“This expectant mom knew we were the right family for her baby. And so we leapt. She sent pictures of her ultrasound with sweet messages like, ‘That’s your baby in there.’ I let myself fall hard and fast. To say I was wearing my heart on my sleeve is an understatement. My heart was showing everywhere. It was an open target…free for the breaking.”
‘We were going to name her Annie.’ She called the morning of her flight asking for taxi money. ‘She never boarded,’ the airline told us.’: Woman uses failed adoption as inspiration to help other families afford to adopt
‘I sobbed as my husband picked up. He knew immediately it was a ‘no.’ We made plans of all the ways I’d ‘surprise’ him with a pregnancy announcement. This call was NOT part of our plan.’
“’Katie, is now an okay time to talk?’ It was our IVF coordinator. ‘Unfortunately, I don’t have very good news.’ I choked back tears, and thanked her. He had a total of 12 sperm. My husband hugged me and apologized. It was heartbreaking. Our doctor grabbed my hand. I looked at her in disbelief.”
‘Daniel may have trouble fathering children. He had a botched surgery when he was very young. As 18-year-olds, we didn’t grasp the seriousness of his male infertility. Then I realized something was wrong with me, too.’
“My husband’s counts had dropped to almost nothing. Six live sperm were found. Six! No six thousand. Just six. We got a letter in the mail. The yearly fee to keep his sperm frozen was due. It was hundreds of dollars. We had to make a decision about our future– right now. At 26 years old, I VOLUNTARILY had a hysterectomy. Then, we got the call.”
‘Here we go.’ We started the process of reversing his vasectomy. My husband had no intention of having more children.’: Couple shares adventure of trying-to-conceive after doctor says they have ‘no answers’
“I told Jeremy, ‘We need to talk.’ I was so nervous my voice trembled. I told him, ‘A few days ago I took a pregnancy test. It was positive.’ He gasped and immediately smiled. I continued, ‘but after getting my blood work repeated, my levels are not increasing. I started bleeding on the drive down.’ His smile quickly turned to confusion. ‘So you weren’t pregnant?’ He couldn’t understand how something could begin and end all so quickly.”
‘To the parents of Abigail.’ I was shuffling through the junk mail, before tossing it in the trash. But the last letter left me frozen. My heart began racing. I gasped as I read the name.’
“As I stared at the letter, my hand started shaking. I found myself holding my breath, paralyzed by the shock of the unexpected. Seeing her name in writing after so many years caught me off guard.”
‘Wow, that’s so cool I have 2 moms! May I have a snack?,’ was his reaction at age 5. ‘Aren’t you worried they’ll take the boys back?’ We are not a bit worried. We told him he grew up in her tummy.’
“And then we met her – this gorgeous strawberry blond young lady with the most beautiful green eyes looking at us from across the table. She had one question for us. Our knees were shaking just getting the news. We were not convinced it would be ‘wonderful’ at all. We were intimidated and scared.”
‘How far apart are your boys?’ When I tell them their age, they say, ‘Oh, you must be busy!’ But sometimes I wish they’d ask me how my body is holding up.’
“About the ball the size of a grapefruit I found in my stomach. The back-to-back pregnancies, two C-sections, the countless hours nursing, and the baby weight that won’t come off. I honestly feel like a deflated balloon most of the time.”
‘My girl looked at us, tears in her eyes. ‘I don’t get a baby brudder?’ My heart shattered.’ Mom details ‘adoption roller coaster’ in the wake of father’s tragic death
“She’s chosen you!’ My husband and I sat outside the room and stared at each other, about to open a door that’d change the rest of our lives. We took each other by the hand, flashed timid smiles. As we entered, I could feel that something was off. I could see cars driving, people walking, life moving by. As for me, time seemed to stand still.”
‘We almost lost her. Her feet were the size of Starbursts, and hands the size of Goldfish crackers. She was so tiny, but man was she feisty. Our girl was fearless.’
“I was lying in bed watching TV. I got up to go to the bathroom and I felt a huge gush of water. I was 22 weeks pregnant. Bryan wasn’t home, so I called my mom and she came over to drive me to the hospital, thinking I was just overreacting. A few hours later, the doctor confirmed it.”
I was quite surprised by how white she was. ‘Perhaps she’s just very fair in complexion,’ I thought. I envied other black babies and thought, ‘Why me? How did I get black and white twins?’
“The first time I saw her, I wondered if the nurse was handing me my baby, or someone else’s. I waited a few seconds for someone to tell me there was a mix up. ‘She’s so beautiful,’ the nurse said. My husband was also in denial, but reality was staring us in the face.”
