Lucy's Story September 19th 2001 has to be one of the happiest days of my life. I had done a few pregnancy tests that week already and after being sure I had seen the palest pink dot you could ever imagine, I decided to take a sample to the chemist for a simple yes or no. The few minutes waiting there for an answer, felt like the longest minutes of my life. Then the lady came back and handed me an envelope with a slip of paper inside. I took myself outside, with my stomach churning. Was this going to be another month of disappointment or was I pregnant????? I opened the envelope and opened the slip slowly.................. There was my answer....... I was pregnant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I was so, so HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!! I remember phoning James up in work and telling him he was going to be a Daddy again. He was thrilled and it must have been so hard for him to keep the news to himself. When he came home we just hugged. We were expecting our second child. I had a new life growing inside of me The pregnancy progessed well. I had the tiredness and a fair bit of sickness throughout, but that was just the joys of being pregnant wasn't it? I loved being pregnant and I wanted to enjoy every single moment of it. This was my second pregnancy, but I was so excited and wanted to tell the world!! I had my first scan on October 19th 2001. Exactly one month after finding out the wonderful news. I lay on the bed and stared in wonder at our little tiny bean. We could see the heart beating away. It was just amazing. My dates were put back a week, but I didn't mind. Besides, babies arrive when they are ready to, not on any given date. At my second scan we let Thomas come along. He was now 4 years old and so excited at the thought of becoming a big brother. We wanted to include him in the pregnancy as much as we could, in a hope it would cause no jealousy once his new little brother or sister was here. With having been the only child and the only grandchild on both sides for so long, we were scared he would feel pushed out. However, we needn't have worried because all he could talk about was how long it would be until the baby was here, and was constantly kissing my bump. The scan was amazing and seeing how much our baby had grown from a little bean into its own person was amazing. Thomas was just fascinated to. It was hard to believe that this new little person would be coming home to us in a few months time. The pregnancy continued to run smoothly until the 15th April 2002, when I was 33 weeks gestation. I went for a routine checkup at the hospital and they admitted me with high blood pressure. I felt fine and my baby seemed quite happy kicking away inside of me, so I asked if I could go home, but they insisted I stay in hospital. I was disappointed, as my 21st birthday was in 2 days time and I had my 21st birthday party booked for the Saturday night. However, my pregnancy was priority and I wasn't taking any chances. Two days later on the 17th April (my 21st birthday) my blood pressure was still rising, so I had a scan in the morning just to check that my baby was ok. The scan showed that my baby was smaller than she should be and also that the placenta wasn't working as well as it should be. I also had high levels of protein in my urine. In the end they decided that they would induce me on the 19th April, but they wanted to give me a course of steroid injections first, to help develop my babys lungs. I did feel a little anxious, as I hardly seemed to be feeling any movement either, but I was reassured that I was in the right place and that all would be fine. In the afternoon, I had some family members and friends come up to the hospital to see me with my cards and presents for my birthday. It seemed strange spending it in hospital and knowing I would be meeting my baby in 2 days time, instead of 6 weeks. I had a birthday cake brought up though and it was nice to be made a fuss of. I really liked the idea as well, of knowing my future birthdays would be close to the baby's and thinking how we would have a huge celebration the following year to make up for this year. I had my first course of steroid injections that day. They did hurt a little, but I knew they were essential. I also gave James' a list of things that we still needed for our baby. We had the nursery ready and had bought a fair bit of stuff, but there was still a few things that we needed. He planned to get them the following day, knowing the day after we would be meeting our new arrival. The following morning I awoke at 6am with back ache and having twinges. At first I thought it was just because the hospital beds weren't exactly comfortable, but the twinges were coming and going and they seemed to be coming more regularly. I realised I was having contractions and I pressed the button to sound for a midwife. The midwife was not convinced, and told me to have a paracetemol and go back to sleep, but I just KNEW I was in labour and in the end I waddled to the payphone to tell my mum and James to come up to the hospital. By this time it was about 10am and James had already gone out baby shopping, so my mum had to try and get hold of him. They arrived up at the hospital around lunch time where after being put on a trace, it was obvious I was in labour and they took me down to the delivery suite. The labour was a difficult one. Nothing was moving along as it should be and I was in a lot of pain. I was hardly dialating, so they decided to put me on a drip to try and speed things up. It took 2 midwifes and 3 attempts to get the drip in. My hands were so sore and there was blood everywhere from them. By the time they got it in, things had already moved on by themselves. The baby's heart beat was dipping with each contraction and though I tried to stay calm, it was difficult to be able to. They had to take blood from the baby's head as she was still inside me, and I was told that it was likely I was going to be rushed through for an emergency caesaean. I was terrified. This wasn't the way it was supposed to be. I just wanted my baby here safe and well. As they rung down to prepare theatre, I got the urge to push. I was told not to because I wasn't ready, but I told them that I couldn't stop myself and when they looked again I was 10cm dialated. The midwife quickly prepared things and after a few big pushes my baby's head was out. I could see the worry in people's faces, but I didnt know why. James was asked to pull a cord by the bed, as I pushed the rest of our baby into the world. I was told not to worry as a number of people ran into the room, the cord was cut and my baby was rushed to a side table. I could tell straight away that my baby was not breathing. I could hear nothing, but panic and then my mum said 'it's a girl, you have a little girl.' I remember just screaming 'what's wrong, whats wrong with her?' as I watched them trying to resusitate her. I thought I had lost her, then I heard a little whimper, my baby was alive. I got to see a tiny glimpse of my little girl, then she was whisked away to the Special Care Baby Unit. I was just in shock.