Introduction

My name is Kate and I am 23 years old. I have been with my husband, Chris, for 7 years now. We have had our ups and downs in our life together but have always had each other. We have 3 beautiful children that I am so thankful for and couldn't imagine my life without.

It all began on March 5, 2005 when I met my husband. A few days later on March 9, 2005 we had our first date and have been together ever since. Later that year, we decided to have a baby. I really cannot tell you what I was thinking when I decided to try to get pregnant at 17 and my husband couldn't tell you what he was thinking either at 18. We look back now and think why in the world did we want to have a baby at 17 and 18? All I can say now is that it was meant to be and that is all that matters. After 3 months of trying, I found out in January of 2006 that I was pregnant. At my 20 week scan, I had very low amniotic fluid and was told that there might be something wrong with the baby because of extra skin behind the baby's neck (a sign of down syndrome). We also found out we were having a GIRL! I was definitely scared and they sent us to a specialist. The amniotic fluid finally came to an acceptable level so I was released from the care of the specialist with no signs of anything abnormal. I had to start NSTs (Non-Stress tests) at 34 weeks and did them twice weekly. I also had high blood pressure so I was put on bed rest for the last few weeks of my pregnancy. I was set to be induced at 39 weeks on September 29, 2006 but our baby girl decided she wanted to come earlier and made her entrance into this world on September 24, 2006 at 12:30 pm weighing in at 6 lbs 11 oz and was 18.5 inches long. She was 100% healthy. Everything went great with labor and delivery. I had an epidural and pain medicine but had a normal vaginal birth.

Fast forward 11 months and we decided to try for our second baby. I got pregnant right away. We found out at our 20 week scan that we were having a BOY! He looked perfectly healthy but my amniotic fluid was low with him as well. I was closely monitored with ultrasounds my entire pregnancy. At 29 weeks pregnant, my abdomen was measuring 5 weeks behind. At 35 weeks, my abdomen measured 8 weeks behind. Ultrasounds showed our son was in the 17th-18th percentile but he was still growing. At 38 1/2 weeks, our son didn't grow at all on ultrasound and dropped to the 15th percentile. They estimated him to weigh 5 lbs 9 oz. The doctor decided to induce for the following Monday at 39 weeks 1 day. On June 2, 2008, I went in to be induced. Everything went smoothly and I got the epidural again. Labor only lasted 4 hours and he came out at 11:13 AM weighing 6 lbs 12.5 oz (To everyone's surprise!) and was 19 inches long. Another 100% healthy baby.

Fast forward another 11 months and the big debate was to have another baby. We decided we were definitely not ready so soon again. We said we would wait until we felt ready. It was now October 2009 and we still had no plans of trying for another baby but God had other plans! Mid October, I found out I was pregnant with number 3! I was honestly freaked out. My husband had a lapse in judgement only one day (not many people know their exact conception date). It took me a while to accept the pregnancy and get excited. Since we had one of each I wanted to be team green and not find out the gender but my husband and family objected so at our 20 week ultrasound, we found out we were having another BOY! Unfortunately, we were also given the news that he had cysts on his brain. I was terrified. Four long weeks went by and we went in for another ultrasound which showed the cysts had thankfully dissolved. I measured small again throughout my pregnancy. At 37.5 weeks pregnant, an ultrasound showed our baby boy in the 13th percentile weighing 5 lbs 2 oz. Doctor decided to induce the following Monday again at 38 1/2 weeks. On June 14, 2010, We arrived at the hospital to start the induction process. I didn't know it at the time but this labor and delivery would be very different from my last two. It started when the nurse went to place my IV. As the needle slid in, I couldn't breath and felt lightheaded like I was going to pass out. My blood pressure was bottoming out. I was given oxygen right away and my blood pressure went back to normal. I was determined not to have any pain medicine or the epidural with this labor. I had my mom there supporting me through the pain (she had my sister and I both drug free so she was great at encouraging me). My husband decided to run home (about 30 minutes from the hospital) to get his school books because we agreed he shouldn't miss school that night and hey I had done this twice before it was no big deal for him to go to school for a few hours after I had the baby. Things started moving really fast after he left. I was worried he wasn't going to make it back. My husband had just made it back when the nurse came in to check me and I was 7cm dilated. I was in so much pain that I asked for some IV medicine (didn't know it at the time but I was in transition). Ten minutes later, as she was about to put the medicine in the IV, I told her he was coming out now. I didn't push at all he just came barreling out. She caught his head with her one gloved hand and his body was caught by the bed. I did it! Completely free of pain medicine! He was born at 12:26 pm weighing 5 lbs 15 oz and was 19 inches long. Once again 100% healthy baby. Then, my uterus wasn't contracting well and I was bleeding an abnormally large amount. I was hemorrhaging. Everything got scary very quickly. Everyone was told to leave the room and they took my baby from me. I was given numerous shots to stop the bleeding but they were not working. They started pushing on my stomach very very hard. It was excruciating. The doctor came in and started to dig pieces of the placenta out. Even more excruciating. They started talking surgery to get everything out. When the doctor felt she got everything out, they brought in an ultrasound machine and looked for any chunks of placenta left in my uterus. Thankfully, all was clear and surgery was not necessary.

Six weeks later, I decide the last thing I wanted was to get pregnant again any time soon so I decided to get on the birth control pill. I got a 3 months supply of birth control and never forgot to take them. After my first month on it, I started to get bad headaches. I wanted to stop taking them but had already started my second pack and decided to at least finish that pack first because I didn't want to waste them. On October 8, 2010, my lower left back area felt as if it had a pinched nerve. I had my husband try to rub it out but it just made it sore and feel bruised. Later that night, my leg started hurting and was swollen. I didn't have insurance at the time so I was just trying to ride it out and figured it was just a pinched nerve. The next day, I went shopping with my husband's grandma. My leg still hurt and was swollen. While we were in a store, I got lightheaded and nauseated. I had to sit down and she got me something to drink. She offered to take me to the hospital but I still didn't want to go since I didn't have insurance. I went home to lay down and try to take a nap. I wasn't able to sleep I was in so much pain. I agreed to go to the hospital after my husband had got home from work. When we got to the emergency room, they were pretty busy. Once they called me up to get my information and assess me, they took my temperature and it was elevated. I would have had to wait much longer but since I had a temperature they took me back sooner. I was given morphine and everything is a blur until I got into my room. I was diagnosed with a severe DVT (deep vein thrombosis) in my left leg. It extended all the way from my hip down to my ankle. I was in the hospital for 5 days. All the doctors attributed the blood clot to the birth control pill I was taking.

Over a year later, I am still on blood thinners. I had my last ultrasound in September and the DVT was still in my upper leg. I had been advised in the hospital to be tested for any blood clotting disorders considering my father had a history of 2 DVTs. So in December 2010, I was finally tested for the top 5 disorders. A week before Christmas, my results came back showing I have Factor V Leiden. I was devastated. One, because I knew there was a 50% chance that I passed this down to each of my children and two because my husband and I agreed we would have no more children if I had a blood clotting disorder. I don't think I ever thought the testing would come back positive for anything because I am left with still wanting another baby and no peace in knowing that our family is finished.