"We fell pregnant with carter via IVF, everything was going great. We got to our 12 week scan and was told he has a few small cysts on the umbilical cord and nothing to worry about. When we got to the 20 week scan the cysts had grown and multiplied and we were being referred to a different hospital. We got in the next week and with more scans done they confirmed the cysts we’re getting bigger but Carter also had a hole in his heart that they would need to monitor. We were put on appointments every 2 weeks.

We got to 23 weeks and I started to bleed, I went straight to maternity ward where we were told I was 3cm dialated. Where I then spent a week in hospital monitoring the situation. I was let out just after 24 weeks with everything ok and no sign of him coming. Our next scan showing again the cysts were growing at a rapid rate and was put on weekly scans. By 29 weeks Carter's movements had basically come to a stop and couldn’t feel him which turned into weekly scans and 2x weekly ctgs.

At 34 weeks I started to feel very unwell and dizzy, I went to my ctg appointment the next day and that’s where everything changed, Carter's heart rate dropped below 80, nurses came in with a Doctor to find out what was going on. His heart rate went back to normal for 20 min before dropping again, I was raced around to birthing unit for extremely close monitoring. He was stable for 1.5 hours before dropping again to lower then before. Nurses and drs rushed in and when we got to 6 minutes the dr called it and pressed the emergency button and we were off to surgery.

By the time we got to the operation room Carter's heart rate was completely stopped. As they were putting me to sleep I remember the nurse saying we have a heart rate again but it was to late Carter was coming out whether we liked it or not.

I met my son 4 hours later in NICU and saw him for the first time, his umbilical cord was 15cm in length and 5cm thick. The cysts had turned into one massive one. He was weighed in at 2.25kg including the cord drs estimated carter weighed 1.6kg without his cord.

He spent a week and a half in NICU before being able to travel to a different hospital to go in SCN where he spent a week there before being discharged. He is now 16 months and thriving - our doctors and nurses are the reason he is here with mummy daddy and his big sister."