Back in May of 2012 I experience a miscarriage at 8 weeks pregnant. It was one of the worst experiences of my life at that time and I even had to undergo surgery a few days later. I found out I had really bad endometriosis at that time and was told that if we were wanting a baby soon to start trying as soon as I was healed. I found out I was pregnant with my now daughter in August of 2012 and besides some bad morning sickness that first trimester, things seem to have been going smoothly. There was a little hiccup at the beginning when they couldn't find a heartbeat at first, but after doing an ultrasound they were able to locate one.
Fast forward to November of 2012 when I was 18 weeks pregnant we had an anatomy ultrasound scheduled to see how the baby was doing and to also determine the sex. I'll never forget that day sitting in the ultrasound room looking at the screen and barely being able to see anything. We originally were told the ultrasound would last 45-60 mins, but we were only in the room for maybe 10 mins. The ultrasound technician was very quiet and acted uneasy and all she said was "The Doctor will talk to you in a bit." We didn't find out the sex nor were we told anything else and the time just seemed to drag out forever as we sat in the waiting room waiting to be called back.
Once called back we were told that my amniotic fluid was extremely low (they said it was at a 2 which was basically a small pocket up by her mouth) and the baby was measuring extremely small. The low fluid and small baby basically made it almost impossible for the ultrasound technician to see anything. We were recommended to a specialist in Indianapolis and there we were told the baby was over 2 weeks behind on growth and there was almost no fluid. They seemed so sure that I had a leak and really pushed me to do amniocentisis, but I refused since there is such a risk of having that needle stuck into my belly. They told us with low fluid and a small baby that more than likely she would have some sort of genetic defect so if we didn't do the amnio then we needed to do blood tests to determine if there was anything genetically wrong. We were told that the baby had a 1% chance of survival and more than likely she would end up passing away while in the womb. I remember when the genetics counselor went over everything with me, it just seemed like too much to take in and I broke down crying in the chair. We were told that day that we would more than likely have a premature baby if she survived at all and she would more than likely have health problems.
A week later we got the genetic testing results in and everything came back normal. We had to keep seeing the doctor every two weeks in Indy to monitor the fluid and growth. I was told to be on modified bed rest so that's what I did and I drank a TON of water. My fluid levels rocketed up to a level of 12, but the baby was still 2 weeks behind in growth. Every appointment we went to we were told it was a miracle that I was still pregnant and how important it was just to get me to 24 weeks. We had a lot of prayers coming in during the pregnancy and things started to turn around, our biweekly appts finally turned into monthly appts and I continued to take it easy. I had 2 steroid shots to help her lungs and brain develop in case she was premature, had to do a preeclampsia test due to slightly high blood pressure (which I passed) and had to do 3 glucose tests (I failed the 1 hour test by 1 point and I failed the 3 hour one due to the steroid shots messing up my sugar levels and finally passed the 3 hour test the third time). Monthly ultrasounds were going okay as the level remained about the same and the baby was growing, but still small.
Around week 34 I had an ultrasound and the baby fell completely off the growth charts and was at 5%. Because of this I had to start going in twice a week for a weekly ultrasound and 2 non stress tests a week. Finally at 39 weeks pregnant they decided it was time to induce me as to not risk anything happening.
On April 2, 2013 at 39 weeks pregnant I checked into the hospital at 5am and they started the induction process and later on broke my water. At a little after 5pm it was time to push and Mackenzie Evelyn was born at 5:59pm at 5lbs 9ozs and 19 inches long. I remember before I had to start pushing I told my husband that I wouldn't survive if after everything we've gone through to have her that she wouldn't make it on that last day. Once she was delivered she was only placed on my chest for a couple seconds before I heard the doctor tell the nurse to call special care bc she wasn't breathing. She was whisked away and given oxygen and I kept hearing the nurses ask why the baby wasn't that lively. I remember looking over at her laying there all purple with oxygen on her face and the nurses rubbing her little limbs to get her moving. I felt so helpless and all I could do was sit there and hold my husbands hand and cry until I heard her finally cry.
Those first moments that she was placed in my arms was like my entire world stopped and she was the only thing in it, I was absolutely in love with her.