God is Faithful to His Promise for Baby Girl

“She said to me, you know, ‘Do you, do you see how Mila is so tightly bound? There's no black around her.’” On May 6th, 2020, at 18-weeks pregnant, Ashleigh Rulle couldn’t believe what the ultrasound technician was telling her. She had thought everything was going to be fine. Ashleigh recalls, “She said, ‘We should be seeing, you know, more black. That would be fluid.' She said, ‘You know, I think there might be a problem here.’”

It had been a long two years for Ashleigh and her husband, Travis. After having their first child, a boy, in 2017, they had trouble getting pregnant again. Throughout that time, Ashleigh clung to a vision she believes God gave her. She says, “I was praying specifically for a little girl named Mila. I was coming to God with a pure heart and trusting Him with that desire and believing that He himself had placed that desire on my heart.”

Finally, in January of 2020 she got pregnant through in vitro fertilization. She recalls, “I was so excited. I was barely containing myself.” Travis Rulle says, “It was amazing. It was a very emotional day, very excited.”

Then, at eight and a half weeks, Ashleigh started bleeding. Diagnosed with a subchorionic hematoma -- common for in vitro pregnancies – she was put on bed rest. While the doctor expected it to resolve, Ashleigh called on everyone she knew to pray. She says, “No part of me wanted to utter the word miscarriage. It was all I could do to stay strong and and pray for God to, to carry Mila through, carry me through, give me the strength I needed.”

Travis recalls, “I didn't wallow necessarily in the what ifs. It was just a moment of just me and God just talking and begging, uh, for Him to help and His intervention and guidance.” After a couple weeks the hematoma did resolve, and everything seemed fine. Then, another complication. At her 18-week ultrasound on May 6th, Ashleigh’s doctor discovered her amniotic sac had ruptured, and her fluid was dangerously low. Ashleigh recalls, “She said, ‘You know, Ashley, this is not a viable pregnancy. Mila doesn't have enough amniotic fluid to practice breathing, so her lungs aren't gonna fully develop. She's gonna suffocate, you know, that this pregnancy is a choice now. It's not safe for you. It's not safe for Mila.'”

It was then the doctor encouraged her to abort Mila. Ashleigh said a quick prayer and started to respond. She says the words that came out weren’t her own. She says, “God just completely came over me, spoke through me, and gave me just this grace. He said to the doctor through me, ‘I begged God for this baby. I prayed for this baby, and I've seen her.’”

In absolute faith, Ashleigh refused to terminate the pregnancy. She says, “Truly, I was angry. I was aggravated. I'm listening to somebody tell me this about my daughter, my child, while I'm looking at their heart beating on a screen. How can someone tell me this about my child, when to me they're viable.” Her doctor said the next five weeks were critical. Ashley went on bed rest while family and friends continued to intercede for Mila’s life.

Travis recalls, “We were very specific, day by day, milestone by milestone, being very specific to the progress of Mila. It was this amazing just ripple effect of just prayer, and you could almost feel it.” As Ashleigh prayed, she clung to God’s promise that she was not alone. She recalls, “I came across the verses, Luke 1:45. ‘Blessed is she who believed there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.’ I would say in my mind, for You have not forsaken me. And I would repeat that, that's where I found a lot of my strength.”

At 23 weeks, Ashleigh’s amniotic fluid was still low, and she was admitted to the hospital. Doctors put her on antibiotics and steroids to help Mila’s development. Doctors were unsure if she would fully develop, even if she made it full term. Ashleigh recalls, “I was not worried at any time that Mila was gonna have any deformities or abnormalities. I felt and knew that God had promised me a healthy baby.”

Doctors expected Ashleigh to finish the remaining 10 to 12 weeks of her pregnancy in the hospital. However, a week and a half after being admitted, Ashleigh got a miraculous gift…. It was on her 33rd birthday. She recalls, “I had an ultrasound, which revealed that I had normal amniotic fluid levels. So, there was no reason to keep me in the hospital. Getting to go home on my birthday and share that joy, increased not only my faith, but you know, these, all of these other people, their faith to, it felt like the ultimate gift from God. You know, I just kept seeing in my mind, 'Ashley, God is for you. He's for you.'” Travis says, “I was just praising God. I was crying. It just felt like something that was so impossible."

Once home, Ashleigh continued bed rest and carried Mila to full term. Then on August 30th, 2020, Mila was born. Ashleigh recalls, “When they put her in my arms, I just shouted. It was just, 'Thank you, God.'” Travis says, “It was one of the greatest, greatest gifts and greatest moments of my life.”

While Mila had a couple minor issues, they were easily corrected in her first few months of life. Today, she is healthy and full of joy. Travis and Ashleigh believe she is a walking testament to God’s faithfulness and love. Travis says, “It taught me that things that seem impossible here are possible with Him. And to lean on Him.” Ashleigh says, “I fully trust my doctors and I believe them but I serve a God who's supernatural. I came to God with desperate faith, and I know it was that desperate faith that pleased Him.”