Prematurity Awareness Month

I can't believe it's already November! I have already gone into detail how I really feel about prematurity. (click here and here if you'd like to read them again). But I feel like I need to write a post about it again since it's Prematurity Awareness Month. Even though we are nearly 4 years past Caleb's early arrival, there are days that it seems like yesterday.

I think that everyone who reads our blog is aware of prematurity. Some more than others, of course. We all know that not all premature babies are born to poor, drug addicted women. We all know that premature babies aren't just tiny versions of full term babies. We all know that babies who are born premature will mostly likely have some sort of delay at some point in their lives. We all know that most of these babies will spend hours upon hours in some type therapy to help them "catch up." But we also know that most of them will never completely "catch up." We all know how amazing it is to see many of these tiny babies grow up and thrive, even when their prognosis was grim. We all know that some are not as lucky.

What we don't always know is why babies are born premature. Sure, some are born early because their mothers develop high blood pressure, an infection, or experience PROM (like me), or have cervical issues, etc. But, why did these things go wrong for some women and not others? That is one question I hope will be answered someday.

I have always said that I would not wish a premature birth on anyone. It has changed our lives forever. Yes, Caleb has brought so much joy into our lives and we cannot imagine our lives without him. But, we are becoming more and more aware of how hard it is for him to do some of the things that come naturally for his peers (and even for his little brother). And that is just plain heartbreaking. If I could go back to when my water broke on October 7, 2005, would I still choose to go on complete bed rest, knowing that I could have delivered Caleb at any minute and he wouldn't have survived? Of course. If I could go back to December 6, 2005, the morning Caleb was born, would I still tell the doctors to "do everything" to save him? Absolutely. But I wish we never had to even make those decisions. I still wish he could have spent 40 weeks growing and developing inside me instead of spending 12+ of those weeks in a loud, chaotic NICU.

Prematurity still sucks. Even 4 years later.

Statistics show that over 1,400 babies are born prematurely everyday. Please support the March of Dimes as they continue to try and find a "cure" for prematurity.