I found out I was pregnant 6 months after I lost my little girl Nayara who came at 21 weeks due to a fibroid. I had the fibroid removed in April and was told not to get pregnant until 6 months later. At the time, we hadn't thought about getting pregnant. We were still grieving from the loss of our little girl. Low and behold I got pregnant which came as a big surprise. Everything was going well up until 28 weeks. I went in for a routine visit and my blood pressure had skyrocketed. My doctor, Dr Makemson suggested I go to labor and delivery so I can be monitored. I was admitted around 11 a.m. and Mateo Alexander was born five hours later. He was 28 weeks and weight 1 pound 14 ounces. I was ecstatic and scared when I heard his first cry. I got to see him briefly before the NICU nurses took him away. I couldn’t see my baby boy for two days as I was bedridden until my blood pressure was under control.

It was very overwhelming the first time I laid my eyes on my precious baby boy. He was hooked up to monitors and tubes everywhere. He was so tiny and skinny. At the same time, he was in the same NICU my other daughter was in a few years prior before she passed. It was a very emotional time to say the least.

The NICU nurses did everything they could to make me feel comfortable. Laurie, who took Mateo as her primary was awesome. She made me feel at ease as much as she could. The NICU nurses kept telling me how feisty he was and every now and again he would make his presence known.

Knowing that I would be leaving the hospital soon was just too hard on my heart. Leaving him was the hardest thing I ever had to do. The NICU nurses reassured me that they would take very good care of him.

I was at the hospital twice a day. Juggling work, husband and six-year-old was exhausting but I wouldn't have it any other way. I had to be there for our skin to skin time and to do his cares. I wanted him to know I was there and that he was so very loved. When I wasn't there, I would see him on camera.

As I sat by his bed, I couldn't help but to look at the monitors all the time. His stats would come down and the monitors would go crazy. My heart would drop every time I heard the beeping. Every now and again he would need a little encourage to breathe. He fought hard. Every day he was gaining weight. The doctors were very happy with his progress.

After about a month, Mateo started air trails. He started at one hour and progressed from there. He then had a set back and had to return to the bubble machine. He stayed on the machine for a couple days and room air trials began again. This time around he passed. This was one step closer for him to come home. He was stable on room air and advanced to the NPCN. He stayed in the NPCN less than a week. I walked in Sunday morning and the NPCN nurse asked if I had a car seat. I told her I did not. I thought he would be there till his due date which was May 29th. She suggested me getting one that day and I did. Mateo came home four days later.

Bringing him home brought on new fears. What happens if he stops breathing in the middle of night? He’s not hooked up to monitors so how would I know? The nurses reassured me, he would be fine and that he was.

Mateo was in the hospital for about eight weeks. It was the longest eight weeks I ever had to endure. He is such a little fighter and is doing very well. I cannot say how much I appreciate my NICU nurses. Levine Children’s Hospital has the very best NICU nurses. I loved everyone one of them that took care of Mateo.