Most women spend months prepping for their baby to arrive — from Lamaze classes to stocking up on items from their baby registry. Lauren Chalk of Southaven, Mississippi, however, had considerably less time than most to get ready for her newborn son, Wyatt. Like, WAY less time. Believe it or not, Chalk had no idea she was even pregnant until 10 days before she gave birth. Now, she's sharing the details of her incredible journey to motherhood with CafeMom, and it certainly comes with more twists and turns than most birth stories we've heard.
Chalk says the past few months everything seemed normal, but it was her mother who first noticed that something was just a little bit ... off.
She and her husband, Keith, were visiting her parents in November when her mother noticed she wasn't herself.
"She said, 'I think your hormones might be out of whack,'" Chalk tells CafeMom. It made sense, because she has Polycystic ovary syndrome, a hormone disorder that causes ovaries to possibly "develop numerous small collections of follicles and fail to regularly release eggs," the Mayo Clinic noted.
Unfortunately, PCOS can also make getting pregnant — and staying pregnant — difficult. Sadly, that's something Chalk knows all too well.
"I’ve had two miscarriages throughout our marriage," she explains. "One was in 2014. By the time I had taken a pregnancy test, I had already lost the baby and not realized."
"The second was in 2016," she continues. "I was about six weeks along when we had the ultrasound and no heartbeat was heard."
Shortly before Christmas of that year, she underwent a dilation and curettage.
This time, things would be different. When Chalk took a pregnancy test November 23, she was shocked to learn she was pregnant again.
Unfortunately, it was the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and she still had to wait for an appointment to confirm the news with her doctor. She set one with a new OB for December 3, but one day before, she noticed some spotting. Concerned, she made an emergency appointment with a different doctor at Baptist Women’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
"Because my blood pressure was so high, they opted to do an ultrasound to see how far along I was," she recalls. "My husband and I had prepared to be about four to five months pregnant, but we learned I was 38 weeks and 5 days pregnant."
To say this caught the couple off-guard would be quite the understatement.
"We were just in shock," Chalk says. "Completely thrilled, but in so much shock."
The whole pregnancy had been one big giant surprise. Especially because Chalk didn't display the usual symptoms.
"I never experienced morning sickness and wore my normal clothes throughout the pregnancy," she says.
Within the hour, Chalk was admitted to the hospital -- the baby was on its way!
Chalk was already 2 1/2 centimeters dilated when she checked into the office, but by the time she was admitted to the adjoining hospital, things were moving fast.
"My water was broken about two hours into being induced," she recalls. "It all happened so quickly. My doctor’s appointment was at 10:50 a.m. and by 8:06 p.m. I had a baby."
Wyatt River Chalk was born that night, December 2, weighing 5 lbs., 8 oz., and measuring 17 3/4 inches long.
"I’m biased, but I think he is absolutely perfect," Chalk tells us with a laugh.
The next day, her newborn was brought to the newborn intensive care unit, where he was treated for low blood sugar and jaundice. But otherwise, he was happy and healthy.
"By the Friday after he was born, his sugar had drastically improved and he didn’t have to be under the phototherapy lights anymore," his mom says.
"We were both discharged on Saturday, December 7. I ended up having fluid on my lungs so they had me stay for further testing, but we got discharged on the same day," she notes.
Now mom and baby are at home, where they're getting ready for the holidays. Although the shock has since worn off, Chalk is well aware of how lucky she was. In fact, she credits her faith for her miraculous surprise pregnancy.
"I had no prenatal care," she says. "For Wyatt to be healthy is truly a blessing from the Lord. I want my story to be a reflection of the gospel of Christ in my life."
This year, Christmas celebrations have an entirely new level of joy for the new parents.
"It is seriously the best Christmas gift we could ever receive and I'm forever grateful," she says. "I never thought I’d have my rainbow baby, but he absolutely is. For me, the rainbow reflects the promises of God. It’s fitting that Wyatt is a rainbow baby, because I know God is the only reason I was blessed with my sweet baby."
Chalk says that because she and her husband had decided that she wasn't going to be able to have children, they were content, but that's what made this sudden birth even more surprising.
"Now that we are home, I can’t imagine not having him. It is so crazy to love someone that I didn’t even realize I was growing," she says. "My takeaway is that anything is possible with Christ. I truly believe that He worked everything out for His glory."
