How Time Flies!

It feels like it was just the other day when I went into my 32 week OBGYN appointment after school and I got the news I was having a baby that night! I had told Tommy that morning he did not have to go with me to the appointment because it was just a quick check up, nothing big...so I thought! Before arriving to my appointment, I had thought that my doctor might put me on bed rest. I was so swollen that I could not fit into pants that fit me two weeks prior. I blamed my condition on the beginning of the school year and being on my feet. When my doctor told me that I had gained 20 pounds in two weeks, had high protein in my urine, my blood pressure was high for the first time ever, and had the worse kidney count (what ever that means) that she had ever seen...at that moment, my heart just sunk. Here I was alone and no one to dry my tears. She diagnosed me with preeclampsia and the only way to save me and the baby was to deliver Addisan that night. I did not have any of the other common symptoms of the condition such as double vision, seeing spots, or headaches. I was scared to death, to say the least. I remember just being in shock and telling her that tonight would not be ideal for delivery because I had no sub plans for my first graders ready, I did not even tell them good-bye, AND my dogs had to be let out. Needless to say, they wheeled me down in a wheel chair to the third floor of the hospital where I admitted myself. To top everything, I could not reach Tommy at work. What an afternoon...and it was beginning! I called my mom and my best friend Sara up home in Northern Virginia. They calmed me down until Tommy came to the hospital. At 10:04 that night, Addisan Paige Taylor was born. She was and continues to be our miracle baby. She weighed in at 3 pounds and 2 ounces and was breathing on her own. I never thought hearing a baby cry would ever sound so good to my ears. She spent the next few weeks in NICU until she could regulate her own temperature and reached the four pound bench mark to be released. Holding Addisan was similar to holding my class guinea pigs...very light and still. I did not have a chance to hold her until a day and a half later after delivery. It was pure torture not to be able to hold your own child and watch her be carried away in a incubator while on the operating table. We had a wonderful experience at NICU. The nurses and staff were amazing. Their knowledge and emotional support surpassed any of my expectations. My doctor told me the following week after I delivered Addisan that if I had waited two more days, that I would have had seizures and most likely been in a coma. Timing is everything in life! Addisan was a fighter from day one and still is! I look at her now---talking in complete sentences most of the time, going in the potty like a big girl some days, sharing her love with others, and loving life....just like any two year old! I count my blessings each day for her. She is truly a gift that Tommy and I gave to ourselves and we know that she is already a gift to the world.

The Birthday Girl just sporting her special shirt on her birthday.

This is a picture of Addisan right after delivery.

This is Addisan at the spa (this is what we called NICU because all the nurses pamper these babies....just like the pampering your receive when you go to a spa).

A picture of our happy family.
This was the first time I was able to hold her. I told Tommy with no make-up on and feeling as fat as a cow, I felt prettier that day holding her and being with him than I did on our wedding day.