By Yoomi, Chicago, IL USAMy husband and I were so excited last week because we had made it to 20 weeks. We had an appointment set up for Wednesday so we could find out if we were having boys or girls. I was really hoping for one of each.
PROM at 20 weeksDelivery at 20 weeks + 5 days.
Story added: 2010-06-22
Last Monday morning started out like any other but when I went to the bathroom, I noticed a little blood. I hadn't had any spotting before so I was about to call my doctor when fluid just rushed out of me. I panicked and it took me a minute to figure out where the phone was in my office (on my desk) and called the secretary. She called 911, brought me down to the nurse's office, where I waited for the ambulance.
My husband met me at the hospital but my OBGYN was nowhere to be found. We waited for over an hour before a resident finally came by. She told me sometimes the baby can sit on the bladder and cause one to urinate. I wanted to yell at her and tell her I would know if I had pissed myself. She did a couple tests that confirmed my water broke.
We found out one of the babies' amniotic sacs had broken and now had no fluid. We didn't know the babies' sexes yet so we referred to it as Baby A. Both babies had good heartbeats so my husband and I tried to stay optimistic. After a couple nights in the hospital, the doctors sent us home. I was on strict bed rest and antibiotics. We were still hopeful. I had read many of the stories on this site and prayed that we would be one of the lucky ones.
The next morning, I went to the bathroom and noticed an umbilical cord hanging down. I had never seen one but I knew right away what it was. My husband was about to leave for a meeting but he ended up taking me back to the hospital. Baby A no longer had a heartbeat. Baby B, who we now knew was a girl, was still active and well so our hope was that Baby A would "fall out" without affecting Baby B.
We spent another 2 nights in the hospital, waiting, not knowing. But I was uncomfortable Friday night and couldn't sleep. By early Saturday morning, it was becoming obvious that I was having contractions. By 10am, I was in labor.
Baby A, our little boy, was delivered and the contractions subsided so I begged Baby B to hold on. I got to rest a little while. A couple hours later, I was hit by contraction after contraction. There was no time for pain medication. There was nothing I could do and my poor husband could only sit by my side and hold my hand.
Baby B, our little girl, was delivered quickly but at 20 weeks and 5 days, she had no chance. We couldn't bear to see them or hold them so the nurse put together a keepsake box for each baby, with their footprints and pictures so we could look at them when we were ready.
None of the many specialists I saw during the week could explain why this happened but we were told there was no reason why we couldn't have children in the future. My husband and I are holding onto that hope.
We will never forget these two and they will always be our angel babies.