I’m a NICU mom and I couldn't be more proud. My husband and I were ecstatic to give our oldest daughter Isabelle a sibling. After 7 years of waiting our wish came true. We found out we were pregnant with another little girl.

The first part of my pregnancy was completely normal but all that changed one Saturday morning. I was exactly 19 weeks pregnant and my water broke. I immediately knew something was wrong and was rushed to the hospital. The doctors there urged me to abort. They said there was no chance we would make it to viability and the baby surviving. The doctor advised that babies need amniotic fluid to develop their lungs and mine was gone, plus I had a tear in the sac itself that they would not be able to repair.

I chose to leave the hospital and seek advice from my regular OBGYN before making any decisions. He advised of all that could go wrong including my child possibly requiring a trach and having no quality of life. He said we could ride it out and see, and that there is no exact scientific evidence to determine how much amniotic fluid is needed. It was possible she may come out alive, but she would have a less than 5% survival rate. Regardless of the odds, we were not ready to give up hope.

After 10 weeks of bed rest and 24 hour monitoring, it was time for our baby girl to make her debut. On October 1st, 2015 at 29 weeks pregnant, my miracle decided it was time to come out into the world. Our sweet girl, Charlee, weighed 3 pounds 6 ounces and required immediate ventilation. I was not able to see her for the first few hours after birth, and I didn’t get to hold her for the first 2 days. In the end we spent 7 weeks in the NICU riding that rollercoaster of ups and downs. Finally, right before Thanksgiving we were able to bring home a happy and healthy baby despite all odds.

We are pregnant again with our 3rd child, and Charlee gets to experience what being a big sister is all about. In the end, I would never advise anyone to go against doctors orders, but miracles do happen that defy the odds-she is living proof of it! - Kristen, OH

YOUR MESSAGE- "Miracles do happen"