‘Miracle’ baby a dream come true for couple
FRIDAY THE 13TH ANYTHING BUT UNLUCKY FOR THE PARENTS OF BABY GIRL BORN THANKS TO IVF TREATMENT
A COUPLE who have welcomed a “miracle baby” after undergoing IVF treatment say Friday 13th is the lucky day of all for them after their daughter’s conception began then and she was born nine months later on the 13th.
Parents Nikki and Lauren Hughes have said they are “eternally grateful” to midwives in Burton after baby Harper arrived, giving them their dream family.
Nikki, 33, said Harper has been a miracle for them and has shown that she already has a fighting spirit. She said: “Some people are superstitious about Friday 13th but it was a good day for us. My egg collection was on Friday, 13 August, and Harper was born on Friday, 13 May exactly nine months later. She is literally our little miracle.
“She’s amazing, she was such a little dot in size 0 nappies but she’s already come such a long way. She is putting on weight and she’s got the cutest chubby cheeks. She is just so chilled, we feel very lucky.”
The couple, from Swadlincote, have told how they now feel “complete” after having to undergo fertility treatment and a difficult pregnancy. They said the team at Burton’s Queen’s Hospital “invested” in them and helped them “more than they know” after Lauren fell pregnant using Nikki’s eggs.
Nikki said: “We first looked into IVF in December 2020 and went to a fertility clinic in Birmingham. We had our first round of IVF in March 2021 but it wasn’t successful. We were getting married in May that year so we just focused our energy on the wedding and decided to try again in August.
“We had our second attempt at egg collection on Friday, August 13. The egg was implanted in September and we fell pregnant. We were completely over the moon.”
Despite getting pregnant quite quickly, the pair were left worried when Lauren started bleeding at 12 weeks. But in stepped the team at Burton hospital at this point to help the couple. They discovered
Lauren had a haematoma and offered the concerned couple extra scans.
Nikki said: “It was worrying but they really looked after us. They do extra scans for IVF pregnancy anyway because sometimes they are smaller babies or they see a drop in growth so they were monitoring us a lot. At the 34-week scan, the baby’s growth slowed down so they decided to induce Lauren at 37 weeks.”
Nikki said the couple was a bit concerned about having to be induced but their experience was straightforward. The new mum said: “Lauren was induced at midday on the Thursday and the midwives advised us to get up and get moving which can help move things along.
“We walked the hospital grounds for the whole afternoon and we were up and down the stairs trying to get baby moving, which must have worked because Lauren’s contractions started that evening. I was at home and at 2am I got a call to say Lauren’s waters had broke.”
On Friday, May 13, 30 hours after she was induced, Lauren gave birth to the couple’s daughter Harper Joy Amy Hughes, who weighed four pounds and 14 ounces. Nikki said: “Everyone was brilliant and we had the best midwife for delivery; she was amazing.
“I don’t think people realise how much midwives do, it’s so much more than just being there. They invest in you. Everyone we saw on the delivery suite was great, we couldn’t fault them.”
The couple say they are grateful for the opportunity to have a family through IVF and would encourage others not to be put off by the process. Nikki said: “When we did the second round of IVF only one embryo was viable and the doctors said it was only average so not to have too much hope.
“We basically had one shot. Then all the problems came with the haematoma and the bleeding and even when Harper arrived she was born so small they were worried about her putting on weight.
“But she is just a little fighter and we are so proud of her - we wouldn’t change a thing. It is so hard to describe the feeling we have right now. It’s like my heart has grown so much bigger than it already was.
“You don’t know how you can possibly love someone so much but she is our daughter and we have to pinch ourselves that she is here and she is ours. It is so hard to describe the feeling we have right now. Finally, we’ve got our little family, we are complete.”
We have to pinch ourselves that she is here and that she is ours.
Nikki Hughes