diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 89d4e45..8a7f7e6 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -59,7 +59,8 @@ app.get('/', function(req, res) {
  
 var server = http.createServer(app)
 
-//reload code here 
+//reload code here
+//optional server delay argument can be given to reload, refer to API below
 reload(server, app)
  
 server.listen(app.get('port'), function(){
@@ -98,6 +99,7 @@ app.get('/', function(req, res) {
 var server = http.createServer(app)
 
 //reload code here
+//optional server delay argument can be given to reload, refer to API below
 reload(server, app)
 
 server.listen(app.get('port'), function(){
@@ -145,15 +147,17 @@ Usage: reload [options]
 
 Options:
 
+
   -h, --help                    Output usage information
   -V, --version                 Output the version number
   -b, --browser                 Open in the browser automatically.
   -d, --dir [dir]               The directory to serve up. Defaults to current dir.
   -e, --exts [extensions]       Extensions separated by commas or pipes. Defaults to html,js,css.
   -p, --port [port]             The port to bind to. Can be set with PORT env variable as well. Defaults to 8080
-  -t, --time [delay]            How long (ms) should the browser wait before reconnecting? Defaults to 300 ms.
+  -d, --delay [delay]           How long (ms) should the browser wait before reconnecting? You can also specify true, if you would like reload to wait until the server comes back up before reloading the page. Defaults to 300 ms.
   -s, --start-page [start-page] Specify a start page. Defaults to index.html.
 
+
 ```
 
 Navigate to your html directory:
@@ -174,11 +178,11 @@ It's actually stupidly simple. We leverage `supervisor` to restart the server if
 API
 ---
 
-### reload(httpServer, expressApp, [timeout_millis])
+### reload(httpServer, expressApp, [delay])
 
 - `httpServer`: The Node.js http server from the module `http`.
 - `expressApp`: The express app. It may work with other frameworks, or even with Connect. At this time, it's only been tested with Express.
-- `timeout_millis`: The client side refresh time in milliseconds. Default is `300`.
+- `delay`: The client side refresh time in milliseconds. Default is `300`. You can also specify true, if you would like reload to wait until the server comes back up before reloading the page.
 
 
 
diff --git a/bin/reload b/bin/reload
index d0bf665..e45859d 100755
--- a/bin/reload
+++ b/bin/reload
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ program.version(require('../package.json').version)
   .option('-d, --dir [dir]', 'The directory to serve up. Defaults to current dir.', process.cwd())
   .option('-e, --exts [extensions]', 'Extensions separated by commas or pipes. Defaults to html,js,css.', 'html|js|css')
   .option('-p, --port [port]', 'The port to bind to. Can be set with PORT env variable as well. Defaults to 8080', '8080')
-  .option('-t, --time [delay]', 'How long (ms) should the browser wait before reconnecting? Defaults to 300 ms.', '300')
+  .option('-d, --delay [delay]', 'How long (ms) should the browser wait before reconnecting? Defaults to 300 ms. You can also specify true, if you would like reload to wait until the server comes back up before reloading the page.', '300')
   .option('-s, --start-page [start-page]', 'Specify a start page. Defaults to index.html', 'index.html')
   .parse(process.argv)
 
diff --git a/lib/reload-client.js b/lib/reload-client.js
index c92a8c1..18c89fa 100644
--- a/lib/reload-client.js
+++ b/lib/reload-client.js
@@ -1,10 +1,44 @@
 ;(function refresh () {
   var RLD_TIMEOUT = 300;
   var sock = new SockJS(window.location.origin + '/sockreload');
+  var waitForServer = false;
+  var sock;
+  var checkDelay = 1;
+  var checkDelayCounter = 1;
 
-  sock.onclose = function() {
-    setTimeout(function() {
+  var newConn = function() {
+    //try and connect a new socket to the server.
+    sock = new SockJS(window.location.origin + '/sockreload');
+    
+    //if the server is up then, the sockert will reach this event handler and then call refreshPage
+    sock.onopen = function() {
       window.location.reload();
-    },RLD_TIMEOUT);
+    };
+    
+    //else the server is down try and connect again with another call to newConn
+
+    //this will exponentially increase the wait time to slow down the calls to checkServerUp to prevent this script from spamming requests if the server doesn’t come back up quickly. 
+    //this is useful in the case when the user brings down the server but forgets to close their dev tab or a server has a long restart time.
+    checkDelay = (Math.pow(checkDelayCounter,6)) / 10000000000;
+    checkDelayCounter++;
+
+    setTimeout(function () {
+      newConn();
+    }, checkDelay);
+  };
+
+  sock.onclose = function() {
+    //check for the server only if the user entered in true for a delay
+    if (waitForServer) {
+      sock = null;
+
+      newConn();
+    }
+    //else use the default delay or user specified delay
+    else {
+      setTimeout(function() {
+        window.location.reload();
+      },RLD_TIMEOUT);
+    }
   };
-})();
\ No newline at end of file
+})();
diff --git a/lib/reload.js b/lib/reload.js
index bd19586..4a082fc 100644
--- a/lib/reload.js
+++ b/lib/reload.js
@@ -5,13 +5,17 @@ var sockjs = require('sockjs')
 var SOCKJS_FILE = path.join(__dirname, './sockjs-0.3-min.js')
   , RELOAD_FILE = path.join(__dirname, './reload-client.js')
 
-module.exports = function reload (httpServer, expressApp, time_ms) {
+module.exports = function reload (httpServer, expressApp, delay) {
   //this happens at startup of program, so sync is alright
   var sockjsCode = fs.readFileSync(SOCKJS_FILE, 'utf8')
     , reloadCode = fs.readFileSync(RELOAD_FILE, 'utf8')
 
-  if (time_ms) {
-    reloadCode = reloadCode.replace('RLD_TIMEOUT = 300', 'RLD_TIMEOUT = ' + time_ms)
+  // If delay is specified as true then reload will wait for the server to be up before reloading the page
+  if (delay === true) {
+    reloadCode = reloadCode.replace('waitForServer = false;', 'waitForServer = true;')
+  }
+  else if (delay > 0) {
+    reloadCode = reloadCode.replace('RLD_TIMEOUT = 300', 'RLD_TIMEOUT = ' + delay)
   }
 
   var clientCode = sockjsCode + '\n\n' + reloadCode