Sarah Christine

At the office they hooked me up to a not-stress machine.

I sat there for awhile. I was supposed to push a button every time I felt our baby move. There was some movement, but no much. After awhile my doctor decided to send us to the hospital for an ultrasound.

On the way, I called my parents and let them know what was going on. They were going to head to my home to take over watching my children.

At the hospital, I experienced one of the most scary moments of my life. They got me comfortable in a room, had a monitor on my belly to check our baby's heart, and then brought the ultrasound machine in.

We could hear our baby's heartbeat, we could see his/her heart beating, but there was no other movement on the screen. This went on for about 10 minutes. The tech was pushing on my belly trying to "wake up" our baby.

I closed my eyes. I squeezed them tight and had tears rolling down my face. I prayed the Our Father over and over and over again.

Suddenly the tech said "Did you see that?!"

I answered "No, my eyes were closed."

He told us that our baby's foot moved very slightly.

That was good sign.

Then our baby moved a little more.

At first my doctor said I would stay overnight for observation.

We made a few phone calls to family and friends.

A few minutes later he came back in and said he didn't like what he was seeing with the monitor. Our baby needed to be born as soon as possible.

We remade our phone calls. I had my "Bible Girls" start a prayer chain. (My mother's bible study group.)

My doctor said that as long as the heartbeat looked good I could be induced rather than have a c-section right away.

We started the induction.

Tom and I were visited by pediatric doctors. They explained to us everything we should expect with a preemie - everything that could go "wrong." They told us exactly what would happen once our baby was out. We learned about the NICU.

I was scared, but knew this was the right decision.

I don't think I would have been able to go home and not worry myself into a panic everytime I didn't feel movement.

Plus, we joked that our baby just couldn't wait to meet his/her grandparents. He/she heard they were in town for just a few days. Decided now would be good time to be born.

I was in labor all night long. Heartbeat stayed strong the whole time. The next day, August 31 (she was due October 15), our 4 lb baby girl Sarah Christine was born.

She came out screaming! Good girl.

Very dark hair. So little. So cute.

While we were pregnant, we were at a picnic with Tom's side of the family. We still didn't have a girl name picked out. Tom's cousin suggested we look up Sarah. We did. It means "Princess." Sarah is our little princess.

And we still didn't have a middle name, so I told Tom I wanted her to have my name.

But our princess needed to stay in the NICU for awhile.

They took her while I got cleaned up. A good friend of mine arrived with my father soon after Sarah was born. They had brought my camera and were going to pick up my car that was still at my doctor's office.

My father went to the NICU with me to meet Sarah.

She was so tiny. I wanted to hold my daughter so badly.

They let me. I spent as much time with her as I could. I even got to start nursing her the next day. I also started collecting my milk for the nurses to give to her.

On day 2 I had to go home. I panicked. When my doctor came to release me, I was pacing the hallway - having a little panic attack. He sat me down and told me he understood, but I couldn't stay. I had to go home. Sarah would be in good hands here and I could visit her anytime. I visited Sarah again, then cried all the way out. All the way home.