“A text came through that said, ‘Get to the hospital now.’ I thought it was a typo. His dad carried his limp and lifeless body into the hospital. I was shaking and screaming. ‘No! Not my baby, not my Ricky.”
‘THEY CALLED A CODE BLUE!’ He started screaming and grabbing the sides of his head. ‘It hurts!’: 8-year-old survives AVM brain rupture, ‘He’s still a fighter’
‘She may not survive surgery.’ For 9 days, her chest remained open. She wasn’t the baby I expected.’: Mom has photo shoot in ICU before preemie passes to ‘make each day beautiful’
“Her body was too small to close over her swollen heart. Piles of machinery overwhelmed her metal crib. I hesitantly brought a small box into the ICU. Inside was a blanket and matching hair bow. I was shocked by how stunning she looked.”
‘That’s crazy!’ I filed it away under the ‘that would never happen’ section of my brain. Then came ‘the call.’ I broke down in fear.’: Baby diagnosed with Biliary Atresia, undergoes liver transplant, ‘She’s full of life’
“I was sleeping in hospital chairs at 20-something-weeks pregnant, walking a bridge back and forth between the children’s hospital and the cancer center, visiting my mom who was undergoing treatment for her second round of cancer. All while my husband was laid-off for needing time to help watch our other children.”
‘But it doesn’t run in our family!’ I’m too young for this. Is it really happening twice?’: Brother with Down syndrome helps parents accept son’s diagnosis, ‘We had so much hope because of him’
“The phone call came early afternoon. I should have known something was wrong. ‘Excuse me? I’m not even supposed to be at risk.’”
‘I can’t wait to hear him cry!’ Everything was okay. Until it wasn’t. I will never forget the panic in the room.’: Bereaved mom starts company to ‘honor a life only 2 days young’
“The room was silent. Shortly after, the commotion from the NICU team began. I screamed. I yelled. I cried and sobbed as my husband sat next to me, holding my hand, feeling emotions I can’t even imagine as he watched his baby and his wife fall apart in a matter of seconds.”
‘My chin looks dumb when I smile.’ Your baby girl compares herself to the cheerleader who got a date.’: Mom preaches body positive parenting, ‘You MUST talk to them’
“’I’m so fat.’ ‘I hate this outfit.’ The word ‘thigh gap’ will enter your daughter’s hemisphere. Every billboard, commercial, random dude, social media post, and Hollywood movie will talk to her about her body. Let that fight START WITH YOU.”
‘We believe she can’t see.’ I held her tight as she screamed. I’m not letting them take my baby alone.’: Baby diagnosed with ‘ultra rare’ Canavan Disease, ‘I WILL save my child’
“I held her down while they poked the biggest needle I had ever seen into her back. The acid was destroying the white matter of her brain. That’s when it hit me. ‘There’s no cure.’”
‘I rocked a 30-pound ‘baby’ for hours. I’ve stayed up to make sure she wasn’t gasping for air.’: Mom says that parents ‘sign up to be full-time employees to the cutest bosses around
“I’m an employee with no sick days, no breaks, and working double-time on holidays.”
‘It’s twins.’ They needed to perform surgery on my placenta. I saw a little 3D hand on the screen and it broke me.’: Woman births sons with TTTS, ‘My boys are my miracles’
“I felt sick, dreading whatever news the next scan might bring. One of our babies had a major brain bleed. I burst into terrified tears. Although I was pregnant with twins, I might not end up with any babies at all.“
‘Her whole world could be breaking, but for her children, she’ll always smile. Being everyone’s everything isn’t easy.’: Mom says ‘behind those smiles, my beautiful fellow mothers, I see you’
“Motherhood is fragile. And, behind every mother’s smile is a strength that is incomparable. A woman who never quits, and in the toughest times, shows the world her bravest face.”