Jacob and I married in December of 2007, and knew that we wanted children right away. We decided to start trying to get pregnant in August of 2008. Right away, I knew that something just wasn't right. My cycle was too short, so I started the consuming task of charting my temperatures and taking ovulation tests. I was very blessed to have a doctor who was right on top of things and didn't agree with making me wait a full year before doing anything to help. In December, I started taking Clomid. After 4 months on Clomid, I got pregnant. We were ecstatic!
My pregnancy was easy and fun. I loved every minute of being pregnant. I didn't mind the eight weeks of throwing up because I was going to have a baby! I loved watching my belly grow and couldn't wait to get into maternity clothes. At 15 weeks I started cramping pretty bad and ended up in the ER. It turned out to just be low potassium and they sent me home. My doctor did a follow-up ultrasound and said everything looked great and we were having a baby GIRL! I couldn't wait to start shopping for pink.
On September 16th, I stayed home from church because I wasn't feeling well. I started to swell, which I hadn't done yet at all. I ran down to CVS to check my blood pressure and it was fine, so I just lay down at home to take it easy. The next morning, I realized that I wasn't feeling Kinley move. I mentioned it to my sister and my Mom, but just assumed Kinley was just having a calm day. She had always been very very active! By afternoon, I was worried and called my doctor's office. The nurse said that I wasn't really far enough to feel consistent movement (I was 28 weeks exactly) and that I could come in "if I REALLY felt like I needed to". I let her convince me I was crazy, and against my own instincts, I dropped it.
I had a scheduled ultrasound on Tuesday the 22nd. Immediately I could tell something was wrong because the ultrasound tech wasn't showing me the heart-rate and she asked if I had been feeling any movement. She took a few measurements and left to get the doctor. I knew immediately that my life was about to take a drastic turn. The doctor came in and said that they weren't able to find a heartbeat. The next few moments and even hours are a blur to me. I remember calling my Mom and my sister and then being taken to a room to talk to the doctor. I was in shock and did little crying, I was very matter-of-fact and wanted to know what was next.
I went into the hospital and labored for 36 hours before my sweet baby girl was born. McKinley Rebecca Crum was born at 7:33 on Thursday September 24th. She was 12 3/4 inches long and weighed only 1 pound 9 ounces. She was beautiful in every way. She had a round little face and perfect full lips. We stayed in the hospital for the next day and a half holding her and rocking her and trying to soak in every moment we had to look at her sweet face. She was an angel.
