Cecilia."

"Rutlegde, Carrie; twins. Patron saint, Matthew."

Finally He passes a name to an angel and smiles. "Give her a premature child." The angel is curious. "Why this one God? She's so happy." "Exactly," smiles God, "Could I give a premature child to a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."

"But has she patience?" asks the angel. "I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a seas of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wears off, she'll handle it."

"I watched her today. She has that feeling if self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has her own world. She has to make her live in her world and that's not going to be easy."

"But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you." God smiles, "No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect-she has just enough selfishness." The angel gasps- "selfishness? is that a virtue?"

God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occassionally, she'll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a 'spoken word'. She will never consider a 'step' ordinary. When here child says 'Momma' for the first time, she will be present at a miracle, and will know it! I will permit her to see clearly the things I see...ignorance, cruelty, prejudice...and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of everyday of her life, because she is doing My work as surely as if she is here by My side."

"And what about her patron saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in mid-air.

God smiles, "A mirror will suffice."


Anne
DH Richard
Parker 7/6/03(severe pe)33wks