After the marriage in 2019, Cleo wanted to start a family with her husband Nathan. After trying to conceive for a year without success, they went to the gynecologist for further examination.
They discovered Cleo had a giant fibroid in the uterus, so it needed to be removed first. After the operation, Cleo discovered she was pregnant but this pregnancy turned out to be an ectopic pregnancy. Cleo needed to be operated again, this time to remove the fallopian tube with the fetus.
After the physical and mental recovery of the surgery and the pregnancy termination, Cleo and Nathan wanted to try again. Sadly, Cleo didn’t get pregnant for after the ectopic pregnancy, so in 2022 they went back to the ob gyn to discuss the possibility to start IVF. They did the tests and the ob gyn gave green light to start ivf in march 2023. But because they had planned a trip to Japan in may 2023, they decided to start ivf in june 2023.
Just before the trip, Cleo decided to do a pregnancy test. This is because she had to start with medication during her stay in Japan, and therefore she can’t be pregnant when taking the medicines. To her surprise, she got a positive test in her hands 2 years after the ectopic pregnancy! Cleo and Nathan were cautiously delighted and decided to wait with sharing the news after the first trimester.
After the trip they went to the midwife for the ultrasound and checkup. The first time they saw the fetus is in the uterus and it has a heartbeat, the angst Cleo had for another ectopic is finally gone. Cleo and Nathan finally could relax a bit and enjoy this pregnancy. They decided to share the news with family and friends after 10 weeks pregnancy. Everyone was happy for them. The pregnancy and tests went well, and they found out they were having a baby girl in january 2024. They were so looking forward to meet their firstborn daughter.
The morning of 31 august 2023, when she was exactly 21 weeks pregnant, Cleo wake up with a lot of Braxton hicks (or that’s what she thought it was). When she saw blood in the toilet, she immediately called the midwife. The midwife sent her to the Ob gyn in the hospital for further examination. During the examination they discovered the cervix was shortened and started to dilate. Cleo was admitted to the labour & delivery ward and was told to stay there until the baby was born, hopefully after 26 weeks at least. Otherwise, they couldn’t do anything for the baby.
Sadly, the same evening the contractions started and the cervix opened, so Cleo couldn’t do anything than to give birth to her baby girl, and knew she and Nathan had to say goodbye to her the same moment. Cleo gave birth to Amy Lie Hok Lien on 31 august 2023 and after 45 minutes, Amy gained her wings in the arms of her mommy and daddy. Amy was perfect, mommy and daddy loves her so much and she will be their forever ‘what if’.
Three months after the loss of Amy, Cleo and Nathan decided to try again for Amy’s little brother or sister. To their surprise, Cleo was pregnant again 5 months after the birth of Amy. Although the pregnancy was mentally and physically very difficult, fortunately this time it went well and Amy’s little rainbow brother Nio was born on 18 september 2024.
Nio will never replace Amy, but it is a privilege to be able to be parents of our angel daughter and our rainbow son. We are so thankful his little big sister in heaven handpicked him for us. Our life has a meaning again with the arrival of Nio and now 9 months later, we can’t imagine a life without him anymore.
Photos taken by @nathansroad
Find out more about Project Finding Your Rainbow.
Make sure to follow Journey For Jasmine on Instagram, Facebook, and Tik-Tok!