It took us 2 years, 2 surgeries and a round of expensive infertility treatments to get pregnant with Alexander. It was an uneventful pregnancy until 28 weeks. I had been having a lot of swelling in my feet and ankles but thought nothing of it. On Mother's Day weekend, the swelling wouldn't go away. I stopped at CVS and checked my blood pressure in one of their machines. It was high. Very high. So I went to Walmart and checked it on theirs thinking the other one was broken. Nope, still very high. Called my OB who told me I needed to come in right away. But, I was in Maryland. So I had to go to the L&D there. Once there I was admitted and ended up being diagnosed with severe pre-eclampsia. That was Saturday. On Monday, they agreed to allow me to transfer to my own doctors and hospital in PA. Little did I know I wouldn't be leaving there until the baby was born. I was put on hospital bedrest and heavily monitored daily until June 6, 2011. I had an ultrasound scheduled that morning which ended up showing that the cord blood flow was actually taking from the baby instead of giving to him. Emergency c-section here we come! That was at 32 weeks, 2 days. Our sweet, wonderful Alexander was born. That was one angry baby. He was 3 lbs, 5 oz and 17 inches long. My tiny little peanut.
But what a fighter! He exceeded expectations by leaps and bounds and only stayed in the NICU for 3 weeks! 
We were ecstatic to bring him home and hold him without wires and tubes attached! Emma fell in love instantly. We fell into a routine of figuring out that life with a preemie was very different than having a full term baby. Alexander was not the easiest baby but we were used to that from his older sister who was also a difficult infant as well. He was eternally nosy and hated to sleep, always afraid of missing out on something. We adjusted to the change in our sleep schedules and meeting his demands and loved life as a family of 4.
