Xoey, our early miracle

janna&aaron - 11:01am Sep 22, 2009 EST

My story began pretty much at the beginning of my second pregnancy (my 1st pregnancy was totally by the book, and he was born on his due date with no complications) When I was about 3 months pregnant, I began having severe pains in my lower abdomen.  I thought maybe I just needed to go the the restroom or something...it was a pain like I had never had before!  I was bleeding very heavily and was rushed to a nearby hospital where a few tests were done and I was told that they didn't know where the bleeding was coming from and that it seemed to have stopped.  I went on through the weeks, and around my 28th week of pregnancy, I started having this clear fluid leakage.  I went to my doctor (twice) and was assured that it was NOT amniotic fluid, that I was probably "peeing" a little on myself.  Even though I knew in my heart that something wasn't right, I tried to trust them and not worry.  I finally decided to seek a doctor a little closer to home-just in case-!  On my FIRST visit, after my exam, I sat up on the table and experienced the same amount of fluid loss that I had before.  Assuming that I was once again 'peeing on myself' I was embarrassed to tell the doctor about the fluid leaking.  When he turned to look, he very intently told me not to move, and to remain lying down while his nurse called for an ambulance.  I made the phonecall to my husband and we were on our way to Saint John Hospital in Tulsa.My doctor, who is a maternal/fetal specialist, was able to "keep me pregnant" for one more week, and then I had to be induced because of the threat of infection.  My daughter was born at 31 weeks gestation, weighing 3lb. 12oz. and was 17in. long.  To me she looked like the most beautiful angel that God could have given us...she was perfect in our eyes.  In the eyes of the nurses and doctors, she had a long, hard road ahead.  Xoey spent almost two months in the NICU.  She had tubes and wires everywhere and we couldn't even hold her at first.  I had to pump my breastmilk and store it so the nurses could feed it to her through the feeding tube in her tiny nose.  From day to day, I would wonder if she was going to continue to make progress, or was this going to be the day that we get bad news.  I prayed constantly that God would remain with her and the doctors and nurses and that he would remain with my family and myself to handle whatever was ahead.  It was truly the hardest thing I have ever faced in my life so far.  For our situation, things have turned out awesomely!!!  Xoey is now 2 years old, and his highly functioning and smart! If you didn't already know it, you can't tell that she was premature.  I give all the credit to God.. and thank him for giving such wisdom to the specialists and nurses who looked after her day after day.  To anyone who is going through any of this now, or will in the future, just remember to take each day one hour at a time, and be proud of ANY progress.  I hope that our story can give you some hope for the future.  Just remember to rely on God for strength and comfort and talk about it when you can, so your emotions don't get the best of you!  Good luck to all!