I wanted to share a special part of my life with you today…

I typically don’t ask for help (which, in the past, has been a serious downfall for me), but here goes nothing…

Almost 9 years ago, I was pregnant with our first daughter.  I was 36 weeks pregnant and had just visited my doctor.  Due to high blood pressure and concerns from my doctor, she put me on bed rest for a few days.  Within a couple of hours of that doctor appointment, my water broke.  What??? I am only 36 weeks along… I can’t be having this baby, she is not fully developed, what is going on, I have never done this before (were the thoughts going through my mind).

Within 11 hours, our first daughter, Sydnie Frances Petoskey, was born.  She weighed 6 lbs. 9 oz. and was a wonderful, bundle of joy!  We could not have been more blessed.  Even though she was almost 4 weeks early, she was born healthy and we were able to take her home after a day and a half in the hospital.

Fast forward 5 years…

I was pregnant with our second daughter.  Things were going great, I felt pretty good, but was slightly concerned about carrying my child full-term (based on my previous experience).  At 32 weeks of my pregnancy, my family and I traveled to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for my niece’s birthday party for the weekend (this was a 7-hour trek…).  We had tons of fun, visited an awesome Children’s Museum, and all in all, had a great time!

Well, early Sunday morning, I woke up and all of a sudden, my water broke in the hotel bed. I could not believe what was happening to us again! AND, we were over 7 hours from my doctor, my hospital, our home, etc. We did not have baby clothes,  a car seat, nothing!  This came as a total and complete surprise.  As my husband and brother took me to the hospital (thank goodness we were in the largest city in the Upper Peninsula which had an amazing hospital), I prayed and prayed.

Being 6 weeks away from my delivery date, my husband and I were very scared and could not understand why this was happening again. What did we do wrong? At the hospital, the staff was going to attempt to stall or stop the labor, but this baby was ready to come out and experience the world!

So… Kendall Corinne Petoskey entered this world as a Yooper! Kendall weighed 5 lbs. and had stay in the NICU for 14 days. This was the longest 14 days of our lives…

She was strong, never needed any machines for support, but did not know how to eat and had to be taught. As we experienced these two weeks, we saw so many tiny babies hanging on… I will never forget this experience and thank God for how lucky we are and how thankful we are for the doctors, nurses, counselors, family and more.

I have been involved with the March of Dimes for over 15 years (have walked the “walk), but their support and research never became more personal to my family until we experienced our own premature babies. The March of Dimes is committed to helping all babies be born healthy… and so am I (and my family). This is a personal commitment that my family and I have made and we will continue to support the March of Dimes for the rest of our lives.

I am the Chairman for the Holland March for Babies Event which is going to be held on Saturday, April 17, 2010. How can you help (I am asking for help, remember?)?

Please help me reach my goal by making a donation to my walk. It is so easy and completely secure.  Just click the banner below!

Thank you for helping me give all babies a healthy start!

CLICK BELOW TO HELP OUT!

The video below is from a few days ago, our family celebrating Easter. My daughters are now 8 and 4 and are happy, healthy children.  They are our life! Thank you March of Dimes for all you do!

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