Never Lose Hope

Told by: Stephanie

I am a mom of 5 beautiful and healthy kids but it wasn’t so easy at first and I had a lot of sorrow along the way.

I was young  17 and I met a boy that I fell head over heals with ahhh young love .. we went to far and I became pregnant, I had always been pro-life. So I decided to keep the baby.  He asked me to marry him I said yes. It was a rough 3 months with lots of morning sickness and cramps. I went in for my 3 month exam as l looked down at my growing tummy they put the Doppler on my tummy to find the heart beat.

Nothing. They looked again and heard a faint swishing. The nurse said oh he or she must be hiding and smiled and said lets schedule a ultra sound for next month. I went home that night feeling strange and worried. But the next week I thought I felt the baby move. That night at 1130pm I started spotting and cramping HORRIBLY. My boyfriend took me to the hospital and they listened for a heartbeat again and couldn’t find one then rushed me to ultra sound.

I remember the cold table as I laid there in a gown, I watched the ultra sound techs face as she moved the tool over my belly.  I asked her is everything ok.  She didn’t respond.  Then a long 2 mins went by she then said ok I am done. I then asked again “Is everything ok?”

She said a doctor will be in to see you shortly. I began to cry. I knew something was wrong. The longest 10 mins of my life the doctor came in and said you are having a missed Miscarriage. He then said they couldn’t see any baby in me so it most likely died months ago. He recommend a D&C or to send me home with medication to pass the placenta ect out at home.

I chose the D&C. Not one month later my boyfriend left me.

Less then 2 years later I met a wonderful man who was going into the Navy he proposed to me and we got married.  We kept trying to have a baby but nothing. I became very sad and then found out I was pregnant while he was out to sea. I told him we were both excited.

It was a very rough pregnancy I found out I had high blood pressure I  had to go on bed rest at 26 weeks it felt like eternity and at 35 weeks I went in to see my doctor and he said he had to induce me.

My blood pressure was to high. So I went in at 36 weeks to have my son. I was maxed out on picotin and one whole day went by… They then came in and broke my water.  26 hours later I was only dilated to 6cm and My son spiked a fever inside of me and so did I his heart began to decel and they rushed me in for a emergency c-section. 

Come to find out I had streptococcus B and because my son sat in my uterus with out fluid he became very sick. ( I didn’t get the swab at 36 weeks because that’s when they had be go in to be induced ) He was in the NICU for 22 days.

He pulled through and is a healthy 18 year old man now.

 

But less than 4 months after he was born I began spotting and fainting and having HORRIBLE pain in my right side so bad I could barely stand I would throw up, This didn’t happen all the time but at least once a week.  I was spotting brown smelly stringy blood but was told this was normal after having a c-section months ago… One night I took a bath and I couldn’t get out the pain was soooo bad.

My mom rushed me to the hospital they did a urine test and said I wasn’t pregnant. But then the doctor said draw blood. Which they did and saw I had high levels of HCG.

He had a ultra sound machine in and put it on my right side and there the baby was in my tube. Be began to freak out yelling we have a Ectopic Pregnancy here.. gestation  6  weeks. He asked me if I wanted to see the baby on the ultra sound screen.. I said no. I began to cry I was in so much shock. He then said we have to take you in to surgery NOW. Your baby is  in your fallopian tube and its about to rupture.

The next morning I woke up and the doctor came in and said he had to remove my whole right tube and I could still have children it would just be harder he also said thank God I came in he said with in 24 hours I could have died. 

I have had a lot of pain and loss and miscarried 3 other times. I think to myself I would have had 10 children.  I know I still do and one day I will be able to see my other 5.

I am thankful I am still here today and I am one tough mama.  My children are now 18,16,14,12 and 9.
Never lose hope.
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Why Can’t We Know Why?

Told by: Kisha

On July 30 I had a ultrasound to confirm my pregnancy. Yesterday I went back for the complete exam and another ultrasound to check the baby’s measurements.

I was 8 weeks and measurements were accurate but there was no heart beat.

I have two children and I had already shared with them the news. They were so hurt when I told them about the doctor visit.

I had an ectopic pregnancy in November 2012 so now I am wondering about my body. I don’t know if my body is not in shape to have more kids or what. I also wonder what my husband feels about me or if he blames me. He is really not himself right now. I have my D&C this Monday 8/12 and I just want to feel normal again.

I wish I had an answer to this but I don’t. I’m angry and sad, and hurt. I am not sure I want to try again. This is a pain I don’t want to feel again or want anyone else to feel. But the sad thing is it happens to families every day and there is no explanation why. Not knowing why makes it harder to accept for me.

 

 

Fear, Excitement, Love and Hope

Told by: Mercedes

I looked at the two red lines, my heart racing. I was now pregnant with my second child and my children would be only 11 months apart. Fear and excitement were fresh in my mind. Little did I know what lay ahead…

I began spotting lightly, which I didn’t think much of. After all, in some pregnancies, spotting is completely normal. On Sunday, I began to have excruciating cramping on my left side, so I laid down for most of the day. That night, I went to the bathroom and cried out from really sharp rectal pain as I sat on the toilet. I knew something wasn’t right, but I wasn’t having a miscarriage.

The next morning, I began to bleed bright red blood, so my mother-in-law drove me to Urgent Care. My husband met me there, and we waited for 3 HOURS, completely powerless to do anything. We finally were admitted to see the doctor, who then told me they didn’t have the equipment to do an ultrasound! He immediately referred me to the ER, where I waited for 20 minutes, and then was admitted for an ultrasound and pelvic exam. I couldn’t read the expression on the technician’s face, it was blank.

Two blood draws later, the doctor came in and broke the news. “You have an ectopic pregnancy”.

I buried my face in my hands and cried. There are no words to describe how powerless and hopeless I felt in that moment, knowing I couldn’t save the life growing inside me. I also knew that if I didn’t have the surgery done to remove the pregnancy, I could very likely die, as my Fallopian tube was blocked and close to rupturing.

At around 9:00 pm, they wheeled me into the surgery room, and all I remember was having a mask put on my face, and I was out. I woke up at 2:00 am in the recovery room, my faithful husband by my side. He helped me get out of bed, and we walked around the nurse’s station a few times. My whole body ached, especially my shoulders and my abdomen where the incisions had been made. But all of that was nothing compared to the ache in my heart.

I was released from the hospital at 2:30 am, and cried myself to sleep when I got home. The doctor had instructed me not to lift my 11month old for two weeks so I could heal properly. It was hard not being able to snuggle my son. It was hard just waking up, knowing that I was no longer pregnant. The worst was thinking of what he or she might’ve been like, the things they would’ve accomplished, thinking of snuggling them close and reading him/her a bedtime story….there are no words to describe the loss of a child, no matter what age they are.

I have recovered well physically, mentally, and emotionally from it, but my heart still hurts when I think about it. However, I just found out I am now about 5 weeks pregnant with my third, and I feel it has been a part of my healing as well. My heart hurts for other women that have shared in this struggle. Know that you are not alone, and you will heal! It won’t come instantly, it will take time, but it will happen! Keep your chin up and know that you will rise above your trials and your heartache.

Much love and hope,

Mercedes

 

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Show Me Heaven

Told by: Jen

Jennyfur Angel, Due June 8th, 2002, Grew Wings December 26th, 2001 Glory Michelle august 17,2009 Baby Bean, September 10th, 2010 8.3weeks Sweet Baby Cantrell Jan 21,2011 (ectopic at 5 weeks) Poppy Feb 15, 2012 (ectopic at 4 weeks) due Oct 23,2012 and 10 unnamed Angels (ranging from 4 weeks to 12 weeks) Over the past 14 years, I have held 18 precious little babies inside of me. I have been graced by 3 of them here on earth. The other 15 have grew wings and found their home above in heaven with the Lord. Out of the 15 angels I have looking down upon me, I only knew the sex of one, had named her & started preparations for her arrival. Many years ago, I contracted an STD, Chlamydia. I had it for 5 years before I had been diagnosed, so it caused a lot of damage to my uterus. September 2001, I had become pregnant, things went rather well but we knew that I would have to be careful due to the fact that I was high risk. In the following months, things continued to develop smoothly. I went to the doctor in the early weeks of December to check on the precious child growing inside of me & find out that I was having a girl. I was never so excited. As I left the doctors office & got into my car, the song ” show me heaven” was playing on the radio. The perfect song for my sweet little girl. I decided that since my daughters father was at work & could not be there for my appointment, I would go to the local flower shop & purchase him a single pink rose bud. When I saw him that night after work, I handed him the pink rose, without saying a word. He knew right away what that meant. He was getting his little girl, whom he had always dreamed of holding. We decided that we would name her Jennyfur Angel, Her father wanted her to be named after me. I called her Angel, seemed like the perfect name for my gift sent to me from heaven. We started gathering items for her right away, bibs, shirts, her first blanket, anything we thought would be prefect for her. The week before Christmas I decided to start telling my family that I was carrying a little girl inside of me, because I had began to develop a bump that was getting hard to hide. Christmas came and I went to visit with family put of town for a few days. Things were still going great with my pregnancy. The day after Christmas, I had allowed my stresses and anger to get the best of me, I walked outside to gather myself & get a breath of fresh air. Not paying attention, I slipped on a patch of ice and fell, right on my stomach. I knew right away what had happened. I felt the sharp pains in my stomach. I had felt those pains before. I was rushed to the hospital to see if there was anything they could do but it was too late… my little angel had become exactly that. MY ANGEL! She grew her wings and flew above to heaven to be there with all of my other children. 2 months later, I again became pregnant… 9 months later I had my son, Austin. Austin was a twin, but twin B grew wings 2/19/02 while i was looking at the sonogram machine the heart beat just stopped. Even though it has been 10 years since my daughter grew her wings, I only began to cope with the pain in 2008. Not a day goes by that I do not think of her, there are still times that I can feel her moving around inside of me. Now that I have my 3 beautiful living children, I know that my angels are watching over me everyday. I cannot wait for the day that I can join all of my babies in heaven. I know that they went to heaven to make preparations for my arrival, the same way I was making preparations for Jennyfur’s. 9/12/10. I suffered yet another loss. I knew deep inside that I was pregnant but I wasn’t letting it known to anyone (even my fiance) until I went to the doctor.. my appointment was scheduled for 9/20/10 …on the 12th I started feeling a lot of pain .. I knew again what that meant so I headed to the hospital & texted my fiance (who was stationed in Texas) to tell him I was headed to the doctor and that I was having a miscarriage… this came as a shock to him since he had no idea I was even pregnant. We talked about it and decided together to name our sweet child…. Baby Bean … My fiance deployed Jan 10th 2011… I found out Jan 18th,2011 that once again… we were expecting… I was more terrified than excited because I knew that I still had an IUD in and what my chances of another miscarriage were. I wanted so badly to tell him that we were pregnant but before I ever got the chance… I ended up in the hospital on Jan 20th with severe pains… well… I had all reason to be terrified… it was an ectopic pregnancy! When I did finally get to talk to him the next day I not only had to tell him that I was pregnant but I had to tell him that the baby was gone… and most recently, my fiance came home for 3 weeks in Jan 2012… we really were trying one more time to see if maybe God felt it would finally be our time to have a lil one. I Found out early Feb that I was in fact pregnant.. due Oct 23 2012. We were so excited. Feb 15, 2012 I woke up bleeding so I ran to the ER to find out… once again… Ectopic! I am crushed! Right now I am just trying to grasp the concept that again I have another precious angel. We named this sweet angel- Poppy. The pain of all my losses has been hard, especially Jennyfur and Baby Bean and Poppy but it has made me a stronger person and I cherish the time I do have with my living babies!

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