“How could this be happening? How could we possibly be expecting TWO more babies just 4 MONTHS after the birth of our son? But it was. It was a punch in a gut. The kind of news that took your breath away.”
‘She turned the screen towards us. ‘Here is baby number 1, here is baby number 2…’ ‘PLEASE STOP COUNTING!,’ is all I could manage to say. The room fell quiet.’
‘Then he said it, ‘So what should we do now? Adopt a kid or something?’ My chin dropped to the floor. Our family had JUST gotten our heads back above water.’
“One morning, my cell phone rang. With caution in her voice, she began to tell me about an 18-month-old little boy, whose mom had unexpectedly passed away, after he was born 10 weeks too early”
‘The baby was born in his bed.’ This was the text message I received. It was a relative of mine, and we knew this child was coming, but not like this.’
“In desperation, I started crying. I remember rocking her, with tears streaming down my face. I said, ‘You tricked me.’ I was so overwhelmed. How was I going to do this alone?”
‘You hear a terrible crash in your son’s bedroom. He looks like he is sleeping, the TV is upside down across the room. His daddy will shake him. You both scream, ‘Wake up Booboo, wake up!’
“NOTHING can prepare you what you are about to see. You walk to the waiting room, and there is a security guard. ‘Why do they have security?’ A woman is squeezing a bag… a bag that connects to your son’s mouth. ‘SHE IS BREATHING FOR MY SON WITH THAT BAG.'”
‘I found out months before meeting Jorgie we were unable to have biological children. We were devastated. We just couldn’t understand at the time. Until we met him.’
“Taylor was 10 months old when she was shaken and abused. They called again, but this time it was for a 2-month-old baby girl born addicted. Everyone thought we were crazy for considering another child with so many needs, but if not us, then who?”
‘The doctor was staring up my vagina with a flashlight. ‘Whoa! He has some really blonde hair.’ AND I JUST KNEW. My husband smiled. ‘He’s an albino.’
“We should’ve realized there was something extra special with him when nurses were coming in to see the ‘baby with the white hair.’ It was so white it would sparkle in the sunlight. My mother in law stared in awe and said, ‘He’s like a special little fairy.’”
‘I basically had twin girls with Down syndrome, one of whom had only been home a month, and now I was having twins! My whole world stopped. I looked at my husband in shock.’
“I started sobbing. Her eyes were piercing my soul and saying, ‘You are my mom, and you need to come get me.’ In 10 months time, we had gone from 3 to 6 children, assuming our family was complete. But we were wrong once again.”
‘No, this can’t be real. Not this. It isn’t fair! Hasn’t she been through enough?’ But it was real. I heard the words no parent wants to hear.’
“How did I ever think motherhood would be easy, magical, dreamy? My mind started racing with questions. I let myself wallow in self-pity for about 24 hours, and then I decided I would not give in.”
‘Alex wants to be independent. I worry. I often wonder if he can do it.’ Mom shocked, elated when son with Down syndrome ‘rescued’ her morning
“The alarm went off, I shut it off and the next thing I knew it was 31 minutes later. A mere 20 minutes before we had to be out the door. I panicked.”
‘I know you feel invisible. I see you running your child to therapy when friends take their kids to Little League. I see you cringe when people whine about petty things that pale in comparison to your day.’
“I see you slipping out the of conversation when your friends are all chiming in about milestones and test grades. I want you to know it’s worth it.”
