My Miracle - Mia's Birth Story

Sometimes we need to see a miracle to believe they do exist, and on October 20^th, 2010, a miracle happened right before my eyes.

On October 20, 2010 a miracle was born in the form of my daughter…..

After a year and a half of trying, three miscarriages, our last attempt, and more than two years of waiting, Mia Eliana the little girl I always wanted, and most importantly the healthy third baby I had long awaited for, but never thought I’d have came into this world, below is her completely natural birth story.

The 19th of October I went in for my routine OB visit. He checked me and I was 3cm dilated and cervix was favorable. He stripped my membranes after asking me since Ron would be there that afternoon and in hopes that in the next 72 hours I would go into labor. Well by the time I got home I had started cramping already, and my mucus plus was coming out steady. By 3:00 pm I was having contractions every 5-7 minutes apart, Ron knocked on the door at 3:30, and I think he was a little surprised that I was already in labor.

When he got there we went for a drive so that he could find where the hospital was. I called to see if I should come in since they suggested a good time was when contractions were 5-7minutes apart. They said that it was up to me since I was handling the contractions well on my own, so we opted to go home and return when they reached 3-5 minutes apart.

At 2:00am, contractions had reached 3-5 minutes and I had started to leak fluid. I woke Ron who was having a nap after traveling so long and being up the previous night. Off we went.

When I got to the hospital, I was checked into triage, and at 3:00am was 4 cm dilated, enough to be admitted into labor and delivery. I opted to keep my labor and the birth of our little girl a private moment between Ron and I, with him only having 10 days in country.

Things were going well it seemed, contractions were getting stronger and at one point were coming every 1-2 minutes and than right on top of each other. At 8:00am or so, my contractions had started to fade and space out. I was checked and had only progressed to 5cm (1cm in the 6 hours since I had been admitted). I waited another hour for the OB to come and break my water. This scared me because I knew the contractions were going to get A LOT stronger and closer together, and I still had 5 cm to go, and baby was still high up.

I was so ready to give up at this point. Ron was amazing and talked to me the whole time and constantly reassured me and told me how well I was doing. I swear he must have done some reading or something. I called my nurse; it had to have been every 10 minutes to check me. Not wanting to chance infection though, I had to wait 20 minutes to see if any progress was being made.

After an hour of the worst pain ever, I felt the strong urge to push. Two contractions went by with that urge and my nurse wasn't coming. Ron had to run and get her. I couldn't hold back. It took another 2 contractions while the OB came and the nurse put on her gloves, I was trying hard not to push through, but not doing a very good job at that, baby all of a sudden was ready and was just coming.

Finally after 4 pushes, Mia Eliana made her entrance. She was 8lbs 3 oz, 21 inches long with apgars of 9 and 9. Amazingly, even after how quickly she came, I didn’t tear. We are completely in love. Her brothers back home are so excited with the news and can’t wait to meet her. She has already got daddy wrapped around her little finger, he’s in total awe of her, and they both share a birthday J She is such a good baby and sleeps really well. I didn’t know I could be so in love.

Professional Maternity Shots

Less than a week before giving birth, I got my maternity pictures done...talk about cutting it close.

Here are a few of my favourites.

Photography, courtesy of Gillian Gillespie, WEBSITE

Week 36 / 37 update, missing my babies

Week 36 brings a wide range of emotions. I’m leaving home and my boys, but I’m leaving to give birth to my daughter. The last 2 years have come down to this. All the heartbreak, all the tears, and all the waiting are finally coming to an end. In four weeks I will finally be holding our miracle baby in my arms. In the meantime though, I cry, cry for those I leave behind, this time is so much harder than the last. I know that they will be well taken care of, that we’ve planned well for my absence, and I know that they are looking forward to meeting their baby sister just as much as their dad and I are to bring her home to them.

Week 36 ends on a good note with a special phone call from my little boo, he wants to read me his school books before bed. So bittersweet.

My 37-week appointment turns out to be uneventful, a simple heart rate check shows that Mia is doing well, and so far she shows no signs of coming anytime soon, but I still have three weeks left.

My selection for OB seems to be a good one, he’s soft spoken and kind. He’s moved my due date up to the 24^th, it’s only a few days, but maybe that means she’ll be here sooner. This week I am focusing on packing for the hospital, I can’t believe how close the time is getting.

Maternity Shots

My friend wanted to start her portfolio so she offered to take some pics of Mia and I. I really didn't like my face in most of them, so I did some cropping, but I love my belly / Mia.

My Favourite



Our last family picture as 4

I will be getting some other maternity photos while in Toronto as well. So looking forward to seeing what she can come up with.

Week 34 Ultraound

My 8lb baby!

Weeks 32 - 35

Week 32 and I am officially feeling HUGE! I think Mia has had a little more than a little growth spurt these last couple weeks.

Sitting up anything but straight is impossible, and regardless, sitting, standing, walking, or lying down is uncomfortable and awkward.

I’m trying to keep smiling, after all this pregnancy has been relatively easy, and as always I’m continuing to count my blessings.

I go back home in three weeks, and I am not looking forward to it. By week three in Berlin I was miserable. I don’t know if it was a combination of the lack of sleep, the new poor body image I had of myself, and the newly formed discomfort, but I was missing home and missing Ron. I am not looking forward to going home for three or four times longer and missing my boys as well.

Weeks 33-35 bring my return to Moscow, to home – finally!!!

I feel good, some days I feel HUGE again, others not so much, but by week 34 my lower stomach and pelvis are very sore from the weight my belly is carrying and the varicose veins which flare up when I am sitting or laying down to long.

Sleep is still non-existent, but it’s gotten a lot harder to just breeze through the day. I need my naps now more than ever. I’m exhausted and fatigued all the time. Doing the smallest of every day tasks have become hard on so little energy.

My week 34 and 35 appointment with my OB shows that Mia is a BIG baby. He estimates her to be at 8lbs already with still 5 weeks to go. He assures me that ultrasounds can sometimes be wrong, but in my case, not so. He can feel her through my stomach. I guess time will tell soon.

No matter how big she is though, I have not gained a single pound in more than 7 weeks. I’ve gained now 11 or 12 lbs my whole pregnancy, and with an 8 lb baby + water + placenta, I think that’s pretty darn good. How I am pulling that off is beyond me.

Week 36 will see me flying home to Toronto…..stayed tuned for another update.

31 week Baby Bump

I will try and get a better one up soon, a side view, but here I am head on - still feeling good about myself for the most part aside from all the varicose veins and spider veins.

And since I'm in Berlin, it's only fitting that I take it beside part of what's left of the Berlin Wall.