With third son, they knew ‘something’s really wrong’
“All of our kids have kind of been accidents. Our first one, we were still sort of dating when I accidentally got pregnant. We were like, well, are we ready to go through with this and do the whole shebang? We decided to see if we were still compatible after being pregnant and having the baby. It went well. Archer was born, and we did great together. We ended up buying a house, still not married. We bought cars, still not married. All that stuff.
“Then we were like, OK, we’re not going to get pregnant again for a while. What happens? We end up getting pregnant. Our second, Judah, was 14 months apart. People were like, you’re crazy for doing this again so soon. But I was like, man, we’re going to be fine. We got this. We are totally ready for parenting and everything. And we decided, OK, we’re going to be really careful and not get pregnant again. But we did.
“Archer and Judah were normal pregnancies. And everything was fine the third time, until our three-month ultrasound. They found a bright speck where the kidney would be. The doctor said not to worry, but we’re going to follow up and do this genetic bloodwork to make sure everything’s in order. It came back, and it was good. It was normal. We also learned we were having another boy.
“Then came the five-month ultrasound. It’s the anatomy one where they look at all the organs. It’s also where you officially see the gender for the first time. We brought our boys. We thought it would be a blast. We’d introduce them to their new brother. But the ultrasound tech was really quiet. Not as perky as usual, which was strange. And it was a long ultrasound. Obviously, it was because they were seeing some things that were abnormal. When she said, ‘I’m going to get the doctor,’ we were like, oh shit, something’s really wrong.”
— Marilyn Heredia
Their baby, Oliver, had a lower urinary tract obstruction. The rare birth defect is a blockage in the urethra, which carries urine out of the bladder and into the amniotic sac. Urine was backing up to the kidneys, and a fetal procedure to drain the urine didn’t work.
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