I don't know if I am seeing this trend of writing detailed birth stories because many of my close friends have just had babies within the last couple years, or if this is something that people are just now starting to do, but nonetheless, and I am jumping on the bandwagon. :)My story, however, is quite different from everyone else's that I know. So judge, or judge not - it doesn't matter to me because each one of us makes our own choices for a variety of reasons. The most important thing is that our God is Sovereign, and has every detail of our lives planned out in accordance to His will. There are no surprises to Him.
Jason and I had Connor Joe in February 2006. He was and is still a huge blessing in our lives. But....we knew our family was not yet complete.I had always said that I two children, one in each hand. Because Jason works shift work with the Fire Department, I have always thought that having two only outnumber me two days a week, and the rest of the time, we would have equal teams :)
I also always knew that my kids would be 5 years apart. It took us a while to great pregnant with Connor, and I expected (and was right) that it would take a while to get pregnant again. We tried for roughly 18 months, to no avail. So Jason and I looked into a low voltage fertility assistant called Clomid. It took us two rounds of the medicine, and then it worked!
On December 6th, 2009, we found out that we were expecting! I took a test early in the morning, and then videotaped telling Connor and Jason that I was pregnant. Connor's response was the cutest thing....I will see if I can post a clip on here. I ask him on camera if he thought he would have a brother or a sister. His response, "Mommy, you already have my sister in your belly". So I told him that the baby may be his brother, and his response was "No Mommy, I'M the brother."
The next few weeks were agonizingly long. I couldn't wait to see and hear a heartbeat and set my heart at rest. I had struggled with taking the Clomid, and feared that it would cause problems, even though I had researched and found that the only major risks were that of multiples. At about 8 weeks, I started having some spotting and severe lower back pain, so much so that I couldn't stand up or even step into the bathtub. I hadn't hurt myself, and was so worried that something was wrong with the pregnancy.
I called my doctor's office, who had not yet seen me. The nurse told me that she could not work me in, that they had overbooked there Ultrasound tech, and if it was that bad, then I should go to the ER. The ER???? Seriously? And it was that moment that I called and changed doctors.I made an appointment for the very next day with Dr. Shelly Leeds-Richter. They saw me the next day, and did an ultrasound in house.
It was so early on that I could not see or hear a heartbeat, but we did see something interesting - two sacks.At first mention of two sacks - I thought, oh my Lord, that means twins. I knew with taking clomid that could happen, but I was not ready for it. The possibility was low, but a possibility nonetheless. However, as the doctor viewed the ultrasound, it appeared that only one sack was "viable". It appeared that I was miscarrying one of the babies at a very early state in the pregnancy, which would account for symptoms I was having. The doctor called it "Disappearing Twin Syndrome" and apparently is very common in early first trimester.
Driving home from that appointment, I was completely torn with emotion. I had prayed and asked the Lord for a baby, which He lovingly gave to me, and for this I was so grateful and excited. But, my heart hurt knowing that I had lost a baby also. Someone that I had never met, yet was a part of me.
At 11 weeks, we went back to the doctor for another Ultrasound. I had place a possibility in my heart, that maybe that second baby would have pulled through and was thriving now. Just as the doctor had predicted, now the Ultrasound showed no sign of the second sack ever existing.
But, the 11 weeks old baby was thriving well! We heard the heartbeat for the first time, and it brought us much joy. I was great to watch Connor's face light up as he watched the screen. I wish I could remember what he said.
At 20 weeks, we went to find out the sex. I had hoped it was a girl, but also prepared myself for another boy. I love having a boy, but I was afraid that if I was blessed with another boy, then I would be tempted to try for a girl. This could have been a long pattern :)As I was watching the US screen, I kept seeing "parts" and the questioning what I was seeing, and finally I laid on the table and tried to convince myself NOT to cry or be disappointed if I was having a boy. It was ridiculous, and I was literally giving myself a pep talk!
The tech brought my men into the room, and made the announcement - IT'S A GIRL! We were all so excited, but Connor acted as if it was no surprise to him. He told me it was a girl 5 months ago.
Not only that, but at 20 weeks, our little girl was average size and weight. Average, I thought? Connor was huge...so maybe this little girl was going to be different.At 30 weeks, I went in for yet another US. This time, the baby was only measuring in the 46% for her size, and my placenta was showing severe signs of aging. My blood pressure was slightly high, so the Dr. SLR decided that I should take baby aspirin once a day, and they would check the progress in 4 weeks. The next 4 weeks were so long. I wanted to know that everything was ok. My baby was nowhere near as active as Connor was, but that could be medical or shear personality.
At 34 weeks, her size had increased to the 57% percentile. The tech guessed her current weight at 5lbs 4 oz. The aspirin was definitely helping her get more of what she needed from my placenta. But the placenta was now a grade 3, which means that it had barely any life in it at all.
We began bringing me in weekly for stress testing. 35 weeks and 36 weeks, the baby passed with flying colors.
At 37 weeks, on Wednesday, July 21st, it was a different story.
My mom took Connor and I to the doctor. I went to stress testing, and the baby was not cooperating. She barely passed the ST, but passed nonetheless. I was concerned to say the least. Just I had done for the last three weeks, I immediately went to see the doctor. My blood pressure was coming in at 150/100, which is high.When the doctor saw my blood pressure, and the length of time it took for the baby to pass the stress test, she decided to put me on blood pressure meds and send me to a lab for blood work.
Dr. SLR told me that if there was any indication that the baby was not thriving or that my blood work had any abnormalities in it, then we were going to have a baby on Friday.
On my way home, I stopped by to have blood work, filled my BP prescription, and was told that I would find out the results of the blood work on Thursday afternoon. At that point, we would make a decision if we needed to deliver the baby early or not to make sure she was as safe as possible.
On Wednesday evening, we went to church, came home, and when I was about to lay it down for the night, I took my blood pressure. I was shocked when it read 160/110. I was surprised that it was so high in the evening before I was going to bed. I told Jason, who, as a paramedic, wanted to check it himself – and it was still the same.
Jason told me to call my doctor. I contacted the office, only for them to tell me that the Doc on call would contact me within 15 minutes. At Midnight (which was 1 hour later) I called again. This time, the Doc on call contacted me. I explained to her the situation, my blood pressure, the call for testing, and the concerns that my doctor had with the condition of my placenta.
To put it nicely, I was not at all happy with the doctor on call. She told me to get rest, and keep checking my BP for the next 4 hours. If it did not get better, to call again. So I did. I tracked my blood pressure every 30 minutes throughout the night, rarely felt the baby moving around, and very much freaking out. At 4am, I called again. I honestly don’t know what I said to that doctor, or what she said to me, but I do know that she would not call me in to the hospital and I was not at all happy about it. I am sure I lost my witness on her. But thank GOD for grace! J
The only choice I had was to wait until 8am when my doctor’s office opened and I could contact my doctor directly. And so I prayed that the Lord would have His hand on me and my precious baby, and felt peace. I slept until 8am.
At 8am, I called my Doc, read my BP readings from throughout the night, and without hesitation they told me to come to the hospital – we were having a baby today.
Side bar – with Connor, I had a planned C-Section. I got up, had blood work, with grocery shopping, had a pedicure, took nap, and then went to have Connor. Very easy, very controlled, and no surprises. This was the complete opposite.
My mom and sister came to get Connor, and Jason drove me to the hospital. I was so afraid that something was drastically wrong. Why was my blood pressure suddenly spiking? And why have I not felt her move? That was a very long drive to downtown.
When we arrived at the hospital, they took my vitals and checked my blood pressure – 130/82 – NORMAL! I couldn’t believe it, but was happy that it was back to a safe range. The crazy part was that I was extremely stressed out at this point, so it would have actually made sense if it was high. At that point, I met with a lady about donated the cord to MD Anderson for Cancer research.
Time passed, they prepped me for surgery, and I went in around 5:30. Everything was going as planned. When surgery began, Jason was there with me, and armed with a video camera and still camera (how else would the husband of a photographer be, right?). The doctor was telling me everything she was doing, as it was happening, because I did not feel a thing.
And then I heard it. A loud cry, strong and loud! Maggie Grace Beasley had arrived, and from the sound of it, everything was going to be okay! (sigh of relief)
Maggie was born at 6:14pm on Thursday, July 22nd at Texas Women’s Hospital in downtown Houston.
She was 5lbs 8 oz, 18 ¾” long, and born with a head full of red hair.
Here comes the testimony of how truly Great and Loving that our God is…..
After Maggie was born, my doctor was finishing my surgery by attempting to deliver the placenta. As part of the process, she pulls on the umbilical cord to bring the placenta down to the incision area. When she did this, my cord separated from the placenta altogether. It was so weak and brittle that the slightest tug caused the cord to sever from its lifeline – and 15 minutes prior –that was my baby’s only lifeline. God knew that we may not have another day of safety with her.
Second testimony is Maggie’s size. Truth be told, during the last 6 weeks of pregnancy, your baby should be packing on the chubby fat at a rate of ½ per week. At 34 weeks, Maggie was 5lb 4oz, and within 3 weeks, had only gained 3 oz. Another evident sign that she was not getting what she needed from me in utero.
However, at 5lbs 8oz, Maggie’s birth weight was exactly 2500 grams. Had she been 2499 grams, she would have been in the NICU for at least 8 hours under observation as part of standard hospital procedure. Instead, by the grace of one gram, she was able to come to our room 45 minutes after birth. What a blessing!
She was able to room-in with us the entire stay, minus the mandatory evaluation periods by the nursery nurses. She nursed well, slept well, and cried very little.
We were blessed by family and friends visiting us, but our favorite visitor was big brother Connor Joe. He was so excited to finally meet his sister, and that pride beamed from his eyes. It was beautiful, and the pictures from that day literally melt my heart.
Third testimony – Maggie had to be at least 5 lbs to be able to go home with us. Being that she was so small, and her birth weight so minimal, this was a concern. I did not want to go home without my baby. I fed her as much as I could, and had no idea if it was even working, but fed nonetheless. On our last day, we were waiting for the doctor to hopefully discharge Maggie, and her weight came back at 5lbs .04oz – by the skin of her teeth yet again!
We went home to a house full of close friends and family. Tiring but lovingly appreciated.
Two days later. Maggie’s pediatrician weighed her in at 5lbs 3 oz – which secured that we could stay home – PRAISE THE LORD!
At my two week appointment, Jason, Maggie, and I went to go see Dr. SLR. And she had news for us – which leads me to the biggest testimony of all.
After delivery, she sent my placenta off to pathology to see what had happened, and why my placenta had not functioned as designed.
The results showed PLACENTAL INFARCTION.
Basically, it is a heart attack in the placenta. It causes dead tissue to form on the placental and greatly reduces blood flow and nutrients to the baby. This condition is in the top three reasons for third trimester stillborns. The doctor was quick to tell us that the baby aspirin that I was taking could have very well keep her nourished for the last few weeks, and that if my blood pressure had not spiked, we may have been facing a tragedy. And the craziest part, the results from my blood work showed no medical reason that my blood pressure should have spiked so high the day before we had her. There was no indication of hypertension of any other complications.
I firmly believe that the Lord gave us a sign in urgency. That Maggie needed to be delivered exactly when she was brought into our lives. Not a moment sooner – for her weight allowed her to stay with us and to come home with us – and not a moment later because of the condition of my placenta and her lifeline. THANK YOU JESUS!
I know I am one of the lucky ones, and I am so much more than thankful that the Lord’s plan was for Maggie Grace Beasley to be born healthy and beautiful and strong.
LASTLY, I really wanted to fatten Maggie up to at least 10 lbs before I went back to work. And, to report – at 9 weeks old, Miss Maggie was 10lbs at 8oz! (another sigh of relief)
All in all – the Lord is faithful and Sovereign, and He has our whole lives figured out for us. If only we could get out of the way, and let God be God.
Dr. SLR told me that if there was any indication that the baby was not thriving or that my blood work had any abnormalities in it, then we were going to have a baby on Friday.
On my way home, I stopped by to have blood work, filled my BP prescription, and was told that I would find out the results of the blood work on Thursday afternoon. At that point, we would make a decision if we needed to deliver the baby early or not to make sure she was as safe as possible.
On Wednesday evening, we went to church, came home, and when I was about to lay it down for the night, I took my blood pressure. I was shocked when it read 160/110. I was surprised that it was so high in the evening before I was going to bed. I told Jason, who, as a paramedic, wanted to check it himself – and it was still the same.
Jason told me to call my doctor. I contacted the office, only for them to tell me that the Doc on call would contact me within 15 minutes. At Midnight (which was 1 hour later) I called again. This time, the Doc on call contacted me. I explained to her the situation, my blood pressure, the call for testing, and the concerns that my doctor had with the condition of my placenta.
To put it nicely, I was not at all happy with the doctor on call. She told me to get rest, and keep checking my BP for the next 4 hours. If it did not get better, to call again. So I did. I tracked my blood pressure every 30 minutes throughout the night, rarely felt the baby moving around, and very much freaking out. At 4am, I called again. I honestly don’t know what I said to that doctor, or what she said to me, but I do know that she would not call me in to the hospital and I was not at all happy about it. I am sure I lost my witness on her. But thank GOD for grace! J
The only choice I had was to wait until 8am when my doctor’s office opened and I could contact my doctor directly. And so I prayed that the Lord would have His hand on me and my precious baby, and felt peace. I slept until 8am.
At 8am, I called my Doc, read my BP readings from throughout the night, and without hesitation they told me to come to the hospital – we were having a baby today.
Side bar – with Connor, I had a planned C-Section. I got up, had blood work, with grocery shopping, had a pedicure, took nap, and then went to have Connor. Very easy, very controlled, and no surprises. This was the complete opposite.
My mom and sister came to get Connor, and Jason drove me to the hospital. I was so afraid that something was drastically wrong. Why was my blood pressure suddenly spiking? And why have I not felt her move? That was a very long drive to downtown.
When we arrived at the hospital, they took my vitals and checked my blood pressure – 130/82 – NORMAL! I couldn’t believe it, but was happy that it was back to a safe range. The crazy part was that I was extremely stressed out at this point, so it would have actually made sense if it was high. At that point, I met with a lady about donated the cord to MD Anderson for Cancer research.
Time passed, they prepped me for surgery, and I went in around 5:30. Everything was going as planned. When surgery began, Jason was there with me, and armed with a video camera and still camera (how else would the husband of a photographer be, right?). The doctor was telling me everything she was doing, as it was happening, because I did not feel a thing.
And then I heard it. A loud cry, strong and loud! Maggie Grace Beasley had arrived, and from the sound of it, everything was going to be okay! (sigh of relief)
Maggie was born at 6:14pm on Thursday, July 22nd at Texas Women’s Hospital in downtown Houston.
She was 5lbs 8 oz, 18 ¾” long, and born with a head full of red hair.
Here comes the testimony of how truly Great and Loving that our God is…..
After Maggie was born, my doctor was finishing my surgery by attempting to deliver the placenta. As part of the process, she pulls on the umbilical cord to bring the placenta down to the incision area. When she did this, my cord separated from the placenta altogether. It was so weak and brittle that the slightest tug caused the cord to sever from its lifeline – and 15 minutes prior –that was my baby’s only lifeline. God knew that we may not have another day of safety with her.
Second testimony is Maggie’s size. Truth be told, during the last 6 weeks of pregnancy, your baby should be packing on the chubby fat at a rate of ½ per week. At 34 weeks, Maggie was 5lb 4oz, and within 3 weeks, had only gained 3 oz. Another evident sign that she was not getting what she needed from me in utero.
However, at 5lbs 8oz, Maggie’s birth weight was exactly 2500 grams. Had she been 2499 grams, she would have been in the NICU for at least 8 hours under observation as part of standard hospital procedure. Instead, by the grace of one gram, she was able to come to our room 45 minutes after birth. What a blessing!
She was able to room-in with us the entire stay, minus the mandatory evaluation periods by the nursery nurses. She nursed well, slept well, and cried very little.
We were blessed by family and friends visiting us, but our favorite visitor was big brother Connor Joe. He was so excited to finally meet his sister, and that pride beamed from his eyes. It was beautiful, and the pictures from that day literally melt my heart.
Third testimony – Maggie had to be at least 5 lbs to be able to go home with us. Being that she was so small, and her birth weight so minimal, this was a concern. I did not want to go home without my baby. I fed her as much as I could, and had no idea if it was even working, but fed nonetheless. On our last day, we were waiting for the doctor to hopefully discharge Maggie, and her weight came back at 5lbs .04oz – by the skin of her teeth yet again!
We went home to a house full of close friends and family. Tiring but lovingly appreciated.
Two days later. Maggie’s pediatrician weighed her in at 5lbs 3 oz – which secured that we could stay home – PRAISE THE LORD!
At my two week appointment, Jason, Maggie, and I went to go see Dr. SLR. And she had news for us – which leads me to the biggest testimony of all.
After delivery, she sent my placenta off to pathology to see what had happened, and why my placenta had not functioned as designed.
The results showed PLACENTAL INFARCTION.
Basically, it is a heart attack in the placenta. It causes dead tissue to form on the placental and greatly reduces blood flow and nutrients to the baby. This condition is in the top three reasons for third trimester stillborns. The doctor was quick to tell us that the baby aspirin that I was taking could have very well keep her nourished for the last few weeks, and that if my blood pressure had not spiked, we may have been facing a tragedy. And the craziest part, the results from my blood work showed no medical reason that my blood pressure should have spiked so high the day before we had her. There was no indication of hypertension of any other complications.
I firmly believe that the Lord gave us a sign in urgency. That Maggie needed to be delivered exactly when she was brought into our lives. Not a moment sooner – for her weight allowed her to stay with us and to come home with us – and not a moment later because of the condition of my placenta and her lifeline. THANK YOU JESUS!
I know I am one of the lucky ones, and I am so much more than thankful that the Lord’s plan was for Maggie Grace Beasley to be born healthy and beautiful and strong.
LASTLY, I really wanted to fatten Maggie up to at least 10 lbs before I went back to work. And, to report – at 9 weeks old, Miss Maggie was 10lbs at 8oz! (another sigh of relief)
All in all – the Lord is faithful and Sovereign, and He has our whole lives figured out for us. If only we could get out of the way, and let God be God.
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