Receiving a diagnosis for your baby is one of the hardest things a parent can face, especially when it can offer more questions than answers. The truth is, there are no guarantees when it comes to CMV - it can have a profound impact in some children and almost none in others. The parents of Stop CMV come from all walks of life and all around the globe. Some of us knew about CMV very early, and others not until months or years after our children were born. Our stories are all very different, but there is one commonality between us all: our lives were changed by CMV, for better and for worse. We share our stories, our joys and fears, our struggles and our successes, in hopes that we can help others learn what it's really like to live with this diagnosis.
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Your stories will encourage and strengthen other parents and teach the public about life with congenital CMV...
AbbyAbby (Georgia)"Our journey began in 2004 when Abby was diagnosed with congenital Cytomegalovirus..."
We found out something wasn't right with my pregnancy when I was about 20 weeks. After many tests, the doctors found that I had contracted CMV for the first time during my second trimester and it had crossed the placenta and affected Abby. At 29 weeks, I went into the hospital on bedrest where they monitored Abby several times a day. At 34 weeks, during a routine ultrasound, they found that Abby was struggling to survive, so we decided to do a C-section that day... [read more]
AddisonAddison (Georgia)"In June of 2008, my husband and I decided we wanted to try and have another baby..."
We loved Chloe so much we felt as though we had more than enough love to give another child. In September we made the decision to come off birth control and start the process. Then on October 10, 2008, as I sat in the bathroom of a old friends house, our dream became a reality! I was pregnant!!! Buster was overjoyed, as was my family... [read more]
AedanAedan (South Africa)"On the 7th of October 2010, it will be 3 months since Aedan passed away..."
1/4 of a year and boy does it hurt. I could not do it in the beginning but I am now starting to look at all the amazing pictures of our precious boy and reliving what he really meant to us. We tried in some way to reflect that in the eulogies that I and my husband made at his memorial. So today I would like to share these words with you and to dedicate them to all the truly wonderful cCMV and special needs children who have shaped their parents lives and made them better people. Aedan certainly did that for us.... [read more]
AidenAiden (Washington)"Aiden was born October 2, 2010..."
I had an easy pregnancy, except for my husband being deployed for most of it. When it finally came time to have my scheduled c-section, I was nervous, but ready!!! Minutes seemed like hours, but when I heard my son cry I was so relieved!! He was beautiful, and perfect in every way. There he was with a little round head and a smirk on his face. I had an instant bond with him, he was and is my only son... [read more]
AlanAlan (Ohio)"My name is Teresa, my son Alan was born with CMV..."
I was 19 when he was born. I worked in a nursing home when I was pregnant with him. I was bitten by a resident and this is how I think I aquired CMV. I had a hard pregnancy. I got into a car accident when I was 5 months along and thought I was ok, but I ended up with a blod clot in my leg the size of a baseball. I was put in the hospital when I was 7 months because my legs swelled huge. I was on bedrest until I delivered at 8 1/2 months. I then had an emergency c-section because his cord was wrapped around his neck cutting off oxygen. When he was born everything seemed fine, except he failed his newborn hearing screening. Once he was one month old, he had a high fever and they did a smear of his nose and found CMV... [read more]
AlexisAlexis (Florida)"Let's back up a little to mommy's belly..."
Around five months pregnant, my mommy started vomiting yellow bile. She contacted her OB/GYN daily, and they reassured her that it was nothing to worry about, merely morning sickness. However, at a routine check up, the doctor noticed that I was not growing as fast as I should, and suggested we take a trip to Pensacola to the High Risk Pregnancy Center. So we did. While there, they did an ultrasound (where mommy found out I was going to be a princess, opposed to a prince) and they said that I was okay, just a little small.... [read more]
AmariAmari (California)"Amari was born on September 12, 2007..."
Amari was diagnosed with CMV in March of 2008. When we were first given the diagnosis of CMV, we were really upset and unfortunately we blamed ourselves. We did not understand what had gone wrong and we questioned ourselves incessantly. Looking back now I know that we did nothing wrong, we were just like so many other people throughout our country that just do not know about the dangers of CMV. Amari has been diagnosed with Congenital CMV and Cerebral Palsy. She has not had any major surgeries, but we started her first round of Botox injections in April 2010. Amari is not on any regular medications... [read more]
AmberAmber (Texas)"In 2000 I became pregnant with my daughter Amber..."
During a routine sonogram I was told that my daughter's head was too large and some testing needed to be done. I went in for an amniocentesis and by sheer luck, due to the thoroughness of my doctor, a diagnosis was confirmed. I had contracted Cytomegalovirus during my first trimester and my daughter was going to be disabled.... [read more]
AmiliaAmilia (Connecticut)"During my pregnancy I was told my baby was healthy and I had nothing to worry about..."
On a normal 2 week check-up on September 26th 2006, I remember that day so clear as if it was yesterday. I was 32 weeks pregnant and so excited to be a mommy!!! Without a worry in the world I did my everyday things. I was pregnant with a girl and we decided to name her Amilia. I was happy and so scared at the same time not knowing if I had what it takes to be a good mother. My baby girl was almost ready to come into the world. I only had 8 more weeks!!! I had to go for a 2 week check-up that day and everything was perfect!!! Yes I was so happy! Then I went to Middlesex hospital to see if an ultrasound could be done because my baby girl never kicked and I never felt her really move much... [read more]
AndrewAndrew (Missouri)"Hello, my name is Ashley. My son Andrew was born on March 19th 2009..."
We had known since the beginning of my second trimester that I had CMV Mononucleosis. After having a chronic fever for 6 weeks, the day after Christmas my doctor admitted me to the hospital to run tests. I was told that the baby was fine but they needed to find out what was wrong with ME. I was relieved because they assured me that baby Andrew was just fine. After 6 days of hell all tests came back normal, but we were waiting on one final test. The CMV test.... [read more]
AngelinaAngelina (Rhode Island)"When I was about 5 months pregnant I was scheduled for a normal routine level 2 ultrasound..."
During and after the ultrasound I was told nothing, only that I was expecting a little girl. About a week later I was called in for another ultrasound and the doctor told me that I was sent in because the baby looked small for her gestational age and that her head was extremely small. I went through a series of blood tests and also did the amniocentesis test. I was called in and told I had cmv and that it had passed to the baby. I had no clue what I was going through and that I was about to face something I never thought that would happen to me... [read more]
AnonymousAnonymous (New York)"My story begins before my baby arrived even though she never grew inside of me..."
On the day she was born, we were happy to hear all was well with her, she spent a few extra days at the Hospital due to being premature. She went home with her Mom. Three weeks later is where I came into the picture, I received a call to see if I could take care of a little one, only three weeks old. I am a temporary home; I am here to help parents and children in need. Life can be difficult sometimes and things don’t always go as planned, even though the parents try they sometimes just cannot get back on track soon enough... [read more]
AshleyAshley (South Africa)"Ashley is now nine years old..."
She is our little CMV girl who cannot sit unsupported, walk, talk, or feed. However, she is in no way "useless" - of our three children she has taught us the most about the true values in life and unconditional love in its purest form.... [read more]
AshleyAshley (Michigan)"I guess I don't really know where to start..but here we go..."
I was young. 17 to be exact. After finding out I was pregnant from my month long relationship, I was determined to persevere and face the challenge "head-on". For years I listened to my mom talk about how having children at such a young age was detrimental to her now adult life. I made a pact right then, to never let my children feel my guilt of being such a young mom. Mom continued to pressure me to get an abortion. I remember telling her that "I love my baby already and there is no way I will even think of it". I moved out.... [read more]
AudreyAudrey (North Carolina)"Audrey was born on July 26, 2006. But it was a rough pregnancy getting there..."
I had trouble getting pregnant and wound up having to take fertility meds, and then once I got pregnant, I was sick the entire time with morning sickness.... [read more]
AudreyAudrey (Poland)"I got infected with CMV just before conception..."
I had blood tested in dark field, but the doctor didn't know what's wrong with me then. I knew that was CMV later on, at the end of the first trimester. My doctor said "there's nothing we can do at this stage", and I had detailed ultrasounds every month. We did heart USG in the 8th month of pregnancy too.... [read more]
AustinAustin (Florida)"Hello, my name is Lisa, married 20 years to Martin. We have three wonderful children..."
Trae, 18 years old, first year in college at the Air Force Academy, Madison, 12, in the sixth grade, and Austin, 16 in Exceptional center, Grandma, three houses down (who we could not live without), two dogs and 4 birds. I am a homemaker by our choice. My husband works full time and we also are actively involved with the youth ministry at our church... [read more]
AveryAvery (Minnesota)"Avery is our happy, chatty, one-year-old baby girl..."
She is adored by her three-year-old sister Brenna, who in typical older-sibling fashion wishes they could play more together. But Avery is not a typical one-year-old. She rarely rolls over and cannot sit up on her own. She cannot hold her own bottle or feed herself. It is a daily struggle to get her to eat enough to grow. She is prone to seizures. Developmentally, she is five months old. These issues - along with many others - are the result of Avery's congenital CMV. At our 20-week ultrasound, the test detected a problem with Avery's brain development. For the next several weeks, the doctors tried to figure out what exactly that problem was. Even though CMV was not considered a leading culprit at the time, it was put on the list of issues to check through one of my blood tests... [read more]
AydonAydon (Alabama)"This is my story of my angel.. my son, Aydon..."
Everything was going great up until I went to see what the sex of the baby was. We got there and she said "it's a boy" and everything as far as she could tell looked fine so we left there soooo happy. Then I get a phone call a week later... [read more]
BaiLeeBaiLee (Kansas)"Hello, my name is Kristin. I am 24 years old..."
My husband Greg is 30, my daughter is 6 1/2, and my son is almost 5. My daughter BaiLee was born with CMV. I had a normal, full term pregnancy and a perfect delivery. We thought we gave birth to a healthy baby girl on October 15th, 2004. We later learned otherwise. First, the first 2 1/2 months of BaiLee's life we spent most of it in our local hospital. She kept getting constipated and impacted colon. Our family doctor finally sent us to Wichita, Kansas. It is about a 5 hour drive, although I think that was the longest drive of my life... [read more]
BaileyBailey (Alaska)"It has taken me a very long time to put our story in words..."
Part of that is because I don't feel very inspiring much of the time, but I do know that what I write will resonate with someone and if it helps them to know that they are not alone then I've done a small part to contribute to this network of remarkable parents and children.... [read more]
BraydenBrayden (Pennsylvania)"Ok, lets see... where to start. I guess I will start from what I know as the beginning..."
I wasn't feeling well one day so I decided to take a pregnancy test. I was on the Deprovera shot so I didn't think there was any chance of being pregnant, but you never know. I had not taken the last shot because me and my fiancee decided that we wanted to try and have a baby. So to my surprise, the test came out positive. I was really excited and figured that I was only around a month pregnant... [read more]
BraydonBraydon (Kansas)"As I sit down to write the story of Braydon, I am overwhelmed with emotions. What an Awesome Gift God has given us in this little boy! Braydon is an amazing child..."
When we found out we were pregnant with Braydon, Jon (my husband) and I were overwhelmed with joy...and scared! We had just moved to a new town so Jon did not have to commute 2 hours everyday for his new job, and Jon had just been diagnosed with DVT (deep vain thrombosis) in both legs. Our emotions were all over the place.... [read more]
BryanBryan (Oregon)"Bryan Keith was born on May 12th 1980..."
Bryan was born 2 months premature and was diagnosed with CMV. Due to the severity of his disabilities, we felt extremely fortunate to have had Bryan in our lives for 23 years. His story is unique and rare which exemplifies the strong character he bravely demonstrated each day, which I am privileged to share with you. Bryan spent the first two months in NICU clinging to life on a daily basis. Even though he was a medically fragile baby, he exuded incredible energy that drew people to him. In fact, the nursing staff use to fight over who got to have him on their shift... [read more]
BrysonBryson (Texas)"My husband and I had been married for about 2 years, together for 5 and from day 1 we knew we wanted children..."
We started trying about April of 2008 and it didn't take too long. On July 7th I found out I was about 3 weeks pregnant. All along we wanted a boy and in October we found out that we were, in fact, being blessed with a baby boy! He was due March 26th 2009. My whole pregnancy was great. No morning sickness or complications. On February 20th, we went for a sonogram and found out that the baby had cysts on 1 of his kidneys. I thought this was the end of the world. Little did I know there were more complications to come. On February 24th at 34 weeks and 5 days pregnant, I started cramping and noticed he wasn't moving much... [read more]
CainCain (North Carolina)"My name is Stephanie and my son, Cain, was born with congenital CMV..."
My son was born with congenital CMV. His symptoms included enlarged liver and spleen, jaundice, low platelets and some hearing loss. On the plus side, he was born 9 lbs 5 oz and a very normal head size. He was admitted into a clinical study where he received Valganciclovir by mouth. He participated in this study for approximately 4.5 months. He was supposed to remain in the study longer, however, the doctor had such a difficult time performing blood draws on him that it was very traumatizing on us all. We then stopped the medication... [read more]
CaitiCaiti (Arizona)"On August 25th, 2001, we were forever changed by CMV..."
I had been seeing a perinatalogist due to thyroid disease while pregnant. He gave me bi-weekly ultrasounds my entire pregnancy and a whole battery of prenatal tests that pregnant woman receive. He did not, however, test me for cytomegalovirus, nor did he detect anything wrong until the day before he decided to take my baby through c-section... [read more]
CaitlinCaitlin (Washington)"Fifteen years ago we laid eyes on a little girl who had already created quite a stir before she ever entered the world..."
Fifteen years ago we laid eyes on a little girl who had already created quite a stir before she ever entered the world. As her father, I had been on an emotional roller-coaster cresting and falling with each visit to the doctor. As the pregnancy developed we found ourselves further and further down the rabbit hole. In 1998, Caitlin was born and given very little chance to survive long enough to be discharged... [read more]
CalumCalum (England)"Mark and I married when I was 28 and began planning our family..."
After trying for nearly a year I fell pregnant. I was extremely careful to do all of the right things when I was pregnant – I took my folic acid, ate well, didn’t have even a sip of alcohol, and didn’t consume any nut products as I have a family history of allergies. I didn’t have any pain relief in labour as I didn’t want to do anything that may harm my baby. I gave birth to a little boy who we named Ellis... [read more]
CameronCameron (Arizona)"I knew my second pregnancy would be a difficult because I had preterm labor with my first son..."
And sure enough, I went into preterm labor with my second. I was put on strict bed rest at 25 weeks. I spent a lot of time on the internet researching problems associated with preterm babies born at 25 weeks. These problems included mental retardation, blindness, deafness, cerebral palsy. I wanted to be ready in case I had a preemie. As the weeks went by, my worries subsided... [read more]
CameronCameron (Illinois)""Let's start during my pregnancy...""
I was about 12 weeks when my OB talked to me about going to have a down syndrome test done, said it was just routine so I went. A few weeks later the specialist contacted me and told me the test came back positive. I did what any new young mother would do, I broke down crying. My mom had to finish talking to the doc. As weeks went by I returned to the specialist to have an amnio done. He tried twice but couldn't get any fluid. It hurt so bad from the lack of fluid, I screamed out which upset my fiance and told them to stop, so all we had left to do was wait and expect the worst... [read more]
Carmine & GiullianaCarmine & Giulliana (Connecticut)"Not long after the birth of our first child, my husband and I started discussing when would be the right time to start trying for our second..."
We had always said we wanted a big family and we knew we wanted them all close together. So, the clock started ticking as soon as Carmella, who is now three, was born. After much negotiating we decided that we would start trying when she was 6 months old and see what happens. I had always had a feeling I would have issues getting pregnant and unfortunately, I was right... [read more]
CarsonCarson (North Carolina)"I found out I was pregnant in December 2006..."
I was so excited. At the time I was working at my church's daycare and had never heard of CMV. I was a full time worker in the 0-1 year old room. I was always catching different colds and never thought that one would have such an impact on my life.... [read more]
CarterCarter (Illinois)"I am the mommy of a handsome little survivor of CMV..."
My pregnancy started out like any other. Although my pregnancy was a "surprise", my fiance and I were still very excited. I remember getting sick (cold-like symptoms) in my first trimester and having to be put on antibiotics for it. I thought nothing of it and went about my happy way. I loved being pregnant. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes shortly into my second trimester and had to go get non-stress tests on a regular basis. Around 32 weeks, the doctors noticed that Carter's heart rate wasn't as high as it should be when he was active. I had to stay overnight for observation and Carter finally got his heart rate up and I was allowed to go home. This same event happened 1 more time over the next 2 weeks. At week 35, I had to stay overnight again due to the same problem. This time, the doctor came in at 6:30 in the morning and told me that she believed that Carter's blood pressure was low and that they were going to do an emergency C-section... [read more]
CassieCassie (Wisconsin)"I was 19 and single when I got pregnant with my daughter. I was working in a daycare with the babies..."
I had a completely normal pregnancy (except they kept checking for twin because my stomach got so big). When I went into labor with her, she went into distress and I had to have a emergency C-section. Everything went fine with the surgery but she came out only 5lb 5oz. She was so small she looked like a premature baby even though I went full term. It was really surprizing since my stomach was so huge. They didn't find anything wrong though so I thought I had a healthy baby girl. I later found out that the doctor that delivered her noticed she had really tight fists (which is a early sign of seizures) and never said anything or ran any tests. When she was three months old, she started having seizures. They were mild and not very frequent so when I took her to the hospital to be looked at they acted as though I was just being paranoid. They even asked me if I was sure I hadn't just startled her... [read more]
ChaseChase (Texas)"My name is Jennifer. I was 17 weeks along when we found out something was different about our little miracle..."
The ultrasound tech couldn't see Chase's stomach. Later we found it was hidden behind his severely enlarged liver and spleen. We were told then he could have Cystic Fibrosis or CMV. I knew what CF was and initially hoped it wasn't that only to find out CMV was worse than CF. After an amnio test was performed at 20 weeks, it was confirmed CMV. We had no idea what or why or how I had contracted it. After some very intense research was done, we realized I had to have gotten it while working at the nursing home. I was an activity director and had no idea I was in any danger. After the amnio test, I was told that if Chase continued to have a small head and large heart he would have severe signs and multiple symptoms from the CMV because he contracted it during the 1st few weeks of gestation... [read more]
ChelcieChelcie (California)"I want to tell you about my sweet little Goddaughter who has been profoundly effected by Congenital Cytomeglovirus..."
Chelcie was born on February 12, 2011, full term with no delivery complications. I was blessed when her parents asked me at 1 week of age to be her Godmother. You see, I am her father's Godmother also. I proudly accepted the honor. Although she was small for her age all seemed fine until they discovered that she couldn't suck. She was fed through a tube that they inserted into her nose every time she needed a feeding. After not thriving for two weeks the doctors finally decided to transfer her to a higher level NICU in another hospital. Almost immediately the doctors there made the diagnosis of cCMV based on a CT scan of her brain. There are holes in her brain and the frontal lobe never developed... [read more]
ChelseaChelsea (Louisiana)"Chelsea was born 3.5 weeks early with classic signs of severe cCMV..."
She had the usual symptoms of petechia, enlarged spleen, enlarged liver, moderate hearing loss, irregular brain structure, microcephaly, but was basically healthy at birth. Later she was diagnosed with severe spastic quad cerebral palsy, legally blind (CVI), epilepsy, and acid reflux. She had hearing loss on left side that progressed to the profound/severe range. She was non-verbal, non-ambulatory, and couldn't communicate. Her body seemed to grow normally, but her physical abilities and cognitive development did not advance past the 3-4 month old stage. She developed epilepsy at age 10.5 months, and it was not helped much by lots of different medications. She was basically happy and healthy her first 3 years despite her severe limitations, but deteriorated rapidly in her 4th year. She developed reflux and ulcers, and was predicted to soon have fundoplication, hip dislocation, ankle cord, and scoliosis issues... [read more]
ChloeChloe (Michigan)"After having our first child at a very young age, we knew that when we decided to try for a second child we were going to do everything right..."
We waited six years. We had our careers in order, we were financially more prepared. We were healthy. We were so excited to learn I was pregnant. Because our first child had some complications, (not related to CMV) we were sent to a High Risk OB just as a precaution. We were told everything was good and not to worry. At 10 weeks into my pregnancy I got very sick. I was told that it was just a seasonal viral infection and once again we were told not to worry. After about a week of being sick I began to feel better and did not give it another thought.... [read more]
ChristianChristian (Mississippi)"You know, I have tried to not tell Christian's life story because I did not want people to feel sorry for me or him..."
Christian was born with congenital CMV, contracted late in my pregnancy. His twin, Chaz, luckily did not contract the virus (which is a miracle in it's own because generally with twins, one is symptomatic and the other asymptomatic). At birth. Christian weighed 3 lbs 1 oz and had a very low platelet count due to the vessels in his cord being crushed. In the first few days, he had 2 transfusions that jump started his platelet production. At this time we were unaware of the challenges he would face the rest of his life.... [read more]
ChristianChristian (England)"On the 27th June 2006, when Christian was born I remember the sheer delight on my husbands face, as we had our boy..."
He would be Eve’s little brother who would be 2 the following day. Within 24 hours it became apparent that our new arrival was poorly. He had developed jaundice and was moved to special care. He was given light therapy but his jaundice was getting worse. The doctors knew then that it was not the typical jaundice that a lot of new borns experience. His liver function blood results were scarily abnormal... [read more]
ColbyColby (Georgia)"My son Colby was born September 14, 2006 and when he was born he weighed 4 lbs 5oz...."
We never knew he was sick- they did induce me though, they said my stomach shrunk and measured different from last week. We just thought he was small for some reason.... [read more]
Conner & LoganConner & Logan (Oklahoma)"At 28 years of age, and after being told I would never have another baby, I was thrilled (and frightened) to find out I had become pregnant with twins..."
Concerned about the risk of developing twin to twin transfusion, my doctor referred me to a perinatologist who did ultrasounds every 3 weeks to monitor growth of both babies. At my 20th week, I was told both babies were boys....and that they were concerned about possible fluid on their brains. Because of this development my appointments were moved every 2 weeks and the fluid was monitored very closely.... [read more]
ConnorConnor (Missouri)"In December of 2010, we found out that we were having our very first baby..."
The sonograms showed that everything was fine until our 18 week appointment when we were only supposed to be going to find out the baby's sex. The doctors told me that I had extremely low fluid and sent me to a specialist. We were told that our sweet baby would be stillborn and would not survive the next few weeks... [read more]
CruzCruz (Australia)"My dream as I was growing up was to be a mum, and in 2004 that dream came true..."
I found out I was pregnant and I couldn't wait to meet my little baby. My pregnancy was strange all the way through I thought, when I raised my concerns to my OB he told me I was probably panicking over nothing and to try not to stress about it anymore. I was 33 weeks when after a routine ultrasound found the baby had stopped growing, my OB said he would try to get me to 37 weeks and see how the baby is then.... [read more]
CurtisCurtis (Unknown)"My name is Danielle and as I write this I am 21 weeks pregnant..."
My fiance and I found out we were pregnant in August after having just gone through a miscarriage in May and were beyond excited. I have two little boys already but he has no children so his excitement was more then just contagious. My last three were rough to say the least so as I progressed through this pregnancy I was relieved to know that everything was smooth sailing and that baby and I were doing exceptionally well... [read more]
CyrusCyrus (Massachusetts)"When I was diagnosed with CMV I was 24 weeks pregnant..."
That is a critical time for many reasons. First you are not allowed in Massachusetts to have an amnio after 25 weeks of pregnancy, however this is the only test that will allow you to know if you baby has contracted your virus before birth. Why would you want to know if you child has contracted CMV. Well for me I was unsure if I was ready to raise a child that could be blind, deaf, lack some or all motor skills and may never learn to speak. These are all possible outcomes of a baby born with CMV that is contracted in the womb. When I learned about how his life and mine may be effected I really wanted to know if he had it so we could make an informed decision on what are next step would be... [read more]
DalenDalen (MIssissippi)"We found out last September 2008 that we were expecting our 2nd child. A few weeks later we went for an ultrasound to see how far along I was..."
The doctor ended up putting me in to induce me on May 25th, 2009. The plan was to have me put on pitocin (to help me dilate since I wasn't dilated) at 8 am & then be took off at 12pm then put me on cervadal (to thin my cervix)... [read more]
DanielDaniel (Georgia)"My son, Daniel, was born over 26 years ago when there was very little known about CMV. And no internet to do research..."
I had an uncomplicated pregnancy and normal delivery. He weighed 8 lbs 5 1/2 oz at birth and showed no signs of anything abnormal. At 6 months, he still had a hard time holding his head up and wasn't yet starting to try and sit alone. But he nursed, slept and smiled like any other baby should. I lived away from all of my family so had no one that suggested that something might be wrong. It wasn't until his 6 month well baby check up with a new pediatrician that they ordered blood tests, measured his head and acted as if something was very wrong with him. Of course, we had never heard of CMV. That's when our world changed as we knew it. We started an early infant program soon after his diagnosis and started physical, occupational and speech therapy. My life was now consumed with taking care of his needs and attending his appointments... [read more]
DannyDanny (Missouri)"One day before my first son celebrated his first birthday, July of 2007, I took a home pregnancy test and learned that our second child was on its way..."
Even more delightful, I had found out a few days before that my best friend of nearly a decade was pregnant as well, we would get to go through this wonderful time together! We laughed, we cried, we shared everything there was to share... [read more]
DavidDavid (Florida)"My first daughter was born in 12/94, I miscarried in 1/96, and a few months later happily became pregnant again..."
During my first trimester carrying David, I had excruciating earaches and I threw up a lot. I went to a few doctors about my ear because they all said nothing was wrong with it - no infection, nothing punctured. The last doctor I went to said it was 'pregnancy related' - it would eventually go away. And it did - by the second trimester I was fine. This 'earache' must have been when I contracted CMV...I had a toddler, and I worked in our infant/toddler nursery at my church a few times a month, but no one ever tested me for CMV nor had I ever heard of it.... [read more]
DelaneyDelaney (Michigan)"Delaney was born with active Congenital CMV infection September 2004. I had a very normal pregnancy and delivery with Delaney..."
I was in labor with her for less that 12 hours total. Delaney was born with I remember looking at my beautiful baby, seeing the spots (petechia) on her face, and thinking no one in our family has freckles, where would the freckles come from? The nurse reassured me that it was probably from the pressure the baby experienced at birth. I believed her, but looking back, I could see the doubt in my moms eyes as the nurse was talking to me... [read more]
Elias DavidElias David (Arizona)"I wanted to share my story so others don't feel so alone the way I have..."
Before we walked into the doctor's office at 19 weeks pregnant, my husband and I had decided that as soon as we found out the sex of the baby we'd go to the store and register for our baby shower. Less than an hour later our dreams were shattered. The nurse doing the ultrasound was chatting with us and doing a million measurements and attempting to find the sex of the baby. We noticed she stopped talking and took 10 more minutes of measurements of his head. She told me to go to the bathroom and move around a bit so we could see the sex... [read more]
ElijahElijah (Texas)"At my 20 week sonogram the doctor told me I was having a boy..."
He also told me he could see a mass in his abdomen, or a shiny spot. I was referred to a sonogram specialist. I was given a sonogram every month. After the first visit it disappeared. They told me he had probably swallowed blood because I had bleeding at the beginning of my pregnancy. They didn't feel like anything was wrong at that point. Two before I was scheduled to be induced the Dr. scraped my membrane to try to get the labor started. That night I started having contractions. The next morning I was off to the hospital. They started to monitor my contractions and the baby. They told me I was not going into labor but they were going to induce me because Elijah's heart rate kept dropping. By 7:00 p.m. it was time to push. They already had NICU nurses in my room because they thought the cord was wrapped around his neck... [read more]
ElisabethElisabeth (Florida)"My husband and I adopted Elisabeth from birth. We were there for Doctor appointments, ultrasounds, and the birth..."
We were blessed with Elisabeth on June 9, 2004. The birth mother was tested for CMV in her second trimester and was tested negative. Total time from arrival at the hospital to delivery was 80 minutes! The minute Elisbaeth was born her face was covered in reddish/purple spots. Her Doctor said due to her coming through the birth canal so quickly she had busted blood vessels and they would disappear. On the second day they were running normal blood work and discovered her bili-rubin was up. They placed in under the lights. After a few hours under the lights more blood work came back and led them to believe her liver was enlarged... [read more]
EliseElise (Texas)""Elise in a Nutshell"-- OK, that title is misleading..."
But there is not a way to pack an explanation of Elise and her life into a nutshell. "Elise in a million words or less" didn't sound as catchy. So, here it goes... No hugs, no kisses, no "I love you, Mommy". Although this is what I receive from my 6-year-old daughter, she has brought to me the gift of pure love. I never knew there was such thing as pure love. No strings attached. No receiving anything back. Literally... [read more]
ElizabethElizabeth (New York)"The moment Elizabeth was born, I felt a stab of fear. My immediate thought was "Her head looks so small, so deformed"..."
The neonatologist declared, "Your daughter has profound microcephaly, her brain is very small with calcium deposits throughout. If she lives, she will never roll over, sit up, or feed herself." He concluded that Elizabeth's birth defects were caused by congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV), a virus that may have no symptoms for the mother, known as a "silent virus," or it may present itself with mild to severe flu-like symptoms to a mother during pregnancy.... [read more]
EmmaEmma (Michigan)"The day before Christmas Eve 2006, I found out that I was pregnant with my second child..."
Everything went really smooth the whole pregnancy. We never missed an appointment, I ate really healthy and only gained about 15 lbs. Because I had a C-section with my first child, I opted to have a repeat C-section so I didn't have any easily preventable complications. The C-section was scheduled for Monday, August 14th, two days before her due date.... [read more]
Emma & WilliamEmma & William (Australia)"A mother's perspective..."
When my husband, Hugh, and I were told that we were expecting twins at our 7 week ultrasound we were nervous and worried about how we were going to manage but we were also very excited and looked forward to completing our family and welcoming two wonderful new miracles into our lives. My pregnancy was hard work as most of them are. I was pregnant with twins, I had morning sickness in the first trimester... [read more]
EmmriEmmri (Michigan)"My name's Chelsey. It's taken me a while to write this because words are so hard to find..."
Well, let's start when I first found out I was pregnant, May 3rd 2010. I was 18 and still living at home with my dad, scared to death of being a single teen parent. I took my first test, in the mall bathroom, alone. I was totally freaked and went straight to the doctors to confirm the positive test. When the nurse read me the results, the room spun, my mind raced, I cried and I laugh because part of me was terrified and part of me thought they were wrong. She was rambling on and on and the only bit of information I caught out of all of it was, "and your expected due date is December 25th, a Christmas baby!" I started to sob... [read more]
EvieEvie (Iowa)"Two weeks before Halloween, my husband, Jesse, and myself walked into the OBGYN clinic for a routine pregnancy checkup..."
I was 35 weeks pregnant and so far, my chart was 'clean'. After examining me, our midwife set up an ultrasound to see why I was measuring small. Having had two previous perfect pregnancies, this worried me a little, but mostly I was just excited to get to see our little girl again. We'd decided on Evie for her name.... [read more]
GabrielGabriel (Florida)"My husband and I were absolutely thrilled when we found out we were expecting..."
Besides a few weeks of morning sickness, my pregnancy seemed to be going text book. We both desired a son, and sure enough at our 19 week ultrasound, it was confirmed! A son! Once we got the printed pictures of our little angel and the technician left the room, the Dr. came in shortly after. She said there were some concerns and she wanted us to see the perinatologist as soon as possible. We made the appointment for two days later. We were taken aback. We were thinking everything was going great.... [read more]
GabrielaGabriela (California)"My daughter Gabriela is probably the most amazing thing that has happened in my life, and without her I would definitely not be the person I am today..."
I found out I was pregnant in December, 2004. We had been trying for about 4 months to get pregnant, so when we got the positive result, we were thrilled! Things seemed fairly normal in the beginning. I had morning sickness, etc. just like any other pregnancy... [read more]
GavinGavin (Oklahoma)"My daughter gave birth to Gavin when she was 15..."
At 4 months pregnant, ecogenic bowel on the baby showed up. The doctor sent my daughter Baylea to a specialist a couple hours from where we live. Baylea saw this specialist every 2 weeks through out the remainder of her pregnancy. Early on, when the ecogenic bowel showed up on ultra sound, doctors told us that it could be one of 4 things or it could be nothing... [read more]
GeorgeGeorge (Kentucky)"Hi, I am Cassidy and I am currently living in Kentucky with my husband. He is proudly serving in the U.S. Navy..."
However, I am from Maysville, Kentucky and that is where my first child was born. His name was George and he is and will always be my CMV baby! He passed away, but I am blessed with a beautiful little girl named Gracie. So basically I am the mother of two and a navy wife. I am also 25 years old and was a young mother. That's about it for me. My George has the story though. Before I got pregnant with George I literally prayed every night I wanted a child so much....I was still a child myself, but I didn't believe it. Nor did I ever imagine that my child would end up sick. But it happened, I had a son that was to be healthy. On July 30th 2005 I had an emergency c-section to a beautiful little boy. All of the doctors told me that he was fine and healthy. He never got the national hearing test before released and when he got the test 3 months later, well, he failed. The first few signs that I noticed was that he was not responding to sound. My mother actually caught that and when she brought it to my attention I didnt want to believe it... [read more]
GiulianoGiuliano (New York)"I was preggo with Giuliano when I was 18. I had a perfect pregnancy, one ultra sound cause I did not have any problems..."
During the ultra sound Giulio's legs were closed so we could not tell if he was a boy or girl but I knew in my gut he was a boy...nothing came up in the ultra sound like there was anything wrong which I have always questioned there had to be something that they could have picked up on... [read more]
GracieGracie (Connecticut)"I had an awful first pregnancy..."
I had preeclampsia and kidney stones (which I could not pass), so our daughter, Regan, was born at 34 weeks. She was premature but, to our relief, healthy.... [read more]
IsaiahIsaiah (Nebraska)"Hello, my name is Jennifer and I'm a proud CMV mommy! My son Isaiah was born on December 28, 2001 (I was one month shy of my 21st birthday)..."
Unlike a lot of you, I was informed at an early part of my pregnancy what I was facing... [read more]
IsaiahIsaiah (Illinois)"Hello, my name is Kendra and I am a mother of four young boys..."
My youngest son has CMV. He was born February 28, 2011. I found out that I had contracted CMV from my oldest son when he was in the hospital and I was caring for him while I was in my first trimester of being pregnant. I found out that I got CMV when I was right around 16 weeks pregnant. My pregnancy was miserable because I was so concerned about Isaiah's health and constantly being worried. I got many ultrasounds and I had a specialist OB. Everything went fine but Isaiah stopped growing about three weeks before my due date so I got induced... [read more]
JackJack (Georgia)"I was a teacher, working in a middle school just outside of Atlanta, teaching art..."
I was still a newlywed, and we were starting to talk about having children. I was a little nervous, as I had always been a bit nervous about having kids. My husband continued to bring it up, and I finally decided that there is no "perfect time" and that we would start trying. To my amazement, I got pregnant 2 months later... [read more]
JacksonJackson (Arkansas)"We were very excited when we found out we were pregnant with our second child in November of 2001..."
My due date was July 4th. We wanted our kids to be about 2 years apart and Daisy would be 2 on June 23rd. So this was perfect! I was much sicker with this pregnancy than the first one so we thought it was probably a boy. When I had the first ultrasound, the doctor confirmed we were right and moved my due date to the middle of July. He said it wasn’t unusual for the due date to be off by 2 or 3 weeks... [read more]
JacobJacob (Virginia)"I was 18 weeks pregnant with my second son. I can remember the day all so well..."
I just wanted to know if I was having a boy or a girl. They told me I was having another boy and I thought to myself, awww shucks, a little girl would have been nice but a little boy will be so much fun for our son James. While I am still digesting that I am having another son, the sonographer told me she needed to get the doc to look over some things... [read more]
JakobJakob (Georgia)"My name is Shanna and today I would like to share with all of you my experience with Cytomegalovirus..."
Some of the things I would like to share with you are: the birth of my son Jakob and his diagnosis of congenital CMV, how Jakob's life has been affected by congenital CMV, how I contracted CMV, and how congenital CMV has affected our family. If there is one thing that I am grateful for, it is my family. We have come a long way in the past 8 years. When we first found out of our sons devastating congenital virus, the news came as quite a surprise. We had no indication that Jakob would be born with any problems. It was only an hour before we were ready to leave the hospital with our new bundle of joy that the nurses informed us that Jakob would have to stay at the hospital for further testing. My husband and I were at a loss for words. That night I went to bed in tears wondering what could be wrong with my sweet baby boy... [read more]
JamesJames (Canada)"I had a wonderful and completely normal pregnancy with James..."
I only received one ultrasound at 18 weeks, where everything appeared normal. We already had one 2 year old daughter, and were excited to have another addition to our family. I went into labor 3 weeks early, on October 22, 2007, and James was born within an hour of my contractions being noticeable. He was taken up to NICU almost immediately, because his platelets were very low. We still didn't know anything was really wrong - we still thought we would be going home in a day or two... [read more]
JamieJamie (England)"Hello, my son's name is Jamie and he is 14 months old. He was born with Congenital CMV..."
Pregnancy wise, everything was normal, I had 5 scans, all fine. It was only 3 weeks before having my son that I got a sore throat but it was only during the nights though!! Strange!! I went to docs about it but was told it was just a virus so I didn't think anything of it. I simply went home and carried on... [read more]
JaxonJaxon (Alabama)"I found out I was pregnant on March 30, 1998. I never thought anything was wrong. I was having a great pregnancy except the morning sickness..."
About the fifth month, I was seeing black spots but didn't think anything was wrong still (until I had my eyes checked 7 years ago, the doctor said my retinas were damaged and he asked me if I had had CMV. I said yes, my son was born with it.)... [read more]
JayceJayce (California)"Jayce was born full of love and laughter..."
He spent his life touching the hearts of anyone that saw him. He had eyelashes that would make the girls jealous and a smile that would melt even the strongest of hearts. From his cute little dimples to his cute little buns, no one could resist falling in love! Although Jayce's illness made him fragile, he possessed the strength, perseverance, and courage to overcome incredible odds and physical challenges... [read more]
JaydenJayden (Colorado)"I went into preterm labor and was sent to high risk OB who found on an ultrasound severe brain damage to our baby..."
Jayden was born almost 2 months early, January 17th in 2008, after over 36 hours of labor. He weighed 3 lb 11 oz and was 15 and 1/4in tall. He was immediately taken to the NICU and was put through multiple tests. My husband and I found out that night that our son had cCMV (congenital CytoMegaloVirus). Over the next couple of days Jayden had many more tests done. Jayden's brain is filled with fluid and he has calcifications all over and around. He has microcephaly, a small head (head circumference is not even on the charts and hasn’t been since birth)... [read more]
JebJeb (Wisconsin)"When I couldn't become pregnant for a second time, my doctor placed me on a fertility med to increase my chances..."
I finally became pregnant with my long-awaited second son, Jeb, in April 1999. My pregnancy went along perfectly until right before Thanksgiving 1999. Baby's growth in utero had slowed and my fundal heights were not where they were supposed to be. My physician ordered a TORCH titer blood test to see if something was wrong. It was... [read more]
JennaJenna (Arizona)"I was sixteen years old when I became pregnant..."
As you can imagine, this was a shock to my family and I, but I embraced my daughter as if it were a planned pregnancy. I loved her the second I knew she existed and I planned to keep her and raise her, no matter how hard it would be. When I was 23 weeks pregnant, the doctor noticed many abnormal things on the ultrasound. Her intestines were glowing (which meant they were as hard as bone), there was not enough blood flow to her umbilical cord or to her brain, the placenta was too large, and she was 2 weeks behind in her growth... [read more]
JeremiahJeremiah (Virginia)"My son Jeremiah was born on June 22, 2005. It was a difficult road to get there but I'm glad I stuck it out because he is the most amazing thing that's ever happened to my husband and I..."
It all began in February of 2005 when I had my routine ultrasound. The first part of my pregnancy appeared completely normal so there was no reason to believe that anything would be wrong... [read more]
JoeyJoey (New York)"Our story may give many of the newly diagnosed families much hope and faith. Our Journey with this virus was not an easy one, but the outcome much less severe than many others...."
The year was 1998 and I was working as a Registered Professional Nurse in a maternity center at a large university hospital and a Independent Pediatric home care provider to compromised children and infants... [read more]
JoshuaJoshua (New York)"I found out I was pregnant at 3:03 am on July 18, 2007. I remember the date and time because it was the most surreal moment of my life..."
My husband, Ben, and I had tried for 2 years to get pregnant. We had seen infertility specialists; I had taken two different drugs and gone through all the tests. We had finally decided that we had had enough and that we were going to build our family through adoption. So you can imagine my surprise when I decided to take my last pregnancy test and up popped two lines. Two lines? Wait...two lines was pregnant... [read more]
JoshuaJoshua (Washington)"My ex wife, Nicole, and I found out in July 1999 that she was pregnant with our 1st child..."
Naturally, since it was a planned pregnancy, we were elated at the news. We were given March 6, 2000 as the due date. Everything was going along smoothly and in November we went in for an ultra sound in hopes of determining the sex of our child. As luck would have it, the baby didn't cooperate so we were not able to determine the sex. What the ultra sound did revealed that Nicole had very little amniotic fluid. She was placed on complete bed rest and her care was transferred from the clinic in Everett WA (where we lived, about 30 miles North) to the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle... [read more]
Joshua Joshua (Nevada)"I found out I was pregnant in either May or June of 2006. My pregnancy went very well and I went to every doctors appointment. They said I was healthy so nothing out of the normal, or so I thought..."
At 37 weeks and 2 days I gave birth, he was 6lbs 14oz and 19". He looked good until they said his head looked small and he had so many problems he had kidney, stomach, and liver problems and his stool was abnormal so there was a lot of things wrong. Then after him being in the hospital for more than 1 week they said he had CMV. I was like, "what? I don't know what that is?". Until they told me... I was devastated. I didn't know what to think I was in complete denial.... [read more]
JustinJustin (Pennsylvania)"Justin has been fighting for his life from conception..."
During a routine ultrasound appointment I was told Justin wasn’t growing. The blood flow to the placenta had stopped and prevented him from growing. There wasn’t much time that passed that Justin went into distress in the womb his heart rate was up and the fluid surrounding him was decreasing. The doctors wanted to wait and give him as much time in the womb as possible, especially since he was so tiny... [read more]
KadenKaden (Washington)"I found out I was pregnant with Kaden in May of 2005. My boyfriend and I were very happy and started to get baby things together. I was already a month pregnant but had no idea..."
This was both of ours first child and while I had younger brothers and sisters, I really had no idea what to expect. The first 3 months were pretty normal. No huge problems, just the regular morning sickness and nerves... [read more]
KaidenKaiden (Australia)"My partner and I decided to start trying for a baby in September 2006 but we officially started in October 2006..."
When my next period due date started getting close I couldn't help but do a test about a week before I was due. When it turned out to be negative, I was stupidly devastated. It was completely unrealistic of me to have thought it would happen that fast. So I then assumed it would happen between then and my next birthday which was in the month of April, half a year away. On the day my period was due in December 2006, I waited all day but nothing, so I did a test at about 10:00pm. When two lines showed up, I was completely shocked and didn't think it was real, that it was a mistake. I did another test during the wee hours of that night which also turned out to be positive. Since I had been getting up every few hours to pee anyway, I did a third and final test and suprise, suprise, POSITIVE... [read more]
KaileighKaileigh (Canada)"Kaileigh was diagnosed within days after her birth..."
When she was born she was taken via C-section due to a drop in her heart rate and so we had an emergency C-section done. She came out with a mecconium aspiration and had to be air lifted to our provinces children's hospital. Once there they ran a series of tests, etc on Kaileigh and that is when they found that she had Congenital CMV.... [read more]
KaitlynKaitlyn (North Carolina)"I was thrilled when an ultrasound at 19 weeks indicated that we were going to have another girl..."
I was so happy that my older daughter would have a sister so close in age to play and grow up with. The ultrasound also revealed something called echogenic bowel syndrome, a situation where the bowels show up bright white and look like bone. We were told that it could be caused by Downs Syndrome, Cystic Fibrosis, or an infection; but that usually there is no known cause and the baby is born healthy... [read more]
KalebKaleb (Maryland)"Hello. My son Kaleb was born April 22, 2011 @ 37 weeks and 2 days via c-section..."
I had a high risk pregnancy due to gestational diabetes and high blood pressure. There was nothing up to that point that prepared me for what was next. I went to a scheduled fetal assesment appointment and they noticed that he was not moving as much and I had low fluid in the placenta surrounding the baby so they ended up keeping me to deliver... [read more]
KaraKara (England)"I am a 23 years old cCMV sufferer..."
As soon I was born, I was never settled. I constantly screamed, crying. Anything my parents did, has never worked! That left my parents wondering what was wrong with me. We all had plenty of trips back and forth doctors surgery and hospitals for multiple tests to find out what was wrong with me. Result came back, confirmed I had CMV before I was diagnosed profoundly deaf. My parents admittedly say they were too shocked to absorb the whole thing about me being deaf and a cCMV sufferer... [read more]
KassidieKassidie (Wales)"Kassidie was born in Wales with symptomatic congenital CMV..."
She was the first baby in Wales to be treated with ganciclovir. Kassidie spent the majority of her short 16 weeks of life in hospitals, but while she was home she was happy, very lively and was a tough little girl enduring all the treatments and testings... [read more]
KatelynKatelyn (Arizona)"My name is Katelyn Marie I was born November 6th, 2003..."
I have a big brother named Micheal and he is the most awesome brother ever. He helps my mom care for me and doesn't mind a bit! He reads to me, plays with me, and can make me laugh when no one else can! I love Mickey Mouse, sports, and getting my hair done with my mom.... [read more]
KatieKatie (Indiana)"I found out I was pregnant on my birthday (February 5th) of 2006, which also happened to be the Superbowl..."
At the time I found out I was pregnant with Katie, I also had a 2 1/2 year old little boy named Kyle at home. We were using a nanny that came to the home instead of daycare. I worked 3 days a week in and out of skilled nursing facilities. Everything was going as planned until week 31... [read more]
KileeKilee (Arizona)"My name is Elena, I'm from Tucson, Arizona and I'm a single mom of Kilee, 13 years old..."
She had every imaginable sign of congenital CMV at birth. It all started my 28th week of pregnancy, she stopped growing and my doctor thought she was going to be a small baby due to my short stature. She was diagnosed as IUGR (intrauterine growth retardation- small for gestational age). They did repeat ultrasounds -everything looked good, also had stress tests/monitoring done and those were good... [read more]
KillianKillian (Texas)"I found out I was pregnant November 15th, 2009..."
My boyfriend and I were ecstatic, and yet in the back of my mind it just felt like something wasn't right. At my first doctor appointment they offered me a triple screen to test for the possibility of Down Syndrome. They told us a lot of parents abort the pregnancy based on the results... [read more]
KristenKristen (New York)"My daughter, Kristen, was born 10:58am on April 5th, 1982 weighing 6lbs 1oz after a full term, non-eventful second pregnancy. I was 33 at the time..."
When she was first brought to me I noticed her skin was covered with little red dots. The nurse told me it was from the pressure of the delivery and the fact that her skin was so fair. She cried all the time. Nothing consoled her. At 8 weeks I found she had an inguinal hernia and she was hospitalized the next day. A week later her pediatrician, on a routine exam, found a grossly enlarged liver and spleen... [read more]
KrystalKrystal (Utah)"Just a short story about my little F.R.O.G..."
I was 20 years old when I got pregnant. It was a good pregnancy up until I was 6 months then I had the morning sickness and it was bad. The doctors put me on bed rest for the last few months of my pregnancy. On July 9th 1995, I gave birth at 4:30 am to a beautiful baby girl. She was called FROG from the first time I saw her. She was green when she came in to this world (we all know what she was playing with in my belly) ha ha ha. During the first 3 months of her life I thought I had a completely healthy child. I started noticing how she was having a hard time sucking and she startled very easy and this started when she was a week old... [read more]
KyleeKylee (Oklahoma)"Kylee Ann lays on the couch watching Rugrats just like any other 3 year old would......"
Her hands propping up her chin while she lays there on her belly with the most adorable grin on her face. Her long strawberry blonde hair curls a perfect little curly Q at the end as it flows down her back. She is just like any other three year old. She argues with her 5 year old brother, loves dancing like Barbie in the Nutcracker, and she will fight if you try taking her princess dress off before she's ready. I cannot count the times I have had to wake up in the middle of the night to take off the 'princess' dress made up of layers and layers of tulle, feathers and sequins. She would wear that anywhere if I let her. When I go in to take it off I say a small prayer for God to keep her safe and I secretly wish I could hold her in my arms like that forever... [read more]
KyraKyra (Kentucky)"MY DAUGHTER KYRA WAS BORN ON MARCH 27TH 2002 AT 12:16PM. SHE WAS 21 AND 1/2 INCHES LONG AND WEIGHED 6lb 1oz..."
I THOUGHT SHE APPEARED HEALTHY- SHE WAS SOON FACED WITH MANY TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS THAT NO CHILD AT ANY AGE SHOULD EVER HAVE TO GO THROUGH.... [read more]
Landon JoeLandon Joe (North Carolina)"I would like to tell you of the most amazing story of the birth of my son Landon Jo who was born August, 11 2007 at Northeast Hospital..."
My wife, Jody, who was at five months pregnant with our son, became very ill. Jody was not feeling well and became very sick, and had a fever for around five weeks and no one in Salisbury would help us... [read more]
LaneyLaney (Texas)"As Laney's first birthday approaches, my heart fills with joy! I'll tell her story with a feeling of being blessed..."
Pregnancy was not as easy with Laney as it was with Mallerie, I was often sick and felt run down. I didn't drink or smoke, I worked out and ate right, and tried to take it easy. I even quit school for a semester! On April 20th around 2 am, my contractions had gotten pretty bad and figured it was time to wake Trey up to go to the hospital and wait for Laney! I was excited to finally meet and hold my daughter... [read more]
LaurenLauren (Iowa)""I am not afraid," I said to the video camera..."
Reassuring my husband that I loved him and that it didn't matter if he went into the operating room with me. I have the doctors and the nurses I have come to know, and that anesthesiologist who I wonder if he might actually be stoned right this very moment. I do not need you to be there with me and to be grossed out by the c-section, I need you to be solid and happy to see me in recovery. I need you to be there when they take the baby potentially to the NICU, so that you can videotape them weighing her; so that I won't miss a second. I expected a healthy baby daughter... [read more]
LaylaLayla (North Dakota)"My name is Kelli and I'm 29 years old and from Fargo, ND and my daughter, Layla died from the effects of being born with congenital CMV that she caught from me..."
I suppose that age really doesn't matter, but as you read in the research, most people have been exposed to, or have had CMV by the time they are 30. Well, being pregnant and turning 29 during my pregnancy, I didn't have CMV until I caught it while pregnant with my daughter, Layla. Up until my 20 week ultrasound, my pregnancy was going fantastic... [read more]
LeahLeah (Washington)"Where do I start? My pregnancy started out normal and uneventful, everything seemed to be perfect..."
I then got the phone call that would change the rest of my life! A few days earlier I had a quad screen done. I didn't think much of it. They were calling me to tell me that I had a possible Down Syndrome baby. They scheduled me for an ultrasound, at 18 weeks where we found out that we had another little girl on the way... [read more]
LeahLeah (Tennessee)"Hello, my name is Erica. I am from South Pittsburg, Tennessee but had my daughter in Chattanooga, Tennessee..."
My daughter, Leah Nicole Mitchell, was diagnosed with CMV when I was about five months pregnant after my amnio. I had no idea what CMV was. What was even more strange, there were two other women at my specialist diagnosed with CMV. We were due days within each other. We each went through percutaneous umbilical blood sampling (PUBS) of an Experimental Drug (name I can't remember at the time) and three or four IV's of the drug. The drug had a 50/50 chance of minimizing some of the effects of the symptoms. During my second PUBS, Leah heart rate decreased, and they induced labor. Needless to say, the drug had no positive effect and we got the bad news. At the time of my pregnancy, my specialist told me I could be prepared for Leah being deaf. I was totally unprepared for what the doctor was getting ready to tell me... [read more]
LiamLiam (Virginia)"We were super excited to find out in 2006 that we were expecting our second child..."
To say that the pregnancy was a roller coaster ride is putting it mildly. When I was 11 weeks pregnant, I was carrying our older son Jamie down the stairs when I fell and broke my ankle. I had to get an x-ray and that worried me so much at that time. I was in a boot for 9 weeks. I finally got that worked out and it was time for our 20 week ultrasound. We were really hoping for a girl. When she said it's a boy I was a little bit disappointed. Boy did that seem selfish of me!... [read more]
LilyLily (Texas)"I went into Labor on September 5th, 2011 (Labor Day). Funny right?..."
I was in pain before I reached the hospital, but I was excited, too. This was yet another hospital trip after the many hospital trips we had made in the last few weeks. We could not quite figure out why I had had so many contractions for weeks on end, but soon enough, we would soon find out. On September 6th, 2011, we finally made the trip to the hospital after I had said that I was bleeding. Lily was expected to need immediate surgery after birth due to the fact that she had a meconium obstruction within her bowel. At first we had suspected that she had Anal Atresia (a birth defect in which the child is born without an anus). However, when the doctor broke my water, we soon found out that she had passed meconium; which, of course, meant that she was able to pass bowels. We all became excited at this news. We thought that Lily would be a perfectly healthy baby... [read more]
LoganLogan (Connecticut)"My pregnancy wasn't so easy..."
At about 10 weeks the "morning sickness" started, if you can call it that. I wasn't very hungry and constantly sick. Then it got really bad. I started throwing up at about 12:00 one night. It was happening about every 30 minutes. Then at about 5:00am, I was throwing up every 4 or 5 minutes. We couldn't get a hold of my doctor until about 9:00am, so I was waiting it out. By the time the doctor told me to come to her office, I was so dehydrated I couldn't stand up. My mother helped get me to the car and to my doctor's office, which is connected to the hospital. I then got admitted to the hospital. It took several doctors to find a vein to hydrate me.... [read more]
LouisLouis (England)"Louis is our third child and has suffered many problems due to CMV..."
Unfortunately, he wasn’t diagnosed until he was nearly 3 years old so this has compounded his difficulties. Louis was born full term and weighed 8.5 lbs. We had been warned at a routine scan during the final weeks of my pregnancy that he had extra fluid on his brain but it was unclear why or what impact, if any, this would have on him. He was a gorgeous baby who was slightly floppy and a bit spotty but we were relieved that there was nothing obviously wrong... [read more]
LoweeLowee (Arizona)"Lowee is my 2nd baby..."
I had a normal pregnancy, she came 15 days early. She was 5 lbs 13 oz and completely covered in a little red rash. She spent the first 24 hours with me and did great. When the pediatrician came in to see her she started finding problems. Lowee had an enlarged liver and spleen. The next 24 hours are a blur, but she got an ultrasound of her brain and they told us it was covered in calcifications. Next thing we know she is on a helicopter to a better NICU... [read more]
LuciaLucia (Spain)"We, Nayari and Oscar Ruben, had a beautiful girl on December 23rd who will be a year old with congenital cytomegalovirus..."
It all started when I was 2 months pregnant, my transaminases are too high, but not given importance, assimilated with the typical vomiting of pregnancy. Shortly after chipboard was not right, because her bowel was hyperechogenic. This was weekly ultrasounds, and the intestine was the same, even told us that the spleen and liver were slightly swollen, rest of calcifications in her head... [read more]
MackenzieMackenzie (Florida)"I was about 25 weeks pregnant when our baby decided to let us know if we were having a boy or girl..."
I was all smiles, till the Dr. walked in and we were told there were abnormalities with our baby. Two days before Christmas. She was small in size & her nerves were not connecting to either hemispheres of the brain. They weren't there. We were given the option to abort, and I simply stated thats not even an option. Mackenzie was born at 34 weeks gestation. By emergency C-Section. Even though she was 5 weeks early and born at 2 lbs 12 oz she didn't need a breathing tube! She was kicking and screaming just like every other newborn. She was perfect!!! After she was born, Dr.s ran all kinds of labs & finally came to the conclusion that my daughter had CMV. MRI's showed that she had her brain stem and a very small piece of the cerebellum. Which is why she was able to survive... [read more]
MadisonMadison (Texas)"My daughter Madison was born on August 1st, 2000..."
She was three weeks early and weighed in at 5 pounds 5 ounces. She looked like a little baby doll when she was born. We had no idea what kind of journey we would have with her. I had an uneventful pregnancy with her. I had an older daughter, Morgan, who was 20 months old when Madison was born. I did not feel any different about this pregnancy than I did with my older daughter... [read more]
MaeveMaeve (New York)"I was about 20 weeks pregnant with my second child when I mentioned to my OB that I was not feeling the baby move as much as I had remembered with my first child..."
I also noticed that my belly was not growing as much either. The doctor chalked it up to "every pregnancy is different". She did however suggest that we do another ultrasound just to be sure. 4 weeks later during that ultrasound we learned that the baby had fluid in the brain/dilated ventricles and was small for her gestational age. We were transferred to a different practice/hospital where we met with the high risk OB group... [read more]
MaggieMaggie (MIssissippi)"I am the mother of a beautiful little girl named Maggie who is a 3 1/2 year old survivor of CMV..."
Our story starts like all mothers. I found out I was pregnant and was ecstatic!!! I had had a miscarriage 5 months earlier and couldn't have been more thrilled to be pregnant again. To add to the excitement, my sister was 1 month ahead of me and my sister-in-law was 2 weeks ahead of me.... [read more]
MariaMaria (Portugal)"CMV is the word that symbolizes a big change in my life..."
Above all, it was a change in the way I look at things. We are very fortunate because we got the chance to understand how lucky we are to have a healthy child, despite all the odds. We should never take health for granted, that's what we know now.... [read more]
MatthewMatthew (Michigan)"I found out I was pregnant January 2008. I was scared, as I was doing my pregnancy alone, well, my mom went to all my appointments with me..."
Everything was normal, went for my 19 week ultrasound, and found out he was a he! A few days later is when my world crashed down. My doctor called me at work (I worked in a pediatric office) and mentioned "echogenic bowels". He immediately wanted me in for blood work.... [read more]
MaxMax (Massachusetts)"Maxwell is a determined, four year old little boy that appropriately enough bothers his sisters during their games of "let's pretend we're horses" and "I'll be the mommy"..."
He is also very good at keeping his mother, (me), busy. House rules get broken, especially the one that indicates that the expensive leather living room couch is not a piece of circus equipment. (At least it is leather and therefore durable.) And of course, Max like most four year old children, likes to have things his way and will successfully manipulate any worthy adult within his immediate vicinity to get what he wants. You can't hide from Max, at least not anymore...and that is where this starts to get interesting... [read more]
MelissaMelissa (Mexico)"Hello, we are the Ceron Family. We live in Mexico City..."
I am an American Citizen by my father and Mexican by mother. I grew up in the States until my parents divorced in 1986, afterwards we moved to Mexico City. In 1990, I met my Husband Erik Ceron. We dated 7 years, finished college, began work and married in 1996... [read more]
MiaMia (Australia)"Well, Mia's story is a long one so I will try and condense it for you..."
Mia is now 3 years old and has had more than 30 hospital admissions and 4 operations since birth and has been on many medications all due to CMV. Mia was born at 34 weeks gestation and had no symptoms at birth. She weighed only 4 pounds 1 ounce. Mia spent 3 weeks in NICU and on day 2 started becoming very jaundiced and was completeley limp and unresponsive, so the NICU started testing her for viruses and found that her blood was CMV positive but thought nothing of it and put her on antibiotics. Within 6 days she had become better, still suffering from bradicardia and apneas, but seemed to be well... [read more]
MicaiahMicaiah (Arizona)"When I was about three months pregnant with Micaiah I got pretty sick... "
I thought it was the flu or something. I remember being really weak and I had a fever. It lasted for about a week. I called the doctor but they told me as long as the fever was not over 102 then not to worry. So, the sickness left and at six months we had our second ultra sound to see how the baby was doing. They went over and over measuring his head... [read more]
MichaelMichael (Texas)"I had just gotten married on March 1, 2003, and we found out we were expecting our first child the following month..."
On my first prenatal visit, they asked me so many questions in the paperwork that looking back they didn't even give a second thought to. I worked as a substitute teacher at the time, most around that time with 3 and 4 year olds. But like almost every case, I was unaware of CMV, and the precautions I should have taken. I am sure just like me, every mother that has had their child affected by this has gone over and over in their head what they could have done differently, or how they could have been more careful.... [read more]
MilanMilan (Illinois)"I was so excited for my second visit to my OB doctor..."
At four weeks I had my first appointment, and I received the confirmation that yes, I was pregnant! I had millions of thoughts racing through my head: this was my very first pregnancy. During my second visit, I discussed with my doctor the importance of healthy nutrition, exercise and prenatal care. In addition, I had a normal work-up completed; tests, blood draws, etc. My doctor had asked me if I wanted to complete a blood screen for genetic disorders. He explained how doctors offer these tests to all of their pregnant patients, regardless of age. Not thinking much of it since I am 26 years old, I agreed.... [read more]
MillyMilly (New Zealand)"My husband and I had decided to start trying for our second child in early 2011, surprisingly I became pregnant in October 2010..."
We were both really happy, our daughter had just turned one in August 2010, and we were excited to meet out new addition in June 2011. It was a strange pregnancy from the beginning, I knew I was pregnant, but no tests would come up positive, so I went to the doctors and got a blood test, also negative... [read more]
MirandaMiranda (Florida)"I GOT PREGNANT WITHIN LIKE 2 MONTHS AFTER HAVING MY SON DEVIN. MIRANDA WAS A BIG SUPRISE BUT WE KNEW WE WOULD LOVE HER SO WE DEALT WITH IT THE BEST WE COULD...."
AT 20 WEEKS WHEN YOU HAVE YOUR USUAL ULTRASOUND THEY FOUND THERE WAS SOMETHING GOING ON IN HER BOWEL AND HER GROWTH WAS A WEEK LESS THAN IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN. AT THAT TIME THEY SAID IT WAS PROB. NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT.... [read more]
MusaMusa (Australia)"I can't describe the feeling when I found out I was pregnant, it was so exciting..."
My husband and I were sitting there in the doctors office when I was told I was pregnant, he looked at me and could not stop smiling. It wasn't a planned pregnancy but we were still over the moon. I went to my first ultrasound at 19 weeks and it was so exciting to see my baby. Everything was fine so far, until the sonographer told us she is just going to call the doctor to come and have a look that she needs a second opinion... [read more]
NatalieNatalie (England)"Everything had been going fine with my pregnancy until the 18-week scan..."
Then I was told I had my dates wrong and they put me back by 5 weeks, originally it was August 15th, now it was September 29th. I was a bit upset about this, as we had been trying for a baby and I was positive about my dates. Still, at least it gave us a bit more time to get everything we need and to prepare the nursery. We now think that she was already ill when I had the scan and therefore small making her appear “younger”. With hindsight perhaps I should have realised something was wrong, but this was my first baby and I didn’t know otherwise. Basically my pregnancy appeared to be trouble free, I had morning sickness up to about 14 weeks, but after that everything seemed fine. All my check ups with the doctors and midwifes went well... [read more]
NoahNoah (New York)"Spirit and determination are two words that describe Noah. These personality traits have always been evident..."
Starting with when Noah was born, on 10/11/2004, in the front seat of our car, en route to the hospital. He was delivered by his dad, Robert, with a little help from a 911 operator. On site he looked like any other healthy 8 lb newborn. His pediatrician, after consultation with an infectious disease doctor, decided to test Noah for Congenital CMV immediately after his birth. This decision was made because on Noah's routine 20 week sonogram an "echogenic bowel" (bright spots on his bowel) was seen... [read more]
NoahNoah (England)"Noah was born on 30th January 2011 after a fairly unremarkable pregnancy and a fairly normal delivery (even with the cord round his neck!)..."
He failed his newborn hearing screening test but we and the examiner put it down to congestion and arranged a retest. Following two retests and still no response in his left ear, they referred us to the audiology department. In the meantime when he was about 3 weeks old, I received a call from Kingston hospital informing us that they had discovered I had an infection in pregnancy... [read more]
NolanNolan (Oregon)"His smile sets my soul on fire and exudes strength far beyond my comprehension..."
Nolan was born November 27, 2002. Nolan's entry into this world was silent. I remember after hours of labor, my heart sank as the nurses began to, "work" on him. After what seemed like an eternity, he let out a little cry. The doctor examined him, and gave the nurses the green light to wrap him up and place him on my chest. My heart was full! I had waited 9 months to meet my furture major league ball player, and he was here. Little did I know that our journey would force me to surrender to God, and place Nolan's life in His hands. I cannot share, Nolan's story without giving glory to God.... [read more]
NolanNolan (Canada)"I had a perfectly normal pregnancy..."
I had no issues at all, except a slight cold that kept me home from work for a couple of days during my second trimester. Trips to the doctor were pretty uneventful, the only frustration was the constant change of my due date which kept getting pushed back because he seemed a bit small. On Thursday, December 16, 2004, 11 days past my original due date, I went to the doctor for my regular check-up... [read more]
OliviaOlivia (Illinois)"I knew something was wrong when I lost consciousness at work, I was 8 weeks pregnant..."
Around thanksgiving of 2010, I had taken a pregnancy test both at home and in clinic and found out that I was indeed pregnant with my first child. The first couple months of my pregnancy were like any other day. I didn't have any morning sickness and felt no different than usual. By the middle of my seventh week I had spiked a fever of 104.2. I took myself to the ER 4 times within a week. Each time the doctor had come to the conclusion that I was dehydrated, given me IV fluids and sent me home. At the end of my eighth week of pregnancy I was working as a cashier and suddenly felt lightheaded. Within 10 minutes I had passed out on the floor and was being woken by paramedics putting me on a backboard. Yet again I was in the ER with a doctor telling me I had vertigo... [read more]
OwenOwen (South Carolina)"When I was about 8 weeks pregnant with my second son I went to my OB/GYN for my first trimester screening and ultrasound..."
I had been feeling a little under the weather a week before my appointment and had been running a low fever for about 3 or 4 days. It was nothing that I was concerned about because by the time my appointment came around I was feeling better. I mentioned to my doctor that I had been sick the prior week and that I also had been experiencing a rash that was covering my body... [read more]
ParkerParker (Kansas)"Parker Bostyn Patry was born on September 1st 2010..."
Parker was diagnosed with CMV on September 6th 2010 after being flown from our local hospital to Wesley Medical Center. I had no clue what CMV was; I along with my friends and family were very confused and didn’t really know how to react. I almost immediately blamed myself for everything. The doctors and nurses were great, they were amazing strength, and they tried to answer our questions to the best of their knowledge. Soon we were able to transfer back home where we stayed in the hospital until October 18th. Parker has had several hearing tests. He was diagnosed with severe to profound hearing loss. We have hearing aids, and we are looking into cochlear implants, we have not had any major surgeries. I learn something new every day... [read more]
PortiaPortia (Michigan)"Portia Adriana joined our family on August 17, 2007, one month shy of her scheduled arrival..."
In so many ways, it was a completely normal pregnancy. But it was also a highly monitored pregnancy that was overwhelming at times. In January of 2007, a month and a half into the pregnancy, I went to my family doctor for my annual exam and standard blood work. When the results came back, my liver enzymes were very high. Two more rounds of blood work, and the reason for the abnormal levels was determined - I had a primary Cytomegalovirus infection. I had no idea what this meant, and the doctor didn’t really explain the significance... [read more]
PreciousPrecious (England)"Precious is one of 5 children..."
She has a big brother, Lewis (who misses his baby sister a great deal and talks about her often). She has another sibling whom was lost in early pregnancy (before Angel and Precious' pregnancy) and her identical twin sister Angel (who never got to know her sister and will have no knowledge of her other than what our family pass on in pictures) and a little sister, Millie-ann, born on the 14th of May 2009... [read more]
RachaelRachael (Tennessee)"I was fast approaching the age of twenty-one when I found out I was pregnant..."
Kenny and I had not even been married a year yet and I was bound and determined to finish nursing school after the baby was born. We had plans as all parents do. We debated about sports, music lessons, higher education, and names. We had no idea that our plans were about to be drastically changed... [read more]
RachelRachel (Ireland)"It was a really easy pregnancy..."
Once the horrible morning sickness passed, everything was great. I felt good, very healthy, and only had one cold, at about 7 months. We were thrilled to find out that this baby was a girl, as we already have a boy. Rachel was born in San Francisco, on 26th of February 2009. She was a little on the small side, at 6lbs 12 oz, and my older son had been 8lbs 8oz. She was very fussy for her first 24 hours, and also failed her newborn hearing screen, but they told us it was probably just fluid in her ears, and not to worry... [read more]
RaelynRaelyn (Missouri)"On September 4, 2010 at 10:08am, my husband, Nate and I welcomed our beautiful baby girl Raelyn into this world..."
We decided at the beginning of our pregnancy that I was going to deliver Raelyn at home. We found a wonderful doctor whom we loved and trusted. Traumatically at 16 weeks, we were informed that Dr. Duhart had passed away. We found another wonderful doctor but he wouldn't deliver at home so we decided to go to the hospital. At 18 weeks we found out we were having a girl. We also were encouraged to abort, because her bowels were "bright", she had a small head, and the amniotic fluid was low. We decided against this choice as it was not an option. The next ultrasound showed everything was perfect. So we went along with a healthy pregnancy... [read more]
RaychelRaychel (North Carolina)"My husband and I were expecting our first child, a baby girl..."
My pregnancy was going all good. It was a normal pregnancy and I had the normal sickness, hormones and weight gain at least I thought I did until June 17, 2006 at 3:34 a.m. in the Cape Fear Valley Triage in Fayetteville, NC... [read more]
ReedReed (Kentucky)"My name is Alysha and my little baby boy Reed was diagnosed with CMV..."
My pregnancy was great until about 30 weeks. They started seeing things, like he wasn't gaining weight right and that the placenta hadn't moved like they thought it should. His measurements were fine and they found a calcium deposit in his heart and fluid in his bowels. He stopped gaining weight, so they induced me at 39 weeks and 1 day and I was in labor for 20 hours. When he was born on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 2010, he weighed 5 lbs. and 8 oz. and was 19 and 1/2 inches long. He had a little rash and his belly was a little larger than it should have been... [read more]
ReeseReese (North Carolina)"As a mother who knew I'd had CMV in the first trimester, and later knew it had been transmitted to my growing baby, I scoured the internet for any and all information about this virus I'd never heard of..."
What I found was terrifying. I'm here to share a positive story, in the hopes that one day we will test women for their CMV status and have a possible treatment for this common virus.... [read more]
ReneesmaiReneesmai (England)"I had a typical pregnancy up until about 28 weeks..."
I stopped feeling Reneesmai move and ended up being refered to my antenatal department every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I was sure something was wrong, and I was right. In the end, I was put on the baby monitor for between an hour to 3 hours everytime I went to the clinic. I had numerous scans, and was told everything was ok... [read more]
RhysRhys (Virginia)"We found out that Rhys had congenital CMV right around Valentine’s Day..."
I had had an otherwise normal pregnancy so far, albeit with some increased nausea, fatigue and moodiness. All of this we attributed to my chasing around after our older son, Drew. At our routine 19 week ultrasound, the doctor noticed an echogenic (or bright) bowel. She reassured me that it was probably nothing, but that it could be a sign of an infection, a bleed or a genetic issue. Since I work in a newborn nursery at a hospital, she stated that the infection she would worry about with me would be CMV, and she encouraged me to get tested... [read more]
RileyRiley (Florida)"So the journey begins...well it really began last Wednesday......"
We had been sent over to a specialist in Pensacola because my doctor said Riley's head was measuring a touch small, nothing was wrong, but just a precaution to have it checked out. We thought we would have an ultrasound...they would also say no big deal and we would turn it into a baby shopping day! After a long ultrasound...we meet the doctor. He started to tell us of some abnormalities that are showing up that alone are nothing, but with so many little things such as Ascites in several areas, signs of anemia and extra volume in umbilical cord, he was concerned. This is the point where the tears started... [read more]
Riley & RachelRiley & Rachel (California)"We learned that I was pregnant early in January of 2003 and had an early ultrasound to verify how far along I was......"
We learned at this 7 week ultrasound that we were expecting twins! We cried the whole way home and worried about how we would manage to handle a 16 month old son and 2 infants. My pregnancy was immediately categorized as high-risk and I routinely saw my obstetrician as well as a perinatologist (an OB who specializes in high-risk pregnancies and deliveries)... [read more]
Riley JeanRiley Jean (Florida)"When I was pregnant I was losing weight one week then the next I gained..."
So the doctors sent me to the hospital for an emergency sonogram to see what was going on, that's when we found out she had CMV. I didn't know what CMV was. Me and my boyfriend were scared and had a lot of questions. They told us either way when I had Riley that she was going to be dead.... [read more]
Ruth ElyseRuth Elyse (Illinois)"It started off as a very good pregnancy......"
I had the normal morning sickness, but it was nothing like the sickness I had with our first daughter, Delayni, now 2 1/2. I actually lost weight, which the doctors assured me was fine and I would eventually gain weight. Everything was good up until I was 19 weeks along. We went in for an ultrasound to determine the sex, another girl!! We were so excited. The sonographer asked if I had been bleeding any. I hadn't. She said that the baby had "bright bowels" which is a soft marker for Down Syndrome. We them were reffered to a specialist for a Level 2 Ultrasound... [read more]
RyanRyan (New Jersey)"Ryan was born in South Jersey on August 1, 2001 after an uneventful pregnancy and delivery..."
In the hospital, I already knew something wasn't quite right and asked everyone I saw why his head seemed so small. The doctor finally agreed with me and wrote him up for microcephaly as were we being discharged home. That is where it all began... [read more]
RyanRyan (North Carolina)"My name is Lauren and my fiance's name is Justin..."
My fiance was 19 and I was 16 when our son was born on July 16, 2010. When I was 36 weeks pregnant and 2 cm dialated, my OB/GYN told me that she wanted to do an ultrasound and a stress test because I was measuring small. Once we did these tests we found out my little boy was stressed, breach and about 4 lbs 8 ozs. My doctor decided to do an emergency c-section two days later. Our little boy, Ryan Charles, was born 4 lbs 6 ozs and 17 1/2 inches long. A couple of hours after his birth we found out he had to have a feeding tube that went through his nose into his stomach because he was so small. Also he was diagnosed with jaundice and stayed in the hospital for a week after his birth... [read more]
SamanthaSamantha (Colorado)"Samantha Amidala Joy was our surprise number 5..."
My husband had had a vasectomy five years before we became pregnant with Sami; she is our miracle baby. She was born at home, full term, on April 1, 2010. It was a far rougher pregnancy than any previous. I was often sick and eventually was put on "house arrest" by my midwife for too many contractions.I didn't think anything of it, however, because I was busy, stressed and 35, any of which could account for my symptoms.... [read more]
SamanthaSamantha (Oregon)"To tell you my angels' story I must first tell you mine..."
When I was 18 years old I had a part of my cervix removed due to pre-cancer issues. The doctors told me that I would never be able to have a baby. If I did get pregnant I would never be able to carry a child to term. I conceived and carried my son, Victor. From the get go I had problems with him. He was so big I had to be on bed rest the last month. The doctor finally decided to induce labor. After 9 hours of no progress they needed to do a C-section because he was not coming. At 5:05 pm I had a 10 lbs. 11 oz. baby boy... [read more]
SaraSara (New York)"My daughter, Sara, was just recently diagnosed with congenital CMV. She is 3 years old. Here is our story..."
I got married in October 2007 (I was 25 years old) and just about 2 weeks after my wedding I got pregnant. I felt great - had a good pregnancy, besides some morning sickness. We moved to Israel from New York, 1 month after my wedding so my husband can study there. Everything seemed great. I switched my OBGYN around 8 1/2 - 9 months pregnant because I wasn't happy with that doctor... [read more]
SarahSarah (South Carolina)"Hi. My name is Sarah and I was born with cmv just 22 years ago..."
I was born on Feb 26 1989 and like I said I was born with cmv. I had to stay in the hospital for 30 days in the nicu until I could fight the cmv and get stronger. The doctors said I won't make it to the age past 1 but I proved them wrong. Like all cmv fighters they have a medical additions to the virus. Mine has mulitiples. I have walking problems. I had to use a walker when I was a baby. Got off of it when I was only 3 I believe and now I got my left foot goes straight and my right one goes side ways. I always try to correct it but it keeps going side ways. My mother asked the doctors a long time ago if I needed special shoes. They said no and she feels guilty about not getting a second opinion... [read more]
SavanahSavanah (Utah)"Savanah was born on March 25, 2004 in Orem, UT. I had an extremely wonderful pregnancy..."
After 12 long hours of labor, Savanah entered this world beautifully. As far as we knew, we had a healthy baby girl. The following day, we learned that she had failed her newborn hearing screening. The nurse came in and reassured us that this is fairly common, and since she was a few weeks early there might still be fluid in her ears. I did not think another minute about it.... [read more]
ScarlettScarlett (Idaho)"Scarlett was a special baby..."
When we were around her, all of her friends and family, she had a special gift to make us all feel full of hope and happiness. She is impossible to explain, we just all new that she was just too special to be in this world very long. When we would hold Scarlett we all felt as if the spirit of the Holy Ghost was right within Scarlett. Scarlett had a calming peace about her that gave her family and friends deep happiness within a time of great despair. Scarlett we all know is at the right hand of Jesus, he called her home to complete a mission that we on this earth will never understand.... [read more]
SethSeth (Arizona)"Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine. - Ralph Waldo Emerson..."
On June 22, 2009, a big, beautiful red headed boy came into this cold, harsh world. It was an easy delivery, a fast (and natural!) event - after so many months of waiting, we welcomed 9 pound 1 ounce Seth John Asher with happy, loving arms! Seth was perfect. He cried, he was pink, he ate well and slept well. He was such a blessing and a gift! Our daughter, Sydney, now had a baby brother, and we had a son! After a few very rough weeks for our family, we finally had our precious, beautiful boy...and for a moment, all was right with the world.... [read more]
SianSian (England)"Sian Courtney was born on 11th March 1980, apparently normally after a normal pregnancy..."
She was small for birth-weight but this was not felt to be a problem - it runs in the family. The first few months were uneventful but Siân quickly began to miss her early developmental milestones. She seemed to have problems co-ordinating her movements and we were about to talk to our Health Visitor about her problems in beginning to crawl when, at about 11 months old, she suddenly went into a major fit. A frantic dash to the (fortunately) nearby hospital solved that particular crisis, but then followed an anxious few days as she underwent various tests and her fits were stabilised on Epilim. Our paediatrician was unsure whether the problem was CMV or toxoplasmosis, although no trace of toxoplasmosis could be found in her blood samples. A skull X-ray clearly showed an extensive area of calcification in the lower rear part of Sian's brain - described to us by the paediatrician as the brain's telephone exchange to the rest of her body... [read more]
SophieSophie (Bostwana)"My second child who is 13 months was born by caesarean section on the 28th of June, 2010..."
She weighed 3kg. She was a Caesar baby due to complications I had with my first child. My pregnancy was normal with no complications. At three weeks, the paediatrician picked up that her head was small in circumference but would keep an eye on it... [read more]
SpencerSpencer (Arizona)"Maybe it’s my story. His version would probably be a whole lot different than mine if he could only tell it..."
I got pregnant when I was sixteen. I was a stubborn, impetuous, know it all kid going through a classic teenage rebellion scenario that included parties, boys and sex. We were living in Hawaii at the time and my mom and step dad divorced so my mother and I moved back to the Washington State. I found out after leaving and moving back to the little town I had grown up in that I was pregnant... [read more]
StarlittStarlitt (Connecticut)"Well, me and my husband really wanted to have a baby so we were trying for a while and I couldn't get pregnant..."
Then one day I found out I was pregnant after trying for quite a few months. We were so happy. Me and my husband got into little disagreements on what we wanted, if we wanted a boy or girl. He wanted the boy and I wanted a girl. I got what I wanted...at 3 months I found out that I was having a little girl... [read more]
TamaraTamara (Canada)"Tamara's journey actually started years before she was born..."
My husband and I wanted another child after our son was born in 1997 so in 1999 when our son was 18 months old we decided it was time as we wanted them to be 2-3 years apart in age. After 4 years of trying we were finally pregnant. We were absolutely thrilled and could not wait to share the news with everyone. We went to bed that night but spent many hours discussing the future. Then the next day while I was at work I had a miscarriage. This was in March of 2003... [read more]
TannerTanner (Alabama)"I found out I was pregnant with my 2nd child in March of 2008! I was about 2 months into my pregnancy..."
It was just a another day, but something told me to take a pregnancy test. I wasn't sure if I would be or not, but daddy never had a doubt. He also knew with our first baby, Tyler Matthew, who is now 21 months. I soon went with my sister, who also thought she might be pregnant, to the pregnancy test center. Good news...I'm Pregnant! From the moment I knew for sure my heart stood still, unsure of what to think... [read more]
TheoTheo (England)"It was my first pregnancy and it was all rather exciting, choosing names, all the tiny little clothes, and we’d been so looking forward to having the 20-week scan, desperate to get a glimpse of our growing baby..."
Ok, so it didn’t quite live up to my expectations on the day, the grumpy doctor made me cry (it didn’t take much), telling me off for having an empty bladder, even though I’d drunk loads of water as advised... [read more]
ThomasThomas (Washington)"This is the story of our journey..."
Thomas (my husband) and I tried to conceive for 6 months before succeeding. The day we found out we were pregnant; we were at his mother’s house in the bathroom. We were hugging each other so that neither would look at the test till it was time. Time came, and it showed us two lines. Thomas’ first response was “it is broken!”...It was not... [read more]
TobiasTobias (Florida)"Let's see...Where do I begin...Well...What started off to a good pregnancy led to things going terribly bad..."
My mother and I went to my regular monthly Dr's appointment. We had a routine Ultrasound when I was about 3 months pregnant. They couldn't find out what I was having because he had his legs crossed. So, having Medicaid, you can only have other ultrasounds when having problems so my mom told the nurse I was having complications and not feeling him move too much. So she gave us a script to go to Bayfront Hospital to get a stress test done.When I got there, they did the ultrasound (mind you they still couldn't tell what I was having!). They saw that the blood flow from his umbilical cord had stopped...I was completely shocked. I had no idea that anything like this was happening...So they decided they were gonna make me stay at the hospital just in case his blood flow got reversed (me taking blood from him)... [read more]
TrentonTrenton (Missouri)"Having another child was not in my plans but like I have always been told everything happens for a reason..."
It was a very long and stressful pregnancy. Our baby boy was not growing or moving as much as he should be so my doctor decided it was time to find out why. After an Amniocentesis ruling out any defects we went on with the regular visits but also getting to do an ultrasound every time. It was wonderful getting to watch him develop. Towards the end things began to get worse and that is when they decided that Trenton would have a better chance surviving outside the womb. On July 26, 2006, almost 3 weeks early, Trenton Alexander was born via C-section weighing only 4 pounds 14 ounces. He was immediately rushed to the NICU. I was just getting to my room and the doctors were coming in and asking me to give permission to start platelet transfusions. He was on oxygen and under a warmer... [read more]
WyattWyatt (Texas)"I was about 18 weeks pregnant when Wyatt's father and myself went in for the routine ultrasound..."
Up until this point I had no problems at all, I was expecting a normal in and out appointment with no worries. This is not what happened that day. The ultrasound tech noticed a white spot on Wyatt's bowel; he asked us if cystic fibrosis ran in either of our families and to this we replied no. We asked him what was wrong and he said he was not sure and would have our doctor call us as soon as she looked over everything. I remember driving home thinking, is my son ok? Did I do something wrong? So many things run through your mind when you are not sure of what is going on with your baby. I was thinking the worst, but praying for the best.... [read more]
ZachZach (Florida)"Our cCMV story began on September 8, 2001..."
Up until that point, my pregnancy had been extremely normal, no major complications. On September 6, we had an ultrasound that showed nothing abnormal and we scheduled my c-section for September 17th. (My first child wound up being an emergency c-section as he weighed a hefty 10lbs 2oz). The next day on September 7, 2001, I went into labor unexpectedly. After making one trip to the hospital and being sent home as my contractions stopped, we then turned right back around a couple hours later and drove the hour back to Gainesville as they started back again and were very close together.... [read more]
ZacharyZachary (Texas)"On October 13th 2008, it was just a month before Hurricane Ike hit Houston area. My boyfriend proposed to marry me and we found out few days later we were pregnant......"
It was the most shocking and happiest day of my life. When I just was a month pregnant I got real sick, coughing constantly. I was very worried about my baby but I didn't have an OB yet. I went to the family doctor and I got diagnosed with bronchitis... [read more]
ZiereZiere (North Carolina)"For most, finding out you're expecting becomes a sudden shock mixed with fear and disappointment..."
For me it was nervousness mixed with excitement. Nervous because I wanted to be the best mother and excited because I couldn't wait to hear the words "it's a girl"! However, my pregnancy wasn't as peachy as it is for most. When a mother is carrying a child she is already under stress because of her hormones and most of all being able to go through her childbirth normally and successfully. My pregnancy was considered highrisk from 4 1/2 months until I had my baby girl. The genetics doctors and so on told me that she was born with CMV and going to have multiple handicaps, they just didn't know how severe or mild it was going to be. Can you imagine doctors telling you that something is going to be wrong with your child and there is no cure. She could be blind, deaf, not walk, nor talk and motor skills could be delayed... [read more]
