Yet another advocacy example

Milo has been alive for just a few days, and already we've had a case where advocating for a level of care ended up being important. When I called our Pediatrician to let them know Milo was born, they said they didn't need to see him until his 2-week well appointment. We were a little concerned about waiting 2 weeks for his first checkup, especially given his small size, and talked to a number of doctors and nurses at the hospital before we left. They all suggested we should be seen sooner.

So we called back the Pediatrician and ended up being seen the day after discharge. This ended up being really important as Milo was a little jaundiced (very common for any newborns, more common in ones born pre-term or right around term), enough that the doctors wanted him to get a jaundice blood test. And the test levels were high enough that he needed to be rechecked the next day.

The most important good news is that his levels were lower the second day, so the docs aren't too worried anymore, and that's great. But once again, it's another example of how you really need to advocate for the care you think is important, which doesn't always match with what your doctor might think.

And while I'm here, why not share another picture of our awesome and definitely not jaundiced little miracle.

Welcome!

We started this blog to tell the story of our son, Milo Thomas, and the miracles it took to bring him here, safe and healthy. We wanted people to learn from our mistakes and triumphs. The long road we have walked to parenthood has been complicated and heartbreaking, but the end of that road has been a true medical miracle.

The blog stands as a testament to what we have been through and a tribute to the two sons we lost, Joseph and Thomas, and of course to our son Milo, who we cherish every day. We'll periodically update on how Milo is doing as he grows older. We'll also share stories and information about some of the challenges we've faced (pPROM, Cervical Insufficiency and Delayed Interval Delivery) in the hopes of helping others cope with their own complicated pregnancies.

Please note that we are not doctors and nothing shared here should be constituted as medical advice. We are simply people who have experienced a few serious pregnancy complications and were able to overcome them--not by just trusting our doctors and leaving the rest up to fate, but by becoming educated advocates for the standard of care we felt was appropriate and fighting for what we felt we needed. We hope to help inform others so they can work with their own doctors and advocate for their own care in the same way that we were able to. And we hope any medical professional who happen to come across this blog takes this as an opportunity to learn more about some of the cutting-edge possibilities to deal with pregnancy complications and gets a glimpse into the human side of what a medical miracle looks like.