In hospital, we found out it was an ectopic pregnancy; it was in a fallopian tube, rather than the womb. I had made dinner, we had kept her safe, we hadn’t done anything to overstimulate her and she had very happily gone to bed, and more importantly to sleep. I do believe you are given what you need, although it might not be what you think you want at that time.

It covers some really powerful topics such as miscarriage and the struggles of those who are trying to have a family. Every time it failed, I felt my body had betrayed me, that I hadn’t looked after that precious embryo well enough. All the experiences are so well written and I’ve found this to be a very therapeutic and uplifting book as I too parent plus. While the assessments were being carried out by the courts, as well as giving Billie her everyday care, we would be taking her for regular contact visits with her birth mother and monthly ‘looked-after child reviews’ with social services, not to mention being on the receiving end of home visits from social workers and district nurses.By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. That first morning seemed like a military operation, with the alarm sounding and us all having to be ready to leave the house. Life can be unexpected; my plan was to be in a happy marriage with a biological child, and look how that turned out. The journey Lisa and Chris, her husband at the time, take through this book is a bittersweet story of the ups and downs of trying for a baby and it not going the way others take for granted.

I would get used to these meetings and they would become almost second nature over the coming months, but for now, it was all so new to me and I was terrified to put a foot wrong. At this moment Billie was in the shared care of the local authority and her birth mother; we were simply the foster carers until all the court assessments were completed. We were not allowed to introduce her to friends or family yet, as she had to get used to us and her new surroundings first. There were certain precautions that we needed to take to ensure we didn’t all get too attached and because at this point we were officially foster carers. I knew these small things were like a lighthouse to her in a stormy sea, making her feel as safe as she could and guiding her home.Meant to Be: My Journey to Motherhood by Lisa Faulkner is out now in hardback and in paperback on 5th March. After Lisa had an ectopic pregnancy, she tried many things after to conceive again but sadly she failed to get pregnant. I think the grief was so acute because the minute the test is positive, you map out your whole life with that child.