“This amazing human I had given birth to was a complete stranger.”
‘The letter said, ‘I’m your daughter. Can you meet me?’ She’s the secret that ate away at me for 18 years.’: Birth mom reunites with daughter, shares healing journey
‘The nurse came in and said, ‘Her new parents are ready for her.’ Only 15, I kissed her soft baby cheek, and placed her into the arms of her mama.’: Teen mom embarks on ‘beautiful’ open adoption journey, ‘I couldn’t have picked better parents’
“I hid my pregnancy for 7 months. I should’ve been picking the perfect dress for Winter Ball. Instead, I was writing a birth plan. Once my sobs slowed, I looked at her birth father and said, ‘Those are the people who will raise our baby girl.’ I wavered. I fought. I broke. But in the end, I knew what I needed to do.”
‘I’ve told you I’m a virgin a million times!’ She slammed on the brakes. ‘We need to find an adoption agency.’: 16-year-old birth mom pursues open adoption, ‘He deserved better than me’
“They would take him home and raise him in all the ways I couldn’t. It all seemed to happen really quickly. This is when regret and doubt in my decision came crashing down on me. He is mine. He was mine for 40 hours.”
‘You have 24 hours to tell your parents you’re pregnant or I will.’ She pressured me. I was 17 and scared.’: Teen mom becomes widow at 18, ‘I lost my best friend, my high school sweetheart’
“She dialed my mom’s number on speaker. ‘Hi, Diane. This is the nurse at your daughter’s school. Katherine has something to tell you.’ Seriously lady? I got on the phone, played dumb. ‘Oh my gosh, Katherine! What is going on?’ My parents had NO idea I was sexually active. Little did I know, there were bigger problems to worry about. ‘If he was wearing his seatbelt, he would have survived.’ A funeral was planned without me or my daughter in attendance.”
‘I got pregnant. I can still hear my mom say, ‘Oh Jennifer!’ when I told her.’: Woman credits husband for ‘saving her life’ and finally receiving bipolar diagnoses
“What the people at church did to me was beyond what I even knew until MANY years later. I was a good kid. But I look at it differently now. I wasn’t bad; I had an illness.”
‘We can’t find a heartbeat for Baby B, C, or D.’ I was 19. I still remember my heart breaking. ‘I can’t lose my babies, I can’t.’: Teen mom births miracle micro-preemie after losing 3 of her quadruplets
“We had 3 babies in one sac, and 1 in another. I kept telling myself, ‘It’s going to be okay.’ It just wasn’t enough to sustain them all. My water broke. It was everywhere. I didn’t think it was ever going to stop, and I wasn’t even 24 weeks along yet. I kept crying out, ‘Please wait! It’s too early!’ I was petrified.”
‘I’m leaving for the Army! I can’t be pregnant!’ I just turned 18. I had no clue who my baby’s father was.’: Teen mom has ‘beautiful’ open adoption, ‘They burst into tears when they saw her. I knew I’d made the right choice’
“It was 3 days after my 18th birthday, I stood in my bathroom screaming in horror. I was pregnant. Of all the stunts I’d pulled in my teenage years, this was by far the worst. What was even worse… I didn’t know if the baby was my boyfriend’s, or if I’d gotten pregnant by a guy I had a fling with in school. I hadn’t told my boyfriend there was a chance the baby wasn’t his. I was so ashamed I could hardly look him in the eyes.”
‘We can’t do anything else.’ I was 18 with a deceased baby. They pulled a drain tube out and her little belly filled with blood.’: Teen loses daughter to congenital heart disease, donates 455 oz. of breast milk to save sick NICU babies
“She had open heart surgery at just 1 day old. I was terrified. My little girl was on full life support. ‘Why would God give me a sick baby?’ She was bleeding out. I decided to turn something so painful into something beautiful. Even though I couldn’t save my baby, I decided I could save others.”
‘You’re too young to be that serious.’ ‘It won’t last.’ I ignored it all. I knew deep down it wasn’t just puppy love. It was a lifetime love.’: Teen mom marries young, births 2 kids despite criticism, ‘when you meet the love of your life, you’ll know’
“I met and started dating my husband at 16. I was infatuated with this boy I met at the mall, with Justin Bieber hair. ‘You’re 16. It won’t last forever.’ ‘Be prepared to do this on your own. Babies are hard on couples, especially so young.’ ‘We’re very happy for you, but do you think this is a good idea? To get married? You’re too young.’ Whether you’re 15, or 50, when you meet the love of your life, you will know right away. I’m so glad I didn’t listen.”
‘You’re my mom,’ he said. WHAT? I gave birth to a GIRL, and my daughter died at birth. ‘Could it be?!’: Mom reunites with son 29 years after being told he ‘died at birth’
“As soon as I gave birth, my mother told the doctor, ‘Get the baby out of here! We’re not keeping it.’ That crushed my soul. I was 16 and never allowed to see my daughter. I overheard the nurse say ‘severe infection.’ I cried even more. ‘She didn’t make it.’ 29 years later, after the birth and death of my daughter, I received an email on Ancestry.com. Deep in my heart, I knew. My mind was racing.”
