“I was bawling my eyes out, thinking, ‘No, no. My baby is gone.’ I could feel panic in the room. There were probably 20 people rushing around, getting me prepped. Half were for me, and half were for the baby when she was born.”
‘I think my water broke!’ It was a dark, thick blood, flowing out of me. They worried I’d birth in the helicopter.’: Woman suffers placental abruption in traumatic childbirth, ‘I thank God she’s ok’
‘No cuddles today,’ I was told 3 days in a row. I was nothing but a milk machine. It was torture.’: Woman gives birth to twin preemies, ‘I was humbled by our time in the NICU’
“I watched her lips turn blue again. ‘Breathe baby girl. Please.’ We were force-feeding them to keep them alive. They poked Hazel over and over, trying to find a vein, finally landing on one in her head. I was horrified. ‘How in the world are we all going to survive this?’”
‘The doctor said, ‘Cut off his connection.’ He urged me to stop the blood flow to my twin’s heart. My organs shut down. I was bleeding out internally.’: Twin preemie warriors beat death multiple times, ‘Never doubt a mother’s intuition’
“I woke up feeling uneasy. As I drove in, I just knew something was off. The ultrasound tech was silent and white as a ghost. ‘Is everything okay?’ She replied, ‘You need to wait for the doctor,’ and walked out of the room. At just 25 weeks, the twins were both dying and on their way. The OB-GYN whisked me to the ER. ‘Jeremiah is not big enough to survive. You have to leave him in!’ The entire day, I had been bleeding out internally and no one knew.”
‘The sounds, the smells, the whole NICU experience. It never leaves you.’: Mom of preemie creates nonprofit organization to ‘give back to the premature baby community’
“When I first saw our boy after he was whisked away, it looked more like a NASA mission. He was hooked up to so many computers, wires were coming out of everywhere. It was terrifying. It’s wonderful what they can do to keep our tiniest little ones alive. It’s a community you never want to be a part of, but once you’re in it, you make friends for life.”
‘She started hysterically laughing. ‘So far I’ve found 3.’ After already having twins! Complete shock.’: Mother births twins, then triplets, then twins again, ‘We were completely dumbfounded’
“It was EXTREMELY rare. After hearing the news, we walked across the street and got pedicures, because what else do you do when you find out you’re pregnant with triplets? After already having twins! I don’t think we said a word to each other the entire time – we were completely dumbfounded.”
‘I was unexpectedly pregnant at 40. ‘I’ll never have fun again. I’ll be caring for a child with so many medical needs.’: Mom births baby with Down Syndrome, ‘She is our adventure, not a burden’
“Something magical happened. I loaded her on my back. I couldn’t see her face, but I could just feel she was happy. I would show her the world, and I wouldn’t let her diagnosis stop her from seeing the amazing beauty it has to offer.”
‘Your dad thought he could hit me, but you will NEVER hit me. I’ll kill you first.’ She was a 400-pound woman. I was a 9-year-old child.’: Woman survives child abuse and PTSD, repairs relationship with abusers, ‘I was born a SURVIVOR’
“She had me by my pigtails. She cornered me into our closet using a man’s belt to spank me. A friend saw her, and told her if she ever hit me again, he’d tell his dad. Later my mom tried having me committed to a mental hospital. After a 24-hour sit in at the ER, a doctor came in. ‘There is nothing wrong with you, except the fact you need to get away from your mother.’ I wanted a mom who WANTED to be my mom.”
‘This is it! I’m not going to make it. He’s going be raising our baby alone.’ I said goodbye to husband for the very last time.’: Mom survives preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome, delivers micropreemie who defies odds, ‘She is a sassy fighter’
“A nurse held my hand and whispered a prayer in my ear. That’s the last thing I remember before falling asleep. When I opened my eyes, I was alone. I tried to lift my hands and feet but couldn’t – I was tied to the bed. I began to panic. I couldn’t rest until I laid eyes on my little miracle. She was kicking, flailing her arms. I touched her finger and she grabbed my finger with all her might. It was then I knew, not only would she, but WE, would be just fine.”
‘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.”
‘You’re getting snipped, right?!’ I told my husband, no more babies. He obliged! The doctor had an emergency.’: After harrowing NICU journey, preterm birth, mom excited for ‘freedom’ husband’s vasectomy would bring to their ‘intimacy’
“My husband told me without hesitation, he’d get a vasectomy. I thought, ‘Yeah sounds good, but we’ll see if he’s really down for the cause when that time comes.’ We prepared for snip snip day by getting him a bag of frozen peas and tight underwear. He was nervous, but ready. My OB knew of our plan, but kept asking, ‘Are you SURE?’”
