It started a year ago ... in early January of 2018, my husband and I found out we were pregnant. It was a pleasant surprise to all of us because we just started trying. I was able to surprise him and he was so excited. I called the doctor and set up an appt for a February check up.

However, sadly we had a miscarriage at 7 weeks and was deeply saddened at how quickly our joy went from happiness to sadness so quickly! The what ifs hit me particularly hard. What if I did this, or what if my body was stronger. The feeling of guilt when experiencing a miscarriage is very real! My husband was so amazing and supportive about everything. I am forever grateful for him. Weeks following the news of losing the baby, we withdrew some from friends and family. Kept everything tight lipped and to this day, most of our immediate family still does not know. This would have been the first grandchild in the family so it was devastating to have THAT be the first baby news they heard. We felt it was best to keep it low key andnto ourselves. That decision was tough to not be able to share and vent these bottled up feelings I had.

Moving on... 4 months later in May — I was feeling a little weird one afternoon... seemed like something was off in my body and so I said let’s take a pregnancy test and just rule out that ridiculous option. Surprisingly - it came back positive and I was in shock! So excited that when my husband came home... I just jumped for joy and showed him the test. So we were well on our way to “hopefully” a healthy pregnancy.

We were able to share our news with close friends and family before sharing it with the world... but that’s where the easy part ends.

All in all— we had blood work complications, a complete previa of the placenta discovered at 20 weeks, 2 vessel cord issue with the umbilical cord, possibly late term gestational diabetes which turned into poly-amniotic and the possibility that we will deliver between 36-38 weeks due to our complications. So on 1/7/19, baby M made her debut to this world at 5 lbs 12 oz and 18.75 inches long. No matter what, this baby girl was determined to come into this world and had no additional health issues even though she had lots of obstacles in the womb...I’m so proud of my little baby girl for being strong and healthy.

Thankful that I can be a mom to this beautiful little girl. Mommy 💗 Marcella! #blessed #grateful #highriskpregnancy #firstborn #stronngwilledbaby #healthybaby #happybaby