My husband and I went in for a routine ultrasound at 21 weeks. There were some subtle findings, so our OB encouraged us to have a quad screen done, and sent us for a level II ultrasound. We declined the amniocentesis… until the quad screen results came back with a 1 in 4 chance of our baby having trisomy 18. After waiting all weekend, we were told our baby did, in fact, have trisomy 18. Having read about the extremely low survival rates of these babies, we decided to find out the gender of our baby. We were having a girl, Leah Paige.
There was no doubt in our minds that we were going to carry Leah to term. We were hoping to get to meet her and spend some time with her, however short or long that might be. Our hopes were altered on July 11, 2009. We were having a birthday party at our house for our 2 year old son, Micah, when I went into labor at 25 weeks. It happened so fast, many of the people there didn’t even know until we left to go to the hospital.
At the hospital, they couldn’t find Leah’s heartbeat and we knew she had gone to heaven that day. Leah was delivered at 3:47 a.m. on Sunday, July 12, weighing 1 pound, 2.7 ounces. We held her for most of the time we remained at the hospital, about 12 hours. When it was time to go home, the nurse allowed us some last moments with Leah. My husband and I stood over her, caressed her little body, and cried for the little girl we would not see grow up. Finally, through tears of sorrow, we let her go and went home. She was perfect and will always be loved!