Kylee and Blake began their story 9 years ago on a strong foundation of friendship and frozen custard, and (finally) got married last year in October! Since the wedding, the two have been so excited to begin building their family with bunches of love to share with a sweet little one.

In beginning this process, the two found that they were likely to require fertility intervention due to Kylee’s struggle with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) which prevented her body from easily and naturally conceiving. Right before they were set to begin fertility treatment…Baby Nelson beat all odds and introduced herself in August of 2023!

While Kylee’s pregnancy has been beautiful and something she has enjoyed greatly, Baby Nelson has definitely given her a run for her money! The pregnancy began with quite a few scares that were eventually eased, leading into a few months of a relatively healthy pregnant life. Recently, we noticed that Kylee’s body had begun to swell much more than is normal within this stage of pregnancy. Because of her busy lifestyle, we figured she was just working too much and not allowing herself enough rest which resulted in some minor treatment options of rest, ice, and elevation in hopes of reducing the swelling.

On Saturday, December 16th, Kylee noticed that the swelling and pain were beginning to take over multiple parts of her body. The previous swelling of her ankles became painful and rose all the way up to the back of her knees. Her hands and arms grew painful, as well, along with her face and eyes. Being in such an uncomfortable and painful state, Kylee and Blake reached out to their OB care provider to schedule a routine appointment just to check up on her and the baby and hopefully find some answers as to why this was happening to her body - especially so early on.

On the 18th, the two went in to complete blood tests to take a closer look at what was happening in Ky’s body. The lab results came back less than stellar - her liver enzymes were extremely elevated, blood platelets were low, and blood pressure was progressively rising with each reading. Her OB immediately sent the two over to the labor and delivery unit across the hospital with the understanding that Kylee and baby would be transported to a high-risk OB at Froedtert Downtown by ambulance with Blake following closely behind.

Upon arrival, the two were met by a slew of care providers who were prepared for whatever was next to come. The team included multiple high-risk OBs, NICU doctors, and anesthesiologists to start developing a game plan just in case Baby Nelson decided to come early. Kylee and Blake were almost immediately diagnosed with HELLP Syndrome, which is a life-threatening pregnancy complication that is considered to be a variant of preeclampsia caused by the rejection of the placenta with the only real “treatment” being the delivery of the placenta and baby. However, Baby Nelson is only 25 weeks along, so delivery is not ideal at this point even though we are SO excited to meet her.

To combat the threatening effects of HELLP Syndrome, the care team began a magnesium sulfate drip as well as two rounds of Betamethasone, which is a steroid to aid in the development of Baby’s lungs just in case she were to come earthside within the next 24 hours. Baby is still nice and cozy inside of mama’s belly, and Kylee’s body is taking well to treatment as of now! She has been poked, prodded, and ultrasounded more times than we ever knew possible, but she is hanging in there and fighting for her sweet baby girl with Blake right by her side!

Kylee and baby are now in “pregnancy prison” for as long as they need to keep baby inside and allow her the most ample time for growth. This being said, baby may come tomorrow, two weeks from now, or if we’re really lucky, close to her initial due date of March 28th, 2024. There's no true way to guess when she’ll make her appearance other than daily blood draws and medication to combat any issues found within those labs. For now, they are resting and waiting in the Mother and Baby Birth Center where they will (hopefully) stay for quite some time. Kylee is receiving daily medication to maintain her blood pressure, in turn, keeping liver enzymes lower while attempting to improve platelet production. Moving forward, the care team will be closely monitoring Kylee’s blood pressure as well as baby’s movement and heart rate daily along with weekly updates on her growth. If there are ANY signs that Kylee’s body can no longer handle the pregnancy, they will immediately be forced to deliver prematurely via C-section in which we trust the care team 100% to conduct safely and protect both Kylee and sweet baby.

The first goal was to make it past the 24-hour mark to give baby girl’s lungs more time to start developing. After passing this goal, the new goal has become to keep her inside until we hit the 28-week mark - January 4th. If we can reach that mile marker, we will continue to set goals further and further to allow her time to continue getting ready for this great, big world.

In the meantime, Blake is getting back to work after taking a few days off to stick by Ky and baby during this whirlwind of events, but of course, will plan to stay with them in the hospital as much as possible given the circumstances.

We, as Ky's younger sister and one of Kylee's close friends, have personally seen her overcome so many challenges in life, and these last few days continue to prove just how incredible she is”. We know full heartedly that if the roles were reversed, Kylee and Blake would be the first people lined up to assist anyone as they do on a daily basis.

On behalf of Kylee & Blake, we are asking for help in supporting this beautiful family while Kylee is unable to work. No matter how small, it is so beyond appreciated!! This course of pregnancy was not expected nor is it simple to navigate without the financial hardship that comes along with it.

More information will be updated as we continue along this journey. Please keep the Nelson's in your thoughts - we know that they and sweet baby have an incredible army behind them! THANK YOU so much!

- Halie and Allie