Duke the Preemie

So Duke isn’t just special because he is the oldest boy but also because he was born very premature. He was born at 29 weeks barely weighing 3 1/2 lbs. I remember it very well. A day or two before George and I had gone Christmas shopping for the girls right before Thanksgiving. It was our first time out with the rush and I didn’t think anything of it. The next day or early the next morning I woke up in pain. Pain like I had never felt before. With the girls I had never really felt what contractions were until right before the epidural or during labor. I knew something was wrong. I reluctantly woke George up and told him something was wrong and I needed to go to the hospital. He got up and I called the nurse. Of course they told me to come in because the pain was pretty regular. I tried to convince him to get a sitter but he said I would be fine. So I walked all the way from the parking garage, up the elevator, and all the way to the office. (If you have ever been to OU delivery or emergency you will understand what a feat this was) I would stop every few minutes along the way trying to breath through the pain. I finally got in for them to monitor me and George had to take the girls to the waiting room. While he entertained the girls I was worried out of my mind for our unborn son. Once I got all settled into the hospital gone and attached to the monitors it didn’t take long for them to realize something was wrong. My little unborn sons heart beat would drop from time to time. Any mom that has been hooked up to the fetal heart rate monitor knows what a drop sounds like before the nurse even walks into the room. I am doing everything I can to not completely freak out. The nurse comes in the room and tells me I am having this baby now. All I can think to do is cry. I can’t remember my phone number or where my husband is. I just know that my unborn sons life is in danger. There is nothing I wanted more than for everything to be fine and me still be pregnant. It was my first and only natural birth. Even though he was so small it hurt so much. His birth is the only one my husband wasn’t present for. After a very few minutes of pushing Duke was born. Barely getting to see or touch him they rushed him to the NICU. I was in tears again not knowing where they were taking him or if he would live. Finally they were able to find George and all I could do was cry and say they took our baby. He found someone to take the girls knowing I would be in the hospital a couple of days and not knowing what the future held for our first born son. I remember not wanting to see Duke, not knowing what he would look like or what the doctors would say. I am so thankful my husband is who he is because as scared as he was he made me go see my tiny baby. All I could think about while I was in the hospital was how scared the girls must be. I didn’t stay long. I knew Duke was in the best place he could be with plenty of Doctors and nurses to take care of him. There is no way to explain the feeling of leaving the hospital without your baby. I guess at least for me eventually I was able to take my baby home. Are there any other preemie moms out there? What was your experience?