In August of 2005 , Marcus and I found out we were expecting our first child! We were so excited and scared like most first time parents. Little did we know what a ride we were about to be on! Our first trimester was going smooth as possible- no sickness, i had lots of energy, my labs were great. We got to hear the baby's heart beat for the first time on my birthday- best birthday present ever!! it was strong and he was growing right along. We were told we were about 10wks along and all looked great. Much of our routine stayed the same. Until one afternoon when i woke from a nap in a small puddle of fluid. I saw my NP later that day and was advised i probably just wet the bed a bit, the rest of my exam was completely normal. I continued to get these small gushes of fluid from time to time and didn't really think much of until one day at work I had a gush of fluid and i was certain it was not pee!! We went in to have it checked out and was offered lots of reassurance that all was good and that i needed to drink more fluids. So reluctantly we went home and did just that. The fluid gushes became bigger and more frequent over time. By the time we had out 20wk ultrasound there was next to NO fluid for him. I was sent for a level 2 ultrasound which confirmed our worst fears. My first thought was " Cant you just put a plug in there to stop the leak, like a tub drain??" The risk of infection was too great and the hole was on the placenta, no stitches for that. We were prepared for the worst and advised to consider termination since the risks were great to both me and my baby for long term complications or death. We decided to put our faith in God and were strong believers that he would not give us anything we couldn't handle. So with my Dad as the best nurse ever, Marcus as a supportive "wanna-fix- what i cant fix" partner, my nephew as my entertainment and my mom and sister as my shoppers, we started strict bedrest at home until the baby was considered "viable". several doctor appts and labs later we finally made it to admitance at Abbott Hospital for the duration of my pregnancy.HORRAY!! I was seen daily by neonatologists and served many doses of reality and support from the doctors and nurses. I was given steriod injection to mature his lungs for his pending arrival and antibiotics to treat a possible infection since my White blood cells were elevated. He was almost born that night we were admited which would have been 24wks because he was showing signs of stress on his heart monitor. But thankfuly he calmed and I calmed down too. Fwe weeks later I started bleeding from placental seperation from the uterine wall. But yet he was stable and I was stable so we continued to wait. The team at Childrens was at my bedside daily to get me familiar with the NICU and steps that would be taken fo rmy baby and of course the big question what efforts I wanted done for my baby... Longer story short, Ayden made a sudden arrival to this world on january 3rd 2006 with a fiery spirit ready to fight. As marcus made the run with the NICU support team to childrens from Abbott , They had to stop because Ayden kept trying to pull out his IVs and tubes. He was placed on a high frequency respirator to keeps his lungs from sticking shut after he was given surfacant. When I finally got to his bedside he was heavily sedated . The nurses made sure we understood everything that was going on and answered all of our questions. We could not have done this journey with out their support and of course the endless support from our families and friends! Now it is time for the support to come full circle. NICU has touched all of our lives or lives of people close to us. Please consider supporting the NICU like they did for us and for so many other families.