Hello I'd like you all to meet my little sleeping princess Lilly-May Angela Masterson born sleeping at 38weeks on the 17th May 2018 .
So my story...where do I start. I shall start from the beginning, so after 3 miscarriages. I thought YES I'm going to be a mummy to a beautiful little girl my rainbow baby
My pregnancy started off with a lot of morning sickness right up until 24 weeks. We had to have a early scan at 6 weeks because of my miscarriages. Then a few days later I started to bleed. They did another scan straight away and found out it was a hematoma and that baby was fine and that I just needed rest.
I stopped bleeding a day after my scan, then the 12 week scan arrived and my heart and my partners heart started to beat so fast. We didn't look at the screen we just looked at the floor, my partner held my hand and then when we heard the heartbeat we both looked at each other and smiled. We were finally getting to get our happy ending.
I found out that day I had O negative blood and that at 28 weeks I needed a anti-d jab but apart from that all was good. Well apart from the really bad morning sickness which made me ill.
My partner then surprised me and told me he was booking a early gender scan for my 30th birthday. I had the scan the day after my birthday. The day of my birthday party my partner was praying the baby was a little girl as he already has a little boy who was 6 years old at the time with someone else.
I wasn't bothered whether it was a boy or girl as I was finally having a baby.
We did the big reveal by popping a balloon. We already knew she was a girl but we still wanted to do the balloon and let our friends and families know as a surprise.
A few weeks later we had our 20 week scan. She was perfect and we got everything but her spine wouldn't show to us. So I had to go a week later. So we did and they said she had something wrong with her spine. My heart started to race. My mother-in-law came with me as my partner couldn't get time off work.
They told me to come back a week after so I did this time with my sister. They did the scan and said they still thought there is something wrong with her spine so they said they thought it was best to go to Manchester as they deal with things like this so off we went to Manchester.
A week later they couldn't get a good view of her spine so we had to go back twp more times. The last time they confirmed it was something to do with her vertebrae on her spine which only had two formed. There should be three but they said 9 out 10 people live a normal life.
I finally got my head around it. Then at 34 weeks my midwife measured my belly and my belly was 1cm under the line so off to the hospital we went and they scanned me and said she was 1cm over the line and was 4lb 6oz.
I was so happy until at 37 weeks and 5 days I woke up and had a gut feeling something was wrong. I went for a wee, and got back into bed as my little girl always kicked away after me having a wee.
The first thing I thought was that it was her way of saying "I'm hungry mummy but I only felt one little kick so I got in the bath messaged my partner and told him something was wrong.
Lilly-May wasn't moving. I splashed water on her as she use to kick like crazy. Nothing. I rang the hospital, they said to come straight in so we did.
The midwife called Emma put the heartbeat monitor on me and there was nothing.
I looked at Adam and said she put it on wrong side. Lilly always led on my left side. She moved it, and still nothing. She said come on lets go into another room and I will put another heart monitor on. Still nothing.
She then said let me go and get the scan machine. She scanned me, she grabbed my hand and said "I'm so sorry there is no heartbeat". She then said she needed to get a doctor.
I just screamed and said "I'm so sorry to my partner".
He said "It's not your fault".
The doctor came in scanned me again and held my hand and said "I'm so sorry". Then a lovely specialist midwife came in she was called Laura she said "I'm going to look after you."
She spoke to me and said "You can either have a pill now and that stops your milk from producing. Or you can come back tomorrow and have it and I can induce you on Friday". I said ok as I wanted to spend a few extra days with Lilly-May inside me and to see if could prove the hospital wrong and go into labour myself.
She explained that my water will not go on their own. I said ok. I woke up the next day after a horrible sleep as they said you may still feel movement and I did do.
At 10:25am I started to get period type pains. I said to my partner "I think I'm in labour".
We got the hospital at 12, I said to Laura "I think I'm having my contractions". She felt my stomach and said "I think you are in early labour, but I don't think it will last". she said
I was then advised that if the pains continue to get worse then ring up and come straight in.
The pain was getting worse. I took a few paracetamols but that didn't work. So at 11.30pm I couldn't take much more and off to the hospital we went.
I got there and I was 9 cm, My midwife laura wasn't there but a lovely lady called Choi was and she asked me what I had taken.
I said 2 paracetamol. All day my partner then went out to meet my sister and my mother in law stayed with me. And then all of a sudden I felt something. The midwife said that's your waters I said wow they said they wouldn't go on their own but they did. I pushed for 1 1/2 hours and my little girl was born at 1:43am weighing 4lb 1oz. Her length was 48cm and she was perfect.
We spent 4 days with her in our own little room at the hospital and it was perfect.
On Sunday the 23rd September myself and partner , family and friends walked 17miles to raise money for Sands and our local hospital we raised £2223:59 for both Charities.