Wow. It happened.
So let me tell you all about the backstory a little bit. Shane and I got married in 2010 (in the middle of nursing school) and we wanted to start a family a year after. So from our first pregnancy with Lamar having full Trisomy 18 ( which is also called Edwards syndrome, is a chromosomal condition associated with abnormalities in many parts of the body. Individuals with trisomy 18 often have slow growth before birth (intrauterine growth retardation) and a low birth weight) and that pregnancy with him was terminated on July 14, 2012 due to us feeling SO pressured by the specialists telling us that he would either die during delivery, or die inside of me before.
Then a few months later we got pregnant with Brielle. She was born completely healthy without any abnormalities and after all the genetic testing with Lamar, the doctors told us that it would be a 99.9% that it would EVER happen to Shane and I that we would have another child born with a genetic abnormality. Well, Brielle was born as healthy as could be, and when she was 8 months old Shane and I had been praying for a long time to God to just bless us with one more baby.
Then we got pregnant with Rochelle. Rochelle was then diagnosed early on with full Trisomy 13 (which is also called Patau syndrome, is a chromosomal condition associated with severe intellectual disability and physical abnormalities in many parts of the body. … Due to the presence of several life-threatening medical problems, many infants with trisomy 13 die within their first days or weeks of life) and the doctor sent me to the same exact specialist in San Antonio that wanted me to have ANOTHER abortion (they said they had NEVER seen this happen to a biracial couple in their mid-20’s with no genetic background). Shane and I knew the answer was absolutely not, and we were prepared as much as we could with truly trying to understand why God would give us a baby girl, just to take her away. But let me tell you, it was the best decision to continue her life and watch her grow in her own personality in those 2 months and 1 day that she lived with us. She changed SO many peoples lives, and God truly picked the perfect parents for her, and for that, we will be forever blessed and thankful.
It wasn’t until we were truly in the trenches in our foster care journey a little over a year ago, that we knew that we wanted to try one more time to add on to our family biologically. We had 5 foster children at the time, and 1 biological child( Brielle who was 3) when we decided to pray some hard prayers that asked God to bless us one (final) time. We found out last May that we were expecting and we decided right away we didn’t want to find out the gender and I decided that I wanted to have one more all natural-no meds-delivery as well! So this past January we welcomed Malachi into this world (happy, healthy, and oh so fun)!
We had researched some methods of permanent birth control procedures (during my pregnancy ) and Shane was SO scared to go the route of having a vasectomy, so we both agreed on the non-invasive method, called the Essure procedure for me (which does not require cutting into the body or the use of electricity to burn the fallopian tubes. Instead, an Essure trained doctor inserts soft, flexible inserts through the body’s natural pathways (vagina, cervix, and uterus) and into your fallopian tubes). I just went to my confirmation test yesterday (where they inserted dye into my cervix/fallopian tubes to see if it passes through on the x-ray and if it passed through then the Essure was ineffective and it would result in a pregnancy, and if it didn’t that means the method was indeed effective and we don’t have to worry about getting pregnant again).
Ours was indeed effective and worked perfectly, and after two x-rays they can officially say that we should not be getting pregnant again! I had conflicting emotions because I know this is something that Shane and I prayed on and knew was the right choice for our family, but at the same time it’s so permanent you know? But I am so thankful that we shouldn’t have to worry anymore, and I decided early on in our marriage that I wanted to be done having babies by the time I turn 30 (and I am currently 29).
I feel like in this day and age people are definitely not open to sharing different experiences to completing their family, thinking they may face negative judgement from others! Just know that is not the case with me and if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask and I will definitely share our experience throughout all of this!
Image source: found here
Link to Trisomy 18 information: found here
Link to Trisomy 13 information: found here
Link to Essure procedure information: found here
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