Luke’s Birth Story

Sometimes in life you get so caught up in the now, that you can’t possibly see the big picture. You get lost in the emotions and the questions and the doubt that you don’t realize that sometimes what you think is unfair, is actually something beautiful. That what you’ve cried out to God to take away, was actually the very thing that saved a life. This story wasn’t one I ever thought would be mine, but with tears in my eyes I’m sharing with you Luke’s birth story.

November 5: Diagnosed with complete placenta previa after spending two days in the hospital for uncontrollable bleeding.

March 5: I received a phone call from my doctor letting me know my previa was 100% resolved. It was rare this late in pregnancy.

March 7: I spent three days in the hospital for uncontrollable bleeding. I was diagnosed with marginal placenta abruption. Devastated and heartbroken as to why I had to go through this.

March 9: Diagnosed with velamentous cord insertion after being sent to a high risk specialist. My due date was immediately changed to 36 weeks exactly.

March 23: The day Luke was born.
There was a lot of emotions that I experienced the day Luke was born. When I woke up that morning, I sat at the kitchen table and read my bible and prayed. I was nervous. I was scared. I was excited. After sitting for a little less than an hour, my hands found their way to my little white letter board and started spelling, “He is forever faithful.” I didn’t know why those specific words comforted me so much, but I found myself saying it again and again.
I had never had a planned delivery, so I decided to get ready for the day and pack the rest of my hospital bag. (Yes…the day of.) My mind kept counting down how many more hours till the delivery. My heart desperately longed to meet the little boy who had been so protected by our God. I wanted to kiss him and hold him and be done with this difficult season. I was ready for relief.

We dropped our oldest babies off at my parents and arrived at the hospital at 11 am. I checked in, and they instantly began preparing me for my surgery which would be two hours later. I was so nervous, but Tanner kept stroking my hand and comforting me. We prayed together and before we knew it, it was time.

Tanner wasn’t allowed to be in the OR room when the anesthesiologist gave me my spinal block, so I was by myself for about 20 minutes while my body was prepped and cleaned for surgery. I was scared, and my doctor noticed. I was supposed to hug a pillow while I was given the spinal block, but my doctor said to hug her instead so I wouldn’t be so afraid. She had been such an incredible support throughout my pregnancy, and it was comforting knowing she’d be the one to deliver my son. As she was hugging me, she told me just to keep praying. That all I needed to do while I was waiting for him to finally be here was pray.

Tanner was brought into the room once I was completely numb and they were ready to begin the c-section. Instant relief. The love of my life was beside me, just as he had been through all of this. He immediately sat beside me and grabbed my hand. He kissed the top of my head and we sat there waiting. We talked a little, but as soon as the doctor said Luke was almost here we immediately stopped. I just stared up at the ceiling praying. It’s almost over. He’s almost here. This is it. I felt pushing and tugging as they pulled Luke out and then the world stopped. The cry of my baby boy. The sound of new life. The sound of healthy lungs. My baby was here. Despite the complications that could have easily ended his precious life, he was alive.

Tears streamed down my face as I realized Luke was ok. Despite my rare conditions, he was here, and he was healthy.
After the NICU nurses checked his lungs and cleaned him up, they handed him to Tanner. I just cried as Tanner showed me this little miracle baby. He was sleeping peacefully. The anesthesiologist snapped a few photos from my phone, and then Tanner and the baby went to a room while I was stitched up.
Those twenty minutes away from my boys felt like forever. I just kept staring up at the ceiling thanking God Luke was ok. I was thinking about how grateful I was for family. For friends. For all the beautiful souls who helped carry us here to the finish line. So many times I wanted to give up and just dwell on the fear and uncertainty, but God steadied my heart as he showed me how to dwell on His strength alone.

It’s hard to break down Luke’s birth story, because it’s so much bigger than him just being born March 23. It’s a miracle that despite every condition I had, every bleeding episode that sent me to the hospital, or put me on bed rest at home, that he is here. My husband’s caption from that afternoon summarized what we went through best, so I’ll end with his words:

“Complete Placenta Previa • The Placenta is completely covering the cervix

Marginal Placenta Abruption • The Placenta is tearing which can limit the amount of oxygen baby gets.

Velamentus Cord Insertion / Vasa Previa • Approx 1% of pregnancies develop this.

The Placenta Previa was resolved 2 weeks ago. This was unheard of so late in a pregnancy. Two days after learning that Taylor began to bleed again. We spent 3 days at the hospital & they discovered she had the Placenta Abruption. A day after that she had an appointment with a specialist who discovered through an ultrasound she had Velamentus Cord Insertion / Vasa Previa. (The whole pregnancy)

What is that?? Well it means the Umbilical Cord isn’t attached to the Placenta… AT ALL. The Placenta is what gives the baby oxygen, the Umbilical Cord is how he gets all his nutrients.

The umbilical cord is attached to the fetal membranes. It then travels within the membranes to the Placenta. The exposed vessels aren’t protected by Whartons Jelly which means they’re vulnerable to rupture. They’re more likely to rupture if the vessels are closer to the cervix resulting in a still birth. Her cervix was completely covered up until two weeks ago & once it moved it was hardly 1cm away (natural birth needs to be more than 2)

Taylor also lost a lot of blood during the surgery & her hemoglobin dropped below 8. The doctor said they typically do blood transfusions if you go under an 8 but since Taylor was stable & young they didn’t do it.

Luke is 20 inches & 7.8lbs at 36 weeks! The O.R nurse said it was nothing but divine intervention that he’s okay & healthy. His lungs are 100% & he’s perfectly healthy despite him being a month early with all these pregnancy issues.

Lots of answered prayer over the last several months. He’s our little miracle baby.”

We rejoice in God’s goodness and adore our son, Luke. Thank you Lord!

^” Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

Psalm 91:1-2

Xo, Tay

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