Autism Awareness Month - Day 4 Our Story

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Our story is long, growing longer each passing day. It all starts with our oldest son. It took us a long time to get pregnant. When we finally saw those two pink lines we were over the moon excited. This child was very prayed for and very wanted.

When the big day came to have our little man, I was nervous but ready to meet him. He came into this world with not much of a bang, except in our own hearts. He cried just a tiny bit, settled nicely once he was swaddled, and let Mommy kiss him all over his face. (like he had a choice)

As they nurse took him to the nursery with my husband in tow, she said (out of earshot to me, not on purpose just where she noticed the issue) "I think we will stop by the NICU to just have a look at his breathing". He had meconium aspiration (very simply put, he pooped in the womb and then breathed it in) which lead to Transient Tachypnea of a Newborn (AKA breathing problems). This all lead to a 10 day NICU stay trying to get him to breathe properly, be able to suck, swallow, and breathe at the same time while feeding, and to keep his temperature where it needed to be. He also thought it would be fun to throw in a bit of jaundice just to keep us guessing. We finally got to take him home and it was like a dream.

He was the type of baby that made you want to have a dozen. He ate well, had a great temperament, smiled easily, engaged us well, and slept so well at night. We used to joke that he even cried politely. Oh, he let us know when he was hungry or wanted a diaper, but ... well ... you just had to hear him cry. He met his milestones, was advanced in his speech, could name all the letters of the alphabet at 21 months old (my aunt can share her favorite Charlie Brown story with you about this) and was just a fun kiddo to raise. Guess that's why we had another one. (ha ha)

At 2 years old we did something that was completely uneventful in our lives. We took him to his 2 year old well baby visit. We did them each time we were supposed to, so this didn't phase me at all. I actually loved getting the paper they gave you afterwards that said how big he was, how he was doing on his milestones, etc. I always emailed family once we got home. This day wasn't any different. We came home, had some lunch, I put him down for a nap, and off to email how our little buddy was doing. I had no clue my life was about to change in a massive way, a scary way.

(Part 2 Next Time)