“Mike couldn’t speak. In fact, the doctor looked at him after we covered all the basics and said, ‘Dad, are you OK? You haven’t said anything.’”
‘You guys did great. You did great 3 times,’ our doctor said as she laid out our sonogram with three little sacs. My mind was racing. Shock and fear set in.’
‘My daughter handed me a magnet. ‘Mama, I ate one of these!’ Her twin quickly confirmed. ‘She really did! I saw her!’ Excuse me, but WHAT?’
“When I read horrific stories about children choking to death on bouncy balls, we became a bouncy-ball free home. When I heard of kids getting Shopkins stuck in their airways, we became a Shopkin-free home. 15 minutes into rest time, the twins came down the stairs yelling.”
‘He asks: ‘How was your day today, what did you do?’ You think: Well, I was woken at 7 a.m. while I was in blissful deep sleep by a loud bloodcurdling scream because the baby poo exploded.’
“To say there was crap everywhere was an understatement. The toddler was also angry because he could hear commotion and he wasn’t involved, so he started screaming too. Finally, ready to leave, woohoo! Victory! Except, I’m still in pajamas and I’m pretty sure I have poo on my top…”
‘Mom, we have to take them home.’ It was so hard to look at these girls and not cry. It was like looking into the eyes of my sister, eyes I had not seen in 8 years, eyes I would never see again.’
“The woman who had the girls was not at all family, but a friend from church. They had been removed from her care and were in a foster home. After we got off the phone, I panicked – what was I going to do?”
‘I texted my husband I had worried for nothing because everything seemed fine. Until it wasn’t fine. He waited until we were driving home, until he didn’t have to look us in the eye.’
“‘Jen, I heard you’re off work right now.’ BECAUSE I JUST HAD CANCER SURGERY! ‘And you might have some time on your hands.’ BECAUSE HE LOST HIS JOB! ‘And maybe you need a distraction.’ BECAUSE EVERYONE IS DYING! ‘I have two babies in my office. They need a home. Today.’ Ohhhhhhh.”
‘I was fat shamed by a complete stranger on a plane.’
“As I looked back to confirm he moved, 4 rows back, I overheard him tell his new neighbor in row 15, ‘That girl up there is so huge, I…’”
‘I knew the day was coming. I forced a smile when it happened, but the honest truth is, my heart wanted to burst out into big, bubbling tears.’
“It’s odd to love someone knowing they will eventually leave you. I’ll never stop letting him know I’m near. I’ll never stop letting him know I care.”
‘It was a busy day for me in the ER. I had 5 very sick patients. When I checked my phone, I had 10 missed calls. I called my dad back and he told me to sit down. My heart instantly sank.’
“I scanned the monitors and medications as any good nurse would do. I then saw my sister. And I knew.”
‘Our 18-month-old grabbed a bottle of baby oil and drank a little. Minutes later, he started acting lethargic. When we picked him up, it was dead weight. He kept trying to fall asleep in our arms.’
“What?! How did I not know that?! How has no one I have told so far known anything about how dangerous baby oil can be?!”
‘If you would’ve told me 3 months ago that my daughter’s recurrent colds would lead to heart surgery, I would have called you crazy. But that’s exactly what happened.’
“As the mother of then-2-year-old (and illness-prone) twins, I was familiar with baby colds. We used saline, humidifiers, and kept her hydrated. We suctioned when we needed to and let her sleep on an incline. But this cold was… different.”
