This is where I am at....

This photo is my bless-ed family. Our little baby n0.5, who we have gained so much strength and insight from the time she was conceived into our world, is my inspiration for what I am trying to achieve.

I have spent a couple of days trying to decide where to start and have decided to start with the right now.

Right now I am a busy mum of 5 who has decided to write a book on bringing my bless-ed baby into this world. Just to add a little bit more on my plate, together with my good friend Bec, who has had a similar experience, I am aiming to set up a support group for parents of preterm and unwell newborns.

Last year my little sidetrip was about finding myself expecting the unexpected arrival of my 5th child. While still grappling with accepting the pregnancy I found myself hospitalised at 19+5 weeks gestation. I was put on bed rest because of 3 life threatening complications, one being threaten preterm labour.

I was hospitalised for the duration of my pregnancy which for those who have never had a baby is normally 40 weeks long. My body half way through my pregnancy had decided it had had enough :(

It was not until months later I realised it had not been expected that I would continue much further into the pregnancy more than a couple of weeks. Anyone with any medical knowledge of my condition would say I beat the odds by making it to 34 weeks before I delivered. Never in the entire time I was in hospital did I think the task of keeping my baby inside for a few more months as unachievable, it was a case of if my baby and my body agreed.

I had kept a journal from early in my pregnancy so revisiting the emotions, the feelings and the goings on are there for me to share. I am working almost daily on my book. The story of my courage to write my book is for another day.

My sidetrip has made me realise that in our community there are thousands of mums, dads, brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends who are affected by pregnancy complications, preterm births and full term babies who are born unwell. In Australia there are 21,000 preterm births a year and in the US it is around the 500,000 mark. If I could help one family as my community helped ours during my hospital stay, I know it would make a huge difference to peoples lives.

So now I have the task of writing my book and working to set up the support group!

Got to love hard work :)

Cathryn