“I remember being so excited for my due date. Then we went to the doctor and saw our baby, but no heartbeat. Suddenly, it was over. My jeans fit again. I stored the congratulatory letters in a box. Friends told me to ‘move on.’ Weeks later, I was shopping when a woman pushing a newborn in a carriage walked by. I started to cry. Another woman turned around and gently smiled. ‘It is so tough. 20 years later, I still wonder what that child would have been like.’ Tears fell from my eyes.”
‘As we waited at checkout, I gasped. ‘I’m so sorry. I just miscarried,’ I managed to say, tears falling from my eyes.’: Woman recalls touching act of kindness after miscarriage, ‘It’s been 20 years and I still tear up’
‘Flesh was hanging off the roof of his mouth. ‘Your son has no immune system to fight this.’ We were trapped inside the house for months in total isolation.’: Mom to medically complex, autistic sons urges ‘find your village’
“His lesions were so severe he couldn’t eat. Rashes covered his entire body. We had to inject him with Pedialyte every 15 minutes just to keep him from passing out. In the midst of trying to be a normal family of 3, we suffered 3 miscarriages. Here we were, emotionally and physically exhausted, still yearning for hope. Little did we know, after 11 pregnancies, baby B would surprise us with blood in his diaper at just 2 months old. We knew something was terribly wrong.”
‘Are you going to try for a girl?’ I already had 3 boys. Strangers asked me this over and over again for years.’: Mom of 3 boys suffers miscarriage, ‘It showed us what unconditional love is really about’
“‘It’s taking too long!’ Then she was quiet. I was quiet. When I took the tests again– 3 more in fact–they all came back positive! [days later – weeks later], I called my husband. He knew if I called during a meeting, it was urgent. ‘Hello?’ he answered. ‘We lost the baby,’ was all I could get out before weeping and shaking.”
‘Her intestines are twisted like sheets in an overstuffed washing machine.’ You could cut the silence in the room with a knife.’: Mom survives nearly-fatal child birth, daughter with Functional Short Bowel Syndrome beats death multiple times
“The surgeon called from the operating room. ‘I need you to come downstairs immediately, I found something.’ No other context. No details. Just a call from the surgeon who’d found something so alarming he needed to talk WHILE our baby was open on the operating table. She wasn’t moving. Her belly was huge and so stretched out you could see every vein. Everything came crumbling down in an instant. With mascara-stained tears streaming down my cheek, I held on to her a little tighter, not knowing if she would make it.”
‘It felt like my whole world was crumbling around me. The second the ultrasound wand hit my belly, four sacs appeared. ‘Surely, it’s just two.’: Woman struggling with infertility, miscarriage gets pregnant with quadruplets
“I knew a disappearing symptom wasn’t a good sign. The first doctor told me to wait three months to try again. I refused. The next doctor told me I had to wait until my next miscarriage before I could be seen by a specialist. The next doctor I saw at that practice said she refused to help me anymore.”
‘May your children please step out?’ The ultrasound tech seemed irritated. I was congratulated and given a death sentence all in one.’: Grieving mom knits miniature crochet hats for angel babies
“I pegged it as her being annoyed I had my kids with me at the hospital. I later realized she was just trying to keep it together. Smiles quickly faded as doctors, nurses, and specialists crowded in the room. I called my mom in the middle of her workday. ‘What’s going on? Is everyone okay?’ For the first time ever, I answered, ‘No.’ It was soul-crushing. My baby and I were both at risk.”
‘We have our stomachs cut open before us. We spend weeks recovering while still caring for a totally dependent new life, bringing joy to the world.’: Mom says you are ‘powerful, strong, and brave’
“We somehow survive on minimal sleep, and just when we reach the point where we think we can’t give any more, we do. We are teachers, healers, therapists, safe places, comforters, givers, lovers, and friends.”
‘Sweet dreams baby boy, mummy loves you.’ The tiniest coffin lowered into the ground. That’s when it really hits you.’: Woman loses son to Edward’s Syndrome, ‘We gave him the most love we possibly could’
“We sat down that night with our oldest two. We explained we were so truly lucky because instead of a baby to bring home, we were given the rarest of gifts: an angel baby. They sobbed, ‘But we want him to come home.’ We purchased his plot where he would soon be laid to rest. At 32 weeks, we met with the funeral director – all as he kicked playfully inside my belly.”
‘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.”
‘Patty, I can feel him, we have to go.’ There was no time to talk. ‘We love you, I’m so sorry.’ His last heartbeat was lying on my chest.’: Moms are given terminal diagnosis for baby boy, ‘We decided to celebrate. He was going to be loved.’
“I didn’t want to waste any moment I could have with him. It was hard not to notice his body changing, the color leaving, his skin hardening and getting so cold. I often wonder if I made the right decision keeping him with me for so long–but I know I did. Then the time came to hand him over. The nurse kept telling me to take as much time as I needed and I finally had to tell her, ‘If you keep telling me that, I will never leave.’ He gave me the biggest gift of all: he made me a mother.”
