When pre-K teacher Lainey Bailey found out she was expecting at 41 years old, she and her husband Brett embraced the journey.

“We kind of were like, ‘We’ll just see what happens,’” she said. Lainey already had two daughters from a previous marriage, and Brett was stepping into fatherhood for the first time.

Lainey noticed early on that this pregnancy felt different than the first two. She was more fatigued and anxious. Then at 19 weeks, she experienced heavy bleeding and went to the emergency room where doctors initially suspected a miscarriage. What they discovered instead was a shortened cervix, a condition that could have led to preterm labor if left untreated.

Expert Care

Lainey’s care team at Oxford Clinic for Women stepped in with constant support. After her emergency room visit where she was told she might be miscarrying, she followed up with Dr. Cole. When further evaluation confirmed she had a shortened cervix, he performed a cervical cerclage to protect the pregnancy, and then guided Lainey through weeks of close monitoring, specialist visits, and check-ins.

“Dr. Cole was amazing through that,” Lainey said. “I could text him with any concern, any little thing.”

After the procedure, Lainey stayed home from work for about a month to give her body time to recover before returning to the classroom.

From that point forward, Lainey was seen every two weeks. Because of her age and the complication, the team kept a closer watch. “He watched me really closely,” she said of Dr. Cole.

“Obviously with my age, they were watching me anyway, and then with this shortened cervix, they were definitely on top of it.”

She was also sent to Tupelo for specialist care, where doctors performed a detailed scan around 22–24 weeks. “We had done the genetic testing and everything was fine,” she said, “but my concern was just that she was healthy. And they checked all the boxes that they could to reassure me also that she was exactly like she was supposed to be, and she was. She was big.”

The bleeding that first sent her to the ER turned out to be tied to what she described as “almost like a hematoma.” Even though it was alarming, it’s ultimately what led doctors to discover the shortened cervix. “If I hadn’t been bleeding, they may not have caught it,” she said.

At exactly 37 weeks, Lainey delivered her daughter, Ann Williams, via C-section with no complications.

Lainey had begun having contractions at 36 weeks, and her care team gave her a shot to stop them, aiming to reach the 37-week mark. When they returned, Dr. Cole met her at the hospital on a Saturday afternoon. Because she had been stitched with her shortened cervix, labor carried risks. A planned C-section was the safest option.

Slowing Down

Now that Ann Williams is several months old, Lainey says this experience feels different. With older children at home and more life experience behind her, she wants to move at a steadier pace.

Lainey said her pregnancy was rough. “I’m older. I was tired,” she said. “And then I think the stress of kind of worrying about her staying put and the complications made me a little more anxious.”

She had always stayed active during pregnancy, but that changed after the procedure. “I always tried to exercise up until I had the complication at 19 weeks. But after that procedure, that kind of altered everything just because I was anxious. I was scared. I didn’t want to make anything worse.” The anxiety, she added, took a toll on her, but regular monitoring and communication with her doctor was reassuring.

Her daughters processed the pregnancy in different ways. “My 13-year-old, when I was pregnant, was not as interested. My eight-year-old has been so excited since the day she found out,” Lainey said.

“But now that the baby is here, I mean, they literally fight over her. I have to tell them, “We have to take turns.” She laughed about setting timers to keep the peace: “You get 15 minutes. You get 15 minutes.”

Her younger daughter says now, “Mom, I don’t know what I would do without Ann Williams.”

Blending the Family

The age gap between her children has shaped this new stage. With daughters who are 13 and eight years old, Lainey is balancing teenage routines, homework, and school schedules with feedings and naps.

Brett adjusted quickly to life with a newborn, from changing diapers at the hospital to driving Ann Williams around Oxford in the middle of the night so Lainey could rest. “From the minute she was born, he was hands-on,” she said. At the hospital, despite never changing a diaper before, he handled every one. “He’s wonderful,” she said.

The learning curve for Brett’s first-time fatherhood experience has been steady. He went from asking “What do I do?” in the hospital to confidently co-managing the newborn experience.

Looking Ahead

The timing of Ann William’s birth, during Lainey’s summer break, allowed her to stay home longer. Those weeks have given her time to establish routines such as daily walks and consistent sleep schedules. “She’s a wonderful baby. She’s made it pretty easy on me. She’s sleeping through the night, about eight o’clock to seven o’clock,” Lainey said.

Returning to the classroom will bring a new balancing act. Lainey has been a teacher for years, and she knows the demands of a school year. Having the chance to start this chapter with several months at home, she said, has made the transition easier to plan.

A Different Kind of Motherhood

At 41, Lainey knows she’s “starting over.” Parenting a newborn while raising a teenager and a grade-schooler is a different challenge than she faced in her twenties. She and Brett had agreed not to put pressure on themselves about having children together.

“We weren’t going to stress and go crazy over it, just kind of see. If it’s not in God’s plan, then we’re good with the girls we have,” she remembered Brett saying.

Lainey describes this season as slower and more grounded, not just a new chapter, but a different kind of motherhood. With a stronger sense of herself, a supportive partner, and a care team she trusts, she’s focused on what matters most: keeping Ann Williams safe, healthy, and surrounded by love.