My husband and I had been engaged since Christmas Eve 2005. We had a pretty long engagement (14 months) and around November of 2006 (4 months before the planned wedding) we found out that I was "with child". We were still planning to go through with the 150 guest wedding assuming I wouldn't be showing all that much by March 3rd. Six weeks later, we were in for quite a shock when we were informed that there were not one but TWO little ones on the way. There went my hopes of fitting into my beautiful wedding gown that had been purchased months prior.
About 2 weeks before the wedding, I purchased a maternity wedding gown which I loved, shortened our vows so that I wouldn't pass out from standing too long, and tried my best to take care of all the loose ends of the wedding planning as my quickly-expanding belly grew harder and harder to conceal. The Thursday before the wedding my to-do list was so long it actually spilled into Friday's slot. I managed to get half of it done before my 20 week check-up and figured I would enlist the help of the fiance to complete the list after the appointment. Below is an exerpt from my planner that I still look at and get teary every now and then:
*pick up dress from cleaners
*confirm limo pick-up time
*call "The Perfect Face"
*buy razors
*burn cd's for favors
The ultrasound showed that my cervix had funneled/shortened to a length that Dr. Scary made out to be ungodly (more on that later). I was immediately admitted to the hospital for an emergency cerclage (surgery where cervix is stitched shut). Everything after that point is a blur. No, I did not get to cross anything else off of my to-do list. No, I did not get to attend my rehearsal dinner the next night. No, I did not have the wedding I had looked forward to for the past 14 months. And no, I will probably never know what it's like to walk down an aisle and be greeted by the love of my life. What I did get however, was something I would have given my own life for and that's the health of my baby boys. And the rest is history.
