“My baby was going to have to endure the unthinkable, and there was nothing I could do.”
‘He’s still the boy you love dearly.’ We thought he was a happy baby. I had NO idea he fought for every breath.’: Mom welcomes baby with congenital heart defects, ‘He’s a force to be reckoned with’
‘You should take a look at this.’ It was IDENTICAL TWINS! I was oblivious to the doctor’s concerns.’: Endometriosis warrior welcomes premie twins in NICU, ‘You go one day at a time’
“I had to undergo surgery to give my babies a chance to survive. The procedures were TERRIFYING. But I would endure whatever it took!”
‘She looks at her like she holds all of the secrets to the world. She had a 10% chance of making it. I begged God for time together.’: Woman births baby with Trisomy 18, ‘I never believed in soulmates until then’
“We made a bear with her voice saying, ‘I love you, Charlotte.’ She was scared Charlotte would forget the sound of her voice. I will never forget the look on her face when my friend dropped her off.”
‘He asked, ‘What do those two lines mean? Is this real life?’ We were wildly unprepared for a baby. I’m only 23!’: Young mom discusses challenging pregnancy and NICU journey
“The stress and worry of the NICU life, the hospital bill and being away from my daughter, trying to ‘lead a normal life’, was debilitating. I was not okay, but I tried to be; I had to be okay for her. She fought harder for her life in 27 days than most people do in 27 years.”
‘The tech lubed my belly. ‘OMG. There are SO MANY!’ My heart dropped. ‘So many what?!’: Mom births triplets after battling infertility, ‘It’s hard, but in the end it’s all worth it!’
“I struggled to eat because my belly always felt so full. Every day I assumed it would be the day we rush to the hospital, but days went by and somehow, I kept them in. When they pulled out the first baby, it felt like a 5 lb. weight was lifted off my lungs. ‘If you can get out of bed and into a wheelchair, you can go see the babies.’ Challenge accepted.”
‘There might be 3,’ my ultrasound tech said during my life changing moment. She pointed to each flashing heartbeat.’: Woman details ‘pure shock’ of triplets’ beautiful birth journey
“She continued to scan my belly and remained rather quiet. I had no idea what to expect during an ultrasound but I thought that was kind of odd. Jokingly I asked, ‘There isn’t twins in there, right?’ She looked over at me and smiled. My heart dropped and I sat up quickly.”
‘Can I still use the tickets even though my baby passed?’ Their response: ‘No, your guest must be present.’ My heart broke into a million pieces.’: Mom loses baby girl to pneumonia, ‘She isn’t in pain, she is free’
“The day she died was the day we got the email that we had won the tickets. I asked if we could still use it for my girls, even though one was now my angel baby. It felt like the perfect thing to honor and remember her. A simple no would have been okay with me, but their words felt like a stab to the heart. The bear lost its meaning to me.”
‘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 got pregnant too early in my relationship. I went home on my lunch break, positive test in my pocket. I was terrified to hand it over to him, but knew I had to. What were we going to do?’
“I started feeling ‘off’. I burst into tears. Everyone insisted I was just anxious. All I could do was pray my blood pressure went down, and my placenta hung in there. 30 seconds into my scheduled ultrasound, my doctor told me she was taking me to the operating room.”
‘During a regular, boring trip to the grocery store at 26-weeks pregnant, I went into labor. We rushed to the hospital. The NICU doctor had to ‘speak with us.’ My heart broke all over again.’
“At first, my little ‘hobby’ was an outlet – a very private and personal one. We had recently endured the sudden loss of our son. It was noticed by friends – and friends of friends. I quickly realized there were so many mamas that understood.”
