After meeting the man of her dreams at a gym, it didn’t take long for Amanda to know she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.
The couple got together and two years later, she decided to take a big leap and pop the question.
“Adam and I met at our local gym in 2018, we got engaged on Valentine’s Day 2020 when I proposed to Adam. My cousin died very suddenly in her mid 20’s and this put my life in perspective, I had found the love of my life and I wanted to marry him,” Amanda told Mum’s Grapevine.
“He said yes and we were married the following year in a beautiful garden wedding. Early in our relationship, we discussed the idea of starting a family, I’ve always wanted to be a mother and wanted to be with someone who also wanted children.
After our engagement in 2020, we began trying for a baby, and excitedly in September 2020 we became pregnant and we were so happy.”
Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be with Amanda suffering a miscarriage only a week after finding out they were expecting.
“We allowed ourselves time to grieve our beautiful angel before trying again. In April 2021 we had our beautiful wedding in the midst of Covid-19 – we were lucky to have restrictions lifted two weeks before our wedding and it was such a lovely day surrounded by our nearest and dearest. We began trying again and in September we saw those magical two lines, we were pregnant, and we were over the moon again but also nervous too.
I wanted answers after a second miscarriage
“Sadly at 10 weeks we had our second miscarriage, so close to being able to announce this amazing news, and on the same day my father was having open heart surgery, so there was a lot of stress and it was a very emotional time, too.”
Amanda was referred to a fertility specialist but after numerous tests and scans, they were unable to find a reason for the two miscarriages.
When she fell pregnant again soon after for a third time, she was understandably filled with mixed emotions.
“On February 21, 2022, we once again had a positive pregnancy test, but with excitement also came those scary emotions of wondering is it going to happen again?
“We visited our doctor and then our specialist who both confirmed we were pregnant – we even got to see and hear our bub’s strong heartbeat. Then came the happy tears! We passed the 12-week mark and everything was going wonderfully, we announced the special news and we couldn’t have been happier. I was so lucky no morning sickness, but I did suffer from high blood pressure and also low iron.”
But as her baby’s due date came and went, Amanda became worried.
My baby’s cord was wrapped around her neck
“Our due date was October 22nd, but bub had other plans with no sign of wanting to grace this world. On the 25th, I began to have reduced movements and was monitored, due to this it was decided we would be induced.
“The next day they tried to break my waters, it didn’t work and they tried and tried again. I had an epidural, and each time they tried to increase my contractions bub’s heart rate would drop, so it was decided the safest delivery was an emergency c-section. Luckily we did as bub had the umbilical cord around her neck!
“Our surprise gender baby Milla Quinn was born at 10.05 pm on Thursday the 27th of October 2022. Such a beautiful little girl, our rainbow baby Milla is the love of our life and we couldn’t be happier.”
More birth stories from the Grapeviner community…
- Birth story: ‘At two days old they amputated his thumb’
- Birth story: ‘After three losses, I finally held my son’
- Birth Story: ‘There was no time for the epidural to work’
About to (or just had) a baby?
We know that the wait to meet your baby can be nerve-wracking, but we’re here to remind you that you’re not alone. Our private Pregnancy & Baby Groups are a great way to connect with other Aussie mums who are due or had their babies around the same time as you.
