Dear Norah

This is all for you, to share with you the story of how you came to be.

Here is the story of my pregnancy and Norah's birth.  I've been meaning to write this for 16 weeks now, but life happens with a baby.  Norah's story began shortly after we were married.

In 2008, eight weeks into our four week marriage, Matt and I were shocked to find that I was pregnant.  We were terrified and unsure of where life was taking us, but embraced the pregnancy and moved forward.  At approximately 11 weeks gestation, I started spotting. I had yet to visit the doctor as I was waiting to be added to Matt's insurance plan. On October 31st, I noticed barely there pink spotting.  I told myself that it was normal and that everything was fine.  The following afternoon, I passed a clot.  I could justify spotting as normal, but I couldn't ignore a clot.  So, I called the medical practice where I was scheduled to visit with a midwife the following Wednesday.  It was a Saturday, so I was redirected to the answering service.  The midwife who was to treat me during pregnancy was actually the practitioner on call and reassured me that everything was fine, not to worry and she would see me the following week.  At the end of our brief conversation, she mentioned that I could go to the ER for an ultrasound in case I was worried.  I called Matt in tears, and he made the decision to take me to the ER.  I knew from the ultrasound tech's lack of words that our baby was no more and the doctor confirmed that I was starting the miscarriage process and would need to wait it out.

After the miscarriage, I went baby crazy.  All I wanted was a baby to fill the void of the one we had lost.  Matt reluctantly agreed to start trying for a baby in the spring.

In January of that year, I was laid off from my job.  Needless to say, we knew that we had to wait for our baby for a few months longer.

In December of 2009, I was diagnosed with PCOS.  At that time, I switched practitioners to the doctor who would deliver me.  We decided at that point, to push back trying for a baby by three months.  Those three months turned into six.

Approximately one year ago, we conceived our lovely Norah with the aid of clomid.  I am not ashamed of having used fertility drugs to get pregnant.  I'm very open and honest about it and I'm grateful for the practitioner who listened to my concerns and medical history which led to the testing and diagnosis.  A year ago, Matt and I had no clue how much our lives would change within a matter of weeks.

I knew almost immediately that I was pregnant.  I felt physical symptoms and changes immediately.  On July 22nd, after dinner with friends, my suspicions were confirmed.