Hello ICLW April 2015

Just a quick introduction!!  My name is Annissa and I am 38 ...  I am a writer, photographer ...  I am a Mom.  I have a lot of health issues I'm struggling with right now.  I am also the mom of unique children who have medical issues.

You can read my ICLW Intro Page ....  and come back and read the rest of this :)   Or you can just read this :)

If you don't know what ICLW is ....... check it out (HERE) and join in next month!!!  I know a lot of you are still struggling to have families ....  and I can do nothing but pray for you ....and try to support you through your journey... 

I got pregnant when I was 18 and had a miscarriage almost right away.  I found out four weeks later that I was 8 weeks pregnant and it had been twins.  My son Calahan was due Christmas Day 1995. He was late, didn't come until January 5th.

I struggled with secondary infertility for five years until I got pregnant and stayed pregnant with my son Noah.  I had to take Clomid.  He was due on St. Patrick's Day 2002 but came early.  He was only 1lb 12oz and 13 3/4 inches long.  Born February 1st 2002.  We knew he had medical issues prior to his birth.  That's why he was the size of a 24 weeker even though he was 33 weeks along.  He has a very rare Trisomy (Mosaic Trisomy 16).   I was told he would die before he lived (in utero) and if not he would die shortly after birth - period.  They gave me no hope.  Today, that little miracle is 13.

I struggled with secondary infertility some more.  Then I got a divorce, I had 10 miscarriages with in that marriage. Then I had a miscarriage with my ex boyfriend.  Met my husband.  We had one miscarriage right away. And to my utter surprise I got pregnant just before we were going to start trying.  I got pregnant in August of 2006 and we were going to start trying in September.  I had gone to my OBGYN in late August to discuss with him getting pregnant again.  If I should start Clomid again, or wait.  He thought I should wait and wanted me to start progesterone right away upon a positive pregnancy test.  What we didn't know, was... I was already pregnant.

So I started taking progesterone as soon as I got a positive pregnancy test, and the baby stuck.  We knew that Mr. Nathan - who was due on Mother's Day 2007 - wasn't growing right in utero.  He had a two vessel cord.  The amnio came back that the baby was healthy - so we just didn't know what was going on.  Nathan was born at 36 weeks but he was only 3lbs 4oz, 15 3/4 inches at birth.  That same week, Noah almost died.  The doctor actually told me if I hadn't gotten him to the hospital when I did, he had less than 48 hours.  (Nevermind the fact that I had taken him into the ER at home.)   Regardless, my little boy beat the odds again.  I ended up delivering in the same hospital Noah was in - and Nathan was put in the NICU, in the same spot Noah had been in.  They found out he had a cleft palate, and various other things.  They knew he had Dandy Walker before he was born, that's a brain malformation.  Specifically, Nathan is missing the vermis in his cerebellum.  Through the years (He just turned 8) ... we have found out he has hypothyroidism, he has growth hormone deficiency, Polymicrogyria, another brain disorder.  He has Russell Silver Syndrome (a primordial dwarfism/growth disorder) ...  he also has Autism.  He has a lot of speech issues, including Apraxia and VPI.  He recently got a feeding tube, also - he hasn't even had it a year.

I ended up having a miscarriage on my husband's and my first anniversary.  It was really hard.  But I had started Clomid the next cycle and gotten pregnant two weeks later.  Just before New Years 2008.  I found out I was pregnant with Kaedyn when Nathan was just about seven months old.   I also took progesterone for my pregnancy with him.  He was a fat healthy baby!  He was due on September 19th and born September 9th.  8lbs 3oz and 18 1/4 inches.  He doesn't have a lot of medical issues like his two brothers.  He has eczema and he is almost blind in his left eye with perfect eye sight in his right.

Fast forward to last year and I got another addition to my family.  We moved from Wisconsin to Washington state in 2010.  The first friend I made here was Tammy.  Long story short, she died a couple of years ago.  Her son Kale has always been special to me.  So when I found out he was homeless last summer, there was a plan in place to get him - and his girlfriend - to our place at least for a couple nights.  He's mine now.  She's mine now.  And her little girl is my first grandbaby.  Expecting my second grandbaby this fall.

If you want to meet our family - this is a good place to do it.  OUR FAMILY

So....   If you want to learn more ......  I have had a total of 16 miscarriages through my years of having kids, and the last one was just a few weeks ago.  If you want to learn more about my journey to have my children - please visit this blog page:  MY JOURNEY FOR CHILDREN  ... I talk about several of my miscarriages there.

(photo found on Google, if it is yours, it's amazing and I love it)