My husband and I found out January 2003 that we were pregnant with our 3rd child.  My pregnancy was going well.  I was experiencing the normal feelings like morning sickness, tenderness in the normal areas.  I went to my first OB appointment in April to determine that I was pregnant. See I never found out till I was already 3 months.  Well they did the normal routine complete physical and all.  They also check to hear the heart beat. Which they could not find. Which I was not to nervous cause with my other 2 pregnancies my babies like to hide from the Doppler. So they did a ultrasound and found the heartbeat.  Well my appointments were going well with my midwife until the fatal week.  I was 4 months pregnant and 14 weeks to be exact.  I had went in for a ultrasound to determine the sex. Well the ultrasound Tech was doing the normal and checking the size of all the limbs and etc. Well the numbers were not adding up correctly for the week that I was at.  So the doctor sent me to a High Risk Office to get a better understanding of the situation. Well my husband and I found out our worst nightmare.  It was actually May 28, 2003 we found out our baby was not going to be normal. Her arms, legs, thighs, upper arms and etc. was not correct with the week I was.  The doctor said our baby was going to be a Dwarf and it was the lethal type.  So everyone there thought we should have an abortion. Well we decided againt that and continued the pregnancy. I did opp for a amnio though.  So Friday May 30, 2003 I went to have that done.  Three weeks had past and finally the results came back as saying that it was true, and that we were having another daughter.  With knowing that we kept the pregnancy going on.  At 28 weeks I went into preterm labor they gave me meds to stop my contractions and they worked. I was in and out of the hospital for the next few weeks. Well my last time in for preterm labor was a wed. and I went into full labor that same week on Friday the 12 of Sept.

The birth of Erin Alexandria

It was Friday September 12, 2003 and everything was normal for a Friday morning. My aunt stayed the night before so I was not alone. My husband had work the night before. I was having problems sleeping that Thursday evening though.  But when the morning came I was still having small contractions.  So my husband went on to bed and my aunt and I started our day with my other 2 children.  But 11a.m. came and my contractions were getting closer and hurting frequently.  So I walked around my house for an hour, then at Noon I called my doctors office and they told me to go to the Hospital. So I called my mother and my aunt stayed with my children.  My mother picked me up 15 minutes later. That felt like an hour waiting. But we got to the hospital between 12:45 and 1:00p.m.  They put me in a Triage room and put me on monitors. Well after the nurse checked me I was already 4 cm. dilated and she was on her way.  Well then I called my husband and he was on his way too.

Well they got me into a regular room and got me all set up.  My labor went fast so quickly I was not able to get a epidural. So all I had was Demerol in me.  When I sat up to get the epidural Erin's heartbeat started to go down quick. So they got me on all fours and I delivered her before I knew what was going on. I remembered the nurse saying DO NOT PUSH. I told her I have a bowel movement and I just pushed her out. My doctor got there just in time. She was born at 5:03 p.m. It was only a 3 hour delivery.  She was a beautiful baby weighing 4 pds. 6 oz. and 13 inches long.  She was 6 weeks early.

The death and funeral of Erin

 I got to see Erin before they took her over to the Children's Hospital across the way.  A couple minutes her doctor came into my room after checking her over. He said that it was definitely Thanthopic Dysplasia and she was not going to make it. Well my husband and I had to make the decision weather to take her off life support or let her suffer and try to make it.  Well I said I wanted to hold my daughter and they knew my decision. So an hour later they brought her in and I held her, her daddy, grandparents and her aunt ( my sister) and friends were able to hold her too. Well her heart stop beating and she was turning blue.  We thought she had passed on, but she was still fighting and retrieved. But at 8:13 p.m. she did peacefully passed away in my arms never opening or making a sound. She only gasped for breath.  The next morning I woke up asking myself where my baby was.  My husband made her funeral arrangement that day too.  We laid her to rest on Tuesday September 16, 2003.  She is now peacefully resting at Chesapeake Memorial Gardens in Chesapeake, VA.

 Her memorial site is at: http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/a/angle (password: angel)

God Bless,
Halee D. Rosser
MattHannahErin@aol.com