One Year Ago

This past year has been a whirlwind for our family, but we have seen God's hand every step of the way.  I thought I'd share a bit of what happened.

We were watching a rather strange movie when, around 9 pm my water broke.  Nothing like in the movies - I barely knew what happened.  I was 27 weeks pregnant.  We called the midwife, and I remember sitting next to Eric, shaking, while waiting for her to return my call.  We called a friend to watch the boys and drove off to the hospital.  I thought about packing a hospital bag, but I was really hoping that I would be sent home and it was nothing.  No such luck.  The doctor confirmed that my water had broken, and did a quick ultrasound to check the baby's position - he was transverse (sideways) but doing well.  They began to make phonecalls to see which hospital could take me this early - either for bedrest, or for delivering a very premature baby.  They tried all the local options (Toronto, Hamilton, Kingston) and were even talking about Buffalo and Manitoba! 

The nurse came back and said they had a place for me in London and would leave in 10 minutes.  We were immediatly trying to figure out how this would work with the boys, Eric's work, and family.  All of a sudden we realized how perfect this option was for us - Eric's parents live an hour north of London and would be able to watch the boys for us!  We also had lived in London for a year and had friends and family living there.  I left in the ambulance, while Eric returned home to sleep for a few hours before packing up the boys.

That 3 hour ambulance ride was the longest trip of my life!  Being strapped down, feeling every bump, and not being able to stop for a bathroom break!  We arrived after 4 am and I spent the next few hours being poked, prodded, and interviewed.  Since my water had broken, I had a 50 % chance of going into labour within 24 hours, and if not then, possibly by 48 hours, but we were hoping to make it a few weeks.  I don't remember much of that day except for praying with every breath. 

Eric arrived with the boys, met his  mom at the hospital, and she took them home.  We had a few visitors come by and were in pretty good spirits that evening, though in my mind, I was preparing for this baby at any time.  Around 2am I started having contractions.  The nurse called Eric in, and by 6 am they decided this little baby needed to come out.  He was still transverse, so a c-section it would be.

When they brought little Isaac into this world, it was hard to look at him.   The only thing Eric could say is, "He's so small." I was amazed by how small he was, but how wide his eyes were open - even then he wanted to be awake for everything!  He was 2lbs 5 oz, born at 27 weeks 3 days.  I saw him an hour later, and got a very positive report from the doctors & nurses - they all said that he behaved like an older baby.  He only needed breathing support for a few days, and by 28 weeks he was breathing room air on his own!  Test after test, obstacle after obstacle, he came through everything so smoothly!  He was at risk for so many issues and each time he saw a specialist, they said he was doing great!  I was so often overcome by how blessed we were.  God was holding him in His hand every step of the way!

It's been a long year.  Isaac is a challenging child who doesn't like to sleep or even be put down.  And we've spent more time in the ER than I can remember.  But he is a sweet, charming, wonderful child of God, and we are so excited to see the little boy he is growing up to be!