The Story Begins With A Plot Twist

I became a father on Friday, October 3, 2008.  My child has not been born yet, but that was the day our world changed.  On Friday we began worrying about our little girl for the first time, formally entering the world of parenthood, as premature as our daughter herself will be.  After 31 weeks of a pretty easy pregnancy, we were informed our baby has Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR).  This means she is not getting the nutrients she needs to grow, and weighs only 1000 grams, or about 2.2 lbs.  This is the weight she should have been at at about 27 weeks, and puts her under the 10th percentile for her gestational age.  Because of this we are suddenly faced with the almost certainty of a c-section delivery anytime between now and the next three to four weeks.  Our best case scenario has us delivering at 34 weeks, which would be about 4 weeks early.  We are suddenly faced with three ultrasound appointments next week, knowing that any day they could decide to admit us and deliver the baby.  We have spent most of the past two days on the phone with friends and family, getting incredible advice and support.  Everyone seems to know someone who had a preemie, and they all have success stories.  My mom reminded me that I was born three weeks early and spent a few days in an incubator, and look at me now, I know how to type!  We are looking to find the best care we can possibly receive, and are very fortunate in Seattle to have first class perinatal care available to us.  Babies born at 31 weeks and later tend to do very well, so I am remaining pretty positive that our girl will come through this and be a happy, healthy baby.  Since we had not chosen a name yet, I thought we should call her Lil, as she is so tiny.  Then I went to this website, and we did a search for names meaning Warrior, because we want her to come out fighting, and the name at the top of the list is, and I couldn’t make this up, Abner.  So I may be referring to her as Lil Abner here until she’s born and we name her.  As Amanda was crying on the way home from the ultrasound Friday, I told her this isn’t the end of the movie, it’s just a plot twist, we’re still going to have a happy ending.  And I fully expect to.  And I had to remind her: Don't Forget To Breathe.

(Note: This was written Oct 5, 2008.  I decided not to post this until we deliver the baby and know she is healthy, so if you're reading this, she is.)