The beautiful Tracy Colliton Brown with her daughter's Holland Joy (14 month) and Bridget Mae (2 months).
Tracy's pregnancy with Holland was great until she started bleeding at 23 weeks. They couldn't quite figure out what was going on so she made it her goal to get to 24 weeks, then 28 and so on. The bleeding continued every few weeks but they never could find a real cause other than suspected placental insufficiency. Tracy pushed to see an MFM who increased monitoring and scheduled weekly scans. The bleeding continued, her fluid levels began to diminish and Holland wasn't growing as expected. She was ultimately diagnosed with Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) as well. Tracy had been on bedrest from 24 to 34 weeks when she ended up delivering Holland after induction. Holland spent the next 10 days in NICU and Tracy says the most painful thing she's ever done was leave the hospital without her baby. Thankfully, Holland was able to learn to breath and eat quickly and came home without further complication just shy of 5 lbs. Tracy had pumped for Holland for a while but developed postpartum anxiety and knew that she needed to start getting some rest and take care of herself. She was very surprised to learn she was pregnant again just before Holland turned 3 months old. She had an early scan and was told that they couldn't see all of the things they need to, so she should come back in two weeks. She did and was told that her baby was not going to survive. Her doctor told her to take a week to let nature take it's course and if it hadn't they could talk about a D&C. When she went back a week later, her daughter was just fine. The rest of her pregnancy proceeded without complication and she was able to carry to term and have an uncomplicated vaginal delivery. Tracy tried for two sleepless nights in hospital to breastfeed Bridget before making the choice to formula feed again. Tracy says that after having 2 babies in the span of 50 weeks her body has changed drastically. Also, having two daughters, she wants to set a good example and teach her girls to be content with their bodies.