A little backstory

Baby Bird will be five months old on Saturday, September 17, and I feel like there is so much that I want to write about concerning day to day stuff right now.  But before I start blogging in real time, I'd like to take a step backward, and catch you up to the beginning.  So the first few posts in this blog will actually contain some historical items, including Baby Bird's birth story and some notes on his first few weeks of life.


My due date was May 28, 2011, but I was put on modified bed rest on March 8 at 28 weeks due to a shortened cervix and irritable uterus (which caused preterm contractions) and remained on bed rest as I began to dilate from Week 29 on.  I did everything I could to keep baby cookin', but managed only six more weeks out of the remaining twelve.  Arguably, those six weeks made a crucial difference, and by time delivery was inevitable all of our doctors felt confident that I'd gotten my baby to a healthy gestational age.  I gave birth at 34 weeks 1 day, the night after I was supposed to be at my baby shower (apparently this is a family legacy, as my mother missed her shower too when I arrived the same day).

It all began on Thursday, April 14, 2011, when I was sent to the maternity ward of the hospital straight from my 33-week appointment at the obstetrician's.  The following three posts contain what I wrote as events were happening...