Our story begins about 6 years ago. My husband and I got married in February 2002 and we wanted to start a family pretty quickly. I went off birth control in October 2002 and tried for several months to conceive with no success. We went to Decatur Physicians for Women to see my OB/GYN, Dr Gilliam, she ran a series of lab tests and ultrasounds and determined that I have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). We were referred to a very unprofessional reproductive endocrinologist in Huntsville and I did get pregnant twice with two miscarriages.

We took a break for a while so we could regain our sanity and for our financial sake and went back to Dr Gilliam who told us about a physician in Birmingham, Dr Honea, who was reported to have good outcomes. We went to see her and loved her immediately.  After a long series of multiple lab sticks, ultrasounds, two surgeries, medications, and failed attempts, we were finally able to conceive our daughter. It took us 6 long years to get her here but it was certainly worth it. Lyla Grace Huggins was born June 26, 2008 at 5:03 p.m. at Parkway Medical Center by c-section. I had no complications and very little morning sickness. We didn’t really have an idea for her name, it was just a name I liked and it certainly fits her.

Lyla is two now, and we are expecting again. I am 16 weeks along and can’t wait to find out the sex of this baby but it will be at least another month.  It only took us 3 months to conceive this time.  I have been a lot more nauseated with this pregnancy than I was with Lyla.  We are so excited- our second child’s story is just beginning…

My name is Miranda Bradley, and I am a stay-at-home mom. My husband, Josh, is a firefighter/paramedic who works for the city of Madison. Our story is a bit of a roller coaster ride that entails many miracles along the way.

Josh and I suffered three miscarriages within 1 ½ years, so we were referred to an infertility clinic. The first clinic we attended was a little more aggressive than we wanted, so we kept trying on our own. We finally went to see another infertility specialist, the ART Clinic, and found the problem wasn’t that I couldn’t get pregnant – it was that I couldn’t sustain the pregnancies. The clinic’s recommendation was to track my cycle and take an HSG shot when I thought I was ovulating, triggering my eggs to be released -then it was up to nature. We were told this might take a couple of tries, but fortunately, we got pregnant the first time (thanks to a lot of prayer). In order to maintain this pregnancy, I had to take Progesterone 3 times per day, a heparin shot 3 times per day, and a one baby aspirin.

Josh and I are approved foster parents, and when I was 3 months pregnant, DHR called us with a 7 month old baby girl, Zoey, who needed a home. It was a tough decision, but she came home with us that day. We had never had a female foster child, but God knew what he was doing because shortly after that I found out I was having a girl. We welcomed our first born, Abrey, on Nov. 24th 2007, at Parkway Medical Center. Zoey was 1 year and 7 days old when Abrey came into the world, so it has been a very much like having twins.

Now, fast-forward 18 months. We were in the middle of remodeling our house when I realized my menstrual cycle was late. We bought a pregnancy test, and I was so shocked when the test flashed pregnant because we were actually taking precautions to keep from getting pregnant! Because of previous complications, I was worried. We made an appointment to see Dr. Gilliam immediately; they confirmed the pregnancy, and I started heparin, progesterone and an aspirin all over again. Luckily, this pregnancy has been completely different from the last one because I did not have to go to an infertility specialist. Dr. Gilliam and Decatur Physicians for Women were able to take care of all my needs. I ended up having really good progesterone levels from the start and was able to taper back on my dosage. All my antibodies were fine, but as a precaution, we continued with the heparin and aspirin. Getting pregnant and staying pregnant has been so much easier this time.

From the beginning of this pregnancy, I just knew this baby was a boy because he’s messed my hair up, and I am hungry all the time. I was right! My husband, Josh, is thrilled that we are finally expecting a boy! This pregnancy has flown by. We wanted another child but were not planning on one quite so soon. However, I do not complain when God intervenes and gives us a blessing. In 2 ½ years we have gone from having no children to almost three children: Zoey who is 3, Abrey who is 2 and I am currently 7 months pregnant. Our adoption for Zoey should be finalized by March and our baby boy is due March 19th. I always tell people to be careful what you pray for because you just might get it! We are so grateful to have healthy children and look forward to the birth of our baby boy soon.

Our pregnancy journey has been filled with many obstacles to overcome. I was first diagnosed with endometriosis when I was 16, and because of the damage caused by this disease, I’ve had many medical challenges including numerous surgeries, shots to put me through menopause, and birth control methods to try to lengthen the time I had to get pregnant. My odds were never good for our first pregnancy and seemed almost impossible for the second pregnancy. My husband and I spent years trying methods to conceive and praying that God would send us a second miracle.

On one of my visits to see Dr. Lynda Gilliam at Parkway, who has always been amazing, it was decided to send me for further treatment at the Kirklin Clinic in Birmingham. There I underwent a surgery to repair my tubes and to try to remove/treat as much of the endometriosis as possible. I then went on an infertility drug and regiment. When I went back for them to check and make sure the drugs were working and that I was actually ovulating, they found that only one of my ovaries was reacting to the treatment. I was thinking, “great…now my odds have gone down even more!” But I knew that God would see us through another challenge and with His help, if I was meant to have another baby, I would, if not, then I already had one miracle at home!

I ended up taking the infertility drugs for 4 months before I got pregnant. My hopes had been crushed so many times in the past that every month I just automatically expected to find that I wasn’t pregnant. Miraculously on May 30th I took a test expecting the worst again, but it said “PREGNANT”! This was too good to be true! My husband and I were so grateful and overwhelmed with excitement! We went through the typical ecstatic motions as any other couple which led us to our 20 week visit and ultrasound to find out the sex of our little one. After many tries, they were unable to determine the baby’s sex, but there was more. When Dr. Hoffman walked into my exam room I knew there was something wrong. They found that our baby has a cleft lip on the left side of its mouth. My heart sank! As a mother, you never want to hear that there is something wrong with your baby, so to be confronted with this news was staggering. My immediate reaction was selfish, all I could think was, “after all I’ve been through already, why me…why my baby?” It was something my husband and I had never experienced, and we were scared! We were then referred to a fetal internal medicine doctor for a targeted ultrasound to look at the cleft lip, to check her heart and to test for other chromosomal diseases associated with a cleft lip. I just couldn’t understand how this could happen. I had taken my medicine and done everything I was supposed to, didn’t have external factors like drinking or smoking while pregnant and cleft lips do not run in our families. It just didn’t make any sense. The targeted ultrasound confirmed the cleft lip on the left side of her mouth as well as a cleft palate reaching to ½ or more of her palate. The heart echo came back normal so we were able to breathe a sigh of relief.

The next step was an amniocentesis. I was terrified, but had to know if there was something else wrong with the baby that we needed to prepare ourselves for. It was the most painful and uncomfortable thing I’ve ever experienced! Then, once again, we had to wait on the results. The waiting through the entire process was one of the worst things! When they tell you something could be wrong with your baby, but it takes weeks to go through all the tests and get results, it takes a toll on you. They called with our amnio results and everything that they tested for came back normal! You can’t imagine what kind of relief that was. We also found out the definite sex of our baby – IT’S A GIRL! We were relieved at the news, but worried because we still don’t know exactly what to expect. Unfortunately there are a lot of things they can’t tell us for sure until she is born and they can evaluate the severity of her cleft lip and palate. There are so many problems associated with cleft lip/palate that I can’t help but think… what if.

As my due date gets closer, I am sometimes overwhelmed with fear about feeding and taking care of her. The doctors have said that they are estimating for her to undergo 2-4 surgeries to repair the cleft lip and palate, starting when she’s about 4-6 weeks old. It seems like we’ve been going through a very emotional nightmare throughout this entire pregnancy. We are still going to have a long, hard journey, but we are blessed. God has given us this miracle for a reason, and I thank Him every day for my AnnaLee

I can hardly wait to be a mom! It has been my dream to be a loving wife and mother and it is finally coming true for me.  We were so overjoyed when we found out that we were pregnant and it didn’t matter to us if it was a boy or girl.  Let’s be honest…I pray for one of each!

I am a R.N. at Parkway Medical Center and a typical work day was a 12 hour shift.  So when I first got pregnant, the long hours were hard on me and the baby.  It didn’t take my doctor long to give me an 8 hour a day work excuse.  My Parkway family has been understanding and I feel so blessed to work here.  For now, I am working in the Education Department and I have never felt better!

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I am excited to have a few days to work on my “nesting.”  My husband and I have much to be thankful for this year!

After having our daughter when we were fairly young, a few years passed before my husband and I realized something was missing in our lives. After careful consideration, we both agreed for me to stop my birth control and let nature take its course. Because I was young and healthy, I assumed it would not be hard to get pregnant. We tried for a few months never getting pregnant. We then learned that my mom had Cirrhosis of the liver. Because we needed to devote our time to care for her, we decided to hold off on trying to have a baby for a while. Nine months later, my mom passed away from her illness. It took me some time; but, ultimately we decided we still wanted to have another child.

I had been off birth control for a year and a half before I found out I was pregnant with my son. During that time I hit many highs and lows. Some months I thought maybe God didn’t think we needed another child. Other months I thought God knows when it is the right time and it is all up to him. I decided that I was too focused on having a baby and that I would have to stop thinking about it. I knew that when the time was right we would know.

One day, my daughter was sick and I just didn’t feel right so I took her to the doctor. I was not late, but while I was picking up her prescriptions – I decided I would by a test just to see. I got home and immediately took the test. Shocked that it was POSITIVE, I took one more test before calling my husband just to be sure. I asked him to come home because I had something to talk to him about. Knowing me so well, he immediately yelled, “You’re pregnant!” I just died out laughing. We were both so happy & shocked because we just didn’t see it coming.

The last nine months of our lives have been exciting. We have had many ups and downs. The hardest part of this has been my mom not being here with us. There have been days were I was not sure I could do this with out her. I know that she would want me to be happy. So I get up every morning and thank God for the blessings in my life and tell him to tell mom I love her. My little girl just can’t wait to have her baby brother here. She is the light of my life. She has made being pregnant easier that I could ever imagine. Time has gone by so fast because she keeps me so busy.

My first pregnancy with my daughter was wonderful. I didn’t have one problem. This pregnancy has been wonderful as well. Our little family is growing and I just can’t wait to see my son.