A. and I have been together for 10 years, married for 5. We waited awhile to start a family. At the end of 2010 we were kinda-sorta-not-really trying and I got my BFP on February 4, 2011. We were excited and terrified. A. works at our local book store, so his first job was to stock up on the usual "What to Expect" books. We are a tad superstitious, so we waited until after the first doctor visit to tell our families and best friends, then until after the 12 week mark to tell everyone else. Everyone was so excited for us. When you're in a committed relationship for 10 years, you get used to people asking you when you're going to start making babies.
We have a tiny, old house, so A. went to work redoing the house to make it baby friendly. The office became the nursery. Carpet was pulled up, hardwood was refinished. Walls were painted. I got busy researching and buying the crib, changing table, stroller, car seat, clothes, etc.
Toward the end of the pregnancy we got nervous. A. was hurriedly getting the house ready. I was nesting and getting the nursery ready. Were we ready to be parents?
After a fairly typical first pregnancy (gestational diabetes, but well controlled with diet alone), I was induced at 40 weeks +2 days due to low amniotic fluid. Baby and I both tolerated the Pitocin well and I labored for about 36 hours. Our son E. was born on October 12, 2011. He came out limp and didn't take a breath. They suctioned him, then had to resuscitate him and he was rushed to the NICU.
After many tests and procedures it was determined that he had a massive brain hemorrhage sometime before or during his birth. It was too much for him to recover from and he was pronounced brain dead on October 18. We kept him on life support for another 36 hours while organ recipients were located and our sweet baby E. became a hero on October 20. His heart is beating in another infant's body now and that gives us a lot of comfort.
Post mortem testing has determined that his umbilical cord might have been pinched sometime during the last few days of my pregnancy and/or during delivery and he was suffering from a lack of oxygen which led to the brain hemorrhage. Probably a cord accident. Or possibly a stroke. We had a perfectly healthy baby boy, and he died before he could ever live.
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