“The doctor sent me straight to the hospital. ‘You could have a stroke.’ I vividly remember the first time I held her. Her eyes would roll into the back of her head. I’ll never forget the fear I felt.”
‘She only has a 50% chance of survival.’ I was just a teen! But I HAD to give her a fighting chance.’: Mom births daughter with Rett Syndrome, ‘I choose to live in the present’
‘She’s carrying a real baby in there? And she can’t see?!’ I’m a woman with a guide dog and a chunky baby strapped to me.’: Blind mother urges ‘be kind with your words’
“I’ve been out today once and heard it all in the space of twenty minutes. Masks don’t muffle your voice as much as you think.”
‘Are you sitting down?’ I was carrying a little one incompatible with life. I’ve prayed like I’ve never prayed.’: Mom grieves loss of 2 newborns to rare chromosome condition
“I was completely inconsolable, bawling, unable to pull myself together. ‘I just don’t want to ever have to do this!’ She had lived, breathed, and been loved completely.”
‘Your baby doesn’t go home with a quick fix prescription. You know every inch of the hospital. Life can’t resume as normal.’: Mom pens appreciation letter for ‘mamas of very sick kids’
“I took my otherwise healthy daughter to the ER for lethargy and a high fever. As I watched her rest, I heard beeping and babies crying for hours straight. I saw mamas pacing every open space. Thing is, we don’t always acknowledge the mamas who do this every day.”
‘He put his hands on my belly. ‘God, please give us twins.’ Then, we waited. ‘Here is baby 1, and baby 2.’ Talk about speechless!’: Couple has twins, then triplets after 7-year battle with infertility
“My husband made a joke as we walked out. ‘Imagine if we had TRIPLETS this time?’ Fast forward to our 1st ultrasound. The nurse practitioner saw one baby, then two babies. My husband asked, ‘What is that spec over there?’ I wish someone could have recorded our faces of shock.”
‘SURPRISE! You just had twins!’ The only words I could muster were, ‘Oh, f—!’: Mom gives birth to surprise twin, ‘It was just beautiful!’
“The ultrasound had only picked up 1 fetus, 1 heartbeat. After baby #1, I felt another huge contraction. The nurse said, ‘It’s probably the placenta coming.’ I was in shock. The staff was shocked. The likelihood of a baby hiding in the womb is extremely minuscule.”
‘I used to be the one they went to for all the things. The one-stop shop for food and comfort and love.’: Mother of teenagers says ‘it’s all a blessing… every bit’
“I used to make breakfasts for kids in footie pajamas, swinging their legs at my kitchen counter. Now, I make four frozen pizzas at once, trying to keep up with how much these tall kids are eating. I used to stay up at night worrying about what they ate that day. Now, I stay awake hoping they are driving safely.”
‘One day, you’ll realize you’re serving whole chicken nuggets instead of cutting them into pieces.’: Mom urges ‘you never know when the last day of a precious phase will be’
“One day they’ll want a shower instead of a bath. One day you’ll realize their car seat is no longer facing backward, and you don’t need that little rearview mirror on the headrest anymore. One day you’ll miss brushing their teeth because now they can do it themselves. Before you even know it, that precious phase will be gone.”
‘We waited for age 3 to potty train. We started preschool late. We baptized when our son was old enough to understand what it means.’: Mom urges ‘move at your own pace, mama’
“The world will try to pressure you to hurry it all up. Good meaning people will chime in with advice on how to do your job better. As the world reopens and all the pressures start to return, remember, motherhood is not a sprint. It’s a marathon.”
‘Who is going to pay for them?’ The years brought 7 more kids. ‘Are you crazy?’ Maybe.’: Mom chooses to have large family, ‘We had less money, but more love’
“The amount of rude comments were astounding. ‘Don’t you know how that happens? How do you afford them? We couldn’t figure out why everyone saw having a big family as a negative.”
