Meet Gabriella

• Baby Saves

• 04.28.26

“When I hit the second trimester I kept hearing that I should be feeling kicks soon.  I was so anxious as we had been trying for 4 years and I was considered high-risk. As this was my first baby I kept waiting and doing my best to be patient to feel those kicks.

Once I felt the first flutter, I couldn’t stop waiting for the next one. My OB-GYN would ask me how often I felt my baby move and the level of intensity. I couldn’t really answer that question. I tried to write it down, but when you are in the moment it is hard to remember to get up and write it down. I saw a recommendation on Google to use the Count the Kicks app. 

Using the app made it so much easier for me to track her movements and see over time if there was a trend. I noticed she was most active at bedtime for about 10 minutes when I was laying down, but she was mostly quiet during the day. I also loved how I could rate the intensity of her kicks as I progressed. 

At 30 weeks I had horrible sharp pain right after I woke up and went to the hospital. I spent about four hours in the triage room. They could see the waves of pain on the monitor, but my vitals seemed to be fine besides that. My pain subsided and I was discharged and was told it was dehydration. 

The next day at the same time my pain came back worse. I spent half the day trying to hydrate and manage the pain. I then started feeling my baby kick aggressively and more frequently. I knew I needed to go to the hospital as something was very wrong. 

I thought I was in labor, as I was screaming in pain. I was admitted again and they could not figure out what was wrong. My baby’s heart rate seemed fine, ultrasound seemed fine, and I was not bleeding or dilated. All the tests came back clear. At one point I was told it was gas. 

While in the hospital bed I was tracking the kicks through the app just to distract myself and make sure she was still moving. I told them something was very wrong as my baby is kicking harder and more frequently than normal. They thought that was a positive thing, but I knew it was so extreme it was not OK. It wasn’t until the next morning where five specialists came in trying to figure out what was wrong with me, and they were still not sure. 

It wasn’t until I told them I just started feeling pain in my right shoulder that they figured it out. That specific pain, plus my hemoglobin was trending down, plus the aggressive pain and kicking they believed I was bleeding internally. They prepped me for an emergency cesarean section instantly. 

They put me to sleep because they were worried how much blood was in there. I had a 4 centimeter uterine rupture with a blood clot that was the size of two fist fulls. Luckily she was OK. Super early, but OK. After 63 days in the NICU our baby girl got to come home with us. 

I share my experience not to scare anyone, but I was glad I took the time to be informed about my baby’s movement where I could clearly show what was normal versus not for her. I didn’t just go off my intuition or a guess — I had a record to show when I was not in the state of mind to remember those details. This app was simple, easy to use, and in the end so helpful.

My advice for others would be to try to be mindful in setting aside time each day to just pay attention and monitor your baby’s kicks with the app. I was a very active and busy person, so bedtime was the best for me.” -Leticia G, Gabriella’s mom