By Wesley Goheen
Saginaw, MI (WNEM) — For most women, when they find out they’re pregnant, they spend the next several months knee deep in the details. From picking a name to creating a nursery. But not one local mom.
When she went into labor, she didn’t even know she was pregnant!
Anyone with boys knows love is loud, rough and never stops moving. In the Arnold home, there’s a lot of love to go around.
There’s 6-year-old Mikey, 5-year-old Mason and 11-month-old Maddox. They’re just a typical family trying to make it all work but sometimes things slip through the cracks.
And on January 17, that “thing” sent Mandy Arnold to McLaren Regional Medical Center’s emergency room.
Turns out, mom really does know best. And this mom of three was about to be a mother of four.
With her husband on the job an hour away, she shared the news the only way she could. By text. And the texts kept coming.
So Mike hit the road and minutes later, Mandy delivered a 6 pound 2 ounce perfectly healthy baby. A baby they named Maverick.
But how could this happen?
After doing the math, Mandy got pregnant just weeks after little Maddox was born.
But a pregnancy test at her post-partum visit came up negative. Her period eventually returned and she says unlike her other pregnancies, there were no tell tale signs and she only gained three pounds!
Dr. Veerayyagari Annapurna was on the job when Maverick made his surprise appearance. Something she’s never seen but says can happen.
“It’s not very common but it’s not rare either. We have seen women get pregnant not knowing while they are breast feeding their child and this baby may be an exception to the rule,” says Annapurna.
A surprise addition that can even calm this rowdy clan.
Dr. Annapurna also says because pregnancy hormones subside as the months go on, most pregnant women will test negative in their later months. Just something to keep in mind.