Quinn was born dysmature (much smaller), weighing just over 1800 grams

Being pregnant is beautiful when everything goes as it should. Unfortunately, this pregnancy is not as we had hoped.

I suddenly became pregnant while I was on the pill

and after a positive pregnancy test, I had to get used to the idea for a bit. We had photos taken of our little family with blue and pink balloons and then shared the news with everyone that our eldest son was going to be a big brother. We were very happy and everyone around us was just as happy for us.

During my first pregnancy, I experienced premature contractions

and I was hospitalized for lung maturation and to halt contractions. When I started having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions at 16 weeks into this pregnancy, I decided to cut back on work. After reducing my hours for two weeks, I still had just as many Braxton Hicks contractions and then went on full sick leave. I was not even 20 weeks pregnant at the time. The thought of staying home for so long did make me feel a bit claustrophobic, but all for a healthy baby! The 20-week ultrasound was good! Our baby was healthy, a bit on the small side, but that was also the case with our eldest. For this reason, we would get extra growth scans. My cervical length was a bit short, but they kept a close eye on it during these scans.

Met 28 weken hadden we de eerste groei echo van onze baby

We thought it would be nice to take my mother-in-law with us so she could also see the baby. The baby looked fine, but the sonographer kept remeasuring the belly, the leg, and the head. Suddenly she said, 'I need to consult with someone because this baby is significantly behind in growth.' She quickly left the room to talk to the midwife. When she came back, she went straight to her computer and said nothing. I sat there anxiously waiting with my husband, our son who is just over 1.5 years old, and my mother-in-law. Then she said we had to go straight to the hospital. The midwife was already on the phone. I was handed some papers and we had to leave immediately. The baby was three to four weeks behind in growth and because the movements were less, I had to go in for further examination. Fortunately, my mother-in-law could look after the eldest and my husband and I rushed to the hospital. There I had a CTG and thankfully our baby was doing well. The heartbeat was normal and the movements were good. When they remeasured the growth, they also confirmed the growth delay of three to four weeks. The umbilical cord blood flow was also examined. It was a bit on the high side, which means that my body was already working hard to provide our baby with enough nutrition. I was immediately taken over by the gynecologist and given a whole series of appointments. Every week they would measure the umbilical cord blood flow twice and every other week they would measure the baby's growth. If things got worse, I would be admitted and they would perform a CTG several times a day. It was already being said that the baby probably couldn't stay in my womb until the end, but would have to be delivered earlier (around 36 or 37 weeks).

Every week I went to the appointments feeling anxious

Occasionally, I would take my husband with me, but sometimes I went alone. Around 30 weeks, I suddenly had high blood pressure which could indicate preeclampsia. I had to stay; they took blood and urine samples and I was on the CTG for two hours. Everything turned out okay and I was given even more appointments to also monitor my blood pressure. The results after that were very disappointing. Suddenly, the umbilical cord blood flow got worse and I got even more appointments. After extensive ultrasound research, our baby turned out to be healthy and they wanted to prolong the pregnancy as long as possible, but they would not go beyond 37 weeks. After two weeks, the blood flow was suddenly good again. My blood pressure remained high, but my blood and urine results remained sufficient. So no preeclampsia. I still had no proteins in my urine, but they did find acids that were increasing. The growth of the baby had by then fallen behind by four to five weeks. They did other tests, but couldn't find anything abnormal that would slow down our baby's growth so much. My blood pressure remained high. I was given a blood pressure lowering medication and had to wait. Around 35 weeks, my blood pressure was so high that I was admitted. I received additional medication. It was terrible. My husband and little boy had to go back home every day and I missed them terribly.

My husband and I were given a tour of the neonatology department

because our baby was likely to be born weighing 1700 grams, and we would have to stay in this department for a while. After a week, I was allowed to go home because my blood pressure had dropped slightly and we had scheduled a date for the induction. When I started having back and bowel discomfort the evening before the induction, I thought it was due to nerves. I had also done all the household chores that day, wanting the house to be tidy in case we were allowed to go home quickly. That night, I also noticed a bit of blood loss while urinating. Since we had to go to the hospital the next morning anyway, I didn't think it was necessary to call.

When we arrived at the hospital at 7 o'clock in the morning

While I was connected to the CTG for an hour, it turned out that the heartbeat of both me and our baby was very low. A doctor immediately came who would be continuously present during the delivery. This was because our baby was probably weaker and might not be able to handle the contractions. When they checked, I was already at 5 centimeters. I found this quite reassuring, that the delivery had actually started on its own, meaning our baby was ready to be born! At 10 o'clock the doctor broke my waters and I was given an IV for potential hormones to induce labor, but also to administer potential labor inhibitors.

Our dysmature baby was weak and already had decelerations in heart rate

They first wanted to see if labor would start on its own. After an hour, I still had no contractions and the doctor came to check again. She wanted to wait just a little longer and then suddenly the contractions began to intensify. After a little over an hour of excruciating back labor and three pushes, our second son was born! The first thing I thought was: “Wow, he's so small!” He had a good Apgar score and was allowed to lie with me, something I really wanted, but because our baby was so dysmature, it might not have been possible. Despite his small size, he scored well on the Apgar test three times. The doctor was still a bit doubtful about the size of our son and wanted to weigh him after 25 minutes of skin-to-skin contact. She first called the neonatology department to see if there was a spot available. A doctor immediately came our way to pick him up. 1835 grams, very small, but still 100 grams more than the last estimate during the ultrasounds. A little bit of good news! Within half an hour after his birth, he was taken away by the pediatrician. My husband went along. I was able to shower and then I could go there too... Our little son Quinn was there, in the neonatology department in an open incubator, but under a heat lamp, on a heated mattress, and attached to wires.

After having his blood sugar levels checked a few times, he unfortunately also needed an IV and a feeding tube

He was too weak to drink 12 feedings himself. He didn't have enough fat to keep himself warm and not enough strength to breastfeed on his own. We asked the doctor when we could roughly go home. Her answer was that Quinn had to be able to do certain things independently, his weight had to be around 2.5 kilograms, and I had to get stronger. At least three weeks, that's what we should expect. The doctors were actually very positive about our Quinn. Although he had the weight of a baby born at about 32 to 33 weeks of pregnancy, he was doing quite well. He needed some extra help, but after a week he was allowed to move to a crib and even wear a onesie.

I remained under medical observation because my blood pressure did not decrease

Four days after giving birth, I fell ill, very ill. I had developed postpartum preeclampsia, which manifested itself after the delivery. I was no longer allowed to sleep in the same room as Quinn, but was moved back to the maternity ward and later sent to the delivery rooms. There, the nursing staff could keep a better eye on me. I was given a magnesium infusion to prevent potential seizures. I was not allowed to leave my bed and was wheeled by the nurses to the neonatology department multiple times a day. That way, I could still see Quinn, feed him, and have skin-to-skin contact. I was still weak and needed a lot of rest to recover. This had to be done on my own ward. I found this to be the worst part of our hospital stay. Quinn alone in his crib in the neonatology department, me alone in a delivery room with all sorts of medications, wires, and an IV, and my husband at home, because, of course, someone had to take care of our eldest son, who was not even two years old. I missed him the most! All the weeks leading up to the delivery, we were at home, together, just the two or three of us. Now I was lying alone in the hospital and he would come to visit for a short while, with dad. Long visits were not possible, because he wanted to play, run around, and preferably not sit still (typical for a real toddler, not convenient in the NICU). My husband was there often, every day, every hour he could manage. Our son had to go to the childminder a lot and my husband kept driving back and forth, several times a day. I cried a lot during those two weeks. I was so happy that our Quinn was so strong, doing so well and making rapid progress, but at the same time, I was sad. The feeling that my body had not been a good home for him and the feeling that my body had failed to bring a healthy child into the world without complications, hurt. The absence of my husband, our eldest son, and for most of the day, the absence of our baby, was unbearable. I needed to rest and couldn't be with Quinn all day.

Two weeks after birth, Quinn weighed two kilograms

He was able to keep himself reasonably warm, breastfed well, and his blood sugar levels were no longer fluctuating. I had already started to feel a bit better, and then we were allowed to go home. Finally! Those two weeks felt incredibly long. We could now leave behind a rollercoaster of emotions and enjoy our little family of four at home.

Quinn is already almost three months old now, weighs four kilograms, and is a very cheerful baby. I have also stopped taking the medication and have been feeling like my old self for a few weeks now, although it took quite some time.

SYLVANA