Rachel's Story: Part 1

These days we are really clinging to our life verse found in Romans chapter 15 verse 13, "May the God of HOPE fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." The emotional roller coaster we have been on since October 21st feels some days like we are at the top of the big hill and other days like we are laying tied to the tracks with the speeding coaster car coming at us.

I have tried several times to sit down and tell Rachel's story, so that I won't forget the beautiful details, the miraculous details, the details that some days tore me apart.  If you have been following my blog for very long, then you may know that my husband and I struggled with infertility and went through fertility assistance to have out 2 little Boys.  After J was born in August of 07' we really prayed about whether or not we wanted another child, after all I wasn't getting younger and the process to get pregnant was really taking a toll on my body.  We left the matter at the Master's feet and trusted that He would truly guide us.  Late last year we really felt God pressing on our hearts that it was time to try for our third little miracle, we knew that financially it didn't make sense, we knew physically for me it didn't make sense, and we knew that medically the doctors were not supporting it, but we trusted the Father and made an appointment with our fertility doctor in February of 2010.  So, in January I started preparing my body for the medical process I would begin in February by stopping the pill, and beginning to mark on the calendar when my cycle was, etc.  (Note:  I was only on the pill to regulate my cycle, I had never been able to get pregnant in 9 years of marriage on or off the pill without the assistance of infertility treatment.)

On February 8th we went with excitement to our appointment hoping to start the process to get pregnant and instead of being guided into an exam room like we always had been before, we were directed into the doctors personal office.  We sat across from him for over a half an hour while he listed off all the reasons, new policies, and statistics as to why he and his office would no longer assist us with our fertility.  Top of his list, my age, (I am 41) followed by my weight, my blood pressure, and the statistical chance of being able to get pregnant even with their assistance being 5%.  We walked out of the office and clung to one another in the parking lot while I wept, and yet even as I stood there in my husbands arms I felt God speaking to my heart and telling me this was not over, He had a plan.  He told my heart "I don't deal in statistics."

Five weeks later I got up one morning and realized my cycle had not started, not unusual for me my cycle was never regular.  However, even though I knew it would be negative I decided to take a home pregnancy test and much to my shock it was positive.  Guess God meant it when he said "He had a plan".  I ran to my bedroom calendar and flipped back to when my last cycle was and to look for the red x on the calendar (you know what that means).  The last red x on the calendar was on February 6th, the same day I was diagnosed with bronchitis, after that I didn't feel much up for red x days ;-) 

I called my doctors office first to schedule an appointment to have my home pregnancy test confirmed.  Much to my shock, my joyful phone call turned into my first upset of the pregnancy.  The person I spoke to said, "Congratulations I guess.  Mrs. Cole I need to inform you we have a new office policy, we no longer take care of high risk patients, and with your maternal age it puts you in the category of a high risk pregnancy."  I was in total shock, I mean no physical exam, no face to face conversation, just over the phone DUMP.

(Side Note:  YES I called my husband at work to tell him the news, all I said to him was "Hi Daddy" and he said "Hi Daddy?", I repeated, "Hi Daddy", and then there was a big pause and then he asked if I was saying what he thought I was saying and I said, "Yes".)

They went ahead and scheduled the confirmation pregnancy test and once my pregnancy was confirmed the referred me out to a medical facility 3 HOURS away.  STRESS STRESS STRESS in the place of where I should have been feeling complete joy over our baby.  We did go to the first appointment at the facility they referred us to, but we hated it and the distance and decided to do our own homework for a OBGYN that was closer to our home.  With God's grace, we contacted the clinic I USED to go to when I first moved back to the area after college and had stopped going to because of a botched surgery.  When I met with the OB charge nurse I told her that I would like to avoid this one particular doctor, and she said no problem and made a note in my chart.  We LOVED and still do love the doctor that I was assigned to.  Dr J asked me the first day he saw me how I was doing, and I started telling him about how tired I was, etc., you know the typical early pregnancy symptoms.  He said, "well actually I meant how are you doing here", and he held his hand over my heart, I cried.

Everything went pretty smoothly in the early days of the pregnancy, I was tired and nauseous all the time, but nothing I couldn't handle.  Then at 10 weeks pregnant I started bleeding, and it wasn't just spots.  I called my husband at work and he met me at the ER, we were there for hours and all I could do was keep praying that God wouldn't take this little one away from us, not after all the amazing things that had brought 'her' to us.  They took me back for an ultrasound but wouldn't allow me to see the screen or tell me what they saw, they told me the doctor had to speak to me.  Then I was moved back to an exam room where my husband waited for me and the doctor eventually came and told me that "for now" the baby looked fine but that I had something called a Subchorionic Hematoma which is a gathering of blood between the membranes of the placenta and the uterus. The doctor warned that I would more then likely loose the baby in the next 24-48 hours, but that in some cases the baby ended up growing to full term, he recommended rest and no heavy lifting.  So, we went home and prayed, put my feet up, and waited. 

Two days later we saw my primary OB and he said that although I could still loose the baby, he didn't feel that I would so long as I continued to rest as much as I could and no heavy lifting.  He told me NOT to return to the gym until after this baby was safely in my arms and that more then likely the SCH would resolve itself around 18 weeks (and it did). 

Two weeks later I went into the bathroom and felt a popping sensation and looked down to find a pool of blood at my feet, I was bleeding very heavily and had passed a large clot.  I screamed for my husband and he went into immediate action after he saw what was happening.  Mom came down to watch the boys and David rushed me to the ER.  We went through the same LONG process again, only for HA HA's they included an invasive vaginal exam and scrapping (not something I would ever allow if i were in the same position again).  They waited for hours for me to be able to produce a pee so they could confirm that I was pregnant (this was AFTER they had already done an ultrasound).  Finally, 6 hours later the doctor came in and said that I was still pregnant and the baby looked fine, but again warned I could still loose the baby, obviously he was wrong because God was in control. 

On May 24th we found out that our bundle to be was a little girl, we were of course thrilled to pieces that we would be adding a little lady to our family.  Because of my maternal age, we were traveling once a month in my second trimester, to a hospital over an hour away to have level 2 ultrasounds, all of which showed the baby to be growing fine and looking healthy.

For the next 3 months everything went very smoothly, with no additional trips to the ER and no further medical complications for me until August 24th.  On August 24th, my MoG, my mom, and I went to the OB for the much awaited 3D/4D ultrasound. We were taken back and the tech. started and very quickly said that "this isn't going to work", Rachel was facing my back and in such a position that she wouldn't be able to get any good shots of her.  Then she said my amniotic fluid was low, really low . . . . . she took some measurements and said it was measuring 6 when it should have been measuring between 10-12.  She left the room to consult with the doctor and came back and said he was putting me on full bed rest with plenty of fluids and that if my AF didn't come up within a week, they would have to consider taking Rachel out if the number fell below 5.  A week later the fluid came up to a little over 7. 

The remaining 7 weeks passed without major event, believe me Rachel was giving me every indication that she was strong and viable inside of me, this little one was a mover and shaker in mamma's belly.  It wasn't until my pre-surgery appointment on October 21st during my 38th week, that we got a surprise we hadn't counted on. . . . . .

Part II of Rachel's Birth Story