After already welcoming one miracle baby, Alyce and Jesse Brown thought life was complete. But two years later, after finally finishing their dream home, a little surprise came knocking.
Alyce and Jesse’s journey to a second baby is one of hope after IVF, and proof that miracles aren’t just real, they can happen more than once.
Miracle number one
Alyce, 31, and hubby Jesse, 30, spent 18 months trying to conceive their first baby, before heading down the IVF road.
“I had an extremely low AHM count ( low egg count) and was told during the initial consult that I would probably have one baby but very unlikely that I would ever have two,” Alyce told Mum’s Grapevine.
“With my son, they only collected one egg and with great surprise that one egg turned into an embryo and was successfully transferred in October 2016. Harvey was our miracle born 28/6/2017.”
Life was sweet with baby Harvey, who grew into a gorgeous toddler. The couple spent two years building their dream home, and Alyce never went back on birth control or tracked her ovulation, certain that her low egg count would mean Harvey would be their only miracle. But life had other plans. Just a week after moving into their new home, the couple conceived their second baby.
“I didn’t find out we were pregnant until six weeks as I thought it would never happen. We were absolutely surprised, shocked and scared, hoping that everything would be ok.”
Miracle number two
As fate would have it, Alyce’s pregnancy progressed beautifully, and nine months later, it was time to meet their second baby.
“It was a Thursday and I always take my son to Gymbaroo. I was 39+1 and everything that day just irritated me and I just felt frustrated. My husband was bathing my son whilst I was hanging out washing and felt like I had wet myself, I had to think to myself, ‘did I sneeze, and a bit of wee come out?’ Nope, it was a leak of my waters.
“I called the birth unit, called up the in-laws and put our son to bed, I then got teary as I knew when I next came home his world would be turned upside down. For the past 22 months it was just us at home and each other’s world.”
Alyce through the looking glass
Alyce arrived at hospital at 9.30pm, with her waters still leaking. Contractions kicked in at 3am and intensified over the next hour, but Alyce was still just three centimetres dilated.
“I got to 7:30am painfully and was only at five centimetres and requested an epidural. That was administered at 8:15am. For the next one and a half hours it was lovely. My husband and I sat the bed and went through what I wanted from the birth and going through photos of our son, once again I got teary for the love and gratitude that I could go through all this again and to have two babies to love.
“At 9:15am I was at 8cm and by 9:25am 10cm and started to feel urges. The obstetrician was called down to the birth suite and I requested a mirror from the midwives. I had this with my son and truth be told I loved it. They bought the mirror in did a couple of ‘practice pushes’ even though I had an epidural I could feel everything besides the contractions and was really looking forward to another positive birth experience.
Time to push
“The obstetrician arrived and it was game on. With the mirror, you can see how far you have come and much you have to go, you change the way you push and breathe as you can see the progress being made. I had two contractions during the birth and pushed a total of eight times. Once I could see the head I just started to breathe out and let our girl and my body do the rest.
“Unfortunately breathed out a little too fast and saw the precise spot where I tore, I retore where I did with my son. Thirty seconds after that her head was out and the cord was around her neck, then it was my turn to complete an assisted birth. Once her head and shoulder were out I was able to reach down and pull the rest of her out.
“This is something that I requested for son and daughter and I absolutely love that I could complete this. It’s a beautiful and moving experience that will always be one of the highlights of both my birth experiences.”
Alyce and Jesse finally had their second miracle baby – Norah – in their arms.
“I was honestly anxious about this birth as I wanted it to be just as amazing as my son’s and it truly was. I knew what I wanted to achieve in the mirror and assisted birth but apart from that, I didn’t have a birth plan. I loved it all and now I have two amazing babies to love and nurture.”
More birth stories from the Grapeviner community…
- Birth story: Mum gives birth in hospital car park
- Birth Story: Mum livestreams unassisted homebirth
- Birth Story: When things don’t go to plan
About to (or just had) a baby?
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