So thankful: The birth of Sadie Grace

At 28 weeks, I was told that I had vasa previa, which is an abnormality of the placenta and can be life threatening for the baby. This would prevent me from having a natural birth.

The news was a shock to me. After having an ectopic pregnancy a year before and being scared that something could go wrong, here it was—the moment I was afraid of.

On top of all that, my husband, who is in the Army, was deployed to Afghanistan for over four months already. My doctor told me that I would have to be admitted to the hospital at 32 weeks to make sure I was right there should I go into labor. He planned a C-section three weeks later. I was given steroids to ensure the maturing of the babies lungs.  

Four days before I would be admitted to the hospital, I got a break. My husband was sent home from deployment to be by my side though it all. His homecoming was one of the best moments of my life.

After spending four days at home together, the day of the admission arrived. I was happy that I had a single room. They gave me more steroids and did some testing. Then the next shock came along. Gestational diabetes.

I couldn’t believe it. I was put on a diet and my blood sugar was measured (what felt like) 20 times a day. But I knew it was for the best. I imagined my baby girl and that’s all it took for me to stay positive.

Everyday I had to do a stress test to ensure that I was not contracting. Then on day 5, the stress test wasn’t stress free at all. It showed that I was having contractions but I didn’t feel anything. So they gave me fluids to make them stop. Well, after 5 hours I could definitely feel the contractions and nothing was working, so my doctor decided to get the baby. There it was, the moment. I was going to have my daughter seven weeks early on Christmas Eve. I called my husband and he was there within 20 minutes. 

The surgery went well and our daughter came out screaming. I just lost it and cried when I heard her. I was so relieved and scared at the same time. They showed her to me quickly and took her to the NICU. I wasn’t allowed to see her until 10 hours later because of the spinal anesthesia. When I saw that tiny little girl in the incubator with IVs in her arm and a tube in her nose, I just broke down. It was heartbreaking. I’ve never felt so much pain in me. After two weeks of my baby girl working hard and doing what she was asked to do, we were allowed to take her home. The doctor said she was the perfect preemie. Usually they don’t get released that fast.

It felt like a long journey, but we had great doctors who were looking out for us and who will always be in my heart. Our daughter, Sadie Grace, came a long way. She’s now 7 weeks old and growing like weed! I couldn’t be more happy and thankful for this perfect baby. She truly stole my heart.

Send us your birth story! Whether you had a home birth, hospital birth, 37-hour labor or emergency C-section, we’d love to read the tale of your little one’s grand entrance. Write up your birth story (click here for tips on getting started) and email it, along with a few photos, to birthstory@pnmag.com. We’ll share it on our Birth Day blog and may even print it in an upcoming issue!