November 4, 2012 By 1 Comment

Dana

Mom to Kaleb Joseph

Born February 20, 2012
Passed February 22, 2012

Baraboo, Wisconsin

My husband and I found out we were pregnant shortly after we were married August 27th. On October 18th, I had gone to the clinic for my yearly PAP. I was told that I would get the results in the mail unless something major was wrong. So that same day at like 4pm, I got a call from the doctor telling me that the blood test had come back and I was 8 weeks pregnant. We were so excited. We set up an ultrasound and my first prenatal checkup. During the ultrasound, the doctor played our baby’s heartbeat on the speaker; it was so amazing to hear. Tears began to build in my eyes as my husband already shed a few. Everything felt so perfect. We told everyone about it, how our child’s heart rate was 176 and strong. So far everything in the pregnancy went great. [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2012, Infection, NICU, premature birth, Preterm labor, Wisconsin
October 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Melynda

Mom to Alexys

Born and died August 1, 2012 at 22 weeks

Killeen, Texas

I have never wanted anything more than to be a Mom. After several years, it finally happened. It was quite unexpected and the situation not ideal, but I was excited all the same. I had blood tests done for something unrelated but because I’d missed a period (that had happened many times before), and they decided to do a blood test to make sure. That night I got the call saying I was pregnant. I had so many emotions all at once, but was so excited. It was finally happening! I was only 5 weeks. I promised myself I wouldn’t buy anything until after the first trimester. I kept my word. After the second trimester started, I couldn’t wait. Then I realized it was hard without being gender specific. [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2012, 22 weeks, Infection, Preterm labor, Texas
October 21, 2012 By 3 Comments

Kristina

Mom to Baby Mamott

Lost September 22, 2012

Buffalo, New York

I delivered my 16 week old baby on 9-22-12. I sit here in my bed, in pain, feeling like I’m suffocating…wondering how this could happen to me.

I worked so hard for this baby. Being a mother has been my only dream. I finally met the man of my dreams later in life, and we started to work on building a family. I’m 36 and after 6 months of trying to conceive, I went to a fertility specialist, only to learn that I wasn’t ovulating. We found the cure, but it took several months of going through painful procedures and treatments, including hormone injections. My dream finally came true! I was pregnant. ME! Good ol’ pregnant me! [Read more...]

Filed Under: 16 weeks, 2012, Infection, Infertility, New York, Second trimester loss
August 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Rebecca

Mom to Drake

Born and died November 18, 2011

We had given up; all the tests at the fertility clinic showed the only thing preventing us from getting pregnant was my PCOS and that I’d have to lose some weight and keep track of ovulation and it would happen. That was in January 2011; by summer we had decided that we would focus on us, and if a baby was in our cards then it would happen. It was too stressful to go 5 times a week, sometimes an hour away, to have the ultrasounds for ovulation, and expensive! June passed and we had great fun going to the beach, July passed and we drank beers at the local amusement park and rode roller coasters ‘til they closed, August passed and we were looking forward to getting ready for our favorite holiday- Halloween. I missed a period but that was nothing unusual because of my PCOS, so I didn’t think anything of it, I had no morning sickness and I was actually losing weight. September is here and fall is starting to creep in, another month with no period and I felt fine but I decided to test one day just for the heck of it- I peed on the stick and went about my housecleaning and came back 5 minutes later…POSITIVE! [Read more...]

Filed Under: 20 weeks, 2011, Infection, Infertility, PCOS, Second trimester loss
April 14, 2012 By 4 Comments

Amy

Mom to Aliya Amy and Bennett Paul

Lost August 5, 2011

Tenino, Washington

Paul and I were introduced in April 2005 by my friend Amanda, who was engaged to Paul’s younger brother (she’s my sister-in-law now). Even though I was dating someone else at the time, she declared me Paul’s perfect match and would not let it go! She was right, of course…although very different, we were perfect for each other. Our paths crossed again in July 2005, and since I had broken up with the other guy, Paul found the nerve to ask me out. We had our first date a couple of weeks later and have been together ever since. We got engaged Thanksgiving weekend 2005 and married in September 2006. We started trying for our first child in October 2007, one month after our first wedding anniversary. I’d been on and off birth control for years to prevent pregnancy…little did I know how difficult it would actually be for us to get pregnant. [Read more...]

Filed Under: 14 weeks, 2011, Infection, Infertility, IUI, Placenta Previa, placental abruption, Second trimester loss, Twins, Washington
April 3, 2012 By 6 Comments

Jessica

Jacob Austin

Born February 10, 2012

Due June 3, 2012

Jacksonville, Texas

January 22nd I started the hardest journey of my life. I woke up about 5:30am, after having the chills and what felt like a fever all night. 

I kissed my husband goodbye, since he had to be at work at 6:30 that morning… went and sat on the couch and noticed that all wasn’t right.  We had company over so I just tried relaxing on the couch since I had been placed on complete bed rest. About 8:15 or 8:30 I began noticing a sensation I hadn’t before. My water had broken.  I called my mother and my husband and let them know I was going to the emergency room.  After that I told my company I had to leave, and they so kindly packed all of their things and drove me the 50+ miles to the closest hospital. [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2012, 23 weeks, Infection, pPROM, Stillbirth, Texas
February 25, 2012 By 3 Comments

Karen

Mom to Tobin Robert & Miles Edward

Delivered at 16 weeks on November 16, 2011

Colorado Springs, Colorado

After a 2 ½ year struggle with infertility, we were blessed with our first pregnancy. We found out on August 22, 2011 that the IUI we did was a success! We went for our first ultrasound on September 8, 2011, our 4th wedding anniversary. My fertility specialist was surprised that it was identical twins! We were thrilled! [Read more...]

Filed Under: 16 weeks, 2011, Colorado, Infection, Infertility, Multiple loss, Second trimester loss, Twins
February 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Katie

Mom to Drake

Lost May 17, 2011 at 20 weeks

Tipton, United Kingdom

I was 18 when I got pregnant. It wasn’t planned, but as the pregnancy progressed as every woman. I started to get excited. My pregnancy wasn’t easy and from 2 months I was continuously spitting and couldn’t stop; I had bad morning sickness up until I gave birth. [Read more...]

Filed Under: 20 weeks, 2011, Infection, Second trimester loss, UK
December 17, 2011 By 3 Comments

Jennie

Mom to Leela Mary, a twin

Born and died January 19, 2011

(Her due date was May 4, 2011)

Middleburg, Florida

It was a very important day; I was 19 weeks pregnant, and on our way to find out if we were having a boy or girl. I knew that there was a little girl in there, but what I didn’t know, or even could imagine, was that there were two of them! Picture my hands on my face, and dad’s head to the wall, and big brother’s jaw on the floor. ”Its twins!” they said. Boy or girl, we didn’t know, “They’re lying on top of each other,” is what the lady said. [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2011, 25 weeks, Florida, Infection, premature birth, Preterm labor, Twin Loss
November 19, 2011 By 2 Comments

Laura

Mom to twins, a boy and a girl, lost at 18 weeks on March 30, 2006

Mila Louise, stillborn at 41 weeks on July 1, 2011

Minneapolis, Minnesota

In 2004, when I was 27, my husband and I began trying to conceive. After months of not having any sign of a menstrual cycle, we were referred to a reproductive endocrinologist. After many more months of brutally high doses of fertility drugs we finally got pregnant through intrauterine insemination. We were thrilled, however terrified at the same time because over stimulation of my ovaries caused me to become pregnant with quadruplets. At the suggestion of our perinatal doctor, we reduced the pregnancy to twins at 12 weeks. At 14 weeks and then again at 16 weeks my water broke. It was a gushing of fluid, but I thought I had incontinence and never considered that it could be amniotic fluid. On March 27, 2006, at 18 weeks, we went in for our level II ultrasound and found that neither baby had any amniotic fluid. Our baby boy did not have a heartbeat and our baby girl was alive but struggling with no amniotic fluid remaining. I had a D&E and began the journey to become parents once again. I was devastated, angry, and afraid, but we would not stop until we had our baby. [Read more...]

Filed Under: 18 weeks, 2006, 2011, 41 weeks, D and E, Infection, Infertility, IUI, Minnesota, miscarriage, Second trimester loss, Stillbirth, Twins
November 18, 2011 By 3 Comments

Erin

Mom to Hannah Marie

Stillborn at 23 weeks on November 5, 2011

Maple Grove, MN

     On the morning of November 3, 2011, I had a routine midwife appointment. I’d been writing down a myriad of questions since my last appointment and my midwife, Kathrine, patiently and thoroughly answered everything for me. At the end of the appointment, she had me hop up on the exam table to check for baby’s heartbeat. She tried for a while with the doppler but couldn’t find anything. Neither she nor I thought much about that because we knew from my 20-week ultrasound that my placenta was anterior (on the front wall of my uterus), so it provided a nice buffer and we’d only ever heard the heartbeat with the doppler once at 11 weeks. So she rolled in an old ultrasound machine that the clinic had donated to them and tried to find it with that was but was again unsuccessful. It’s a really grainy machine and she couldn’t even get a good picture of the heart, much less a good enough picture to see if it was beating. She decided that I should get in for an ultrasound that afternoon at a different clinic, and she called and set that up for me.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: 23 weeks, Infection, midwife, Minnesota, Stillbirth
November 3, 2011 By 1 Comment

Diane

Mom to William and Nathaniel Feb 1 1995

Emma and Elizabeth June 30th 1997
Baby “P” June 1999
Edan William August 16 2000
Esik Nathaniel March 15 2002
Ellanor November 22 2003
British Columbia, CA

I was 15 when I found out I was pregnant for the first time. I didn’t believe it when my doctor told me, I even  told her it was impossible.  I had suffered ovarian cysts for some time and I honestly didn’t think I would ever be able to conceive.  I was also bleeding while my Dr told me from what I believed to be my period. My Dr ordered another urine sample pregnancy test and it came back positive again.  My boyfriend was 21, we were scared. My Dr gave me the advice to have an abortion and I refused. I went home and took it easy waiting for the bleeding to stop. The bleeding would calm when I was laying  down but once I sat up I would bleed again. At 10 weeks I had a huge bleeding spell and went to the ER. I had a very hard time getting the staff to stop suggesting a D&C. I had an ultrasound that showed I had a very tilted uterus and surprise I had TWINS. Shock set it very quickly. I had always dreamed of having twins but how on earth could I have two babies at my age?

[Read more...]

Filed Under: 1997, 1999, 20 weeks, 2000, 2002, 2003, 23 weeks, 6 weeks, British Columbia, Infection, miscarriage, Multiple loss, Neonatal death, premature birth, Preterm labor
October 14, 2011 By 3 Comments

Jen

Mom to Blake Richard and Kamryn Olivia Long

July 24th, 2010

Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania

My husband and I had been married for 3 years, and had been trying for 2 years without success. Once our fertility tests were completed and medications had been started, we got pregnant on our third round of Clomid. To our biggest surprise, we found out that we were pregnant with twins! At our 19 week appointment, we found out we were having a boy and a girl. Both were healthy and the pregnancy couldn’t have been any better (not an ounce of sickness.) [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2010, 22 weeks, Infection, Pennsylvania, Twin Loss
October 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Courtney

Mom to James Michael Watson

November 30th, 2007

Ozark, Alabama

I found out I was pregnant on 20 November 2007.  I was 16.  I took 3 different tests to make sure I really was. The following day I went to school, and told my best friend.  She, too, had just found out she was expecting! We went to the doctor together, and I got a test done, it was positive! I didn’t really know what to do or say at that moment, I just knew my mother wouldn’t be too happy about it. [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2007, Alabama, Infection, premature birth, Stillbirth, Teen pregnancy
September 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Grace

Mother to angel Donna Rose

October 28th, 2010

Mission, South Dakota

My pregnancy was very uneventful, for the most part.

We were living in Greeley, CO. Even before I knew I was pregnant, I had nausea every day. My husband (then my fiance), Ben, was delighted the day I walked out of the bathroom with a positive pregnancy test. [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2010, Colorado, Infection, North Dakota, Second trimester loss, Stillbirth
June 20, 2011 By 4 Comments

Melissa

Mom to Ryan Matthew

May 21, 2011

Rochester, NY

Our world was turned upside down in 25 minutes. It was actually happening for 5 days we just didn’t know it. [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2011, 21 weeks, Infection, New York, premature birth, Second trimester loss
February 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Melissa
Mother to Charlotte
Stillborn November 13th, 2010
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
During the second half of my pregnancy with Charlotte I noticed that it was very different from when I was pregnant with my first daughter Lorelei.  I couldn’t feel her move as much, but I chalked it up to the anterior placenta and moving around too much to notice her movement.  At each appointment I would voice my concerns to my doctors who told me to check twice a day, morning and night.  And so I did.
 
On Saturday, October 30th, I woke up to no movement.  Since I had called the OB before with movement issues, I knew they’d ask me to eat something sweet and wait three hours for movement so that is what I did.  I drank orange juice, even ate Halloween candy, and still could not feel movement.   By 11 AM I called my OB who then told me to go to the hospital for monitoring.  The whole way there I knew it was going to be okay because really, this type of stuff just doesn’t happen, right?  You always hear about it but it never happens to you.  I thought eventually I’d feel the movement and I’d walk into the hospital saying it was all okay.  Well I didn’t feel the movement but I still walked into the hospital confident it would all be okay. 

The nurse hooked me up to the NST monitor and found her heartbeat right away.  I stayed a bit while the nurse decided to get my information for when I’d be back in the hospital for delivering.  I told the nurse how stupid I felt, but I couldn’t feel her move so what was I to do?  The nurse assured me it was the right thing to do and to keep doing it if it happens.  She even said that it’s better to be safe than sorry because it doesn’t always have a happy ending.  I didn’t know that I’d be back again in two weeks and be that person with the unhappy ending.  After a while the nurse deemed Charlotte “happy as a clam” because the NST had shown that her heartbeat had nine accelerations when they were only looking for a minimum of three.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: 2010, 37 weeks, Infection, Pennsylvania, Stillbirth
February 7, 2011 By 1 Comment

Jessie
Mother to Nolan Roger Fife
August 23rd, 2010
Louisville, Kentucky
It was a wonderful Christmas present to our families. We had found out that my husband and I were expecting early in December and told our families as they were gathering around for Christmas Dinner. My husband stands up and says “Don’t mind Jessie’s full plate, she is eating for two now!” Everyone was so excited and we laughed imagining me having fun down at the lake all summer with a big ole belly.


[Read more...]

Filed Under: 2010, 39 weeks, First child, Fullterm, Group B Strep, Infection, Kentucky, Stillbirth
January 22, 2011 By 2 Comments

Karen
Mom to Simon Maurice
August 16, 2010
O’Fallon, Illinois

[Read more...]

Filed Under: 2010, Illinois, Infection, Listeria, Neonatal death, NICU, premature birth
November 19, 2010 By 3 Comments

Jessica
Mom to Logan Timothy
May 16th, 2010 
5:27 p.m. – 6:40 p.m.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
My husband, Tim, and I were married in May of 2005.  Around our 4 year anniversary, we decided we were ready to start our family and assumed it would happen quickly – everyone on either side of our families seems very fertile.  Well, 9 very long months later, we FINALLY conceived our first child.  We were cautious, but SO excited.  I had horrible morning sickness practically all day every day from weeks 6 to 18, but was thrilled – everyone kept assuring us this meant a healthy baby.  At our 20-week ultrasound, we found out we were having a boy.  I have had a name picked out for a boy for a very long time and my husband was neutral on it, but immediately after the tech said “it’s a boy!,” I burst into tears and begged that we name him Logan.  How could my husband say no to his crying pregnant wife?!?!  We also found out that he appeared to be perfectly healthy.  We were thrilled and went off to Baby’s R Us that day to buy him his first outfit and a few books.  We also started our registry.  We finally felt “safe” and that we’d be bringing home our little boy at the beginning of September.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: 2010, 23 weeks, First child, Infection, Pennsylvania, Preterm labor
« Older Posts

Blog Archive

Online Nursing Programs
Online Nursing Programs

Graphic Design by


© 2011 Faces of Loss, Faces of Hope | PO Box 26131 | Minneapolis, MN 55426 | Contact Us