We were married in December of 2021 following an extended overseas deployment for my husband. We knew we wanted to start trying for a baby as soon as we were married so in the New Year, we went to the on-base health clinic and had them remove my IUD. We were told very enthusiastically by the nurses there that they would “see us soon!” when we were pregnant.
Come to find out how incorrect they were. A month after going off of the IUD and beginning the process of TTC I realized hadn’t gotten a period, so I started tracking my basal body temperature and discovered I wasn’t ovulating. Doctors were quick to brush us off and from January to July, I didn’t ovulate or have a period. Finally, at the end of July I ovulated for the first time since starting our fertility journey and on July 30th 2022, we found out we were expecting our first baby!
We were truly amazed after 6 months of not ovulating that we conceived this little one. The happiness gave way to fear quickly as I began bleeding at just 5 weeks gestation. After trips to the doctor and multiple HCG blood tests, it was concluded that our baby was fine and this bleeding could be caused by many things and would go away, but I never recovered. The bleeding continued from 5 weeks until 10 weeks gestation, stealing joy from my pregnancy and keeping us on edge.
On September 9th, we were sent for a maternal fetal medicine ultrasound and it was discovered that our baby was sharing womb space with a large (measuring 5.0 x 2.8 x 3.2 cm) subchorionic hematoma. We also saw our sweet baby’s heartbeat and saw them moving around in my tummy. We were assured by the doctor that the risk of losing a baby that is active in the womb due to an SCH was less than 2%. We left the appointment feeling some relief with a scheduled follow up appointment for the 26th of September.
However, on September 14th, just 5 days after seeing our baby alive and well, I started having intense contractions and bleeding heavily. I knew that something was very wrong and after a 14 hour emergency room visit, we were informed that our baby had passed away. I was given the option to allow them to pass naturally or get a D&C and I chose to progress the rest of my labor naturally. We weren’t given the option of testing so we will never know if our baby was a son or a daughter. Postpartum, I bled on and off for 58 days and doctors were less than sympathetic to our grief. I didn’t ovulate again until December of 2022.
After a long postpartum healing period and beginning to 2023, I found that yet again I wasn’t ovulating. Finally, after seeing doctor after doctor, months and months of waiting, and trying to conceive unsuccessfully we received a referral for a reproductive endocrinologist. They ran tests and imaging to find out that I have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism. The specialist prescribed ovulatory medications and we used those from March onward. Some months they worked well and I ovulated, and some months they were unsuccessful and I’d have to use medication to induce a period and start a new cycle. For 6 months we used ovulatory medications with timed intercourse. On September 6th 2023, just one week before the anniversary of the passing of our angel baby, we were blessed to discover that we are pregnant with our miracle rainbow baby.
This rainbow pregnancy has been healing in so many ways, with none of the complications I experienced in 2022. Despite our anxiety and fear from our first pregnancy, we have hope and faith that our rainbow pregnancy will continue to progress and end with a happy, healthy, living baby. We are due in May of 2024 and could not be more grateful for this little life and this precious pregnancy. In keeping with the tradition set by our first baby, we have opted to keep the sex of our rainbow baby a surprise. We can’t wait to meet our second child!
Photos taken by Angelica Otero Photography.
Find out more about Project Finding Your Rainbow.
Make sure to follow Journey For Jasmine on Instagram, Facebook, and Tiktok!
Pin and help spread the project!
