Blessedatlast, I am so sorry for your very heart breaking loss . My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

I don't know if I can help, but I had an operation called myomectomy done on my uterus 3 weeks ago which is similar to a c/s. My doc told me to wait for 3 months for my uterus to heal enough to start a new pregnancy. Saying that though, I can't have a natural delivery next time as the chance of the uterus bursting is very high past 38 weeks. So the only thing I can do is have a c/s at 38 weeks.
Maybe because you want a natural birth, they reccommend waiting 12 months which would be adequate time for your uterus to heal, without a risk of rapturing. I would suggest to see your OB and ask the question again, or get a second opinion from another OB.

Take care hun, I wish you much peace and happiness for your future.