TRAUMATIC REAL LIFE
Emma Harris, 36, from Gateshead, knew instantly something was very wrong with her pregnancy...
Sitting in the doctor’s surgery, Iwas hoping to get antibiotics for an ear infection that had been giving me jip.
Only, it seemed they had something else they wanted to discuss.
‘I have to check, do you know you’re pregnant?’ the doctor asked.
‘Sorry what?’ I gasped.
That can’t be right...
I still had the coil.
In February last year, my partner Alec, 32, and I hadn’t been trying for a baby –we’d actually planned to start trying later that year, but I hadn’t had my coil removed yet.
It turned out that the coil had displaced and then fallen out without me even knowing.
I already had a daughter, Ellie, 13, from a previous relationship and Alec and Iknew we wanted to grow the family.
I couldn’t believe it! And on the way home, Ibought aload of pregnancy tests.
But the proof was in the pudding –Iwas most definitely pregnant.
It felt abit like fate was on our side.
Waiting for Alec to come home from work, Iknew it would be asurprise.
‘I’m pregnant...’ I told him. He was in utter shock, staring off into space –but when that wore off, he was over the moon.
Wasting no time, we told Ellie that she had asibling on the way.
‘Only if you’re having agirl,’ she said.
She was so excited –Ellie couldn’t wait to be abig sister.
My pregnancy with Ellie had been relatively smooth, but this wasn’t going to be the case for baby number two.
I was positive I was in labour
As Ihad areally traumatic first trimester.
At just six weeks, I noticed Iwas bleeding –it was more than spotting and the blood was bright red.
Alongside some terrible morning sickness, Iwas terrified Iwas miscarrying.
Iwas given an early scan and relief surged through me when Isaw the baby was OK.
Only, still spotting, Iwas terrified Iwas about to miscarry our baby.
‘It will be OK, we can always try again,’ Alec soothed me.
I couldn’t stop crying. I tried to keep what was happening from Ellie, too – I didn’t want to worry her.
We had scans every two weeks to make sure the baby was OK and despite the bleeding, they were doing well.
And at 20 weeks, we found out the gender.
‘I’m sorry you’re having a boy,’ I teased Alec at the scan – he’d wanted agirl.
But Ihad agut feeling he would be aboy.
And we already had the perfect name –David.
It felt like fate and we started planning for ababy shower in August.
Only at just 23 weeks, on 20 June, things were about to take ahorrible turn.
Getting out of the shower at around 11pm, Alec was already asleep. Wiping myself dry, I noticed
