The first Christmas with our miracle baby
At the age of 51, Wendy Lewis finds it was worth the wait now that she can spend the festive season at home with her son James
WENDY LEWIS never believed she would become a mum. Her polycystic ovaries meant she struggled to conceive naturally and, at 49, she was sure she’d be too old for IVF treatment.
Even when she did finally become pregnant, she was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia and her baby James was born dangerously early. But against the odds Wendy is celebrating Christmas with the healthy miracle baby she had always hoped for.
Wendy, now 51, says: “James really was the best Christmas present we could have asked for. For so long, I truly believed I would never become a mum – so to hold James in my arms was the most incredible feeling. He really is the proof that miracles do happen.
“And this year, we will be spending our first Christmas at home as a family – something that I only dared dream about.”
Wendy and her husband, Andrew, 50, started trying for a baby after their wedding in 2013, a year after they met through on online dating agency.
The happy couple couldn’t wait to start a family, but Wendy, from Rothley, Leicestershire, was diagnosed with polycystic ovaries and told it would be very difficult to fall pregnant naturally.
Wendy was told the NHS only funds IVF treatment for women aged 42 and under.
“I thought all my chances of becoming a mum had ended,” says Wendy. “I almost resigned myself that it was over.”
But, after doing some research, the couple found CARE fertility in Nottingham and arranged to see a consultant. Wendy was told she would be eligible for treatment until she was 53 and the couple were given their first glimmer of hope in years.
They paid the £9,000 bill and agreed to use donor eggs to maximise their chances of getting pregnant.
Wendy also lost two stone to meet the IVF criteria and started the process in April 2017.
“We were told there was a 60 per cent chance of the first attempt being successful, which we were very optimistic about,” says Wendy. “I just thought if it is meant to be, it will happen.”
And it did. On Father’s Day last year, Wendy discovered she was having a baby.
“I just cried and cried in disbelief and amazement as Andrew and I hugged one another,” she remembers.
Although the pregnancy went well initially, the 20-week scan revealed the couple’s unborn baby wasn’t growing at the rate doctors would have hoped for.
Then Wendy was diagnosed
with preeclampsia and told their baby may not be receiving sufficient fluids.
“All I could do was rest and pray our unborn child could stay put for as long as possible,” says Wendy.
At 29 weeks she had an emergency caesarean section.
“I was terrified,” she says. “I knew it was still far too early for our baby to arrive.”
Baby James was born weighing a tiny 1lb 13oz and needed urgent medical attention, meaning Wendy couldn’t even hold her newborn son.
“I was so worried after everything we had all been through that James wouldn’t make it,” she says. “Although I couldn’t cuddle James, Andrew was allowed to see him for a few minutes in the theatre and got to hold his hand.
JAMES was rushed to the neo-natal department where he was placed on a ventilator. “I finally got to see James later that evening,” says Wendy. “I couldn’t believe how tiny he was but I just knew in my heart of hearts he was going to make it.”
Then when James was oneday-old, Wendy got to hold her precious son for the first time.
“He could fit perfectly into the palm of my hand. I felt like the happiest mum alive. James was perfect in every way.”
When James was eight weeks old – a fortnight before his actual due date – Wendy and Andrew were finally able to take him home.
As last Christmas was spent in hospital, this year, James, who is now 15lbs, will spend his first Christmas Day at home.
Wendy said: “He will be spoilt rotten. I can’t wait to see him tear open all his presents and watch the look of sheer delight on his face.
“It may have taken for me to reach 51 for me to spend my first Christmas at home as a mum but it will be worth every second of the wait.”
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