In August, Kenny and I found out we were expecting. In September, we had our first ultrasound to confirm our pregnancy. In October, we found out we were expecting a baby girl. In early December, our 20 week appointment, we had another sonogram showing a healthy baby girl. She was measuring two days earlier than my April 24th due date. We left the office thrilled that we actually got to see our baby’s sweet face. On December 24th, I started spotting. After calling my doctor, I was advised to go to the hospital to labor and delivery to get examined. After a sonogram, we found out that I was dilated to a 2.5. I was admitted to the hospital and put on strict bed rest and a strong dose of magnesium to stop me from going into labor. On December 27th at 3:30 am, my water broke. Kenny and I were devastated as we thought this was it. However, thanks to the magnesium, I didn’t go into labor. After cramping, I was moved back to the labor and delivery floor. Kenny and I made some tough decisions regarding our baby girl. My nursing staff were our angels, making sure we knew all of our options, making arrangements, and trying to keep me as comfortable as possible. On December 30th, I started having irregular contractions. I felt like something had changed as the baby was moving differently. In the morning of December 31st, one of the doctors gave me another sonogram to see how far dilated I currently was. It was then that they noticed the baby had dropped into my birth canal, breach. They could see her legs. Even though we were only 23 weeks and 5 days along in our pregnancy, Kenny and I had decided to give our baby girl a chance. I was taken in to have a c section. It quickly became emergent as she had dropped further. At 10:52 am, Kenny and I welcomed Charlotte Bristol Kuehn into the world. Kenny followed her and the NICU team as my doctors finished my surgery. Even though we have a lot of ups and downs ahead of us, Charlie is worth the climb. She has shown us so much strength, not only now but the week leading up to her birth. Her nurses constantly use the word “feisty” to describe her. She never stops amazing us. She loves to set off her alarms and scare us, but she continues to push through when she’s tired. Kenny and I love her so much. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. We need every one for our brave little girl!
