Unexpected Journey
Jan 10, 2021 | by Nancy Newbrough
Anyone who has ever endured a miscarriage knows how hard it is to allow yourself to get excited when you once again conceive. Always lurking in the background is the fear that you might lose this baby as well.
My husband and I had been blessed with a daughter after our first year of marriage. She brought us so much joy that we were eager to have a second child and soon our second pregnancy had begun. But at 11 weeks, a miscarriage happened and I deeply grieved for a long time.
Last year in March, we tried again with success. But we did not announce it until 21 weeks had passed and everything was looking OK for a successful completion.
And then we waited even more as our second daughter decided to come a week past her due date. But when she was ready, she was ready! I went into labor about 8:30 p.m. and the whole labor and delivery took only two hours! This was handled by a midwife at a local birth center. I love those ladies! All of them love Jesus and care for you mentally, physically, and spiritually.
It was a whirlwind, but it was beautiful and exactly how I pictured it. Our baby weighed 9 lbs. 3 oz. and was 20 inches long. We got to hold her immediately and had lots of sweet time to bond and connect. It was such a meaningful experience and I was so grateful for the immediate connection with this baby.
(What a big contrast to the birth of our first daughter! That delivery was extremely difficult, so our baby was immediately taken to the NICU. She spent nearly two days there and our times together were brief. Because of this, we did not bond and I had postpartum depression for three months. It was one of the darkest times of my life. The Lord and a Christian song carried me through when I felt like there was no hope.)
About four hours after the delivery, we got to take our baby home. Arriving around 2:30 a.m., we went immediately to bed. A couple hours later, I woke up to take care of the baby. As I stood up, blood poured out of me. I went to rinse off in the shower, and as I stood there, I watched a faucet of blood continue to pour. Thinking it was from standing up, I went to lie back down. On my way back to bed, I experienced such intense pain that I ended up lying on the floor where I went through cycles of crippling pain and intense blood loss.
My husband called 911 and by the time EMT’s reached our home, I was unconscious from excessive blood loss. Due to COVID, my husband could not accompany me to the hospital. I arrived at the hospital around 5:30 a.m. and was given two blood transfusions and various fluids and medicines to stop the bleeding and help my body recover. The doctor said there was no obvious cause for the postpartum hemorrhaging. It was estimated that I lost 3.5 liters of blood.
After I was taken to the hospital, my husband found himself sitting on the couch holding our newborn and feeling helpless. My midwife drove to our house to drop off donor milk so he could feed the baby. His mom and sister came over to help because he was being allowed to visit me in the hospital around 10 a.m. While he was with me, we were able to get special permission for him to come back and bring the baby. My parents arrived from Austin to stay with our other daughter. So my husband (and baby) came back to the hospital around 1 p.m. and stayed with me until I was discharged the following afternoon.
It took a couple of weeks for me to mostly recover. I am not totally there yet, but I am at 90% now. The Lord has answered so many prayers! Our church has covered us in prayer, both during the pregnancy and through the postpartum crisis, and provided meals for our family. Such a blessing!
What a journey this has been! But I am so grateful that our baby girl is healthy, that I do not have depression, and that I am alive. My thanksgiving overflows because God is giving me more time on Earth to be with my family!
T.P.
…where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:1-2