“At 18, I’d miscarried 3 times. Here I was, at risk of losing another baby. My OB said, ‘Your plan was to have a baby and bring a baby home. I know you still want that.’ Each month, I counted his kicks the way kids count raindrops on a car window. I texted my mom, ‘I can’t do this. What if I’m making a mistake?’ It was go time. I closed my eyes as tight as I could, clenched my teeth, and pushed.”
‘I told the nurse, ‘Tie my tubes. I’m done, I don’t ever want to do this again!’ I begged my fiancé to find another woman. ‘I just can’t do it, I’m sorry.’: Woman births rainbow baby after still birth, 3 miscarriages
‘A nurse looked me in the eye. ‘It’s not your fault.’ A needle dug into my arm while I fought the oxygen mask over my face.’: Woman comes back to life after dying in child birth, ‘The odds were stacked against me’
“The nurses wheeled me into the cold, brightly lit room. Panic set in as I drifted to sleep. I never got to meet my son on his birthday. Never got to be the first to look into his eyes. I went into full cardiac arrest. After 58 minutes of intense efforts to shock my heart into beating again, I was placed on life support. The day David became a dad was also the day he was faced with losing his wife. I awoke days later surrounded by tubes, wires, beeping machines, and a picture of our baby. ‘Did it not go well?’ I struggled to get the words out.”
‘My hubby snapped this photo while I fell asleep sitting up, breastfeeding our 2-week-old twins. It’s the most unflattering image, but it makes me proud.’: Mom to twins reminds us how ‘amazing’ the female body can be
“Exhausted doesn’t fully describe this photo. I was sneaking in a nap while healing from 2 types of births: Baby A vaginal, Baby B cesarean. My body was working non-freaking-stop to make all the milk for these boys. People ask, ‘How do you do it with 4 kids?’ I shrug and respond, ‘Moms always figure it out.’ Even when we have no clue how, we make it work. We’ve got a drive within us that is unstoppable. The funny thing is, I’d do it all over again.”
‘Omg, I still have to have the baby.’ It was the worst realization. My first experience with birth would be giving birth to death.’: Woman births stillborn due to knot in the umbilical cord, ‘I got my little girl but at the same time, I didn’t’
“My first experience with birth would be giving birth to death. ‘What are you here for?’ ‘A c-section,’ I responded. ‘How exciting! Do you know the sex?’ ‘No, we don’t,’ I said, thinking she should just give me the damn wristband and let me go. ‘Oh, that’s so fun. Congratulations!’ Our doctor said, ‘It’s a GIRL.’ I remember that first look and the love that overcame me.”
‘My doctor complained I need to work out more,’ my pregnant friend said. She looked down at her big belly. I was HEATED.’: Mom reminds us pregnant bellies ‘come in all shapes and sizes’
“Today at a play space with my daughters, I ran into a mom friend who I hadn’t seen in about a year. She was obviously pregnant. ‘Congrats! How are you feeling?’ She looked down at her belly. ‘Just big.’ She went on to explain her doctor complained she ‘needed to work out more.’ She was not only PREGNANT, but raising 3 kids. Guys, this got me heated. Like, breathing fire out of my nose and mouth heated.”
‘Don’t say, ‘When can I see the baby?’ Say, ‘Let me know when you’re ready for visitors.’: Post-labor mom reminds us ‘there is nothing more vulnerable than a freshly postpartum momma’
“Truth is, she’s labored NAKED in front of an audience of nurses and doctors. She’s had eyes and hands all over her lady bits. She literally just expelled another human being from her body through her vagina or from being cut open. She carried this little being for 9 long months and probably isn’t eager to have others just come in and sweep him/her away as soon as they take their first breath. If you are a friend or family member of a new mom, don’t just EXPECT to pop in at YOUR convenience.”
‘The second that child enters this world, he’ll steal a part of your heart you didn’t know you had left to give.’: Woman claims a mother’s love transcends all circumstance, ‘No matter the chaos she brings, she’s worth it’
“You may regret it when you’re 34 weeks pregnant, and it takes so much effort to do the littlest things. You may regret it when you’re in labor with excruciating pain so intense it takes your breath away, as sweat forms in places you didn’t know produced sweat. No matter how much you can’t afford her, no matter how much time you don’t have, the second that child is placed on your chest, something changes.”
‘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.”
‘I know you can get through this.’ This nurse was the age of my mother. She embraced me in a warm hug, and peace came over me.’: Mom recalls heartbreak as first son is born still, ‘he would’ve been an amazing human’
“The doctor was holding a box of tissues. I let out the most piercing wail. I was inconsolable. I asked my husband, ‘Can we pray?’ It was the only time I saw him break down. We both buckled at the knees. I was lead back to a corner room at the end of the hallway. A nurse was there. ‘I am sorry for your loss.’ My son had an aura around him, an angelic light radiating behind him.”
‘She gets no sleep at all. She has no time for herself. She intentionally loses herself in him, so he knows he is loved.’: Husband pens sweet mom appreciation letter to ‘fierce’ wife, ‘no amount of pain keeps her from loving our son’
“Labor pains, breastfeeding, postpartum hormones. She looks at herself in the mirror, wondering if her body will ever look the same again. I thought I knew what motherhood entailed. Like most new dads, I only experienced it as an outsider. I saw my mother, sister, and friends do it. I got the gist of it. Or at least I thought I did. But what I didn’t know was how little I really knew.”
