A day I thought would NEVER come - our child's DUE DATE!!!

10-28-2016  I have been looking forward to this exact date for 9 months!  Actually I've been dreaming of getting to our child's due date for 7 years....and today it's finally here!  Execpt today, our son Colton Charles is exactly 4 weeks old!
We had a rough last couple months of pregnancy, as I was diagnosed with preeclampsia/gestational hypertension.  I was soon after put on bed rest due to high blood pressure (the baby was doing fine).  I was to be seen twice a week until delivery and set to be induced at 37 weeks (on 10-07-16), however we didn't make it that far along.  On the morning of September 29th, 2016 I went in for a scheduled ultrasound and stress test, and both showed that the baby was fine & healthy, however my body was not cooperating.  My blood pressure was through the roof high and labs showed early stages of kidney failure.  My team of doctors decided that it was time for our miracle to arrive.....I was immediately checked in to labor and delivery to be induced,  I was notified that once he was delivered, that he would have to go into private care nursery immediately for at least 24 hours to be assessed since he was a late term premie being born at 36 weeks.  Never did I think we would spend the next 13 days at the hospital.
He arrived at 4:36am on 9-30-16 weighing in at 4 lbs & 12 ozs & 18 inches long.  He was every bit of perfect.  Everything happened so fast, and there were so many nurses and doctors in our delivery room.  I saw him for a brief second after delivery and before he was take to the other side of the room, where I waited to hear him cry out for the first time....it seemed like forever.  I remember asking "is he okay" multiple times, and there was no response from anyone.....seconds went by for what seemed like forever until we finally heard our son for the first time cry out.  He was then immediately taken to away to the nursery.   We were able to go to him in his room shortly there after, he was so tiny I wasn't sure how to even hold him.  He was hooked up to heart and oxygen monitors, which at first seemed like so many wires.  Little did I know that would only be the beginning of the machines he would be hooked to.  He wasn't eating properly at first, so a feeding tube was put through his nose into his stomach to help feed what he wasn't physically doing on his own.  He began to do so much better at eating, and a couple days later the feeding tube was able to come out - we were so happy.  With one step forward, we then went two steps back:  His blood saturation levels were dropping lower then what was normal.  He was put on a low do age of oxygen.....my heart sank as more tubes were placed on his perfect little face even though I knew they were helping him live.  He had to slowly be weened off of the oxygen and then forced air slowly.  After the tubes were out, he had to be monitored for 48 hours before he could be discharged.  I was discharged two days after delivery, and basically living in his private room.  In the  13 days we were at the hospital, I only left the hospital a total of 3 hours....there was no chance that I was going to miss a thing with him being there.
10-12-16 was a gloomy rainy day, but it was the happiest day for us - we were finally discharged as a family and able to go home.  It's been so wonderful having him home since.  We can't get enough of him.  He's perfect!!!

Today our miracle is exactly 4 weeks old - today 10-28-2016 was his due date, and this picture below was taken today.  This photo speaks volumes in the minds of those who understand what it took us to get to this point.  In the words of a fellow infertility friend of mine, "Every single prayer, tear, injection, and failed day/month/year was worth it, and this picture is proof of that.  Never give up on your dreams!"  Our little miracle Colton is our dream come true.