“My bump was finally starting to pop! I was on cloud nine. I had so many plans… and then the world was tipped upside down. I wanted to run and hide my baby from this horrible virus.”
‘I can’t do this on my own!’ He missed hearing our baby’s heartbeat. Our due date was coming and I was a nervous wreck.’: New mom details pandemic pregnancy, ‘Cherish every moment’
‘There are THREE babies in there.’ I yelled, ‘No there’s not!’ I couldn’t see all the blessings yet.’: Mom of 2 surprised with triplets, ‘My heart is full’
“I started crying, laughing, swearing, and apologizing. Suddenly, I was out-armed and out-boobed. I had more babies growing inside of me than I had Earthside! We were embarking on a very unique journey.”
‘How are you supposed to bring this baby into the world without his dad? We’ve never experienced something like this before.’: Pandemic mom shares plea for patience
“Please do not complain about having to wear a mask around my baby. YOU DO NOT KNOW unless you’ve had a pandemic baby.”
‘I will never forget the look on my parent’s faces. ‘I wish I could take this pain away from you.’ All I wanted was my baby.’: Mom recalls shock of infant’s stroke and seizures, ‘He is still perfect and he is all mine’
“I just wanted some chocolate milk. Upon returning from the cafeteria I see a man I do not recognize standing over my son. What’s wrong? Who is this guy? Why is he here? He was a respiratory therapist. Ian had had his first seizure. He had quit breathing.”
‘I was told, ‘It’s good you had a C-section. You had it easy.’ I did not get a lucky pass.’: Mom urges ‘please stop thinking C-sections are no big deal’
“I had a major surgery where my stomach was ripped open. I endured pain and tears for months. As a mother, I felt worthless unable to help with household chores. This wasn’t what I wanted for my birth.”
‘We have our stomachs cut open before us. We spend weeks recovering while still caring for a totally dependent new life, bringing joy to the world.’: Mom says you are ‘powerful, strong, and brave’
“We somehow survive on minimal sleep, and just when we reach the point where we think we can’t give any more, we do. We are teachers, healers, therapists, safe places, comforters, givers, lovers, and friends.”
‘There is no such thing as ‘my body before pregnancy’ and ‘my body after’ it’s simply, ‘my body.’: New mom discovers postpartum body ‘may look different now, but I haven’t changed bodies like an outfit’
“I was ignorant about how my life would be reshaped in the days and weeks to follow. Your emotions soar to new heights and dip to new lows. ‘Have we rushed into being parents? Our lives were so easy before our son – now look!’ You don’t know how it will be until you’re ‘in it.”
‘I got with my boyfriend in July. By November, I was pregnant. We had been ‘irresponsible.’ We dealt with it. I convinced myself I’d killed my baby. I couldn’t look at my daughter without crying.’
“The thing is, I also got pregnant many years before at age 24. It was the first time I’d had unprotected sex, and I had split up with the father. Having a termination was my only option. This has hugely troubled me the past 3 years, but I’m not ashamed to talk about it.”
‘She was born with her umbilical chord around her neck, her face blue from lack of oxygen. She came into the world feet first. She always goes about things her own way, birth was no exception.’
“I had no idea what was happening, but I knew my mom was behind a cold, closed door that I wasn’t allowed to go through. I wish I could’ve held her hand – she needed it.”
‘Nothing prepared me for my wife’s cesarean. NOTHING. Birth was the most frightening thing I’d ever seen.’: Husband praises ‘stoic, strong, powerful, dedicated’ wife for ‘bringing children into the world’
“Reaching from a gaping hole in my beautiful wife’s stomach was the head of a bloody, powder white, child-like creature. I recall Mel lying naked in front of the doctors; her stomach like a deflated balloon. But nothing shocked me as much as the next day. She was the most badass person I knew.”
