We had our son Logan in 2012 and our daughter Lydia in 2015. After a couple of years of deciding on whether to have a third, we got pregnant in the summer of 2019, due in March 2020. In July 2019, when Mindy was at 8 weeks, she started to have bleeding, cramping, and pain. At which point, we realized that we had a miscarriage.
Over the next few months, we decided to try again as we knew we wanted to have another child; a rainbow baby. We found out we were expecting again in November of 2019, due in July 2020. We were able to surprise our kids with a Christmas Present of a baby toy and an Ultrasound photo. To see the look on our kids' faces when we told them that we were expecting again was a sight to behold. As we were getting ready for our child's 20 week appointment, my wife started to feel some pain and discomfort. So, we scheduled an appointment just to make sure everything was fine, as the previous appointments had shown. However, our rainbow baby didn't come; as our child's heartbeat was not found on February 21, 2020. We had two ultrasounds to confirm our worst nightmare. At 20 weeks along, we had to come to the hospital the next day so Mindy could deliver our child. After 18 hours of labor, Shay Nathaniel was born at 12:34 am on February 23, 2020, weighing 5.6 ounces and 8 inches long. We were so thankful for our nurses and doctors, our family and friends, and co-workers; we were numb and did not know where to turn.
Then COVID hit, and threw our entire life into chaos. A family trip to Disney World, to honor the due date of our miscarriage was canceled. Our Life Group had to be postponed due to COVID. Testing was performed on Mindy and Shay and nothing was found. So, after deep prayer, we decided to try again.
In October 2020, we found out we were expecting again. This time, we talked with Mindy's doctor and decided to have weekly appointments. Every week we were given more and more hope, as heartbeats were found and healthy, and ultrasounds were good. Our double rainbow baby was perfect and healthy. So, at our 17 week appointment, we were expecting the same as before. However, our lives were shattered again, as again, our baby's heartbeat was not found in the ultrasound. Again, we needed to go to the hospital. At 8:30 pm on January 13, 2021, Liam Alexander Kesling was born still, weighing 3 ounces and 6.25 inches long. As this is very fresh in our minds, we have been struggling mightily. Again, the tests were performed and again, nothing was found. After Shay's passing, we still held out hope as we were thinking it was a "fluke" and we would try again. Now that it has happened again, with no clear results as to why, we are very confused and very unsure of what to do now. We appreciate everyone who has ever reached out to us, including Lindsay who got us involved with No Foot Too Small.
We just wanted to share our story to let others know that even though we've been through a lot in the past 18 months, we are still fighting, and still want to help others, as best we can.
IN HONOR AND CELEBRATION OF SHAY + LIAM, DONATIONS CAN BE MADE HERE. ON BEHALF OF THE KESLING FAMILY, THANK YOU FOR YOUR GIFT.
