2010 Rutherford County Family Ambassador for March of Dimes

That's right.... We have been given the honor to be the Rutherford County Family Ambassador for March of Dimes. How awesome is that? I feel humbled to be given the privledge. I never once thought that any good would come out of having premature babies, but it has. We are now going to be able to share our story and raise awareness for the March of Dimes. I don't wish for anyone, especially mother's and moms to be, to go through what my family has. The NICU roller coaster is not a ride anyone should take. The guessing game shouldn't be played. And I want to prevent that. I want to raise awareness (and money) to prevent premature births. To prevent childhood diseases. To prevent SIDS. No one should have to bury their child or wonder if they are. No mother should have their rights to motherhood taken away.

I wasn't able to hold Nate or Abby within those critical 3 minutes. The minutes where a mother and child first bond. I remember being in my room (usually waiting on a wheel-chair to take me to the NICU) and hearing a baby crying and immediately wheeled to their mother's room. Those moments would make me bitter. My baby couldn't be carted to me. I wasn't able to pick my baby up and comfort them when they cried, I would have to call a nurse to take care of them. I remember being told that I couldn't touch them because it would hurt them. I remember that I could only hold Abby for 20 minutes a day until she was 5 weeks old. I remember the car seat test before leaving the hospital. I remember the endless tubes and endless sound of monitors ringing. I remember the apnea spells. I remember the guilt of having to leave my babies in the hospital while I went home. I remember the nurse telling me that Abby was the smallest baby in the NICU and looking around seeing that most of the babies around her were 2 times her size. She was 2lbs.. most of the babies were 3 or more pounds.

No mother should have to experience that. No mother should expect a phone call saying that their baby had passed. I did. I went to bed every night wondering if tonight was the night where I would hear a doctor telling me that they did everything they could but that my baby didn't make it.

I don't want anyone else to experience that or experience anything worse. Please, if you come across my blog.. visit http://www.marchofdimes.com/ - become more educated. Even if you had a less of an eventful pregnancy and/or your baby was born full term, we need your help to have more women have those experiences. To have more babies brought to their mother's bedside. When Abby was born, the hospital was under construction for a bigger NICU unit. I want hospitals to be under construction for a bigger nursery. The NICU unit should be smaller than the nursery, not bigger.

We ALL, parents of healthy and unhealthy babies, mothers who have experienced eventful/uneventful pregnancies, premature/full-term births, need to fight against ANYthing that could harm ANY baby.