My Pregnancy and Birth Story

After 3 miscarriages I found a wonderful Reproductive Endocrinologst (Dr. Behera from fertility treatment center )and helped us figure out the issue : low progesterone, short luteal phase and mthfr mutation. We started clomid and got pregnant immediately. I was so happy but still rightfully scared. Our first ultrasound was set for 6 weeks. We waited for the tech and my heart was racing. She said how many babies do you think there are and I said I thought we were having twins, she turned the machine on and looked around and I could see it! Two sacs. Then she showed us something that would change my life. There were heartbeats! Two healthy, perfect little babies. My dreams had come true. 

​

I had a pretty uneventful wonderful pregnancy. I was very positive and didn't see the aches and pains as a bad thing as I felt so blessed! We were beyond excited when we found out they were girls. We had a big gender reveal party and everyone was so happy. It seems every milestone we got to kept happening quicker and quicker. The biggest was making it to 30 weeks. That was one I was really happy about. 

​

At 32 weeks when there was protein in my urine and I had elevated blood pressure. My Dr. then wanted to monitor me twice a week. My labs and 24hour urines stayed pretty moderate and weren't too concerning yet.

One morning at 34weeks 2days I woke up with severe upper abdominal pain that I tried to ease with a bath and laying down but I couldn't move or breath without it hurting. I decided to go to Labor and delivery to be checked out. I arrived and my blood pressure was up there. They consulted with my Dr. and did labs and I was diagnosed with pre eclampsia. My Dr. came to talk to me about my options because he was concerned if he sent me home I would end up back in labor and delivery that week and the few extra days of development wouldn't really be a make or break in the health of the babies compared to the risk of the pre eclampsia. He checked my cervix and I was 2.5 cm and 50% effaced. He felt that it was in everyone’s best interest to induce me. 

​

I called my husband and told him that I was being induced that day and he needed to go home get some stuff and meet me at the hospital. I'm sure he was feeling a ton of emotions.  The nurse gave me an Iv with fluids and gave me some apple sauce and cereal as my last meal before I was given pitocin. My husband arrived and it was go time! At 4:45pm the nurse gave me my first taste of pitocin. My mom arrived and I tried to sleep but couldn't. I didn't really feel much pain or contractions at that point. I was riding on adrenaline and It took a while to feel contractions. At 6:30pm my Dr came back to check me and I had progressed to 3.5 cm he unexpectedly broke my water. Im actually glad I wasn't warned of it because I probably would have tensed up in anticipation. That was when the fun started! 

​

I started getting stronger contractions and my mom and husband rotated give me back rubs since I was having pretty bad back labor.I didn't make Much progress by 9pm. I felt discouraged as my contractions were bad enough that I though I would have progressed more. I was in pain and wanted an epidural. The anesthesiologist came in and I wasn't sure what to expect. It didn't hurt and I felt relaxed immediately. I was checked at 11:30 pm and I was 4cm. We decided to change my position and use a peanut ball between my legs.I will tell anyone wanting to have a vaginal birth to use the peanut ball! Only an hour later At 12:30am I got uncomfortable, partly because my epidural was wearing off and called my nurse in. I wanted to switch positions as well as tell her I had the feeling I needed to go to the bathroom. She decided to check me and I was 9.5cm. When she said that I was completely shocked! How did I go from 4cm to 9.5cm in an hour? My husband was sleeping on the couch and I called his name to wake him up, I said 9.5! he said what? I said 9.5 centimeters. He got up quickly and didn't know what to do. Meanwhile the nurse wouldn't leave since the babies head was right there.   She called my Dr and he told her while we waited for him to get there to practice push. My husband had the pleasure of holding my right leg up as the nurse took my left and on my next contraction I had my first experience with pushing. My nurse was surprised at how good I was at it because after a two practice pushes she said stop. If I kept going she would be delivering Arijana. My husband got scrubbed up since I was delivering in the OR. It was very interesting to have contractions and not push. I had to breath through them and focus on keeping her in. 

My Dr. got there and they wheeled me into the OR where they deliver twins in case of the possibility of an emergency csection. I lifted myself up and moved to the bed, and all the nurses were wondering how I could feel my legs to do that.I told them the epidural wore off and I was completely mobile. I remember music being on and while they were setting up I though it was funny the song " we will rock you was on". I guess it was a good song to give me some energy to do this. My Dr was ready and it was go time. On my next contraction I pushed twice and Arijana was out at 1:36am. I was teary eyed and in awe of my sweet baby I just gave birth to .

 They did a quick ultrasound to see where Isabella was positioned, she was still breech and very high up he said I won't be able to turn her. I thought that meant he would have to do a c-section. As I though this , i hear him " So that means were gonna deliver her breech." He broke Isabella’s water. Having a baby breech was a totally different feeling. I felt her legs were out and with 2 pushes I pushed her head out and she was here at 1:41am. The song 'yesterday' by the Beatles was on when I gave birth to Isabella. I laid their shocked I just gave birth vaginally to two babies with pre eclampsia and one baby was breech. I felt like a total rockstar!

Seeing Arijana for the first time was amazing I got to look at her and talk to her for a few minutes before I gave Birth to Isabella.

I was able to see them a few minutes before they took them to the nicu as a precaution to monitor them to see if they needed to stay longer. I got wheeled back into the labor room where my mom was and she was shocked at how fast it happened. She was proud of me and so happy I got to have the girls the way I wanted. I told my husband to go be with the babies. My Mom and I cried at the pictures my husband was sending me. I so badly wanted to be with them and that was hard. An hour later I was finally able to go to my post partum room and the Nicu to see the girls. I immediately breastfed Isabella and she latched on amazingly! I had a picture perfect delivery that active labor only lasted 4 hours. I am so lucky and fortunate it went so well and the girls are healthy. Arijana weighed 4lbs10oz and Isabella weighed 4lbs3oz. They needed to stay in the Nicu for 18 days and it was very hard to leave them, but theyre now home with us and although Im barely getting any sleep my heart is soo full with these two beautiful & amazing daughters of ours. I can wait to watch them grow.

Professional photos by Alex Fazio

​

My miscarriage stories

It hasn't been a long time since my last miscarriage, but I know how alone I felt and I knew I had to share my story. I mainly wrote it down as therapy. I knew that if I shared it that maybe one women would at least know she wasn't alone. 

My Husband and I got married June 2012, We had the most amazing honeymoon filled with love. We decided for me to stop taking birth control and to see what happens. I found out I was pregnant in October, 2012. Before I could celebrate or be happy, I started bleeding. I was so confused. Was I really pregnant? I took 6 tests and all were positive. I thought I was just 2 weeks late on my period, I was in denial that I was pregnant until I passed a small sac. I never really grieved it because I didn't believe it was real. A month after I had one of the most realistic and vivid dreams of my life. I saw Jesus in a white robe, holding a baby. He said " Its okay child, He will be okay, I will take care of him." I woke up and cried and felt a wave of something majestic. Some days I feel guilty about not letting this miscarriage sink in, and not properly grieving it. I named this baby Joey. 

We got pregnant again in January,2012! I was so excited! I immediately called my mom to tell her the good news! My first week of knowing flew by and by week 5 I started getting tired and having pregnancy symptoms. Week 6 rolled by and my phone app said my baby then had a heartbeat.I grew more in love everyday.Week 7 and I thought wow, this is really happening. I'm going to be a mom. I secretly knew it was a girl, although that was something I kept to myself. I was 8 weeks 1day and then everything changed… I started spotting. I went right to my doctor for an ultrasound. I was so nervous and anxious , praying everything was okay. I was laying there staring at the ultrasound screen anxiously waiting for those words " here is your baby, this is the heartbeat…." But instead I hear " This right here is your gestational sac and  It looks like the baby didn't develop properly."  I was numb, I didn't even cry right away. She said that we would need to do a d&c. My doctor left the room and I took a picture of the screen , I sat there and stared at the empty sac, still in disbelief . I got in my car and lost it. I started bawling. I could barely breath. My husband called hoping for good news. The words came out of my mouth for the first time "The baby didn't make it". What? was his reply, "Are you okay. Where are you? I'm coming." I sat in the parking lot and my heart was literally hurting. My husband got there and got out and hugged me. I couldn't talk, I thought to myself,did I let him down? Why me? What did I do wrong? The following weeks were some of the hardest of my life. I was very upset. I didn't understand why I had to go through this. I dreamed  about becoming pregnant for a while and imagined it to be so wonderful , my dream just became a nightmare. People didn't really know what to say to me. Some people avoided it, some people said it wasn't meant to be, some people said they were sorry and left it at that. I took a 2 weeks off of work… still awaiting my d&c. I was definitely in 7 stages of grieving and there was a clear sense of denial even after seeing 2 ultrasounds that clearly showed a non viable pregnancy. I thought maybe my tilted uterus is hiding the baby. The morning of the d&c was emotional. I went through the procedure and woke up feeling empty and alone, even though I had a nurse there. I went home and slept all day. I woke up the next morning and wanted to start getting through this.. I went through days of hopefulness and days of anger,bitterness and jealousy. I had a sadness that no one understood and a want for my baby that was so strong. I swear I saw a pregnant women everywhere I went, reminding me of what I wasn't capable of. The world around me was pregnant and I was just living in it. My mom kept reminding me that I would be a mom someday, but there was a worry deep in the pit of my stomach that it wouldn't happen. I didn't want to go out because I knew that I would keep seeing things would remind me of my loses. At times I would just lay in my bed crying . My mom and I came up with the name Stella for her. I wanted to start trying again after one cycle, and that is what we did. I didn't think I would get pregnant again right away and to be honest I was still scared.  

I woke up on a Saturday morning in May and I just felt like I was pregnant. I thought that was silly because i would have only been 3 weeks 3days. I tested anyways. I got out a pregnancy test and nervously took it. I saw a faint but visible line! I started smiling, could it be? I got on my knees and thanked God. I felt so blessed, I felt like I was given another chance to have a sweet , beautiful baby. I rubbed my non existent belly/baby bump and said" Thank you for picking me as your mommy, I love you so much already". I wanted to get creative on how to tell my husband because the first two times I just told him. I got a onesie and ironed on I love my dad in Bosnian(my husbands first language) , along with the positive test. He was shocked and also informed me I spelled it wrong. I went right away for an HCG and progesterone test. I had a good feeling, I tried to stay positive. My Dr's nurse called me and said that the HCG was rising , but now like it should and that my progesterone was low. My heart sunk, and I said is there anything I can do. She said she called in progesterone and to pick it up right away and take it. I took the rest of the day off ,called my mom and rushed to the pharmacy. In my mind I thought that this couldn't happen again, I was so scared. I went to my moms house and there was a lot of crying and hugging. I hadn't even lost the baby yet nor did I know if I was going to lose it, but somehow I felt defeated. I even thought stupid things like well maybe I'm not meant to be a mom. My brother very quickly reminded me that I have so much love to give to a baby and that I was born to be a mommy to either my own biological baby or adopted baby. I had HCG tests every 2 days. The Dr was cautiously optimistic. My levels were still rising but not doubling every 2-3 days. At 6.5 weeks I got a miracle phone call, My levels doubled in 2 days. Finally the news I was desperate to hear! I cried tears of joy. We scheduled an ultrasound for the next week. I went to my ultrasound appointment and we didn't see anything but my Dr said it was probably too early, he saw a "hotspot" meaning that's where the baby implanted and was growing, it was just too early to see the babies heartbeat. I felt calm and I knew the next ultrasound we would see the baby. 3 days later , my life changed again. I started bleeding, i stayed calm and told myself that I was okay because I wasn't cramping. That night I passed a small clot and stayed in bed all day and the next days to come. A few days later I passed a large clot and I just knew that I would be miscarrying again, I started cramping and my world was shattered again. I went to the ER and passed a lot of blood. I had full on contractions. I tried to be at peace. I talked to my baby I named Anthony as I was miscarrying , and it helped me. I felt so broken, so useless. My body wasn't capable of carrying a baby. I wondered how people would perceive it. Once again "why me" kept popping up in my head. I knew I had to do something to figure out why I kept losing my babies. I did a lot of research and finally went to a reproductive endocrinologist. This journey has not been easy, it has been a roller coaster, a test of my faith,and a test of my marriage. I'm finally getting answers and feeling confident in my bodies ability to carry a baby. I haven't given up and I know I am strong. I'm not quite ready to tell my story to the world, but I want to someday. I want to help women who have gone through this. I want them to know they are not alone, because that is how I felt.  The next part of my journey that I know will happen is holding a baby in my arms. That baby will be so loved and will have the 3 best guardian angels ever!  For now this story is to be continued… (hopefully with a BFP (big fat positive), and booming HCG and progesterone levels) 

                                            My ultrasound photo showing an empty sac

The Necklace I made to remember my babies

If this is you, please don't give up. Know that you are not alone and know that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. No matter how dark the tunnel may be.