I carried, but went into labor
on my own at 24 weeks gestation.
My husband, Patrick & I were married in Oct. of 2001. We
knew we wanted to start a family right away. Knowing some
couples who had a difficult time conceiving, we decided to
start trying. We felt so blessed when we found out we were
pregnant. We were so excited, we told most of our family &
friends at Christmas.
Our world came crashing down, on March 20th when we went
for an ultrasound at 18 weeks.
(I had been for 2 other ultrasounds earlier in the
pregnancy-I had a low lying placenta) We were devastated
when our doctor told us the baby had anencephaly. (I had
declined to have the AFP test weeks earlier)
After some of the shock wore
off and we were able to think about it, we decided to
carry Nicholas to term. We were very much at peace with
our decision. I was able to feel some joy every time I
felt Nicholas kick. It helped me to know I was giving him
life by continuing with the pregnancy. It also gave me
more time with him. On May 10th, I went into labor on my
own. They are not sure why, it may have been from the
excess amniotic fluid (polyhydramniosis-they did an
ultrasound to make sure Nicholas was in the correct
position and saw how much fluid there was)
Nicholas only lived for 20
minutes, but for that we are grateful. And for the great
support of our doctor and all the nurses at the hospital.
Although, Nicholas was only
with us for a short while, his life had quite an impact on
all of us. We love him and miss him very much. I pray for
all of those who have shared in pain of losing a baby to
anencephaly.
