Our life changing Florida “vacation”

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Let me tell you about the time I went to Florida thinking it was a 1 week vacation with my family.

Sunshine, sand, poolside adventures… sound about right? That’s what I was expecting too, but things quickly took an unexpected turn.

After our roughly 22 hour drive south [which we spread over a couple days] my parents and I arrived at the condo in Sanibel on a Saturday evening. Sunday morning, it was vacation as usual: shelling at sunrise, shopping, checking out Farmers Market, it was all pretty relaxed.

But, by late afternoon on Sunday, I wound up in the ER in Fort Myers…

I should probably fill you in on a critical piece of information; I was 33 weeks pregnant at the time of this trip. Not one, but TWO doctors gave me the green light to travel. The only requirements: take frequent walking breaks, stay hydrated, and bring a rain jacket for the Florida afternoon showers.

Anyways, back to this trip to the ER… it turns out I was having contractions! At first, it seemed like I’d get some IV fluids, and head back to the condo to lay low. Nope. I was admitted to the hospital where they continued to monitor & try to control the contractions. Then we started trying to figure out just HOW I’d be making the 1500 mile trip home after being discharged… but wait! Each time we thought I might be able to head home… we’d see that there was a real possibility I’d be delivering my baby early, and in Florida.

Oh – and – my husband was still back home in Wisconsin!

He couldn’t get vacation time originally for the trip, so we had a long debate about whether he should fly to Florida or not. Long story short, he checked our baby car seat (just in case), and hopped on a flight the day after I was admitted to the hospital.

My husband arrived in Florida, and we still weren’t sure what to expect. I was nervous about the thought of getting on a plane, or attempting the long road trip home, even if the contractions did get under control – just in case it was only temporary. But, obviously I didn’t want to deliver my baby early. Either situation would have had its challenges, and both could be risky for our little one.

After a couple days in the hospital, I stopped getting meds to try to prevent contractions; we just had to see what would happen… Being my first kiddo, and not having taken any birthing classes yet, I had no idea what to expect. (that was the plan for AFTER this vacation) I didn’t think my contractions were that bad, but my nurse thought things were progressing & my pain levels were probably higher than I realized. Thankfully she was in tune with that because it turns out…

I WAS IN LABOR

In the wee hours of the morning, our Florida baby arrived! Being a preemie, the NICU team was there and swept our little man away. Thankfully he was doing pretty well, all things considered. But, he ended up being in NICU almost 3 weeks before being discharged.

Once he was discharged, we had to figure out how we’d travel 1500 miles back home with our preemie…! Now that’s a whole different adventure in itself which I will write about in the future. We ended up getting pretty efficient with our pit stops for feeding/diaper changes on the way home. (and of course had some more obstacles thrown our way… Florida really didn’t want us to leave.)

Our little man had quite the entrance into the world. He is already an explorer, and clearly just couldn’t wait for his first road trip! My “one week” Florida vacation turned into a month long hospital stay for my baby, and an epic road trip home with my newest little travel buddy. I’m so thankful everything turned out, and that our little guy is healthy & doing well. Never in my wildest of dreams did I expect to give birth while on vacation!

HUGE Shout out to the amazing people who cared for both our sweet little baby & myself during our hospital stays. We were in the best of hands, and so very fortunate everything happened the way it did. (and not on the road or in the air!)

UPDATE:

Many people have asked where we stayed after I was discharged from the hospital and our little guy was still in NICU. We were SO FORTUNATE how things worked out. Being that we were from out-of-state, a hospital social worker discussed the potential of us staying at the Ronald McDonald House. When I was discharged from the hospital there were not any openings at the house. So, we booked rooms at the Candlewood Suites Fort Myers-Sanibel Gateway for a few nights since it’s less than one mile from Golisano Children’s Hospital. We explored nearby Airbnb listings for longer term options. (which seemed more affordable than staying at the hotel) However, luckily right before we booking, we found out there was an opening and we were approved to stay at Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southwest Florida.

I had heard of Ronald McDonald Houses but really didn’t know what they were… I’d just seen the change and pop tab collection bins when eating at McDonald’s but I had no clue just how amazing the organization is.

The Ronald McDonald House of Southwest Florida is beautiful. We stayed in a private room which had a bathroom in it, and the rest of the space in the house was shared with the other families. It was so comforting, and felt like being home. Not only was the location amazing – we walked to the hospital in about 5-10 minutes (which saved a lot of money by not needing to rent a car), but the staff and volunteers were also amazing! Each night, we would come “home” after a long day visiting our son in the NICU, and rather than having to worry about cooking, there was always a warm meal waiting. (there were also always leftovers for anytime of day, and so many delicious brownies and desserts too!)

Most days we were at the hospital from sunrise to sunset or later. (hubs ended up staying over all night as it got closer to our little dude getting discharged) So Ronald McDonald also had sack lunches available at the hospital during certain hours when volunteers were present.

The staff and volunteers were so genuine, and our stay at the Ronald McDonald House allowed us to focus on what was most important – being with our son while he was in the NICU – without having to add extra stress to the situation.

I cannot adequately express in words just how grateful we are to everyone who shared their love & support for us in this unexpected and challenging situation. As happy as we were to be discharged and able to take our son home, it was sad to leave all of the wonderful people we met. We truly had a home away from home, and a Florida family that I never could have imagined.