Our Oldest Miracle Baby's Journey

Our oldest little one was a very wanted baby.  We had tried for 7 years to conceive our little miracle baby.  It was a difficult pregnancy.  I did not even care that I had morning sickness the whole time, or bed rest off and on, or diabetes or preeclamsia at the end- I was pregnant and could not wait to have our little miracle in our arms.

 

I had a bad scare at the beginning when I experienced a rupture of a subchorionic hematoma.  I had gone to use the restroom and I felt something warm run down my leg.  I looked down and saw bright red blood- a lot of it.  I am not sure what happened next.  I vaguely remember a close friend walking in and I was standing in the middle of a public shared bathroom with blood running down my legs and covered my hands. I was crying and asked for another close friend that had gone through infertility with me the whole 7 years too.  She came in and dressed me, washed my hands and brought me straight to the doctors while I called my husband and cried about how sorry I was.  He met me at the doctor's office where we learned that our beautiful little egg was still implanted.  I went back two days later and saw the blessed heartbeat.  I was still pregnant and thrilled to be carrying this miraculous little wonder.  I was on bedrest until 14 weeks.

I went back to work until he was 34 weeks gestation.  I was then told I needed to be hospitalized for severe preeclamsia.  That was a little shock, but I happily obliged and the hospital took amazing care of me.  At 35 weeks and 4 days my blood pressure and the protein in my urine were too high.  I was told we must deliver.  So 24 hours later, my blessed little tiny miracle was in my arms.  I had been told he would be a very large baby due to the gestational diabetes.  When they laid this very tiny 5 pound 14 oz baby in my arms, I was shocked at how tiny he was.  He went home at 5 lbs 6 oz. 

When he was 2 months old I started to get violently ill with uncontrollable vomiting and severe abdominal pain.  I went to the doctor and she said I needed my gallbladder removed.  In true me fashion, I said I was fine and went home to be a mommy.  I then, went home and got so sick I called my husband and told him I needed him home and then drove myself to the hospital.  God must have taken the wheel and dropped me safely at their door.  I do not know how I was able to get there.  The doctor that performed my endoscopy put dye into my pancreas and caused me to develop pancreatitis.  I have never been in so much pain!  My husband got a phone call in the late afternoon from the hospital telling him that would not make it through the night and that he needed to come say goodbye.  This took us both a while to come to terms with after receiving such a beautiful gift of life and then realizing too soon how fragile life really is.

Once I recovered and came home, I almost could not recognize my own child because he had grown so much in a months time. I missed out on so much!  I still mourn this lost time together. How can this beautiful baby with the chubby cheeks be the tiny and frail little one that I had brought home from the hospital!  I still cannot get over how much he had grown!

 

Then, thankfully, everything was status quo until he was 12 months old.  I decided to feed him scrambled eggs with a little shredded cheese.  He began projectile vomiting after about 5 minutes of ingesting his first bite.  Hives swelled around his nose and mouth and then the rest of his body.  I gave him benadryl and then drove to our doctor's office about 10 minutes away- I think we got there in about 5 minutes I was in such a panic.  We were immediately given steroids and thankfully he did not need an epi pen once we arrived. Five days worth of steroids and benedrly for the next 24 to 48 hours depending on symptoms.

Oh My!!!

 

 I do not eat eggs, no reason, I have just never liked them. So he had never been exposed to them during breastfeeding other than the occasional baked-in eggs from cakes or cookies.  In hindsight, there were indications that he was having food allergy issues, but as a new parent, I did not know the signs.  He had horrible eczema and reoccurring MRSA infections that we just could not understand.  He also had severe reflux issues that were barely controlled by medications. After his allergy testing it made more sense.  He was found to be anaphylatic to eggs and severely allergic to dairy with sensitivities to soy.

When he was 5 years old he was bit by a fire ant.  Poor little guy, as he was getting hives all over his body, flushing, and starting to wheeze he was crying emphatically, "I promise I did not eat anything. I did not have eggs. I did not put anything in my mouth."  He had not- it turns out he is also anaphylatic to fire ants. 

Our big boy has always been sickly. I hate that term, but there is just no other way to put it.  He has always gotten sick so much more frequently than any of my friends' children.  I was told our home was too sterile and we should let him get dirty more. Then, we should rip up our carpeting and remove all fabrics and we are not clean enough.... We have done all we can! 

Just recently we asked to have his environmental allergies tested too.  He shows anaphylatic level reactions on the skin testing to oak and pine trees and high levels on so many others.  No wonder his asthma is so out of control!  We will communicate more as we learn how to control these next set of issues and regain his health as we learn and understand more!



 

Until then, hot showers & hot tea.  Now, do we add honey or is that no longer safe due to the newly discovered fear of oral allergy syndrome? 

My little dragon trainer is such a tender hearted, imaginative, creative, and sweet child.  He is the miracle child I yearned for and dreamed of having since I played with dolls as a girl, only he is even more amazing than I could ever had created in my mind.  I never knew how much love my heart could hold until I became a mommy to this amazing little miracle.  He is my considerate little heart who was born with an old soul, my amazing miracle.