Jasmine's Birth Story

After a history of three miscarriages, tests, surgery, and a rocky beginning and ending of my first pregnancy and the birth of our daughter, we were nervous about what would happen when I got pregnant again. Because of what I went through, the innocence and awe of pregnancy had been replaced by fear and paranoia. But my husband and I knew we wanted at least one more sibling for our daughter, Alexis. And the growth of our family is not likely over yet.

We thought we'd begin trying again when Alexis was about a year old as my doctor told me not to wait too long between children. I have endometriosis, which has a possibility of wreaking havoc on the reproductive system. I went off the pill when Alexis was eight months old, and began charting my fertility signs, including my basal body temperature, to see when I was ovulating and to make sure all was OK before we actually began trying.

Two months went by and everything looked fine. I had been taking vitamin B6 because without it, I ovulate too late in my cycle. I also have elevated lipoprotein-A, which means I have to take baby aspirin during pregnancy as well. The third month off the pill, we decided to try. I knew the exact day I ovulated and started counting down the days, with my temps staying high, until I could test for pregnancy.

At that time, we had just moved from Pennsylvania to Mississippi for my husband’s job. During the days after ovulation and before testing time, Hurricane Katrina hit. We had been in New Orleans that very weekend, and contemplated staying another night, which would have meant we’d have been there for the disastrous storm. Instead, we went back to Mississippi Saturday, the day before Katrina hit.

About a week later, my husband got a job back in Pennsylvania, so in record time, we packed and moved back north. Right after we moved, I tested and it was positive! I could hardly believe I was pregnant after all the stress we had just been through. This pregnancy, to our delight, was textbook smooth. The only complication was that the baby was laying sideways (transverse) and wasn't turning. I was so hoping to try for a VBAC. But after a certain time, we figured she was probably stuck in that position because I have a bicornuate (heart-shaped) uterus. So my second C-section was scheduled.

On May 12, 2006 at 7:30 AM, our second daughter, Jasmine Brielle, was born. She weighed six pounds, nine ounces, and was 19 inches long. The umbilical cord had been around her neck twice, another possible factor for her not turning. Thankfully she didn't have complications like her big sister did.

Jasmine means "a gift from God" and that she is. Every baby is an absolute miracle.