The stunning Caley Kolb, Joslyn (5) and Finley (9 months). Caley also lost a baby to miscarriage at 8 weeks, August 24, 2014.
Caley and the man who is now her husband have been together since she was 15, and always had plans of starting a family some day but she conceived her first daughter a bit sooner than they'd expected. During this pregnancy Caley says that she very much did what she was told. Her Grandmother worked at her OB's office and she simply followed all of their guidelines, not thinking she could or should do anything differently. While she was looking forward to labor and delivery, she was encouraged to schedule a cesarean birth due to her daughters size. Joslyn was a big baby at 10lbs 2 oz, but Caley had a difficult time after her birth reconciling the fact that she was never able to even try to give birth on her own.
When they were ready for a second child, Caley and her husband tried and tried but it just wasn't happening. She has PCOS and hypothyroidism and was told that they would likely need help to conceive. After six cycles of Clomid and several attempts at IUI, they decided to try IVF and were able to conceive on their first attempt. At 8 weeks, however, Caley's HCG levels weren't what they were should be and her doctor told her she had a tubal pregnancy and they needed to go in right away to remove it. This all happened on a Sunday and on top of all the emotions, surrounding celebrating a very wanted pregnancy and then suffering a loss, Caley's doctor made it clear that this was all a big inconvenience to him as he had other plans for the day. She was taken for a laparoscopic surgery to remove the pregnancy and later learned that it wasn't tubal, but had implanted in her uterus. She says that she will forever wonder if that baby would have been okay if they just waited.
As Caley grieved, they knew they'd want to try again but needed some space. When she went back to the doctor however, to check her levels, she learned that she was already pregnant again. They found themselves removed from the pregnancy initially as they adjusted to life after loss. Things progressed well and she knew that this time she wanted to do everything in her power to have a VBAC. Caley switched doctors about five times throughout her pregnancy because while her doctors agreed to allow her a trial of labors, it didn't feel as if they truly supported her. When she finally found a provider she was comfortable with, she was disappointed to learn she'd need to be induced. Thankfully, her doctor was able to induce her gently and she got to have the birth she had hoped for.
Unfortunately, Finley had difficulty breathing when she was born and was taken immediately to NICU. Not being able to bring her baby to her chest and hold her was difficult but she's continued to try to focus on the birth and achieving her goals there. Finley was Coombs positive and stayed in NICU for a week to treat jaundice and get her breathing stabilized. Caley was able to begin breastfeeding without complication in the hospital and they continue to share a wonderful nursing relationship.
Having struggled with body image herself, and being the mother to girls, celebrating herself and her journey with her daughters was an incredibly important leap for Caley.