Kim Walsh, 38, Merrylands, NSW
‘You’re so sweet,’ I sighed as my trusty German shepherd placed his paw gently on my tummy.
My pet dog Bear just knew I was feeling under the weather. For the last two days I’d had awful stomach cramps. Period pains, I thought.
I’d been diagnosed with polycystic ovaries in my early 20s, so irregular periods and pain were just something I’d got used to over the years.
It wasn’t the only thing I’d resigned myself to.
‘It’s unlikely you’ll get pregnant naturally,’ a doctor had said, and recently I’d been told it was impossible. As my condition means I rarely ovulate, having a baby without medical intervention would be like winning the lotto!
‘If it’s meant to be, it will be,’ I said to my hubby Anthony, 42.
“I just thought I’d put on a few kilos with stress”
At least we had Bear to keep us company. He sensed my need for love, and for months he’d been protective of me.
He’d drape himself over me, cuddling my tummy, trying to make me feel better. Now my period pains were so bad I was off work.
And that night, something strange happened. ‘I think I wet the bed,’ I told Anthony, embarrassed. ‘Can you take me to the doctor?’
I was surprised when my GP ordered a pregnancy test. There was no point. It was impossible! But the result had me spluttering in surprise. ‘
It’s positive,’ the nurse smiled. ‘It can’t be,’ I blustered.
The doctor said I needed to go to hospital to see how far along I was. Racing outside, I gave Anthony the news. He was so shocked he could hardly talk!
We were going to be parents. If only we’d known just how soon…
An ultrasound confirmed my pregnancy. But at 170 kilos, it was difficult to figure out how far along I was.
It didn’t matter though. As another cramp hit me, it was obvious this wasn’t period pain. I was in labour!
‘You’re going to have this baby in the next 48 hours,’ the doctor said. My waters had even broken! How could I not have known?
Anthony was as confused as I was. There’d been no morning sickness, fatigue or cravings – or an obvious baby bump.
‘I just thought I’d put on a few kilos with stress,’ I gasped.
But with all the excitement, there was also worrying news. A monitor picked up problems with the baby and my doctor, Dr McCusker, decided I needed an emergency caesarean.
I found out I was pregnant just two hours before my baby girl was born. ‘She’s perfect!’ Dr McCusker said. At 37 weeks, she was almost full-term.
We named her Shelby, and as Anthony and I cradled our little miracle, we felt awestruck.
‘You’re lucky,’ Dr McCusker told us, explaining Shelby had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. If we’d got to hospital any later, the outcome could’ve been very different.
I felt so grateful and, thinking about it, I realised there was someone who’d known all along about my pregnancy. Bear. He started behaving strangely around the time I conceived and now Shelby’s here, he loves our little girl.
But one thing’s for sure, if he acts like that again, I’ll take a pregnancy test straight away!
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