My baby boy was a surprise in more ways than just his birth. He was planned 5 years before, but after 12 miscarriages, we had "stopped trying." But one day, I had the overwhelming urge to "cut my hair." I know it sounds funny, but I need short hair when I am pregnant. So I stopped and thought, am I late??? I may be!

Off to the doctors I went, within the hour!!!! I had never seen this doctor before, and when he told me "positive" I jumped up and kissed him!!! Who was more shocked, him or me? I think HIM!! We as a family were so happy that night, but we did not know what we were in for, nor how it would end.

I am the mother of 3 children; Ross-Charles, Niaomie and Kim. All my pregnancies were a bit off, but nothing to worry about. So, when a week after I was told I was pregnant with number four I saw blood, I just lost it. I called the ambulance and cried. I went to the hospital and was told "well if you are going to lose "it" there is nothing to be done." I was around 8 weeks then. They sent me home and I was to have an ultrasound. The ultrasound was done and the results showed a fetal sac with NO heartbeat...a misscarrige.

NO NO NO! It was wrong! I "felt " my baby! So for another week, we had to wait. Then, another ultrasound, and YES their was a baby. He was there, but they thought maybe I was only 6 weeks along rather than 8. HORRAY .. I Knew!! I Knew!!

This started a pattern of spotting through my pregnancy. "Just hold on Trish," I would think, "hold on." At 20 weeks, we again had an ultrasound, and my BOY was seen. DANIEL, Hello my love! Can you see our tears just looking at you on the screen?

My husband is a very special man. He talked to Daniel every day, and Daniel would move up and "feel his face." At 25 weeks, I started getting pains that i could only call contractions. I went to the hospital, on an average, every other night. I was always sent home suffering "irritable bowl sydrome." We now know that Daniel was starting to die at that stage :(

I had been going to the local clinc (mid-wives) because my Doctor did not do babies. The mid-wives were very pleased with me as I had changed my diet for this baby. He was doing so good! On Friday the 22nd I had my neonatal check up. I asked to listen to the heart (my third baby had suffered IUGR) and it did not sound good to me. "The baby is getting so big," they said. I asked to listen to the placenta .. it also did not sound good. "The baby is BIG remember?" Well ok!!!!

Friday night I was there at 1am (so it was really saturday) with "pains" again. They sent me HOME AGAIN. On monday, my husband MADE me go to our doctor. He asked me how far along I was, and felt the baby. I answered 32 weeks. He called his partner in (a gyno) and he said, "Trish, your baby is the size of a 27 weeker."

They sent me to a specialist to make an appointment. He was booked out until the end of the week, but came out while I was there and said he had 5 minutes to spare, so come on in. I asked if I could run and get my husband who was parking the car and he said only if i took 2 minutes. He scanned Daniel then and there, showed us his heart beating and his spine and told us to wait while he developed the pictures. He had really gone to ring my doctor!!! LUCKY When he came back he said that he had spoken to our Doctor and that they wanted me to go to the hospital. Now I was scared! I went straight to Gosford Hospital where they greeted me with a steroid shot! They had already been informed of my situation and impending arrival. My baby was starving and had reverse blood flow. He was 1300 grams. He was dying.

I was sent to John Hunter Hospital that night, scanned and monitored. There I sat for one week trying to get the baby to put some weight on and to get his lungs developed. On September 29, 1998, he could sit no longer. I was lucky I still had him, now I was going to deliver him by c-section. Daniel George Smith was born into this world on that day weighing 1,300 grams while I was knocked out. Welcome my beloved boy, how I love you already!