Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Colton

March 14, 2006...Colton Gregory Johnson

Happy Birthday Baby!!!

Time is an amazing thing. I can hardly believe that two years have gone by since my sweet precious little miracle was born. Yet, at the same time, I can hardly remember my life without him in it. Each of my children have been a gift,..each have had great challenges, but I had to work a lot harder to get my little Colton here. I will never forget the emotional rollercoaster we went through from the time we became pregnant with him up on through his birth. Still today, if I think too hard about it, I am amazed he is even here..and amazed that emotionally we made it through.

For those who don't know, I will give a brief summary because if I give all the details, we may be here awhile. Greg and I are a perfect match...not really. We have "antibody disease"..in easy terms. Greg has antigens that he passes on to the children, therefore my body thinks I have a disease and begins to fight the disease..or in this case, the baby. Yes, very similar to Rh...but also pretty different. The only thing they can do is transfuse the baby prior to birth and try to keep the baby in the womb as long as possible. It gets worse with each baby and our sweet Colton needed a transfusion at 23 weeks gestation. Only problem..they can't do it until you are atleast 26 weeks because #1. the umbilical cord is too small, and #2 the risk to the baby is too great. If you are to go into labor then the baby would just die. We waited until 26 weeks with the result that Colton ended up having a stroke and therefore having some brain damage. (Atleast, that is when they think it happend).

Each transfusion was a rollercoaster. We had 4 transfusions before he was born. So many risks it is scary. Each one is done on the operating table because if the cord doesn't stop bleeding you have 1 minute to get in and deliver the baby before the baby bleeds to death. Among other risks. Another miracle is that only 2% of the nation could donate blood to Colton. This little baby in the end..ended up having 9 transfusions (4 inside and 5 outside) and each and everytime they were able to find blood for him pretty quick. What a miracle. Strangers blessed our lives in ways they will never know. Anyways, the 4th interunterine transfusion didn't work. They didn't catch it and so when we went in the next day there were blood clots floating all around him and he had one the size of a softball sitting on his face. His scores were even higher than before they had given the transfusion. Another miracle..he stopped bleeding on his own before he bled to death. We were kept at the hospital on monitors until they could get some blood and our sweet little Colton was delivered at 32 1/2 weeks. Another miracle..he was 5 pounds 4 ounces. What a chunk!!! He only spent 3 1/2 weeks in the hospital and then 2 1/2 months with oxygen. He was a great eater, and unlike Alex, our second, he only had the feeding tube for three weeks. (Alex was on a feeding tube for 2 months). Each day has been a gift with Colton. I still go into his room when he is sleeping and just stare at him. I love to watch him breathe. I even sometimes try to lay my head on his chest..just to feel his heart beat. I can hardly believe that he was that same little baby I went through all of this with. I use to spend every day of my pregnancy trying to feel him move..just to know that he was still alive. Here we are two years later. Another miracle... so far, our little boy that we were told would have cerebralpalsy/brain damage is perfect in our eyes. You would never even know the difference between him and the others. In fact..he is our biggest baby and our earliest talker.

I love you sweet Colton. You bring more joy into my life than I could ever even begin to explain. I will spend every day of my life loving you and being grateful that God gave you to me. You made it buddy! There is nothing like your smile. There is nothing like your attitude. There is nothing like an.."I wuv oo" from Colton. There is nothing like a "mmm-ah" kiss from you. There is nothing like a scolding from you. There is nothing like your laugh. These are all gifts that I cherish every second of my life! Happy Birthday bubby!! Thank you for making my life so amazing!!!

I am still so grateful for wonderful doctors who played a role in getting Colton here. The perinatologists: Dr. Schemmer, Dr. Gainer, and Dr. Dizon-Townsend. The whole staff at the hospital..from ultrasound technicians, to the many nurses who made our nine months + more comfortable. We made many friends. I am also grateful for the many neonatologists who assisted in all three of my babies care!!! We will always love each and every one of these people. Also, all of our family and friends. We truly felt the love of so many people!! I am especially grateful to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with three beautiful boys. Not a day goes by that I don't realize just how lucky I am! I truly believe in miracles!!!!