“Rather than bring an innocent child into this world only to suffer and die, we made the heart-wrenching decision no parent should ever have to make. I am not an irresponsible monster. I am a grieving mother who spared her baby unspeakable suffering.”
‘Jennifer, I have bad news. Get your husband on the phone.’ Today, I should be holding my newborn. Instead, I’m scattering his ashes.’: Grieving mom pens PSA on late-term abortion, ‘I didn’t lose a baby, I lost a lifetime of hopes and dreams’
‘The pregnancy test read, ‘Yaaaaaaas!’ before I had time to pull up my pants. There I was, knocked up with my post-vasectomy baby.’: Mom hilariously recounts vasectomy fail
“At 40 years old, post-vasectomy, we thought my husband was shootin’ blanks. All I could do was laugh out of shock. Very quickly followed by a much larger part of me saying, ‘Oh…sh*t…’ As I stood up and washed my hands, I was overcome with a feeling of dread.”
‘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.”
‘On the plane ride home from my summer vacation in Mexico, my face went numb. ‘Maybe it’s just the high elevation?’ Soon, I couldn’t feel the right side of my body.’: Young single mom diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis graduates college
“The doctor told me, ‘There is no cure. You will have this for the rest of your life.’ Then, I noticed I was 3 weeks late for my period. I’d just been diagnosed with an incurable disease and now I was pregnant all at the age of 20?! My baby’s father said, ‘I want to live the life of an average 21-year-old, just not with you in it.’ My life changed in the blink of an eye.”
‘I started bleeding at 6 weeks pregnant. We braced ourselves for familiar bad news. ‘There are TWO heartbeats!’ I immediately burst into tears.’: Mom pregnant with ‘miracle twins’ after 8 pregnancy losses
“We lost 8 babies in a row. Just then, we received an unexpected call from a family member. ‘I’d love to be your surrogate!’ We turned her down. The odds were stacked against us, but we both felt a stirring in our hearts to try again. ‘Well, it’s positive! In fact, it’s VERY positive!’ I immediately burst into tears.”
‘Twins?! NO. WAY. Are you sure you’re seeing things correctly on the screen?!’ I was nearly 24 weeks along.’: Mom births twins at home, ‘Nothing went according to plan, and that’s okay’
“I went to poop really quick. To my surprise, I sat down on the toilet and felt a head descending. ‘The baby is coming!!!’ I stood up while my baby’s head was being born into my hands.”
‘I yelled across the house, ‘I just found our baby!’ My husband went silent. We both knew we needed to say YES.’: Adoptee turned adoptive mama urges ‘love knows no boundaries’
“‘It typically takes days for an answer, but you don’t need to wait. She chose YOU!’ I broke down in tears. ‘You’re never going to believe it…we’re going to be parents!’ I’m an adoptee with an adopted African American daughter in a racially diverse family, but she is still my daughter. Love knows no boundaries.”
‘You’re purposely starving your unborn child by not eating.’ My husband wasn’t allowed in the room for ultrasounds.’: Mom births baby with Down syndrome after hospital malpractice, ‘He is more loved because, not despite, his diagnosis’
“The pediatrician was super blunt. ‘No, you are mistaken. You’ve confused us with a different baby.’ Nobody noticed it on the million ultrasounds throughout the pregnancy. I watched my husband and 1-day-old baby taken away from me in an ambulance and all I could do was stare.”
‘Breast is better,’ they said. I cried for days, unable to feed you. I heard I could never feel that connection with you, nor you with me, because I didn’t nurse you.’: Mom shares emotional breastfeeding struggle, ‘Did I love you any less?’
“I don’t know about letdown or leaking when a baby cries. I don’t know about raw or chapped nipples. I don’t have battle scars or badges of honor that are inscribed with, ‘Breastfed my baby until 2.’ None of it. But tell me, my sweet baby, did I love you any less?”
‘That little one who once rested so perfectly upon your chest doesn’t fit there quite so well anymore, and you forget to hold the baby.’: Mom urges ‘forget about the to-do list’
“Leave the papers piled on the counter to attend the tea party. Pause the vacuuming for an impromptu game of hide-and-seek. Take him in your arms and envelop him in your unconditional love. Because there will be time—so much time—to get all the things done, and babe needs you.”
