On the morning of July 30, 2014, we headed to the hospital after Ashley had been experiencing strong contractions all morning. We were just four short days away from our baby girl's due date, so we thought for sure we would soon be coming home with a baby. After having what felt like a picture perfect pregnancy, we headed to the hospital with very little fear. We were experiencing pure joy and excitement to be welcoming our first baby into our lives. Shortly after arriving at the hospital, a nurse attempted to find Charlotte's heartbeat. She was having some trouble and asked where our doctor had found it at our last appointment. Since we had just seen the doctor the day before and Charlotte's heart rate was strong, we didn't worry. When the nurse still couldn't find her heartbeat, she brought in another more experienced nurse to help out. Not long after that, we found out that the worst had happened. Our baby girl's heart had stopped beating. Charlotte Kae Sauer was born later that day at 3:07 pm. She was a beautiful 7 lbs. 2 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long. Charlotte was perfect in every way -- if only her heart would have been beating. The doctor informed us that Charlotte had a very tight true knot in her cord and the cord was also wrapped around her neck one time. Our doctor thought when Ashley started having contractions and Charlotte started to move into the birth canal is when the knot tightened. Our baby girl was ready to officially meet us, she just couldn't get here. About 14 months later, we found out that Ashley was pregnant with our second child – our rainbow baby. Even though doctor's assured us that what happened with Charlotte was very rare, we were still terrified throughout this pregnancy. The odds had not been in our favor when we lost Charlotte, so how could we trust that they would be this time around? At our 20 week ultrasound, our baby looked great. We found out that Charlotte had a baby brother! Because of what happened with Charlotte, our doctor ordered extra ultrasounds for this pregnancy. At our 26 week ultrasound, we found out that Ashley's amniotic fluid was measuring on the low end of normal. Another ultrasound two weeks later showed that the amniotic fluid was officially in the low range. We were then referred to a specialist and seen one week later. The amniotic fluid was measuring low enough that the doctor sent us to the hospital to be admitted for extra monitoring. Our baby boy always looked strong on the monitors, so a week later, Ashley was released from the hospital. Less than a week after being released, at a follow up appointment, the specialist decided that because Ashley's fluid was low again and we didn't know why, he wanted her to be readmitted to the hospital. This time, for the duration of the pregnancy. Because they didn't know the reason for the lower amniotic fluid and because of us losing Charlotte, they thought it best Ashley and the baby stay in the hospital for close monitoring. Our baby boy looked great on the monitors for several weeks. We were starting to think we might actually make it all the way to 37 weeks, which would have been a great feat considering we had no idea what was causing the low fluid. Unfortunately, once we reached 34 weeks, Ashley started feeling less and less movement. The monitors showed that our baby boy just wasn't as active as he had been. The on-call doctor decided that he didn't want to put the baby at risk any longer. Benjamin James Sauer, our little miracle, was born at 34 weeks and one day on May 10, 2016. He was a mere 4 lbs. 14 oz., but he was here alive and healthy! He did have to work on some breathing issues and learn to eat on his own. After 19 days in the NICU, we were able to bring our baby home with us. To be able to leave the hospital with a baby was a wonderful feeling. We are so thankful for the diligent doctors and nurses that took the time to do the extra monitoring and listened when we felt like things were off. We truly believe that Charlotte was watching out for her baby brother. If it weren't for her, we wouldn't have even had that extra ultrasound at 26 weeks. Who knows how and when we would have found out about the low amniotic fluid? Our family participates in March for Babies in hopes that one day, no one will have to hear the words, “There is no heartbeat.” We hope that one day, all babies can be born into this world alive and healthy. We hope that each day, less and less babies are born prematurely. We hope that the ones that are born prematurely are able to grow big and strong, and grow up to live a long, healthy, happy life.