Looking back, 2012 was a wonderful yet scary year for our family. 2012 started off happy but on Jan 4, I found out I had miscarried after an early sonogram detected no heartbeat. We had been going to a specialist in Omaha, NE so she performed the D and C and told us we could try again in a month or two. How could we try again so soon? We knew we weren't going to replace the baby we had miscarried, but we knew we wanted to be parents. Somewhere deep down, I knew I couldn't dwell on the past and needed to move on with our future. All along I knew I had to be strong if I wanted to be a Mom. So we tried again in March and got pregnant with help from the same specialist. Some people are afraid to talk about infertility. I must admit, it's not my favorite topic to talk about either. Infertility exists and it is something that Dan and I accepted. We did not have to do IVF but I needed special shots of medicine to ovulate. I always knew that our path to parenthood would be tougher than others. I shouldn't complain though. I know other couples whose road to parenthood has been much tougher than ours.
Flash forward to late April and I had to have emergency ovarian surgery. That was pretty scary too! I was about 8 weeks pregnant and there are always risks to the baby when the mom goes under general anesthesia. Luckily my specialist in Omaha saved my ovary and the baby made it through surgery with flying colors.
Summer was a bit of a whirlwind. Major drought kept me driving all over central KS with my job and Dan always stayed super busy with wheat harvest, haying, building our new machine shed, and daily chores on the farm. We also were able to buy our first farm. Rumor has it that the Barnes Mercantile building's stone was quarried from our farm and others near it south of Barnes.
August 30th I went into preterm labor (due to my water leaking for no apparent reason) and was flown to Topeka. I recently found this picture that one of the medics took in the helicopter as we flew to Topeka. Not my best picture, but their jokes really helped brighten my mood on the way to Topeka.
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| August 30, 2012 - headed to Topeka |
After a week of bed rest, Lorena Ruth was born one day shy of 28 weeks on September 6, 2012 at 2 pounds 7.9 ounces and just over 15 inches long. Lorena came home on Nov 3 after 59 days in the NICU. Like I said earlier, time has flown by since Lorena came home. She is a good baby. She will sleep for about 7 hours each night! Dan and I are getting pretty spoiled since we don't have to wake her up every three hours to eat anymore. Lorena weighed 10 pounds 15 1/2 ounces and was 21 3/4 inches long at her last check up (1/10/13) and now officially has fat rolls as seen in her picture below.
Things I've learned in the past few months from parenting a preemie:
1. You can never have too much hand sanitizer or Lysol in stock
2. People think you're weird when you use hand sanitizer every time you pick up your baby
3. You belong to a special club for preemie moms...something most people will never understand since they don't know what you have gone through
4. You are thankful for what you have gone through (in a weird way) because it makes you appreciate your kids even more
5. Don't complain about your kids. Some Moms never get the chance, because their babies are in heaven
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| 11 pounds - mid January 2013 |
You guys did have a pretty crazy 2012. But in the end you got the best gift from God anyone can ask for. I'm so glad Lorena is doing good and that you guys are all staying healthy. One of these days the Davis family will venture out there to visit you guys. We miss you guys!
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