June 5, 2010 One Month Old

By June 5th Zac was one month old and hard to believe that he should still be in my belly. Zac was doing great at home and we were adjusting to being a family of four. Alexis was enjoying being the proud big sister. Zac was a very content baby and was eating like a champ, he was making it hard for mommy to keep up with his high demands. I was bound a determined to try and keep breast feeding as long as I possibly could. It is true what they say that going from one child to having two is a big adjustment and for me it was very true. I was finding it hard to split my time between the two and to make sure that Alexis was getting the attention that she needed. By this time I had made up my mind that I most likely would not be going back to work and was going to be a Stay At Home Mom, the job I had dreamed of since Alexis was born. Finally my dream was going to come true.

3 Weeks Later May 26, 2010 Time To Go Home!!

After three long weeks in the NICU it was time to bring Zac home!! We had a lot of ups and downs in those three weeks. Between jaundice, reflux, NG feeding tubes, apnea moments, heart rate drops, and taking all feeds by mouth our day had finally come. Zac did come home on an apnea monitor to make sure his heart rate stayed up and he wasn't having any apnea while sleeping. Zac was seen by his pediatrician the day after coming home and was given a clean bill of health. Our baby boy was home where he belonged and was growing and developing right on track even for being 7 weeks early. Sadly we had no idea that as he was growing so was the demon deep in his brain.

Right Where He Belongs

Only 9 hours after giving birth to Zac I asked to be discharged so I could get to Cleveland as quick as I could to be with my baby. By the time I got to the NICU Zac was very stable and doing very well. So many of the NICU nurses couldn't believe he was a 33 weeker since he was so big, 5lbs 12oz and 18in long. I couldn't wait to hold him since I never got the chance to after his birth. It was an amazing feeling to have my beautiful baby boy in my arms right where he belongs.

He's Finally Here But Now He's Gone :(

After 14 weeks of bed rest and doing everything I could to keep Zac "baking" as long as possible I had no control over him being born 7 weeks early. We thought after he was born that maybe he would be able to stay in Sandusky with us. Zac was showing no signs of breathing trouble and was able to drink some sugar water out of a bottle, everything was looking very hopeful. But my joy was turned into sorrow when the Pediatrician decided it would be best for Zac to be transferred to Rainbow Babies Hospital in Cleveland to be monitored in the NICU. About 2 hours after his birth Zac was taken by ambulance to Cleveland. As me a very broken hearted mother who didn't even get a chance to hold her new baby watched him get pushed out of my room to a waiting ambulance. My heart was broken.

Happy Birthday Zachary!!!! May 5, 2010

As the seconds turned into minutes then minutes turned into hours with very slow progress. My water broke at 7:00am by 9:00pm I was stuck at 8cm and my contractions had fizzled out. My OB decided to start Pitocin to get things moving again. I had never had Pitocin so I had no idea what to expect. Mind you I do all natural child births, no pain meds at all!! The Pitosine got things moving and my contractions started back up again coming about every minute, I didn't even have time to catch my breath between contractions. After 3 long hours of HARD labor it was finally time to start pushing. I was given O2 because Zac's heart rate would drop with every contraction. I started pushing at 12:15am and finally after 17 1/2 hours in labor making it to exactly 33 weeks, at 12:35am on Wednesday May 5, 2010 Zachary Stephen came screaming into the world!!

May 4, 2010 Water Breaks At 32 Weeks 6 Days

On May 4, 2010 at 7:00am on the dot I felt the "gush" that every pregnant woman fears the most, my water breaking. Some may think well big deal, but being not even 33 weeks pregnant it was a very big deal. Luckily I had gotten the steroid shots for lung development 2 weeks earlier. I woke up my husband Dan in a panic then began making phone calls. First to my OB who was at the hospital that day, then to find Alexis a sitter to watch her. Bags had been packed for weeks so all we had to do was toss them in the car. I think we got to the hospital around 8:30am, got settled into a room, and was checked right away. By that point I was 100% effaced and 4cm dilated. My OB was thinking about transferring me to a hospital in Cleveland with a NICU since the hospital I was at was not equipped to deliver a baby that was going to be 7 weeks early. With my history of fast labor with my first he decided to keep me in Sandusky fearing I would move to fast and possibly deliver on the ride to Cleveland. We thought Zac's birthday was going to be May 4th but Zac had another day in mind.

My Last OB Appointment

I had made it to 31 weeks!! Everyone was amazed I had made it this far. By now I was 2cm dilated and 90% effaced. At this point I was sent to the hospital to get steroid shots to help develop Zac's lungs in case of an early delivery. My OB was so impressed with my progress and was feeling very confident so he told me to come back in two weeks. Well as it turned out I ended up seeing him sooner then later.

Zachary at 24 Weeks 6 Days

We were moving right along, the bed rest seemed to be helping and I was still pregnant. Little did I know that this would be my last ultrasound. My OB was happy with my progress and very relieved to see me at each appointment. By this point I had been on bed rest for four weeks and it felt like forever!! But again as a mother I would have stood on my head if thats what I was told to do.

Baby Zachary at 22 Weeks 5 Days

Every week I was able to stay pregnant was a blessing. I was on strict bedrest, weekly progesterone shots, hooked up to a home contraction monitor twice a day for an hour at a time, and going to the OB once every two weeks. I was doing everything I could to keep Zachary in as long as possible. Since I was not able to move around as I wanted I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Every pregnant woman loves to eat but that one joy was taken away from me and I was put on a diet to follow along with testing my blood sugar 4 times a day. But as a mother I would do whatever I had to do to keep my baby healthy. Or so I thought.

IT"S A BOY!!!!

Well I think the picture I'm going to add will tell all :) My whole family was there for this ultrasound to find out that we were having a boy!! We chose the name Zachary Stephen Behrens, Stephen is my dad's first name so we wanted to honor him. A full scan of Zachary was done that day and everything was perfect!! 10 fingers 10 toes, perfect heart, brain looked good, growing right on track, we couldn't be happier.

With my daughter Alexis I had a problem with my cervix shorting way to early so my OB was also watching my cervix with this pregnancy as well. After the scan I had a trans vag ultrasound to see how my cervix was holding up. After being on cloud 9 finding out we were having a boy I got knocked back down to reality. My cervix was way to short and a bit dilated at only 21 weeks, so I was taken off work and put on strict bedrest. By strict I mean like I can get up to use the bathroom, sit up to eat, and shower that was it!! Boy was this going to be a long pregnancy!!

Baby at 16 Weeks and 2 Days

On January 8, 2010 I went in for aother ultrasound to check on growth. Baby was growing great and had all fingers and toes. I was aked that day if I wanted to find out babies sex and I said no, I had planned for the whole family to be together for my 20 week ultrasound so we could all find out together. Here is baby at 16 weeks 2 days.

Baby At 8 Weeks 6 Days Amazing 3D Picture!!

On November 11, 2009 I went in for another ultrasound to see how baby was doing. I decided to write this short little post just to show off my amazing 3D picture of baby at 8 weeks and 6 days.

Love At First Sight!!

On October 26, 2009 I started to have some light spotting and with my history of miscarriage I decided to get myself in for an early ultrasound. I was so scared and worried that maybe this baby was gone. To my relief we saw on little baby bean snuggled in tight with a tiny flickering heart beat, and it was love at first sight!!

Suprise We Are Pregnant!! Oct. 14, 2009

On October 14, 2009 I found out we woud be adding another blessing to our family. A bit suprised it happened so fast seeing it took 5 years to get pregnant with my daughter Alexis. While I was happy and suprised of course the nerves took over as well. I had lost 2 babies very early on before getting pregnat with Alexis so of course that was in the back of my mind. We figured out that this baby would be due on June 23, 2010 but thats now how it worked out.

Just getting started

Hello to all my friends out there. I'm just getting started on this but wanted to get this posted so my friends can start to follow my blog.