Mazio James

Mazio- is a variant of Matteo, Italian equivalent of Mathew: a gift of YHWH

Ah, sweet Mazio. He is my miracle baby.....



I still remember looking at the ultrasound screen on our 20 week appointment with tears in my eyes as I saw God's beautiful craftsmanship! I am still in awe of it every day as I gaze into my little boy's eyes and I'm so thankful to the Lord for every minute I have him. The complexity in how God creates new life is absolutely breathe taking and if you really get to observe it in this fashion I'm sure you would agree. Then I saw that precious little boy growing inside me! It made me wonder how anyone can really believe there is no God.





Ben and I had only been married for 5 short months before we got our unexpected news that we were pregnant. We were both scared and excited but we knew that God was in control. My pregnancy went pretty well I think. I was fortunate to not experience the dreaded morning sickness and other than being tired a lot I enjoyed it. I had always dreamed of having babies and experiencing pregnancy. One thing plagued me though I was oddly afraid of developing preeclampsia. I still can't pin point why of all the many things that could go wrong that I feared that other than maybe God was preparing me for what was to come. I did a lot of research on preeclampsia and its symptoms and for a time I hadn't noticed that I was starting to develop a few. Almost over night I had noticed my legs getting swollen and then I started experiencing the worst headaches I can ever remember having. Then at 28 weeks when I woke up in the morning for 2 days straight my face would be so swollen that I could barely talk properly. After that I knew something was wrong. I went straight away into the dr's office and discovered there that my blood pressure was creeping higher and higher and staying around 150/100. Which is terribly high! I was sent into the hospital for a 24 hour urine check. It was such perfect timing because we were suppose to be leaving to go on vacation to the beach with my family that night. So instead of going to the beach with them I ended up laying in an uncomfortable hospital bed and doing nothing but laying and peeing...haha! I was sent home the next night with instructions to take it easy and rest more often.


I didn't make it very far before I ended up back in the hospital. A few days later at another dr appointment my crazy blood pressure hadn't cooperated again and back to the peeing I went for another 24 hours! Only this time didn't go as smooth as the last. My levels for the protein in my urine, which is why they were having me pee so much, came back way to high. I went from 6 grams to 12 in a 24 hour period which I'm told is not good. After that I was diagnosed as having severe preeclampsia and my dr told me that I wouldn't be leaving the hospital pregnant this time.

Sadly to say I don't feel like I kept a good testimony during this time at the hospital. I was so scared and I became very self involved and just wanted out of there! Hospitals are never the most comfortable place to be specially if your health is needing mended, but my attitude was horrible. I even argued once late at night with a resident to just let me go home. Boy was I ashamed the next morning when I realized how selfish I was being! I wasn't trusting in God and His will for my life and my baby's life at that moment. I've really learned a lot and grown, I think, since then.


My condition progressively got worse and they told me I needed an emergency c-section....I was only 29 weeks along. I had hoped that if it came to delivery that I'd be able to labor but my maternal fetal medicine specialist insisted on the c-section. ( Later we discovered that it was good thing I didn't labor because the cord was wrapped twice around the baby's neck and if I had then our sweet boy would not be here today) I was so scared! In what felt like 2 seconds my room went from just me and my hubby to 20 other people rushing in and out. My blood pressure went even higher, up to 180/200! I was given magnesium sulfate which is not pleasant stuff. It made my whole body feel on fire. I thankfully was given 2 shots of steriods to help boost the baby's lungs. I had been on heparin injections twice a day while in the hospital prior to that time so I had to be put completely under for the section. I was so scared about that because I had never gone under before or had surgery for that matter!

........Then he arrived!





We welcomed Mazio James Exposito to the world 2 1/2 months early on June 14th 2009 weighing a tiny 2lbs 9oz 14 inches long!






We couldn't believe how tiny he was...













Over the next 6 weeks Mazio fought for his life with God's strength in the NICU.







It was so hard leaving him there every night. I missed him so much!









Then finally the day came when he could finally come home....







He weighed 4lbs 10.5oz when he came home. So little still! We are so thankful that God blessed us with this precious boy! He is my miracle baby!












During my pregnancy with preeclampsia a very helpful site was The Preeclampsia Foundation

I recommend visiting them for further information on preeclampsia!
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