Four years after saying goodbye to her first child and becoming an empty nester, a mother was taken aback when she discovered she was pregnant when she thought she was going through perimenopause. Vikki Jenkins, now 46, stated that she was overjoyed when her periods stopped near the end of 2021, and I’m sure many other women may relate.
She was having hot flashes, mood swings, and an irregular menstrual cycle, and because she was in her mid-40s, she assumed her body was going through the natural menopause transition. It’s relatively unusual for women in their 40s to have perimenopause, but Vikki quickly realized that this was not the case for her.
In reality, she was pregnant with her second child, with her husband Matt about to experience fatherhood for the first time at the age of 50. Recalling the moment she found out, Vikki said: “Having a baby was never part of our plan together, so Rory was a total surprise. I thought I was starting perimenopause because I was having hot flashes, and mood swings and my periods stopped.
“After going through some really crazy emotions, one day when I was on my way to work I stopped at a shop and I decided I should take a test but I never in a million years thought that it would be positive.” Vikki still struggled to believe the truth even after the test came up positive, and ‘immediately ran to the store to buy four more tests’.
She went home to tell Matt when they all came back positive. “As I was home early from work and needed to tell him something, he asked if I was leaving him,” Vikki recalled. “I told him the news and he told me he’d had a gut feeling I was pregnant for the past two weeks.” Vikki was around 11 weeks pregnant when she found out she was expecting, but she had a difficult first trimester due to panic attacks, paranoia, insomnia, and anxiety.
Thankfully it was all ‘smooth sailing’ after that, with Vikki saying: “On 27 May 2022 we welcomed our baby girl after a fast and furious natural birth. “She was born with down syndrome, but luckily she doesn’t have any of the health problems that commonly come alongside this. She is very healthy and is progressing amazingly.”
The mother revealed that the birth of their child, Rory, was an ‘adjustment’ for her and Matt, who were certain they didn’t want children. Rory is the ‘best baby ever,’ according to her. “She is the best thing that has ever happened to us and we couldn’t imagine our life any other way.
When we are away from her if she is staying at her grandparent’s house, we miss her so much,” Vikki said. Meanwhile, Matt has been utterly swept away by the arrival of his daughter, saying that he never realized how much love he could feel for a child. “Rory has changed everything,” he said.
“When Vikki told me she was pregnant, I was excited right away even though it wasn’t planned and I had never expected to have kids of my own because I have nieces and nephews that I have watched grow up. Having Rory has totally changed my perspective on life.”