Beauty for Ashes
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Our first pregnancy was so exciting. I loved being pregnant! Although the nausea and vomiting, not so much. My doctor put me on medication, and it helped.
I had no idea what was in store for us, but I was so looking forward to meeting our first baby. I could hardly wait! At sixteen weeks, we had our first ultrasound and discovered we were having a baby boy. Everything looked fine. At twenty weeks, my blood pressure became elevated, but my family doctor was not too worried about it.
Around twenty-three weeks, I felt extremely tired and wondered when I would start to feel my baby move. By Sabbath afternoon, I was feeling awful, so we went to the emergency department. As I was almost twenty-four weeks, which is the age of viability for babies, they transferred me to the Grey Nuns Community Hospital in Edmonton, Canada.
When they did an ultrasound, they found our baby was very small for his gestational age and that I had developed preeclampsia. I was transferred again, and how we prayed! I was put on bed rest as we tried to help our baby put on more weight ahead of what would be an early delivery. We learned from the specialists that the blood flow through the umbilical cord was compromised, and they told us that baby Micah would not make it to full term—he had to gain more weight as soon as possible. After delivery, he would be in the neonatal intensive care unit, and they could give us no sure answer as to his prognosis. We were devastated.
We prayed so hard for a positive outcome. At our next ultrasound, they could not find a heartbeat. The perinatal specialist came to tell us our baby had died.
I was induced and had nineteen hours of hard labor.
Our son Micah Basil Baird was stillborn on July 3, 2010.
We were devastated. The grief stole my breath.
I almost lost my faith. Friends and family rallied around us, praying for us and offering support. One year later, our rainbow baby, Alyssa, was born.
Jesus gave us beauty for ashes. And when He returns, we will see Micah face-to-face. Oh, how we look forward to that day!
Noella (Jumpp) Baird
