“The day after we had Joseph, our OB-GYN came into the room and said “we found something interesting when we did your c-section.” She went on to explain that Emilie’s uterus was divided almost completely in half (a birth defect essentially) which explained why my tummy was so visibly lopsided during pregnancy and why our precious 10 pound baby was breech and unable to turn.  

Fast forward a couple of years and we were pregnant again. Jacob was born at 39 weeks completely healthy, the result of a complication-free pregnancy.

A year and a half later we decided to add one more child to the family.  The first OB visit showed a heartbeat, the same signs of a healthy baby we had seen before.  Joseph, now 5, was so excited about becoming a big brother again, eager to see the new baby’s heartbeat, and so he joined Emilie at the next appointment. However, no heartbeat could be found. The OB immediately sent Emilie and Joseph to a high-risk OB specialist for a more thorough examination. Christopher was summoned, needing to wake the napping 18-month old Jacob. When the family was together in the examination room, our high-risk doctor confirmed that we had lost our baby at 17 weeks.  

In the simplest of terms, we were devastated. Brothers trying to comprehend the loss, not understanding discretion or tact. A mother despairing about what went wrong, what she had done wrong. A father left mute, impotent, lost.  Through it all, we found strength in our loss, joy in the midst of sorrow.  Jesus, our Savior and provider of life eternal, provided the only comfort we could find, the only healing we would ever need. We knew as a family that one day we would all be united in heaven where we would be a complete family. We named our eternal child and sibling Hope.

The desire for another earthly child to complete our family was not quenched, but we doubted if we could go through the heartache of loss again. We consulted a specialist who could correct Emilie’s defect, a specialist that was perplexed that we were able to have two healthy, full-term deliveries prior to the loss. While he could perform the surgery, it wasn’t without risks and it wouldn’t be a guarantee of success.  The specialist also talked about how miraculous the body was, how miraculous the births of our boys truly was. 

After that visit, Christopher & I spent a lot of time in prayer and discussion.  The more we talked, the more we prayed, the more we felt led to walk forward in faith, to honor His faithfulness to us.  God had brought us this far and He wouldn’t abandon us now. And with that, the decision was made; if God wanted our family to grow, then He would provide the health, the well-being, and the miracle of birth.  

Soon thereafter, God blessed us with another little heartbeat. God instilled in our OB a spirit of alertness, empathy and vigilance. Emilie was asked to come in weekly for monitoring, and while vigilant, her OB also apologized every week for the mundane routine of it all. But Emilie felt it was the best part of her week, as if God gave her a special gift to honor her faithfulness. Denbigh was born healthy and beautiful, and has kept us on our toes ever since.  Our rainbow baby, our blessing, our miracle from God.”

-Emillie and Christopher

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. -Romans 15:13