“Our daughter was missing part of her left arm. Would I look at her differently after her arrival? ‘This is her eviction notice,’ the doctor said. They paused to let me see her. As she turned, I saw her little eyes ever-so-slightly open, looking at me, her mom. My heart melted. She was my perfect daughter.”
‘I looked down at my wedding ring, and my heart broke. Where would she wear a wedding ring?’: Mother learns of child’s limb difference diagnosis, looks at her as ‘my perfect daughter’
‘I adopted a deployed soldier. I knew he’d be my husband. People thought we were nuts.’: 10 months after ‘random selection’ pairing online, couple says ‘I do’ after emotional military homecoming
“I signed up through a website where you ‘adopt’ someone who is deployed. I figured, ‘Why not help someone serving their country?’ We exchanged a few emails. Just small talk. As the days got closer to meeting him in person, I got nervous. I was hours away from meeting my potential husband. My heart just knew.”
‘I didn’t remember I had my shirt off. ‘Mama, can I take a picture of Bowie?’ I vaguely remember shifting him on my hip so she’d see him better.’: Mom felt ‘disgusted’ after postpartum photos, says it’s ‘normal to mourn your body’
“Alas, a picture was taken. I scrolled through the 50 she took of us and I was not thrilled with what I was looking at. Why? Because of my stomach. The little house this baby grew in was the reason for my disgust. It took me 3 days to even look at those pictures again.”
‘I was 15, pregnant. My principal looked at me. ‘Your mom didn’t graduate. Your dad didn’t graduate. Just drop out.’ I never felt more hopeless.’ Teen keeps pregnancy against all odds, loses son 18 years later
“The hardest part was telling my mom. She had NO IDEA I was even having sex. My baby daddy would walk by me like he never even knew me. Yet, if I knew then, pregnant at 15, that my child would pass away in a tragic car accident at only 18, would I still have chosen to keep him? The answer is yes. A billion times, YES.”
‘Are you going to keep him?’ I sat in tears, softly rubbing my belly. ‘Please grow. Build arms.’ I was hoping there must be some mistake.’ Mom delivers baby with TAR Syndrome after miscarriages
“People would say how fast he’d grow and all he’d do. All those words felt like lies. They didn’t know about his arms. Then there were the people that did know, and that was worse. I couldn’t stand the pity. My son, my angel, was NOT ‘sad’. I cried daily and felt guilty for questioning if keeping him was the right thing to do.”
‘Terminate one baby.’ My weak heart couldn’t handle triplets. But as a triplet myself, I wanted all three.’: Triplet births triplets against all odds, delivers 3 ‘healthy, amazing little miracles’
“My heart was operated on years ago. I was told pregnancy would be a risk. Now, my heart had to pump blood for 3 extra people! For the sake of my babies, I drove 7 hours for a ‘fetal reduction’. My husband and I couldn’t even look each other in the eye. 3 hours in, we started crying and decided to stop. I just couldn’t convince myself this was supposed to happen.”
‘I think I made a mistake. A mistake in having him at all,’ I texted. I wished to GOD I could go back to pre-child life. ‘You are not meant to be a mother,’ I told myself.’ Woman’s severe struggle with postpartum depression
“I vividly remember hearing my baby cry for the first time and feeling… nothing. ‘Mom he looks just like you!,’ the doctor said. I tried to squeeze out a tear because that’s what new moms do, right? I tried to feel happiness. It wasn’t there.”
‘IT’S A GIRL!’ Suddenly I hear the words, ‘What about the cleft,’ and then deafening silence.’: Mother discovers shocking diagnosis after daughter’s birth
“My baby’s face was still hidden. I shot straight up, and that’s when I saw my baby girl for the first time. The world stopped. ‘Babe look…’ All I heard was silence. ‘Babe look,’ ‘babe look.’ My mom was screaming at my husband. His eyes were glazed over. ‘Everything’s okay, she’s perfect and she’ll be okay.’”
‘Thank you for making me a momma, if even for 15 short months. One day, I will hold you in Heaven.’ Mom recounts harrowing birth experience with daughter, only to lose her months later
“As I studied her face, I thought, ‘Yes, it’s you! I know you!’ It felt like we had been reunited. Everything about her was so familiar. 24 hours of labor was completely worth this bright ray of sunshine that had entered my life. She passed away just 15 months later.”
‘The checkout lady saw my cart. ‘Oh wow! Did you get too many things on your registry?’ Tears poured down my face. ‘No, two of my children died,’ I said. ‘I don’t need these anymore.’
“In addition to planning two funerals, my husband and I were left with a room full of baby items. Three boppy pillows, three bouncers, enough diapers for three little babies. I waited in line to return it all. The grief took a hold of me.”
